“Now, Torin.” Lavania sounded closer.
We moved apart, both of us breathing hard. “I love you,” I whispered.
“With all my heart,” he finished.
“Oh, for goddess’s sakes,” Lavania snapped. “Catch up when you two are done.”
We both looked up as she floated away. She’d changed into one of her floor-sweeping gowns. “She’s angry with me.”
“No, she’s worried about Eirik and maybe a little jealous that he trusts you and not her.” He brushed his lips against mine. “I don’t want to leave you, Freckles.” We kissed again, deeper, longer. I didn’t want him to go either, but I knew he had to.
Before he could lift his head, I whispered, “The Norns said someone is sketching the runes on Eirik and forcing him to turn evil. That’s what I left out.” I leaned back and checked his reaction.
Panic flashed in his eyes. He glanced upstairs where Lavania had disappeared behind me as though searching for Andris. He cursed softly under his breath. “This is bad. Trust Andris. Talk to him. And please, don’t try anything until I come back.”
I nodded. Another lingering kiss and he was gone, moving fast, glowing runes on his body. My eyes followed him up the stairs, my heart already missing him. I blew out a breath and nipped my lower lip to stop it from trembling. The foreboding feeling intensified. He was coming back. Why then did I feel like I’d never see him again?
“He’ll be back,” Andris said, looping an arm around my shoulder. “Torin is one of the few Valkyries I know who keeps his word. Sanctimonious-arrogant-and-a-general-pain-in-my-ass-but-very-dependable is his middle name.”
He’d better come back. I couldn’t imagine life without him. “That’s a bit mouthy for a name.”
“It suits him though. So, what do you want to do? Hang out, order dinner, and—”
“I’m going home.”
“Oh, come on.” He gripped my shoulders and peered at me. “I understand about wanting to cry alone and hug the pillow with his scent, but that will only make you more miserable. You need to stay busy.”
“Hug the pillow with his scent?” I asked, trying hard not to laugh, tears still threatening to flow. “You’re so romantic for such a cynic.”
He smirked. “I know. My level of complexities impresses even me. But seriously, are you going to give me a hard time about watching over you?”
“No, Andris. You’re in charge, and I’ll respect that. I’m going home to study bind runes, and Cora is coming to visit me at seven. Please, no snarky comments about her,” I added when he made a face. “She’s my friend, and you guys must accept it. She will also keep me busy, so I won’t worry about things.” Or miss Torin. I removed Andris’ hands from my shoulders. “I promise to tell you if I’m going anywhere.”
His eyes narrowed. “Really? Why are you being so nice and agreeable?”
“Because Torin said to trust you.” I started for the door, but Andris pointed at the portal.
“House rule number one: you come through a portal, you leave through a portal.”
***
Darkness crept in while I worked on bind runes. Tried to and failed was more like it. Wind whistled and rattled the glass windows. A storm was coming, and it suited my mood. I couldn’t concentrate and kept checking Torin’s window even though I knew he wasn’t back. Eirik also hadn’t returned my call. I still wanted him to sleep at my place. Having him with me would ease my worries. Focusing on him would keep me from thinking about Torin.
I removed the dagger the Norns had given me, pulled it from its sheath, and studied it. It was all black and had runic markings on it. The handle had four ridges that made it easy to grip. I ran a finger along the blade, touched the tip, and winced. Blood pooled on the pad of my finger where I’d nipped it. The blob slowly grew smaller as my body took it back. The cut sealed, leaving behind no trace that I had cut myself.
I was an Immortal, yet I’d never been so unhappy and alone.
Putting the dagger away, I grabbed my cell phone and checked for messages. No response from Eirik. I sat on my window seat and texted him again. I was contemplating my next move when Cora pulled up. She saw me and waved. Hopefully, her incessant chatter would to take my mind off things.
I raced downstairs.
