Gods

by Ednah Walters

  She chuckled. “No, Son. I can only trigger runes of those I have bonded with, like you, Celestia, Trudy, and Einmyria. Show me yours.”

  I visualize them and in seconds, the black runes inked my skin. Mother brought her normal arm closer to mine. Her runes responded.

  “I guess I could always find you if you got lost,” I said.

  She chuckled. “That’s true, dýrr. But I’m not going anywhere, except to find your sister.” Which was exactly what I planned to do.

  “Does it involve you leaving the realm again?”

  She chuckled. “You worry too much, Son. I used to leave this realm before you were born and reap children with my Grimnirs. Then your father arrived and offered me a more fun distraction.” Her eyes went to my father. As though aware of her eyes on him, he looked up. From their expressions, they were having a moment.

  “You know kids aren’t supposed to know their parents still have the hots for each other.”

  Mother glanced at me. “The hots?”

  “Fun distractions.”

  She laughed. “Do you plan to give me grandchildren with your Celestia someday? Because I’ll tell you right now, I need some. It doesn’t matter if it takes a century or a millennium, I will have this hall ringing with the laughter of my grandchildren. So you better have “the hots” for that special girl for a very, very long time.”

  We were laughing by the time she finished. Then she stopped.

  “Now that I know your sister is out there, nothing will stop me from finding her, and making our family complete, Eirik.” She glanced over my shoulder and frowned. I turned. Trudy was hurrying around the unfinished pool, her expression furious.

  “Finally,” Trudy said, stopping in front of us. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. You have guests.” She curtseyed. “Goddess.” Then she turned to leave.

  “Whoa, not so fast,” I said.

  “Did they give a name?” Mother asked at the same time, already switching into her role as a goddess.

  “I didn’t ask. He was annoying and rude, and he licked my hand, the rodent.”

  “And so you ran.” Mother gripped her chin. “You don’t run from men, young lady. You look them straight in the eye and command their respect without saying a word. The same way you did with the Valkyrie yesterday. Come along. I’ll show you.”

  “They’re Eirik’s guests, not yours, Goddess Hel.”

  “Oh. Why didn’t you say so?” She shooed us away. “Go. Your father and I will be here if you need us.”

  I followed Trudy. Just before I left the room, I glanced back, expecting to see Mother staring after us, but she had her arm around Father’s and was laughing at something. The changes in her were amazing. Before, visitors stopping by unannounced would have annoyed her. Now, she just shrugged it off.

  “You have rude friends,” Trudy said the second we left the pool area. “I was talking to Andris when he arrived. He asked Andris if he was courting me, then challenged him to a duel because he was looking for a wife and I’m perfect. Then he demanded I turn around so he could see if I had childbearing hips. Childbearing hips? Who says that? Uncivilized, arrogant Dwarf, that’s who.”

  I laughed. Lavion had arrived. About time.

  “It’s not funny,” Trudy griped. “He’s lucky I didn’t get inside his head and turn him into a slobbering idiot. Instead, I told him I was a Jötun and wouldn’t marry a Dwarf the likes of him if my life depended on it. I’ve never been so humiliated.” She stopped suddenly. “There he is, the arrogant waste of a space.”

  The Dwarf was dressed flashily in a red and black cloak lined with fur, his long beard braided and the tip tied with a bejeweled bow. Locks of his long hair were also braided and decorated. Gothic rings adorned his fingers and matching chains hung around his neck. On some men, the entire outfit would have looked garish. Not on Lavion. A crown was all that remained to make him look like a king.

  “He was just teasing, Trudy. He is a master sword smith. He helped us rescue the orphans.”

  “Doesn’t make him a hero. Andris is missing. He probably drove him away too.”

  “Be careful with Andris,” I warned her.

  “Why? He’s going to be my mate.”

  I groaned. Andris was too much of a player to ever settle down. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to Lavion. I promise he’ll behave.” I closed the gap between the Dwarf and me. “Welcome to Eljudnir, Lavion.”

  While Lavion bowed, Trudy took off in the opposite direction. For an hour, he and I talked business. He wanted to see Nara, but she was not in the hall. After promising to come back, he and his guards left on his hog-pulled sleigh.

