Heroes (Eirik Book 2) (29 page)

“Because I was bitten, they thought I was one of the orphans,” I said, speaking slowly, completely distracted. He really was a beautiful man with an amazing body. “Um, let’s go inside so I can, uh, find you something to wear.” Despite my words, I’d moved and pressed my hand against his chest. His breath caught, and my eyes flew to his. I tried to move my hand, but he covered it, trapping it against his chest.

“It’s okay,” he whispered in a husky voice and moved my hand over his heart. “I don’t mind. Can you feel how fast it’s pounding?”

“Yes.”

“That’s how it reacts every time I’m near you or think about you.”

“Do I scare you or excite you?”

He grinned. “You scare the crap out of me. But in a good way.”

“How is that good?”

“Because it’s exciting too. More exciting than anything I’ve ever felt. Because I need you in more ways than you’ll ever know. I crave your touch and the sound of your laughter. Because you tempt me. Everything about you, Celestia Deveraux, tempts me. Your smile. Your scent. The way your eyes flash when you’re angry. The way you bite your lower lip when you concentrate. Your crooked smile.”

The intensity of his words would have scared a normal girl. I wasn’t normal, and I wasn’t afraid of things I didn’t understand. Grams had taught me to explore and embrace the unknown. It was the only way to conquer fears. His declaration made me want to connect with him even more. He’d complained that I only touched him when he was a dragon. That was about to change.

Slowly, I moved my hand up his chest to the pulse beating so hard at the base of his neck. I think he stopped breathing. He had a powerful neck. Endless masculine shoulders. The muscles flexed underneath my hands. His beauty was timeless. It spanned realms. He groaned when I moved to his chiseled jaw and my fingers touched his ear. I cupped his face while his eyelids dropped so he studied me lazily from under them. His lashes were ridiculously long and dark. I had to apply an extra coat of mascara to achieve half that length.

I leaned in and kissed his neck the way he’d kissed mine. A soft purr escaped his lips. That was his dragon side making sure his presence was felt. I got bolder and continued up his neck to his ear. I took his earlobe between my teeth and nipped. The familiar growl rumbled through his chest, the sound sending excitement through me.

“I claim you too, Eirik Baldurson,” I whispered. “And I’ll wait for you for as long as you need me to.” I leaned back and our eyes locked. My mouth went dry at the heat in his amber eyes. His eyes seemed tortured as though he was struggling not to haul me into his arms.

“Are you two kidding me?” Zack yelled through the window. “I have a lump the size of a tennis ball on the back of my head, Hayden is missing, and you two are making out?”

Oh crap! I’d completely forgotten about Hayden. I was officially the worst friend ever. I jumped from Eirik’s lap and hurried toward the house.

As though the fates—or the Norns—were conspiring against me, Wes’ Jeep turned the corner and moved toward our driveway. Explaining Eirik’s robe was going to be a nightmare. Maybe if I got him a T-shirt before Wes got inside the house, things would not be awkward.

“Come inside,” I said, my cheeks f
l
Stjärnamí
n
g when our eyes met. “I’ll get you something to wear.”

I turned, expecting him to follow. He didn’t. Instead, he stood and stretched, a smug smile on his lips as he stared at Wes. I swear he did things to make my life complicated. I waved to Wes, who was stepping out of his Jeep, and disappeared inside the house.

Zack was closing the freezer, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables in his hand. He pressed it to the back of his head.

“The bastard clipped me,” he griped.

If the Grimnir had hit him, his neck would be broken. I checked the bump. It didn’t look big. “You got that from falling on the driveway, Zack. Grimnirs don’t attack Mortals. It’s against their code.”

“I’m talking about the Suit. I tried to come to your rescue.”

Obviously, evil Immortals had no problem harming Mortals. The door opened and Eirik entered with Wes on his heels. Our eyes met, and I felt even worse. Poor Wes looked thoroughly confused. That was the second time he’d seen me making use of Eirik’s lap.

“Whatever you’re cooking smells good, Dimples,” Eirik said.

“Damn!” I ran to the stove and removed the chicken. The bacon was still brown, a sure sign I hadn’t botched the meal. Eirik appeared behind me, gripped the counter, and invaded my personal space. He was so close if I leaned back, our bodies would meet. I didn’t even try to fight it. I rested against him, welcoming his warmth and the intimacy.

“It looks good,” he whispered, planted a kiss on my shoulder, and reached for a piece.