“Brrr, it’s freaking cold tonight,” Cora said, entering the house, her laptop clutched on her chest, backpack on her shoulder. She pushed the door with her foot, dropped her backpack, and hugged me. “Ooh, you’re so warm and toasty. “
Her hands and the laptop were freezing cold against my skin. “And you are a human icicle.” I tried to push her hand away when she tried to slip it under my shirt. She always did that. “Eek! Cut that out!” I ran toward the kitchen to get away from her.
“I need a hot drink before I can function,” she said, following me.
“What do you want? Coffee, hot chocolate, or apple cider?”
“Yuck. You know I can’t stand apple cider.” She put her laptop on the counter and blew on her hands. “Or apple pie, apple dumplings, apple cheesecake, apple cream meringue, apple cake, apple Bavarian tort, apple cobbler…”
I tried not to laugh. I tended to forget her family grew organic apples, and her mother baked and sold her apple desserts to the local stores. They had so many varieties of apples I always looked forward to picking some when I visited.
“Coffee is fine,” Cora added when she finished her tirade against everything apple. “Do you have time to help me with a math problem?”
I laughed. Her math problem usually meant more than one. “Sure. I have homework too, and I already ordered pizza.”
“Toppings?”
“Bacon and pineapple.”
“Side?”
“Cinnamon sticks.”
“Yummy. This is like old times. Gah, I wish I’d worn gloves.” She sat on her hands, and I laughed. She did that whenever she was cold, but I doubted it worked. It probably cut blood to her hands.
“What happened to your car?” she asked.
I stared at her blankly then remembered I had driven to Eirik’s house, but came back through a portal. “It broke down outside Eirik’s, but I was hoping he’d fix it,” I fibbed and turned to get a can of coffee and two mugs from the cupboards before she could notice my red face. “Instant coffee okay?”
“Anything but the cider. So you and Eirik are back to being friends again?” she asked.
There was a trace of jealousy in her voice. “Nah,” I fibbed again. “Mom asked me to drop off something at their house. I tried texting him, but he’s not returning my messages.” While I heated the water in the microwave, I removed vanilla creamer from the fridge. “So what have you been up to?”
She shrugged and opened her laptop. “The usual. School, swimming, vlogging. So Eirik will drop off your car?”
“I hope so.” I glanced at her and caught her frown. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“Nope.” She typed something on her laptop. “I just want to, you know, mentally prepare myself, seeing how I ceased to exist in his world.”
“That’s not true.”
She shrugged. “It’s okay. He doesn’t matter either.”
Liar, I wanted to say. We took our drinks upstairs, and Cora noticed the blown-glass ornaments right away. “Gorgeous. Where did you find them?”
“Multnomah Falls. Torin bought them.”
She studied one ornament after another, then lifted one of the paperweight ones. Inside it was the waterfalls captured in its fall splendor. It would always remind me of our first time there. But my favorite was the Bifrost Bridge. Cora found it and studied it curiously. She put it down without commenting. She probably didn’t know what it was.
I managed to steer Cora’s attention to homework. Seated at the window, she kept staring outside, probably anticipating Eirik’s arrival. No matter what she’d said, she was still into him. I pretended not to notice even though my eyes strayed to Torin’s window, too. We were two peas in a pod, both of us wa
iting for the men we loved, yet we couldn’t admit it to each other. How pathetic was that?
“Pizza is here,” she said before the doorbell rang. “My treat.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“I’ve been a sucky friend, so let me do this.” She pushed a twenty-dollar bill into my hand.
I gave the delivery guy an extra large tip because it was raining hard and the poor guy was drenched. Back upstairs, I found Cora studying my cell phone. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned Eirik.
“Did Eirik text?” I asked.
“No, just admiring this.” She turned the phone and showed me a picture of Torin. I’d taken it at the waterfalls. “He really is beautiful.”
He was, and he was mine. “I know.”
She threw my phone on my bed, walked to the table, and selected two slices of pizza before returning to the window seat. “Is he going to join us?”
“No.” I put my homework away and rescued hers. “He thought we should have a girls-only night.”
“Oh, how sweet. But he’ll be here later, right?” She wiggled her brows.
