Heroes (Eirik Book 2)

by Ednah Walters

  I left the warmth of Eirik’s chest, reached forward, and gripped her hand, feeling bad for her. I’d known they moved a lot, but I’d assumed it was because they were Witches.

  “Did you ever see him again?”

  “Yes. He couldn’t remember me,” she whispered. “Every time a Suit is sighted the parent informs the others in the area and we are sent to a secure location and watched by a couple of parents while the others pack up and leave. After a few days to a week, our parents find a new location and come get us. I’ve lived all over the country, South America, and Canada.”

  And to imagine I’d thought my childhood was shitty because my mother hated me. I couldn’t imagine a life like Hayden’s—scared all the time—always looking over her shoulders. Never having friends because they didn’t stay anywhere long enough before moving again or because of her secret. Eirik’s sister probably had the same lifestyle. Who the hell were these men in suits? No wonder Hayden hadn’t freaked out about Tammy’s disappearance. She was used to seeing her disappear when it was her turn to watch the children.

  Eirik was quiet, but he pulled me closer as though he needed the contact. I wished I could make his pain go away. He was hurting and frustrated.

  “Your real parents could still be alive,” I said, and Hayden’s expression hardened.

  “Tammy is my parent. The only one that matters,” she said. “My birth parents abandoned me.”

  “You don’t know that,” Eirik said. “My sister wasn’t abandoned, yet she’s out there, running from these men you call Suits, always looking over her shoulder.” Anger crept in his voice, and I rubbed his arms and pressed my cheek against his neck. He rested his head against mine and appeared calmer when he continued. “The Norns could have brought you here to stop my grandmother.”

  “And they probably selected these Immortals and promised them a one-way ticket to the other realms,” I said.

  We talked for another thirty minutes when Eirik said, “I have to go home and see if Karle made it. He might tell us if there’s been new additions in his village.”

  Hayden jumped up. “And I need to do something about Mom. I’m not used to sitting around and doing nothing. If those Immortals have her, I want to know. If they are in another realm, someone took them there. In fact, I want to know everything you know about Hel and Jötunheim.” She glanced at Eirik. “She can tell me that now, right?”

  “Yes.” He stood, placed me on the table, and immediately turned away to grab his duster. When he turned around and slid between my knees, he had his duster on and was ready to leave. His hands were gentle as he cupped my face. “I have to go now, but I’m leaving two Grimnirs to keep an eye on things. In the meantime, tell her everything.”

  “What if the Norns scramble my brain?”

  He stroked my chin, but the smile was gone from his face. “I’ll help you remember me.”

  “It’s not always about you,” I teased, trying to get a smile.

  “You’re right. It’s about you.” He leaned down until our faces were inches apart. “The dragon side of me will always remember you, stjärna mín,” he whispered, his hand lingering on my cheek. Then he went into hyper speed and was gone.

  “Wow.”

  I heard Hayden, but I couldn’t look at her. My face was hot, my heart pounding so hard I thought it would burst open. Could I have bonded with both Eirik and his grandmother at the same time? It might explain why I reacted to him the way I did.

  “What does stjärna min mean?”

  “I don’t know.” I didn’t like the way Hayden was staring at me. I went to the fridge and retrieved bottled water.

  “Are you two always that intense? I could feel the heat from right here.”

  I didn’t want to discuss Eirik or his effect on me. “Do you want to hear about the other realms or not?”

  “You want him.”

  Trust Hayden to go for the jugular. “What you saw was the dragon bite bond,” I lied. “It draws me to him and screws with my head. Just like it draws me to his grandmother. Besides, he told me to find someone other than Wes to date because… How did he put it? Wes was dull and weak and had no passion. Eirik thinks he knows what’s best for me, but he doesn’t. If he knew…” He would kiss me senseless, so I could stop fantasizing about him. “I wish there was a way I could destroy these bonds.”

  A weird expression crossed Hayden’s face, and I remembered that her mother had tried. She might have nearly gotten rid of the scar, but the bond was still there.

  “Forget it,” I said.