I swatted his hand. “You eat like a starved convict, and that’s Dad’s dinner.” I turned and pressed on his chest to push him away, but he gave me a lost puppy look and I couldn’t do it. I wanted to kiss him instead. “I’m getting you something to wear, and then you’re going home, so Maera can feed you.” My eyes met Wes’, and I winced. His eyes were on us. I could just imagine what he was thinking. “We were by the water when he tripped and fell in,” I fibbed.

“Where did you put my wet clothes, Dimples?” Eirik asked.

I glared at him even as my body responded to his nearness. He leaned in. When his body pressed against mine, it took all my effort not to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. He was deliberately showing Wes I was his.

“You must have hit your thick head harder than I thought.” My voice came out unsteady. “Remember? They’re in the dryer. Which reminds me, one of the guys must have pushed Zack.”

He frowned. “My guys?”

“No, one of the others. Punch him in the nose for that.” I pushed his arm out of the way, slipped under it, and headed toward Zack and Wes. I didn’t make eye contact with them.

I entered my bedroom and stopped. Hayden had left her bag and car keys on my bed when we’d arrived. Anger surged again and gripped my chest. Bastard Immortals.

“You okay?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Eirik. He stood in the doorway as though waiting for an invitation.

“Yeah. I have a shirt you can borrow.” I pulled out one of my oversize, sleeping T-shirts from my shelf and held it up. It had a picture of a Witch on a broom and the words,
Ain’t a Harley, But it Gets You Places.

“Cute, but I won’t need it. However, I must remember to get Torin one.” He removed an artavus from the pocket of his pants and glanced at me. “How will you explain my disappearance to Wus?”

“You are one of our neighbors and you left through the back door.”

“I don’t do back doors, Dimples.” He etched the runes in the air, and a portal opened, cold air rushing out. “Litr!”

The Dwarf appeared in the visible area of the cave and peered at us. He was dressed like an Eskimo, his bulbous nose red and eyes watery. In his short arms was a bundle.

“Sorry I dragged you out here.” Eirik went inside the cave and took the bundle. “Thank you. Did Karle arrive yet?”

“No.”

“Damn. Okay. Tell my parents I might be coming home late.”

Litr nodded when our eyes met. “Miss Celestia.”

“Sorry for all this, Litr.”

“It’s not your fault.” The look he shot Eirik said he blamed him for his miserable state. “I’m going back to the hall now. Do you need anything else, Baldurson?”

“Actually, if you could—”

“Go, Litr,” I interrupted. “I’ll make sure he gets whatever he needs.”

The Dwarf bowed. “Thank you, Miss Celestia.”

He took off, and the portal closed. Eirik unrolled the bundle, which turned out to be his trench coat wrapped around his pants, boots, and a shirt.

“I’ll let you change.”

“How about what I need? You just interrupted my request for food.”

“We have leftover pizza from lunch.”

“And one of the bacon-wrapped spicy chicken pieces? Please?”

“Fine.” I left him seated on my bed, closed the door, and went to join my cousin and Wes. They were talking in low voices in the living room. Hopefully, Zack wasn’t telling Wes things he didn’t need to know.

“How’s your head?” I asked.

“I’ll live. Later, bro,” Zack added, getting up. He and Wes bumped fists, then he followed me into the kitchen. “What is he doing about Hayden?”

“He has people searching for her. He’s going to join the search.”

“He’s the son of a god. Why can’t he do something godly and find her?”

I glanced toward the living room to make sure Wes wasn’t eavesdropping on our conversation. “They don’t work like that. Think of Greek gods and goddesses, and how they’re in charge of different things. That’s how Norse gods are.”

“Yeah, they sit in Asgard and party, and occasionally come to mess with our women’s heads. Should we call Uncle Richard?”

“There’s nothing Dad can do about this, or Tammy’s disappearance.” I covered the chicken and placed it by the mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. “Just like there was nothing he could do for Eirik four months ago. Eirik will figure out what to do.”

“Where is
he
?”

“Changing in my room.”

“Into what?”

I sighed. Zack was pissed off about Hayden, but I wasn’t about to let him take it out on Eirik. “One of his people brought him clothes through a portal. Look, it’s not his fault this happened to Hayden, Zack.”

“We don’t know that. Besides, it’s his fault you’re mixed up in this.” He started to leave the room.

“No, Zack. I’m mixed up in this because of my gift. If I wasn’t gifted—”

“You would not have landed in his castle in the first place if it weren’t for him. Don’t leave the house. I’ll be back.” He continued to the living room and said something to Wes. Then the door opened and closed.

Men!
I removed the leftover pizzas from the fridge, arranged them on a plate, covered it with a paper towel, and punched a few buttons on the microwave. I knew the moment Eirik entered the living room. He looked more like a reaper now than a god. The microwave dinged.