  I went in search of Celestia. She wasn’t in the bedroom. I found her talking to a tall skinny man with silver eyes and a sharp nose she introduced as Vali, my mother’s decorator. She was helping Mother with a project. Those two were becoming thick as thieves, but I didn’t mind.

  “I have something for you.” I wanted runes on her before we left for Asgard.

  ~*~

  CELESTIA

  Eirik placed a leather pouch covered with runes on the bed and opened it to display six runic artavo. They had runes on the blades, black and green gems on the guard and a large colorless stone on the pommel that looked like a diamond.

  “Wow. They’re gorgeous.” I touched the tip of one and gasped. “Damn, that hurt. It’s bleeding.”

  “Let me see. It’s not even deep.” Eirik put it in his mouth and licked the cut.

  I forgot about my hatred of blood and low pain tolerance as I watched him. My heartbeat picked up and heat scuttled under my skin. He grinned at my response. He checked my finger, but the wound was still there. Not as bloody, but not healed either. It filled with blood again. He picked up one of the artavus and I knew what was coming. I tried to yank my hand back.

  “Look at me, Dimples. I don’t want to hurt you and I promise to be fast. Unless you want to walk around with that wound in Asgard.”

  “When do we leave?”

  “Today.”

  “What?” He moved so fast I didn’t feel the pinch.

  “There you go.” First the rune looked like a burn, then it darkened, the ends turning into tendrils as it glowed and disappeared. My finger tingled as the cut sealed. He’d deliberately distracted me.

  He kissed the tip of my finger. “I thought Raine was terrible about blood. You are worse, which is why I’m not going to help you with your runes.”

  “Of course you are. Are we really going to Asgard today or were you just trying to distract me?”

  “We’re leaving tomorrow as planned.”

  “How long will we be there?”

  “I have no idea. Depends on your lessons with Eir.”

  “I hadn’t thought this through. Do I need new outfits?”

  “No you don’t. Jeans, tights, Boho tops, and T-shirts with funny Witch writings are perfect. Now about the blades, I can give you an overview of what they’re made of and what they do.” His voice slowly disappeared in the background as I mentally went over what to wear in Asgard.

  “I need to talk to your mother,” I whispered. She would tell me what to carry. Jeans and T-shirts, my butt. Eirik was out of his mind.

  “Did you listen to anything I said about the artavo?”

  “No. I need to plan. I have winter boots and woolen slippers for footwear, and my usual clothes, and that’s it. I didn’t even bring the new clothes we bought. We have to go home so I can buy a few things.”

  “Nope. You can’t go back until you have all the necessary runes to fight Immortals like Miriam and her friends.”

  He was right. I had to be ready for anything. My eyes went to the line of artavo.

  “Then I need runes, as many as you can give me. Speed. Strength. Kick-ass. Bitch-slap. Total annihilation. I don’t care. Next time I meet those girls, we’ll meet as equals.” I stuck out my arms and closed my eyes. “Etch away.” Silence. I opened one eye and studied his expression. He was grinning. “Wh
at?”

  “You are a hoot and a half, but I’m not doing this. I need to take care of something.” He stood.

  “What? You just don’t want me to get the runes.” I grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. He caught it and laughed.

  I grabbed one of the artavo. “I’ll do it myself.”

  “Put that down before you hurt yourself. I know the person to help you with runes. When Raine got hers, she worked with Lavania, an older Valkyrie. The same Valkyrie trained Torin and Andris, and Cora.”

  I frowned. “I thought Cora was marked by Maliina.”

  “She was, but most of her regular runes she got under Lavania’s guidance. Wait here.” Before I could respond, he was gone.

  Sighing, I studied each artavus. They were the size of a pencil, some blades white and others black. The one Eirik had used on me had a black blade. One looked like a sickle and another like a stag knife. All of them had runes, except on the grip and the middle of each blade. The one by the cross guard on each blade was the same.

  There was a small leather book with thin, blank pages. I touched the translucent pages. They were infused with magic. The door opened and the goddess swept into the room.