  “No, you can’t destroy the bond. There’s more between you than the dragon bond.”

  “What else can it be?”

  “Lust, passion, love, everything Wes can’t give you. If I weren’t crazy about Zack, I’d steal Eirik from you just to teach you a lesson.”

  Was she crazy? I’d kill her. No, I’d put a whammy on her so the Suits would see her from a mile away. Oh, God. That sounded terrible. I was losing my grip on reality.

  “Or maybe not,” she added, grinning. “From that look on your face, you’d kill me in my sleep. And, uh, I don’t think I can get over the dragon shifter thing. So not sexy.”

  If she only knew. I couldn’t wait to see her reaction to the pictures I’d taken.

  “So, what do you want to know?”

  “Everything, but first, let’s clean up this mess and lock up.” She looked at her watch. “We have plenty of time before your Guild meeting.”

  ~*~

  EIRIK

  The moment I left Celestia and Hayden, I cloaked and indicated for Rhys and Nara to follow me outside. They’d stayed invisible the entire time I was helping in the store. We crossed the street to where Celestia had parked her car. I had a clear view of the store and would know the moment the girls left the séance room.

  “Where are your replacements?”

  “Inside the coffeehouse.” Rhys indicated Café Ibis with a nod.

  Two Grimnirs were visible through the window. One wore a cowboy hat and the other looked Japanese. I’d seen them at the gym at home.

  “Tell them to stay with the girls no matter what. Celestia used this car, and if they’re going anywhere, they’ll likely take it. I’d rather they stay inside the store and keep them in sight, but the girls might be spooked, especially Hayden since she can see them.”

  Rhys looked at Nara, and she went into hyper speed, dashed to the coffee shop, spoke briefly to the two Grimnirs, and came back.

  “What’s going on?” Rhys asked.

  The girls were now inside the store and appeared to be cleaning up. While keeping an eye on them, I brought Rhys and Nara up to speed on my sister’s situation.

  “She could be one of them, and I missed them. They’d just left because the food was still warm on the plates.” It made me so furious I went into a partial shift again. I needed to burn energy fast. “But when Hayden opened the portal and spoke to the Webbers, they were scared out of their wits. While she and Celestia were busy focusing on the couple, I listened to the people in the background.” My dragon senses had helped. “The people outside their door were angry because they’d missed the children again and some dude with a British accent was giving orders and demanding they ransack the house. I think the Webbers sacrificed themselves for those kids. Find out if two souls of Immortals have been reaped.” Rhys and Nara exchanged a weird glance. “What?”

  “When searching for your sister and probing the memories of those who’d come into contact with her or these orphans, one name kept popping up,” Rhys explained. “Lord Worthington.”

  “We tried to find out more about him, but he’s a recluse,” Nara piped in. “All we know is that he’s old and so powerful the other Immortals are scared of him.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me about him before?”

  “We didn’t have proof he was connected to your sister’s disappearance,” Rhys added. “All we got was a name and the fear it evoked.”

  Nara made a face. “We still
don’t know if he was the one at that log cabin.”

  “Find me this Worthington guy or Paul and Lois Webber, dead or alive, and I’ll take it from there.” I glanced one last time at the store. “Make sure your replacements don’t lose the girls. In fact, I’ve changed my mind. They should go inside and introduce themselves. I need to fly. Let me know when you have something.”

  I opened a portal and headed back to Eljudnir, completely ignoring Grimnirs escorting souls or leaving the realm. Trudy was waiting when I reached the hall. I ignored her, too. The paintings were still covered and the guards still wore their armbands. Even Trudy was dressed in black. She dogged my footsteps.

  “Is Karle here?”

  “Nope.”

  What was going on? Karle had been eager to come back here, and now he was a no-show? “Have you ever been to Jötunheim?”

  “No, and I have zero interest in going,” Trudy said.

  “Too bad. We’re going.”

  “No, we’re going to Earth, like you promised.” She stopped and growled, but I kept going toward my quarters.

  “You’ll want to come with us.”