“Make sure she doesn’t go anywhere until I come back,” he ordered Wes.

“Why?” From Wes’ voice, Eirik didn’t intimidate him. I liked that.

“Because I say so.”

“Dude, who the hell are you? And why should I listen to you?”

“Her life is in danger, Lyons,” Eirik snapped. “So no going to the meeting at her school without me.”

“Eirik!” I piled the pizza slices back in one of the boxes, added chicken, and hurried to the living room. “I’m not in danger.”

“This is not negotiable, Dimples. I’ll be back in a few to escort you to the meeting.”

I searched his face. I couldn’t read him, yet I knew something had happened in the last few minutes. Had he talked to his people while he was changing? Portals only took seconds to create.

“What’s going on? This meeting is important. Even you said I couldn’t leave with you to get Hayden because I had to go.”

“I’ve changed my mind. Your life
is
more important. If the Mouton woman comes for you, Lyons will tell her to take a hike. Won’t you, Lyons?” Now he was condescending.

Wes bristled. “Of course.”

“Good boy.” Eirik crossed the space between us while I watched him warily and a little annoyed. Instead of taking the plate, he took the piece of chicken and two slices. “Thanks, Dimples. I’ll eat the rest later. Do not leave without me. If anything happens to you, I will cause the kind of mayhem this town has never seen.”

He was so melodramatic. The problem was he would do it and not lose sleep over it. “You talked to your people?”

“Briefly. Wait for me.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead and headed for the door. The smug smile he flashed before he closed the door said he was so sure I’d obey him. When he didn’t pass the window, I knew he had gone invisible. Luckily, Wes was too busy looking at me and didn’t notice.

“Do you want to come to the kitchen and keep me company?” I said.

Wes got up, but instead of following me, he glanced out the window. “Where did he go?”

“Home. He’s a neighbor from down the street.” I felt guilty for lying to him, but I couldn’t tell him the truth. He followed me to the kitchen and grabbed a stool while I removed a packet of gravy from the cupboard. I could feel Wes’ eyes on me. “Don’t worry about Eirik. He likes to boss me around, but I usually ignore him.”

“Is he from your school?”

In other words, was Eirik a Witch? “Yes.”

“What did he mean when he said you’re in danger?”

“He exaggerates. The Witches who died were doing séances, so he thinks everyone with clairvoyant abilities is in danger. I’m fine. As soon as Dad comes home, we’ll leave for the meeting.”

CHAPTER 17. THE IMMORTALS

EIRIK

Focusing on Nara, I created a portal. It opened into the heavily paneled foyer with plush chairs and lavish décor I’d seen while in Celestia’s bedroom. It had a country club feel to it even though it appeared deserted, except for Nara flirting with the Immortal manning the desk by the entrance. Maybe not flirting. The man looked petrified, the courage runes on his skin obviously not helping.

She must have felt the portal open because she was behind the guy before he could see me. She twisted his neck and dragged his body to the door behind him. I saw a pile of bodies before she closed the door.

“You’ve been busy,” I said.

“Damn Immortals keep wandering in here.” She straightened and grinned. “I’d forgotten how much fun it is to kick ass. This way.” She started toward the double doors on the other end of the foyer, her duster flying behind her.

First Trudy, now Nara. I was surrounded by bloodthirsty women.

“What’s going on?”

“According to Liam, the front desk lackey, members of this club have been searching for the Norns to change their destinies for centuries,” she said. “They are ancient, pissed, and tired of living on Earth, yet they are unwilling to use the guillotine and self-decapitate.” She chuckled as though the thought pleased her. “Damn cowards. It’s simple really. If you think your life stinks, do something about it instead of hurting others.”

Her reasoning was warped, but I understood what she meant.

“Daiku and Ranger followed the bastards who’d kidnapped Hayden to this private club, which happens to be owned by one Lord Worthington.” She glanced at me. “They are holding a meeting tonight. Liam was kind enough to tell me where while the boys searched for Hayden and the rest of the orphans. These Immortals want to join the gods or move back and forth between the realms like we do. Idiots. What do they think we do when not reaping? Sit around and have tea with the goddess? They resent us without understanding or appreciating what we do.”

I’d gone into a partial shift the moment she’d mentioned Lord Worthington. She entered the hallway ahead of me and groaned. Four Immortals were walking toward us.

“Take out the ones on our right. I’ll deal with the two on the left. No killing. Just a clean neck twist.” Despite her warning, she wore a mean look in her eyes, like she couldn’t wait to gut the Immortals.

“Hi,” she waved and headed left. “We are a bit lost.”

