24. GRIMNIR
Tears racing down my face, I entered my bedroom. Eirik stopped pacing, his eyes red as though he’d been crying. “You heard?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
We met in the middle of the room, finding comfort and solace in each other’s arms.
“He can’t die, Eirik. I won’t let him.”
“I know.” He lifted me up the same way Torin had yesterday and carried me to bed. Part of me wished he were Torin; the other knew he understood what I was going through better. He loved my father, too. He didn’t speak again, just held me until I fell asleep. He was still there the next morning and woke me up.
“I don’t want to go to school,” I mumbled and burrowed deeper under the covers.
“You have to. Staying in bed won’t make your dad better. In fact, it will only make him feel guilty for telling you. I think this is why they didn’t tell you in the first place. They knew you’d indulge in self-pity and—” He jumped out of the way of my kick.
“I’m not indulging in self-pity. I’m thinking.” I was feeling sorry for myself. I couldn’t lose my father.
“Well, think your way into the shower. You smell, and your hair looks like you haven’t washed it in—” He dodged the pillow I’d thrown and disappeared through the portal.
“I hate you, and I don’t smell.” I forced myself to shower and change. A few minutes later, I left my room. I was about to knock on my parents’ door when I heard their voices coming from downstairs.
Dad was cooking breakfast while Mom read the newspaper out loud. The scene was so familiar tears rushed to my eyes. I wanted to be angry with them for keeping this from me, but as long as there was a chance that I could help, I had to focus on that. I had a plan. Well, sort of. I just needed to get out of the house first.
I cleared my throat, and my parents both looked at me. “I’ll help with the breakfast.”
“No, you will not,” Dad retorted. “Cooking, running, and biking are a few things I plan to savor for as long as I possibly can, so sit down.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Mom caught my eye and shook her head. I sat and watched him for any signs of, I don’t know, fatigue, eyes-rolling in the back of his head. His fall last weekend made sense now. The cancer probably messed with his balance or something. Why did he run and bike when he could keel over any second and die? It didn’t make sense.
If I didn’t know the truth, watching my parents discuss and laugh over newspaper articles would have been normal. I couldn’t relax, let alone laugh at Dad’s teasing. In fact I found their nonchalant attitude irritating. I wasn’t sure what I wanted them to do. Walk around with long faces? Fight back?
“You should have told me,” I said when there was silence.
“Sweetheart—”
“No, Mom. You’ve known for months, and it’s been weeks since Torin found Dad.” The late lunches and dinners made sense. I got angrier. “You’ve been spending more time together knowing he could be gone any minute, while I…” my voice trembled to a stop. “And last week he wanted to tell me and you asked for one more week. You should have told me!”
“Raine,” Mom took my hand, “I wanted you to have time with him without his illness coming between you. Think about all the things you’ve done. The fun things you did on the cruise, running and biking on Saturdays, your discussions—”
“I don’t care,” I snapped, tears threatening to fall again. “You should have told me.” I jumped from the table and stomped away. I could feel their eyes following me until I left the house. Andris tried to get my attention, but I pretended not to see him. I was in no mood to talk to anyone.
At the parking lot across from school, I sat and stared at the students walking past, dreading getting out of the car. Three weeks ago I’d dreaded leaving my car because of what had happened at the meet. Today I wished I had the power of premonition, so I could know how long Dad was going to live. My eyes welled up with tears.
Torin. How I wished he were here. I texted Eirik then went back to staring at students.
I jumped when my front passenger door opened and Andris slipped into the seat. “Hey, you okay?”
“Yeah.” I wiped at my cheeks.
“You’re crying.”
“So?”
“So you’re better than this. I know you miss Torin, but this…” he indicated me with a brief wave of his hand, “weepy, pathetic excuse of an Immortal is not—”
“Andris.” I cut him an exasperated look. “Leave. Now. I want to be alone.”
“Okay. You don’t have to tell me twice. I’ll shut up. In fact, pretend I’m not here.” He got comfortable in his seat. I wanted to curse him out, scream at him, but then I remembered what Torin had told me. I could trust Andris.
Staring straight ahead, I tried to keep my voice calm as I spoke. “Last night, I found out that my father is dying of brain cancer and no one told me. I’m pissed. And if you ever call me pathetic again, I will slug you.”
“I’m sorry.”
I turned and studied him. He seemed contrite. “Sorry for what?”
“For your father’s illness. For calling you pathetic and clingy. You have to admit you’re weepy though.”
For once, I didn’t find his warped sense of humor funny. I got out of the car and grabbed my backpack. We walked into the building without speaking. I groaned when I saw Drew and a bunch of jocks in the foyer. I didn’t want to deal with them or see the excited faces of students. The stupid game wasn’t even today, yet everywhere I looked were flags and crimson, black, and gold decorations.
“Where’s St. James, Raine?” Drew asked, his gaze bouncing between me and Andris.
“Do we look like his keeper?” Andris asked rudely and steered me past them. For once I appreciated his rudeness. No one bothered us again.
I waited until they couldn’t hear me before I turned and smiled at Andris. “Thanks. I couldn’t deal with them. Not today. Are you going to give the coach Lavania’s message?”
