Demons (Eirik Book 1) (17 page)

“Trudy’s mother is the head of the kitchen. Her name is Maera. She might know where she’s hiding. Or she could be with your mother. She’s her personal maid or something. Can I ask you something?”

He nodded and lowered his eyelids, but not before I saw the flash of pain when I’d mentioned his mother. My heart ached for him. The pain from the way she’d treated him must still be fresh. I decided not to mention her again.

“I saw glowing tattoos on your body earlier when you were working out.”

His eyes narrowed. “Interesting. But then again, your soul is here, so you would.”

“Okay, you’ve lost me.”

“Most Mortals don’t see runes. That’s what they are. Runes, not tattoos. Most Mortals don’t see them unless someone already marked them. But since your soul is here, it makes sense that you can see them. Did you notice my mother’s too? The glowing ones on her left and the black ones on her right?”

So much for not talking about his mother. “Uh, no. I didn’t see black ones. They were all glowing all over her body.”

He grew pensive. “Interesting.”

“What is?”

“That you don’t see the black runes covering half her body. They must be like Cora’s, designed to attract souls, so they glow.”

“Cora?”

“My girl… A girl I knew”—he rubbed his eyes—“
know
back on Earth. She was Mortal like you and couldn’t see the runes until after an evil Immortal marked her with strange runes and she started seeing souls. She thought she was going crazy and ended up in a psych ward. When she finally left”—anger flashed in his eyes—“a Grimnir mistook her for someone else and thrust her into our world. She was dealing with things she didn’t understand. Scared and helpless. Someone, an Idun-Valkyrie, should have explained to her what was happening. Instead, he took it upon himself to do it. She wasn’t even a Witch but he…” He scrubbed his face and exhaled.

He sounded frustrated. Who the hell was this Cora?
My girl
? Had he meant to say my girlfriend? How many did he have? There was Maliina, the dead ex he was obsessed with. Now Cora. It was obvious whatever happened to her still affected him.

Instead of asking him about Cora, I went for a safe topic. “So, the tattoos on your body are called runes?”

“Yes, and their story is long, so if you want to hear it, you better strip and get in the tub. I’ll see what Litr can find in the way of clothes.”

“I told you I’m not changing out of my clothes.” That would be admitting I wasn’t leaving. “I have to go home today. I don’t want my father coming back from New Orleans to a house full of Witches trying to bring me back from Hel.” That would be funny if it weren’t true. “He might put me under lock and key forever and ban my magical activities.”

Eirik studied me pensively, and once again, I wondered if he ever smiled. “Is he gifted, too?”

“No, but Mom was.” I winced at the slip. “Mom is, but he accepted what I am a long time ago.”

“That’s good. It’s tough when they don’t and you have to hide what you know.” There was sadness in his voice and a haunted look entered his eyes. “Cora, the girl I just mentioned, her parents don’t know what she’s become. She’s an Immortal now and helps souls find closure. She allows them to possess her and listens to their thoughts; then Valkyries and Grimnirs reap them. She can’t share that part of her life with her parents.”

Okay, enough with the Cora this and Cora that. Possession was a foreign territory to me and Grams had warned me to never try it, yet this girl allowed souls to possess her? She sounded… crazy. Oh, who was I kidding? She sounded selfless and perfect. And from Eirik’s voice, he was totally into her.

Feeling angry for no apparent reason, I stood. “I’ll take that bath now.”

He didn’t leave right away. He was lost in thought. I studied him. The rock-hard abs, the chiseled face, the sad, tortured amber eyes that made me want to walk across the room and hug him. He wouldn’t appreciate that. He was such a beautiful guy, and he belonged to some faceless, perfect girl named Cora.

“Dimples?”

The nickname had lost its appeal. “I would like some privacy.” I grabbed two towels off the stone bed and went to the bathing area. “Find Rhys, please, because I can’t wait to get the hell out of here.”