“Then ask the front desk manager for directions,” one of the men snapped.

“He’s not there right now. Could you direct us to the meeting hall?”

“The meeting is for senior members.”

“Good. Because I’m over a thousand years old,” Nara returned, and thuds followed. Since her people had been closer, she got hers first and the two guards walking toward me knew we were intruders. They engaged their runes and rushed me at high speed.

I ran forward, feigned a left, jumped, and stepped on the right wall, catching the first guy on the side of his head with a downward punch. His head connected with the other wall and down he went. The second guard had been running too closely to him and nearly tripped over him. She spun, stopped, and leaped at me. I caught her on the side of her neck with the heel of my boot. She staggered backward, cursing, but recovered quickly and pulled out two daggers from the back of her pants. She pressed a button and two more blades separated from the first. She threw the first blade, hoping to distract me, then went into hyper speed and dropped on the floor, probably hoping to slice my legs from under me.

I jumped high, the blade she’d thrown catching me in the gut. I ignored it, focused on her, and swung
Gunnlögi.
It missed her legs, but caught her on the hips and sent her flying across the hallway. She landed in a heap a few doors away. I looked down and winced from imagined pain. One of the three blades had found its way between scales and pierced my skin. The other two were broken.

The first guard was up and came after me. I ducked and blocked the punch, catching him on the side of his head. I didn’t give him breathing space this time. I grabbed his head and twisted. He dropped like a log. I looked up and caught Nara staring at me. She was alone in her side of the hallway.

“Are you done goofing around?” Nara asked.

“I wasn’t goofing,” I snapped.

“I’ve watched you fight. You could have taken them out in half that time. They don’t deserve your sympathy. They’re a part of this club. Dump them in one of the rooms.”

I went into super speed, grabbed the guy by his shirt, and threw him inside a storage closet with cleaning supplies. The woman must have snapped her neck when I’d hit her with
Gunnlögi.
I confirmed it before picking her up and dropping her next to the guy. Hopefully, no one would notice the blood in the hallway. The color blended with the pattern on the carpet runner. I threw the blades inside, closed the door, and runed it shut.

I caught up with Nara as she entered a heavily paneled hallway, her duster slapping the wall. It was deserted, except for paintings of Immortal men and women on the walls. They appeared to be in their prime with no gray hair or triple chins, but their eyes didn’t smile. This building must be where they plotted mayhem.

“Where’s Rhys?”

“Searching with the others. I’m taking out the staff, or members stupid enough to wander away from the meeting, and you can attend the meeting and find out what’s going on. We’ll join you once the building is secure.” She slowed down. “Someone is coming.”

I angled my head, but I couldn’t hear a thing. She lowered her voice as she continued.

“When it comes to people hurting little ones, I will kick ass from here to Hel and back. I can’t believe we missed it all these years. Erased memories. No one talking to us. Getting close and then losing the trail.” She pointed at a door, flattened herself against the one opposite it, and touched her lips.

I slid into place and waited. I could hear them now. Two men were talking and chuckling, their voices coming closer. We were at the end of the hallway, and I could see winding stairs ahead and a ramp going down.

The men didn’t expect us. The moment they entered the hallway, we were on them. I twisted the neck of mine before his fist left his side. He went out without a sound. Nara was scary fast and hers didn’t see her coming either. We dragged them inside the room behind me.

Nara peered into what appeared to be a second, inner foyer. She pointed at the ramp, and I nodded. We moved forward, staying close to the wall and keeping our eyes open.

“Where was I when we were rudely interrupted?”

She wanted to talk now? “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, you need to understand that the Immortals have been searching for a way into the other realms for centuries. Now they’ve found one. The orphans. The poor, helpless kids have been on the run from them while we thought they were hiding from us. Someone somewhere told Immortals about the orphans. It’s only a matter of time before they learn about Celestia and her open invitation to Helheim.”

Something cold settled in my chest. “That’s not going to happen.”

“What if they have Tammy? It could happen.”

She’d never heard the way Celestia talked about Tammy. There was no way the woman would betray her.

“Not happening.”

“A person would do anything to save those she loves. Even turn against her people. Betrayal often comes from those you least suspect.” A haunted look entered her eyes. Somehow, I knew that last part was personal.

“Where are we?” I asked, hoping to get her off her soapbox.

“An exclusive country club in New England. You can’t open a portal in and out of any room below the floor we just left. This ramp winds to the basement, where they have their secret conference room.”

“Hey,” someone called from behind us. I glanced over my shoulder at the buff guy. I had no time for this. I threw
Gunnlögi
without whipping it and directed it to his neck.