The urge to cry rolled through me. He’d barely left, and I already missed him. Missed making out with him. Laughing. Fighting. Later tonight, I’d miss listening to his heartbeat as I fell asleep.
“Raine?”
“Yes. I’ll see him tonight.” In my dreams.
“He’s, like, the best boyfriend ever.” Cora sighed melodramatically and took a bite of her pizza. Swallowing, she added, “After the Portland game, I did a piece on him on my vlog, and the responses… phew. The comments were X-rated. Better chain him to your side, girl. There’re girls out there who can’t wait for you to slip up.”
I laughed. “They wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“So confident, aren’t you?”
“I know how he feels about me.” He hadn’t said he loved me, but he’d finished my sentence. At least it had sounded that way. I got two slices of pizza and sat on the bed. We ate and conversed, but Cora always brought the conversation back to Torin.
“Is he excited about the game?”
I didn’t care about the game. I just wanted him back.
“Yeah, he is,” I fibbed.
“Have you seen what they’ve planned for the pep rally on Friday? It’s huge.”
I was busy chewing, so I shook my head.
She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been wrapped up in your little world. It’s on the website. I’ll show you.” She opened her laptop and typed with one hand. “Drew said some of the players, the cheerleaders, and the Kayvees will do a mob flash dance. They even asked other students to join them.”
I glared. “Thanks for spoiling the surprise.”
She wrinkled her nose. “You’re welcome. It’s not like you’d be paying attention anyway. I know for sure Torin is not doing it, but we’re hoping he’ll volunteer for the kissing booths.”
My drink went down the wrong way, and I coughed. “What?”
“Hey, don’t give me that look. When I said ‘we’ I meant my vlog followers. See?” She turned her laptop and showed me another entry.
The title of her entry was Kissing Booths and Hot Guys. I read the first page of comments and rolled my eyes. Even guys wanted to know which jocks would be at the booths. Now I was happy Torin wouldn’t be around.
My cell phone dinged. I read the text and sighed with relief. “Eirik’s on his way. He can finish the pizza.”
Cora jumped up and disappeared into the bathroom. The doorbell rang, and I headed downstairs. It was almost eight, but my parents were still not back. I didn’t know whether to start worrying. I opened the door and blinked. Andris, Ingrid, and Roger stood on my porch, not Eirik.
“Hey. What’s, uh, going on?” I asked.
“Just checking on you guys,” Andris said. “Can we come in?”
“Sure.” I stepped back. Cora came downstairs, hair fluffed, lip-gloss applied. Andris saw her and groaned. “Behave,” I warned him from the corner of my mouth then added louder, “Cora, you know Andris and Ingrid, and this is Roger, Andris’ friend.”
The way Cora eased into conversation with the Valkyries you’d never guess she didn’t like them. We were crowded around the wet bar, talking and laughing, when Eirik arrived. He heard the voices coming from my living room and frowned.
He dropped my car key in my hand. “I was planning on using your mirror to get home.”
“You still can. Come inside.” I grabbed his arm and tugged, but he didn’t budge.
He shook his head. “I’ll head to Torin’s.”
“No one is there. Torin and Lavania are gone, and the others are here. Come and hang out with us for just a few minutes. Please.”
“Hey, what’s keeping you guys?” Cora called out, and the effect on Eirik was instant.
He grinned. “You didn’t say she was here. Let’s go.”
“Whipped,” I whispered as he followed me.
“Shut up!”
For an hour, we just hung out like normal teenagers. Eirik and Cora even went back to their playful teasing and flirting. When she left at nine, she was smiling.
“Where are your parents?” Andris asked before they left.
“Out, but they should be back any minute now.”
“I don’t like leaving you alone,” Andris said.
I made a face. “I’m seventeen, Andris, not five. Besides, he’s going to hang around until they return.” I indicated Eirik with a nod. He was in the kitchen wolfing down the rest of the pizza.