~*~

EIRIK

What just happened? One minute we were discussing runes and the next Celestia’s eyes were flashing with annoyance. I listened to her remove her clothes and my mouth went dry. She draped her sweater over the partition, then the gray leggings, a black tank top, pink silk bra, and matching panties.

I imagined her standing naked and it became difficult to breathe. I realized I’d been holding my breath. I inhaled and much-needed air filled my lungs. I couldn’t deny it anymore. I was attracted to Celestia.

How could I be attracted to two such different women? Celestai and Cora were like the sun and the moon. One was bright and warm, while the other was seductive and mysterious. My goal should be Cora and winning her back, yet my thoughts kept returning to Celestia. She, of course, just wanted to go home. She had a family and friends waiting for her. Possibly a boyfriend.

The water sloshed as she got into the tub. I imagined her sinking in the hot pool of water, leaning back. A soft moan came from behind the partition and I knew I had to leave.

“Thanks for telling the guys to set it up, Eirik,” she called out. “The soap smells nice. Can I use it on my hair?”

How the hell should I know?

“I may have to do that last. I wonder if they can bring in more water for rinsing.”

“I’ll ask them.” My imagination had gone into overdrive and I needed distance fast. I started for the door.

“Eirik?”

I stopped and looked back. “What?”

“Don’t forget to come back. I want to hear about runes.”

I was already out the door and could see the guards by the stairs. “I’m going to find Rhys.”

“When you’re done with him. Please. I’m not going to be around forever and I want to learn about your world as much as possible before I go back home.”

I couldn’t resist her plea. She had done so much for me. And I shouldn’t act like a jerk just because I was attracted to her and she had no interest in me. “Fine.”

“Oh gee, such enthusiasm,” she teased. “Don’t leave anything out. What are they? How do you get them? How come you and your mother have them? Are they inherited? Why do they attract souls? Is that why I was drawn to you? Who else—?”

“Celestia?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

She laughed. “That’s so not cool.”

“You talk too much.”

“You were about to bail on me.” The water sloshed again. “Okay. I’ll stop asking questions. Witch’s honor. I would have said scout’s honor, but I was never in the Girl Scouts. They didn’t allow our kind.”

She didn’t exactly sound torn up about it. Shaking my head, I left the room, but the guards, already anticipating orders, hurried forward. “We need more hot water in thirty minutes for the rinse.”

They bowed briefly.

“Who do I talk to if I’m looking for a particular Grimnir?”

“Idun-Grimnirs,” one of the guards said.

“Or the kitchen staff,” the second guard chimed in. “Maera knows all of them.”

“Okay, you”—I pointed at the first guard—“tell Litr we need more hot water.” I nodded at the second guard. “You, open the portal to Maera and come with me.”

The kitchen was stifling and the blend of scents overpowering. I could see the Grimnirs eating through a wide window. Echo and a wrinkled old man walked past before they disappeared out of sight. I wondered if he and the rest of the Grimnirs knew where I’d been the last two weeks. The whole realm probably knew. I didn’t see Nara or Rhys.

The conversation with Maera was brief. She kept bowing and studying me on the sly as though searching for something. She must have seen me when I first arrived. Had I changed? Grown skinnier? Angrier? Half the time I wasn’t sure how to feel since Celestia had come back and rescued me. That bundle of energy might drive me crazy with her incessant chatter and lush lips, but I owed her.

Was I still angry? Yes, but I wasn’t sure who I was pissed at anymore. Echo for stealing Cora, my father for colluding with the Norns and sneaking me out of Hel, the Norns for kidnapping my sister, or my Immortal guardians for suppressing my abilities. The last one filled me with frustration. I wanted to know the truth, but at the same time, I was afraid of what I could shift into. Yet, it was the first thing I had to face and embrace before I could move forward. My sister needed me. My mother would once she learned of my sister’s existence. And my father would, too, once Mom learned about what he’d done. But before I could be there for them, I had to face my personal demons and embrace what I was. Rhys might shed some light on the marks on my back and what they meant.