“Yeah. You want to come?”
“No, thanks.” He walked me to my locker then disappeared. Cora was talking about tomorrow’s game with some girls near the lockers. They were already pumped even though the game was tomorrow. I couldn’t care less. Drowning in my own misery, I hardly paid attention to her as she prattled on. She didn’t even notice when I slipped away and headed upstairs.
Instead of entering my math classroom, I opened the make-out closet and turned on the lights. It was empty and big enough for four people. I wasn’t sure it would work, but I had to try.
“Catie! Marj! Jeannette!”
I waited. No one appeared. I closed my eyes and tried again. CATIE. MARJ. JEANETTE. GET DOWN HERE NOW.
I opened my eyes and waited. Nothing happened. Torin had gotten it wrong. I couldn’t summon the Norns. The first bell rang as I left the closet. People gave me weird looks as they hurried past. Let them speculate why I’d used the closet. I didn’t care.
Math and history classes felt empty without Torin’s presence. My father’s situation made his absence even more painful, or maybe it was the other way around. I couldn’t tell. I was miserable and angry. Third period was over when I saw Eirik waiting for me by the door.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
“I couldn’t sleep last night, so I went home and crashed. How are you holding up?”
I shrugged. “I tried to contact the Norns, but they didn’t appear.”
“What? Why?”
“I want to make a deal with them. I will willingly join them in exchange for my father’s life.”
He stopped in the middle of the hallway. “No, you can’t. What will Torin say?”
My throat thickened. “This is my decision. He’ll understand.”
“No, he won’t. That’s equivalent to being a nun, Raine. I’m not letting you do it.”
“I wasn’t asking for your permission. I wish I hadn’t told you.” I brushed past him.
“Raine!”
“Cafeteria is that way,” Eirik said.
“I’m not hungry.” They were walking away. I ran to catch up.
“RAINE!” Eirik yelled.
I ignored him, turned the corner, and saw the Norns disappear into the band room. Last time, I’d made a deal with them in that same room. I burst through the doors, my breathing harsh. I closed it softly behind me, my eyes swinging from face to face, my heart pounding. The temperature in the room was cooler, but that didn’t bother me anymore.
“How dare you summon us?” Marj demanded.
“Easy, Marj.” Catie moved closer. “Why did you call us, Lorraine?”
“Did you catch the person poisoning Eirik?” Jeannette asked.
I shook my head. “No, but I will. I want to make a deal. If I’m one of you—”
“A deal?” Marj asked, and I could almost taste her anticipation.
“Haven’t you learned something from our past interaction, young Mortal?” Jeannette asked. “We don’t make deals. We are Norns. We shape destinies.”
“Yet, I keep changing mine,” I snapped. “That either means I’m one of you, like you keep claiming, or I’m something else.” Uneasiness entered their eyes.
Silence followed, the shock in their eyes telling me I was on to something.
“What am I? What makes me so different? Why do you desperately want me to join you?”
“We saved you and because of that you are now one of us,” Marj said, but I knew she was lying. Then something Lavania had said weeks ago flashed through my head.
“I can see you in whatever form when others can’t, feel your presence, summon you, but the best part, I can stop you, at least your evil faction, from taking lives.”
“You got lucky,” Jeannette said in a sneer.
“Then I’ll get lucky again. If I’m just one of you, like you claim, I want to be in charge of two destinies. Eirik’s and my father’s.”
“Your father?” Catie asked. “Your father is already dead, Lorraine. We don’t deal with the dead.”
“He is not dead,” I snapped.
“According to the records, your father’s soul was reaped months ago and sent to Hel’s Hall,” Jeannette added.
“Your father is still alive?” Marj’s eyes narrowed.
I swallowed, uneasiness creeping through me. Had I made a mistake coming to negotiate with them? “Yes. So what?”
“So someone let him live.” Marj moved closer and slowly walked around me. “Someone who was supposed to reap his soul gave him a pass. Now who would do that for you, Lorraine?”
Torin. Oh no. Cold fingers crawled up my spine.
“Who would alter someone’s destiny without our say so?”
Dizziness washed over me. Behind me, the door flew opened and Eirik, Andris, and Ingrid walked in. They looked around.
“Are you alone?” Eirik asked.
They couldn’t see the Norns. Good. “Yes.”
“Phew,” Andris said. “We thought you were in here with the Norns making another deal.”
Marj and Jeannette wore tiny smiles that screamed they’d won. Catie looked pissed. I wasn’t sure whether she was angry with me, her sister crones, or Torin. What had he risked to bring my father back to me? And now, in my grief, I had clearly condemned him. Worse, my father was headed to Hel’s Hall for eternity.
“No, I just came for my oboe.” I hurried forward and grabbed my oboe case from the shelf.
“I didn’t know you were playing in the pep band tomorrow,” Andris added as we left the room.
“I’m not. I’m going home early, and I need to practice a piece.”
***
I wanted to curl up in bed and cry myself into oblivion, but I couldn’t afford it. I didn’t have the luxury. I had screwed up, and now Torin was in trouble. There must be a law against not reaping a soul. I spent the afternoon pouring over runes, combining single runes to create new ones. I had to find a rune that could cure my father.