Andris hesitated, but he gave me another lecture on not going anywhere without telling him. I closed the door and marched to the kitchen to call my parents. They weren’t picking up. Now I was really worried. I texted them, and we went upstairs.
***
It was another hour before sounds came from downstairs.
“They’re back.” I ran downstairs. “Where have you been? I called and texted you guys for like…” Dad looked dead tired, and Mom’s eyes were red as though she’d been crying. “Mom? What’s wrong?”
She smiled, but her lips trembled. “Come here.”
We hugged. But when Dad joined us, I knew something was wrong. “You guys are scaring me. What’s going on?”
“Sit down, pumpkin,” Dad said, his arm going around my shoulder. Mom took my hand. Together, they led me to the couch.
Turning my head left and right, I studied their faces. The foreboding feeling I’d had earlier returned. “What’s going on? Is it about Torin? Did something happen to him?”
“No, honey,” Mom said. “This is not about Torin. It’s, uh, about your father.” Her voice shook.
“What about Dad?” I studied his face, his pallor, which seemed to have gotten worse. “You’re ill, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “At the beginning of last summer, my doctors diagnosed me with stage IV tumors in my brain.”
No. My mind screamed what I couldn’t articulate. My eyes clung to him, my chest squeezing.
“They ran tests and confirmed that the tumors are too deep and too advanced,” Dad continued. “They couldn’t operate, and chemotherapy would have been useless.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I cried.
“Your mother and I decided to wait until we exhausted our options before talking to you. After my diagnosis, I received a call from a specialist in Hawaii, an oncologist who’d developed a radical treatment using a virus. The virus could kill brain cancer cells and not healthy ones. That’s why I went to Hawaii last summer. We usually use portals to deliver mirrors, but this time I flew because his people were waiting for me at the airport.”
It explained the flight to and from Hawaii. “What did the specialist say?”
“She started me on the treatment. They were supposed to continue every month, but my plane went down. The tumors grew.”
I shook my head, tears racing down my face. “No. No, I refused to accept this.”
“You must.” Dad wiped my cheeks. “During the cruise, I stopped
by to see her when we disembarked in Honolulu. Today we confirmed it. The tumor has metastasized, and I am no longer qualified for the treatment.”
I shook my head. “No, it can’t be true. There must be something we can do.” I looked at Mom. She was weeping silently. “We can use runes, can’t we, Mom? We’ll heal him. Make him Immortal.”
Mom shook her head. “Runes heal wounds, not mutated cells. He can’t be turned, sweetheart.”
“Then we’ll use them to keep him alive.” I turned to face Dad. “I’m not giving up, Daddy. I’m not losing you again.”
He sighed and pulled me into his arms. I didn’t know how long I cried before his words penetrated. “You have to let me go, sweetheart. You have to. We’ve had seventeen years, and we will have a few more weeks… months…”
“No.” I pushed his arms. He tried to tighten his grip, but I wouldn’t let him. I wiggled out of his arms until he let me go. I jumped up, knocking my knee against the coffee table without feeling the pain. “I won’t give up. I won’t. I’ll find the right runes, the right doctors.”
“If I depended on doctors, I’d be pumped full of pain meds and bed-ridden. Runes have eased my pain these past weeks,” Dad said.
“I’ll create new ones. Torin will help me.”
Mom shook her head. “He can’t.”
“He will!”
She sighed. “Sweetheart, I didn’t manage your dad’s pain. Torin did, and he knows a lot more about runes than any Valkyrie I know.”
Was this the secret he’d been keeping from me? Dad’s illness? Was he here to reap his soul, too?
“He brought me back from the brink of death when he found me after the plane crash,” Dad said. “He has done enough.”
“Then it’s my turn.” I looked down at my father, his face gaunt, his eyes shimmering with unshed tears. I’d known he was ill. I just hadn’t wanted to accept it. “I love you, Daddy. Don’t ask me to give up and accept things the way they are because you didn’t raise a quitter. I will find a way to make you better.”
Immortals (Runes book 2) Page 34