“Tell him to come see me as soon as he arrives at the hall,” I told Meara.

“Yes, Baldurson,” she said, bowing.

“Is your daughter around?”

A gleam entered her eyes. “Which one?”

“Trudy.”

The light in her eyes dimmed and she sighed. “Oh, my little Trudy. She is the impossible one. Always getting in trouble, and that’s why your mother took her under her wings. She is with your mother right now. I could send word that you want to see her. Again.”

The thought of seeing my mother filled me with anger. “No, that won’t be necessary. Thank you, ma’am.”

“Don’t call me that,
dýrr
. Maera is fine.”

I left the hot kitchen and follow the guard back to my dungeon. Back to the girl I owed so much and wanted to keep, yet I couldn’t. Shouldn’t. She didn’t belong in my world. I couldn’t protect her from my mother, not when I was supposed to focus on me. And when I was done with my obligations, I was going after Cora.

Celestia had to go home.

She was humming a tune softly under her breath. There was something familiar about the tune, yet I couldn’t place it.

“Eirik?” she called when I entered.

“What’s that tune you’re singing?”

“What tune?”

“When I came in you were humming it. It sounded familiar.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize it. Probably some pop tune. Okay, start talking. Please.”

I dropped on the bed. Her scent was on the pillows she’d used last night, and her coat and hat were still where I’d hidden them yesterday. I moved them to the stone bed, then rearranged the pillows. I could still find her scent. I inhaled and shook my head. I was a sucker for punishment.

“Are you still there?” Celestia asked.

“Yeah,” I said in a voice I didn’t recognize. I cleared my throat before starting with Alfadir Odin and how he’d acquired the runes. “He’s a very curious man, always searching for knowledge, sacrificing something or going through some ordeal to acquire more. He gave up his right eye to gain the wisdom to save the world. To gain runes and their meanings, he hung from a tree for nine days without water or food with a wound on his side. The right blend of runes can have a powerful effect on a person when etched on a body with a runic blade. Runes can give you immortality. There are healing runes, strength runes, speed runes, invisibility runes… I could go on forever.”

“Holy shit!” I heard her mutter.

I wasn’t sure what her reaction meant. I was sure people reacted differently to the knowledge of runes and the gods. When my Immortal guardians had revealed who I really was and what they were, I’d been furious. I hated people who kept secrets. Raine had been shocked while Cora… I had missed how she’d reacted. Probably scared.

“Alfadir taught the Asgardian gods runic magic. He is one of the most powerful Witches in Asgard because he combines runic magic with Seidr magic Goddess Freya brought from Vanaheim. He is a pretty cool guy.”

“Sounds like you’ve met him.”

What was Celestia’s scent? Not knowing was driving me crazy. Cora went for glamorous, sensual, and romantic scents. Raine preferred fresh—citrus, aquatic, and fruity—unless she turned up the heat; then it was exotic. I turned my head to the pillow and inhaled. Rich, spicy, totally edible, a blend of wild flowers and woodsy spices. It suited her and her witchy ways.

“Eirik?”

“Yes, uh, I did meet him. Before I came here.”

Water sloshed as though she was turning or sitting up. My imagination went into overdrive and my body responded. Damn it! At this rate, I’d be hiding from her.

“You’ve visited Asgard?”

She sounded amazed. The old me would have played that out. “Yes. He and Frigg wanted to meet me. It was my first time there too, just like it’s my first time here.”

Silence followed and I knew she was processing and trying to figure out the dynamics of my family. My family was dysfunctional. Completely fucked up.

“Anyway, after Alfadir—that’s Odin—taught the gods runic magic, Heimdall passed on the knowledge to worthy humans.”

I explained how Idun-Valkyries and Idun-Grimnirs chose and gave Mortals the gift of immortality through runes. How the runes were etched on the body by the use of artavo and their effect on a person.