As soon as Andris drove up, I raced downstairs and reached their garage before he closed the door. He was with Roger. Ingrid was missing. “Hi, Roger. Andris, we need to talk.”
“Really? Now? I have plans.”
“This won’t take long.” I waited while he opened the door for Roger. Then we went to my house. He made a beeline for the wet bar and poured a drink. “Did you know that Torin was supposed to reap my father’s soul?”
His eyes narrowed. “Who told you that?”
“It doesn’t matter how I know. My father is dying, and Torin’s been helping him manage the pain. The Norns told me he’s supposed to have died months ago.”
His eyes narrowed. “When did you talk to the Norns?”
“This afternoon in the band room.”
His eyes narrowed. “They were—”
“There when you guys arrived, yes. I offered them a deal. Put my father’s destiny in my hands and I’d willingly become a Norn.”
“Hel’s Mist, Raine!”
“I’m not going to let my father die if I can stop it, Andris. What’s the point of learning about runes and having abilities when I can’t help the people I love?”
Andris sighed. “We are in the business of the dead, sweetheart, while you want to keep your father alive. The two don’t mix. As for the deal, it won’t work. You can’t become a Norn. Torin won’t let you.”
I knew that. “The Norns mentioned sending my father to Hel’s Hall. Dad is an athlete. He runs and bikes. He belongs in Valhalla, not some cold hall in the middle of a mist.”
Andris drained his drink. “I think that’s Torin’s plan.”
I cocked my brow. “Plan? What plan?”
“Torin wasn’t supposed to reap your father, Raine. When he arrived at the hospital in Costa Rica, your father was dying and a Grimnir was waiting to take his soul. A very ornery and pain-in-the-ass Grimnir named Echo. Torin made a deal with him. I don’t know the details, and when we spoke he didn’t know either because of his scrambled memories.”
“Then how did you find out about it?”
“Echo bragged about it to me, the ass-hat.” He grimaced. “You have to meet him to understand why I can’t stand him. I told Torin about it when we spoke about you and your lovey-dovey past. According to Echo, Torin brought your father home to give him more time with you and your mother, and more time to prepare. If he’d died at that hospital, he would have gone straight to Hel’s Hall. Now…” He grinned.
Everything fell into place. If Dad died running or biking, Torin could take his soul to Valhalla. That had been his plan. That wasn’t the case anymore. The Norns knew Dad was alive. Nausea churned my insides.
“They know,” I whispered.
“Who?”
“The Norns know my father is alive and that Torin helped him. What’s the punishment for a Valkyrie changing a destiny?”
Andris shook his head. “I don’t know, but we must tell Torin what’s going on as soon as he gets back. Hey,” he gripped my shoulders, “it’s not bad. You could always say you spared your father.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You saved the lives of seven swimmers and changed their destiny. The Norns didn’t put you on Hel duty. Instead they only want you more.”
“They erased Torin’s memories.”
He scoffed. “Big deal. He got them back. Something about you scares them, Raine. Use that to your advantage. Do what you do best. Stick it to them.”
Maybe Andris was onto something. I jumped up and hugged him. “Thank you.”
“I could get used to this,” he mumbled, squeezing me.
Laughing, I wiggled out of his arms and stepped back. I also reached a decision. As we walked to his house, I told him about the origins of Eirik’s runes. “Torin sa
id to trust you. So if I need you, will you be there?”
Andris made a face. “What do you think? You want my cell phone number?”
“You have a cell phone?”
“Of course. I’m not barbaric like some people we know.” He recited his phone number and made me repeat it.
Back at home, I texted him and got a snarky response. I texted Eirik next then got busy cooking. Nothing complicated, just chicken stir-fry and rice. The look on Dad’s face when they came home was worth it. Dinner that night was a sober affair. Despite everything, I was still angry with Mom for keeping Dad’s condition a secret. She’d made him keep the secret from me.
“Do you want to bike on Saturday, Dad?” I asked before heading upstairs.
He and Mom exchanged a glance, and then he nodded. “Sure, pumpkin.”
Once again, I felt their stares as I left the kitchen. Upstairs, I got ready for bed, occasionally glancing at Torin’s window. I wish he could come back already. I hated going to bed not sure of what was going to happen tomorrow. Would the Norns come looking for me? Would Torin come back before they got to him? I missed him so much.
I was almost asleep when the portal opened and a warm breeze drifted into the room. Torin. I sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. Eirik. Disappointment washed over me.
“Don’t mind me,” he said.
Good Eirik—warm air. Evil Eirik—cold air. I’d have to remember that. “Where were you? I texted you about dinner.”
“I thought you might want to be alone with your parents. You know, to talk.”
I snorted. “What’s there to talk about? He’s dying, and she didn’t bother to tell me.”
“You’re angry with your mother?”
“What do you think?”
“That’s not fair.”
I pulled the covers over my head instead of answering him.
He yanked the covers down. “Who are you really angry with, Raine? Your father for becoming sick? Your mother for keeping his illness a secret? Torin for leaving when you need him the most? Or you for not noticing that your dad is sick?”
Immortals (Runes book 2) Page 35