  “Morning, dýrr,” she said, coming to stand by my side. “I just saw Vali and he’s impressed by your suggestions. I’m proud of you for standing up to him and insisting on going with Trudy.” She touched the handle of one of the blades. “These are lovely. Eirik told me Lavion dropped off your artavo and I offered to be your tutor. As the healer in the family, we must make sure you are safe. Healers don’t heal themselves, you know.” She studied my face and frowned. “What’s wrong? You look teary.”

  Would she understand that she’d become more of a mother to me than Marguerite ever was? That I felt safer here now than at my home. It wasn’t just because of Eirik. She made me feel welcomed.

  “No, I’m okay.”

  She tsked. “Lying doesn’t become you, dýrr mín. Let’s take these blades to my private room, so you can tell me everything while we work.”

  CHAPTER 21. UNEXPECTED TURN OF EVENTS

  EIRIK

  “We looked everywhere, but they’ve disappeared,” Ranger said.

  Daiku and Ranger looked like they hadn’t slept. “All the mental homes? Rhys and Nara said they’d given you the list.”

  “We got the list.” Daiku pulled out a small notebook and showed me the list of the homes. Serenity House, Temperance Retirement Home, Sapience Youth Home, Providence Mental Institution, Destiny House, Sagacity…

  Providence Mental Institution. Cora had been admitted at PMI when she’d first seen souls. This was it, the last piece of the puzzle. I couldn’t deny it anymore. Cora was my sister. She had the hair, the eyes, the black runes, and now the Immortal mental institution where she’d been admitted.

  “Is this PMI in Oregon?” I asked.

  “Yes. It’s not far from Kayville, where you grew up.”

  My pulse raced, elation and dread zipping through me. I wasn’t sure why I was fearful. This was what I’d wanted for months, to learn the identity of my sister, to find her and bring her home. I knew who she was. All that remained was getting her and bringing her home. How hard could that be? Then there was my grandmother. Whatever she’d been playing was now over.

  “Okay, guys. Go eat. Rest. You’ll be coming to Asgard with us.”

  Their expressions brightened. They rarely reaped from Asgard.

  “Get two more guards to join us. The two Grimnir girls Celestia calls Samoan and Ginger.”

  “Kainani Kinimaka and Bree Donohue,” Ranger said. “How long are we going to be there?”

  “I have no idea.” I caught sight of Litr waving at me. “Just carry enough to last a week.”

  “If you need help with anything before we leave, we’ll be around,” Daiku said and Ranger nodded.

  “I’m heading to Corpse Strand to visit my grandmother if you’d like to come.” I’d never seen them open a portal so fast. Laughing, I went to join Litr. “What is it?”

  “She wants to talk to you.”

  “Anne Marie?” He nodded. “Thanks.” He opened a portal to our quarters and led the way to my parents’ place. The door to Mother’s private room was open and her voice and Celestia’s reached me the second I entered the living room. This was why I wanted Celestia here. I didn’t panic when she disappeared because I knew she was safe. Instead of joining them, I went to Anne Marie’s room.

  The door was cracked open and I heard her when she said, “come in.” It was dark inside the room, but I could see her silhouette on the bed.

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m sorry I lied about you, Eirik,” she whispered. Her voice was nasal as though she’d been crying.

  “Why did you do it?”

  Silence followed. Just when I was sure she wouldn’t respond, she whispered, “Because I was supposed to destroy your relationship with the goddess, so you would choose your grandmother. For that to happen, Celestia had to go too. That’s what Angrboda said. I went along because the woman who runs the home where I grew up promised to get me out and give me a new home. But I don’t care anymore. I can’t do this anymore. I’m sorry I hurt you and Celestia.”

  It always came back to my grandmother. She wielded power over so many people and created unnecessary enemies. At least now I knew why Marguerite was after Celestia. Like idiots, she was following Crazy Granny’s orders.

  “Why don’t you come out and tell Mom and Dad everything?”

  “They’re not my parents, Eirik. I’m not Einmyria. My hair might be blond, but my eyes are not gray. I just happened to be the right height and have the right hair color to fool your mother. Marguerite told me she expected me to have gray eyes, so I wear contacts.”