  “Us? Who else is coming?” she called.

  I didn’t answer her, but if my grandmother was in Jötunheim, I wanted Celestia with me. Not just because she could pinpoint Granny’s exact location, but because Hayden’s inability to create a portal to where Tammy was meant they might have left Earth. Thinking about the whole situation just pissed me off more. I needed to release steam.

  Once I changed, I headed to the training field. Ness and Ostberg were pushing their teams hard and were more than happy to pit me against them. I jumped into the midst, kicking and hauling ass, and getting pummeled. I detached Gunnlögi and made things even more interesting.

  Three guys rushed forward. I swung my mace and brought it down hard on an ax. It folded like it was made of clay. It didn’t stop the man holding it. He caught me with an upward swing and would have broken my ribs if the scales hadn’t appeared. The impact whipped me around into the path of a fist. The sharp pain on my jaw was brief, but it fueled my anger. My reflexes were off because my mind kept going to the orphans, my sister, and the bastards after them.

  I wrapped the chain of my mace around my attacker’s arm and yanked, bringing him to his knees. Screams filled the air as his arm snapped. At the same time, I released a well-aimed kick at the knee of the guy with the messed-up ax. The crack of another bone breaking and a yowl filled the air. I turned, wondering why my third attacker had stopped, only to find him on his knees. He was the one yowling while gripping his head as though in pain, yet I hadn’t touched him.

  Everyone stopped fighting and stepped back, fear in their eyes. Surely, a few broken bones shouldn’t scare them. They healed as fast as I did. Besides, I’d watched them do worse things to each other.

  “What is it? Scared of breaking something?”

  Then I noticed they were looking at someone behind me and I turned, expecting to see my mother. It was Trudy.

  “I’m in the middle of practice, Trudy. Go away.”

  “Believe me, this is the last place I want to be.” She flicked her fingers, and the man gripping his head stopped in mid-scream and dropped on the ground. “Oops. He’s not dead, is he?” she asked. No one moved. “Check!”

  Several warriors rushed forward to check, including Ness.

  “He’s okay, just out cold,” Ness said.

  “Oh, good. Next time I say I want to talk to Baldurson, you do what?” She angled her head.

  “We stop,” the men chorused.

  What the hell? They had no problem facing me in any form but cowered before her? A bit irritated, I snapped, “What do you want?”

  Her eyes narrowed. “First, your attitude stinks. Second, a message just came from your dragon buddy, Karle. He’s been detained, but he’ll be here tonight.”

  “Who brought the message?”

  “A raven. The poor thing was exhausted. He’d been flying for two days. In fact, he thought Karle might get here before him.”

  “Oh.” I had to keep reminding myself not to be shocked by things in this realm. Besides, ravens were the smartest of all birds. My grandfather owned two. “Why do the warriors fear you?”

  “They haven’t forgotten what I did to them for killing my pet wolf.” She looked at the men, and they shuffled backward. “But that’s all in the past now, right guys?”

  They nodded.

  “What did you do to them? No, never mind. If you can do what you just did, I want you with me tomorrow when we go to Jötunheim. So be prepared. Celestia is coming,” I added when she opened her mouth. I knew she was going to say no.

  “Oh. Why didn’t you say so? As for what I can do, I’m the Jötunheim rooster.”

  “What?”

  “Three powerful Seeresses will announce the onset of Ragnarok, one from Asgard, another from Hel’s Hall, and a third from a forest in Jötunheim. I’m the third rooster. Your grandmother tried to convince me to be on her side when she lived here. Because of her, I perfected my gifts.” She started to walk away, but I caught her hand.

  “Did she bite you?”

  “No way. Whenever she came too close, I got inside her head and reminded her of all the terrible things she’d done and the pain her victims had felt. It’s not fun for me or them. Most villains are wimps.” Trudy glanced at the warriors and smiled. “Later, guys.”

  My interest in fighting was gone. I needed to fly. Far, far away from here.

  CHAPTER 15. WARMTH

  CELESTIA

  The two Grimnirs Rhys and Nara had left behind suddenly disappeared, leaving me alone in the store. Hayden had already counted the money and left for the bank. A prickly feeling had me looking up. Across the street by Costa Vida, two men in black suits stood watching TC. Just to make sure they weren’t missionaries or housing inspectors, I ran to the séance room and got my cloak. By the time I came back, they had crossed the street and were peering inside the store.

  Damn it. Where were the Grimnirs?

  My heart pounded with dread, and for the first time since Hayden told us her story, I knew exactly how she must have felt all her life. Hunted.

  Not wanting to stay inside the store, I grabbed the keys and my sling bag, put on the cloak just in case, punched in the security code to turn on the alarm system, and left the store.

  They were staring at me now. With my hand gripping the rune, in case they went invisible, I hurried toward the bank. Just before I entered, the two Grimnirs appeared behind me. Some bodyguards.

  “What are you doing here?” Hayden asked when I joined her.

  “I hated being alone at the store.” We’d sworn not to lie to each other. “Two men in suits were outside the store, and I freaked out.”

  Instead of laughing, she frowned.

  “Don’t worry, I locked up and turned on the alarm.”

  “I wasn’t worried about the store, Celestia. You are safer inside there than out here. Those protection runes mean they cannot open a portal inside the store or our house.” Then she thumped her forehead. “Why hadn’t I thought of this before?” She glanced toward the Grimnirs, who were invisible inside the bank, and lowered her voice. “If Suits and evil people can’t create a portal inside our store, maybe we can’t create one to where Mom is because it’s protected too.”

  “But we don’t want to hurt her,” I protested.

  “They don’t know that. Maybe it’s protected against unauthorized portals or something. The only thing stopping me from going into full panic mode whenever I think about Mom is the hope that whoever she left with is on our side. He wouldn’t have opened a portal into our apartment if he wasn’t.”

  The woman in front of her was shamelessly eavesdropping on our conversation. She even looked over her shoulder at us.

  “Do you mind?” I said.

  Hayden blurred, and I knew she’d runed her. How the heck had I missed that the past three years? “How often do you do that?”

>   “More often than you know since you tend to broadcast to everyone who you are.” She grinned. “No, I’m kidding. Mom is not big on taking chances, and I’ve learned to be careful in public. You might only see a blur, but Suits, I’m convinced, can see everything.”

  She finished depositing the money and we left for the store, the two Grimnirs tailing us. I could have sworn eyes followed us back to the store. I looked up and down the street while Hayden opened the door and our shadows opened a portal and disappeared inside. I never realized there were so many shifty characters in cheap suits around Windfall.

  “Stop it,” Hayden said.

  “I don’t know how you do it. I’d be jumping at shadows.”

  “Do you want me to compel you not to?”

  “What? Ew, no. Have you ever done that to me before? You know, etched runes on me to make me forget something? Because I’m telling you right now, I will disown you after I kick your ass.”

  “Yeah, I’ve runed you so many times I’m surprised you’re still Mortal.” She looked ready to slap me into yesterday.

  “Just checking.” I gave her a toothy grin.

  “You are the first friend I’ve had outside the other orphans. You really think I’d screw that up?”

  “Okay, I’m sorry. I already believed you hadn’t.” I raised my hands. “I swear, I’ll never doubt you again.”

  “Then admit it. You want Eirik. Like really, really want to jump him and wrestle him to the ground and kiss the crap out of him.”

  “With every breath I take.” A sudden rush of emotions gripped my chest. “It hurts every time he walks away. I mean every time I think ‘this is it’ and he pulls back, I want to scream.”

  Hayden hugged me. “It’s okay. I think his concern for his sister is making him hold back. From the way you two reach for each other when the other one is hurting, I know he feels the same way. Look at the way he visited you despite the fact that you kicked him out of the hospital and made it clear you didn’t want to see him. He came to your defense when Mrs. Mouton pulled a Cruella de Vil on you, and he looks at you with such longing when you’re not watching. I saw that when we were serving customers. The guy is crazy about you. Just give him time.”