  “I know. I found out yesterday when I visited Serenity House. I know about Marguerite. She is Celestia’s birth mother. I also know that your name is Jessica Carpenter.” She started weeping. “But it doesn’t matter, Anne, uh, Jessica. You’ll never go back there. This is your home now. If you want it to be,” I added.

  “Do they know?” she asked so softly I would have missed it if it weren’t for my dragon hearing.

  “Yes.” She made a mewling sound. “They know, but don’t care either, Jessica. They care about you. I’d be here to support you, but I have to stop Marguerite, and to do that, I need help. That’s why I’m leaving now. But I believe in you. Anyone who has spent years in Serenity House under Marguerite’s thumb, and those crazy girls, Miriam and her friends, and survived, can face two gods who care about her. Tell them everything. You’ll be surprised by their response.”

  “They’ll throw me out. It’s what I deserve.”

  She was crying hard. “Stop it or you’ll just make yourself sick. No one is throwing you out, and you can’t stay in your room forever. They won’t allow it. I won’t allow you. If you haven’t noticed, Father loves spending time with you. Mother wants to order runic blades so she can teach you and Celestia at the same time, so you two can start your journey to immortality. Does that sound like someone who’s going to throw you out? They knew from the moment you arrived here that you were not Einmyria.”

  “They did?”

  I chuckled. “They’re gods,” I said. “Of course, they knew, but chose to ignore it. Instead, they waited for you to tell them the truth. Do you want to stay here or go back to Earth?”

  “Stay,” she whispered.

  “Then come out and talk to them. Can you do that?”

  There was silence, then a tiny, “Yes.”

  “Good. I have to go now. Remember, there’s a home for you here for as long as you want it.”

  I left her and went to interrupt Celestia and Mother. Their laughter greeted me before I opened the door. They were two of the most important women in my life and I loved that they were friends. I wanted my sister home too, whether it was Cora or someone else. She deserved to know her true identity and her destiny. If the Norns weren’t lying, she’d take over
as the goddess of this realm.

  Celestia and Mother looked up when I entered the room, their eyes filled with merriment. Runic blades were on the table in front of them along with tall tumblers of apple juice. I hoped it was apple juice.

  “How are things going?”

  “Great. Look at this.” Celestia jumped up and closed her eyes.

  Healing and pain runes covered her arms. The longer she visualized them the more they seemed to appear. They glowed and ebbed. Next were speed runes, then strength, cloaking, protection, and finally, locator runes. They were just like Cora’s and mine. This was the physical proof of how my mother really felt about Celestia. She loved her enough to give her locator runes in case she went missing.

  “That’s a lot. Couldn’t you space them out? Did they hurt?”

  Celestia sighed. “Well the first one hurt a little. I forgot to engage the pain rune you’d etched on me before,” she added, grimacing. She glanced at my mother who smiled with a mixture of tenderness and pride. Celestia’s focus shifted to me. “But once I did, I didn’t feel a thing.”

  “And what is this on your forehead?

  “My protector’s rune.”

  I frowned. “That’s not Mom’s.”

  My mother chuckled. “No, Son. I’m not her protector. Your grandmother is,” she said. “I had no idea which redhead rescued her after she healed her friend’s mother, until she mentioned the spindle. Only Frigg spins clouds and only she is powerful enough to have protected her against my mother.”

  “And look,” Celestia added, picking up an artavus. “As soon as I got her rune, the same rune appeared on all my blades.”

  I guess Frigg wasn’t a bad protector. “Now we can leave for Asgard. Oh, please find Uncle Tristan a Resting Hall, so Andris can go home instead of trying to seduce Trudy when no one is looking. Or is Trudy trying to seduce him? I’m not sure which at this point. I had to ask the guards to keep an eye on them. And Echo needs to return to his girl before he declares vengeance upon us.”

  Mother chuckled. “He is quite smitten with that one, isn’t he? She must be someone truly special. I have never seen him like this in all the centuries I’ve known him. Very well, Son, thank you for reminding me. Help me choose which king to kick out of a private room. Tell Echo I’ll have him settled within an hour. Come on, dýrr.” She got up. “As for leaving, you can’t yet. Maera and her ladies are still working on Celestia’s gowns.”