The man tried to duck, but the mace followed him. It wrapped around his massive neck and tightened. I redirected the mace back to my hand and it dragged the guard along. When I unwrapped it, the man’s head lolled to the side.

“Now, that’s what I’m talking about,” Nara said.

I wasn’t sure I knew this Nara. She always seemed so calm and cold. She was busy admiring my handiwork, and she didn’t see the second guard enter the hallway from behind her. He threw a dagger.

“Duck!”

She turned, caught the blade, and flipped it back at the guy. She used her speed runes and was right behind him when the blade sank into his chest. In seconds, the man was at her feet with a broken neck. The women had moves. I was sparring with her next time I visited the gym.

“Damn, blood,” I heard her mutter.

I helped her hide the two men and was surprised when she added sleeping runes on them. “That should keep them out of commission for a couple of hours.”

“I didn’t rune the first two I took out.”

“I’ll take care of them. I’m supposed to bring you this far then go back to Rhys. He’s going to need my help with the parents when we find them. There’s only one guard at the entrance, but I can take him out if you want.” From her tone, she would love to do it.

“Now you insult me.”

“You are a noisy fighter. I’m the opposite.”

“Blame my dragon. Growling is how he shows his emotions. Happy, annoyed, or scared, he growls. Go. I’ll be fine.” I waited until she turned a corner before shrugging off the coat. I held it in front of me to hide the bloodstain left by the three-bladed knife and headed down the ramp. I could remove stains from my skin, but had yet to master cleaning my clothes.

Instead of one man, two guarded the closed double doors, and they heard me before I cleared the ramp.
Lull them into letting their guard down, then attack.

I stopped in the middle of the landing and stared at them as though waiting for them to open the door and bow. One of them came toward me.

“Invitation, please,” he said.

“I don’t need one. They’ll want to hear what I have to say.”

“No one attends these meetings without a special invitation,” his partner added.

“I don’t need an invitation. I’m one of the orphans.”

They looked at each other and laughed.

“Orphans run, the damn cowards,” the first one who’d spoken said. His words pissed me off, and I wanted to ram my fist down his throat.

“The little punks don’t want to share their knowledge of the gods, yet we are supposed to be united.”

“Those little punks have never seen this side of the Bifrost, you piece of shit.” They stopped smiling, and just like that, my strategy to lull them into letting their guard down went out the window.

Scales covered my arms, and my hands and fingers changed shape and size. I gripped the neck of the first guard with one giant, scaly paw and twisted. At the same time, I whipped out the leather trench coat, wrapped it around the second guard, and yanked him toward me. I let the one with the broken neck crumble at my feet and focused my attention on the remaining one.

He tried to loosen my grip. I growled, and he froze.

“That’s better. I’m going to let you go, and when I do, don’t move or make sound. I’m starving and you don’t want to be my appetizer.” A tremor shot through him and a telltale stench of urine reached me. I let him go.

“What are you?” he asked, rubbing his neck, his eyes volleying between my face and my humongous hands. I knew my eyes were slitted and my cheeks scaled. My voice had also deepened to a low rumble.

“An orphan and a dragon.” I lifted my hand. My nails had also elongated and sharpened. He swallowed, watching them. “Don’t worry. I love my meat raw, not soiled. Don’t you guys know anything about us, Immortal?”

He shook his head. Now that I could focus on him, I saw he looked young. He couldn’t have been more than my age when he became an Immortal.

“We are not humans,” I said. “We are part god or part giant.” And part Dwarves, but that wouldn’t scare him unless he knew about their magical weapons and what they could do with them. “We can shift into things that make you shit in your pants.” I grinned when he looked down, and his face turned red. The poor bastard hadn’t even known he’d pissed on himself. “Now that I’m here, the orphans are done running. Look at me.” He hesitated. I growled, and his eyes raced to my face. “I’m going to spare you because I’m saving my appetite for them.” I pointed at the door with one sharp talon. “But I have some instructions for you. Follow them to the letter.” I didn’t have to say, “Or else.”

He swallowed and nodded.

“Good. First, hide your friend in a closet or a room, and make sure he doesn’t wake up for another hour.” He nodded. “Then guard these doors like your life depends on it, which it does. No one is allowed to come inside. If they do, I will go full dragon and start with you.”

I moved closer and sniffed. He cringed, trembling.

“I know your scent now, punk. If you run, I’ll hunt you down. If you call for help, I’ll find you. If you so much as step inside this room and sneeze, I will take my time chewing on your limbs while you’re still alive. But if you do your job”—I grinned—“I’ll not only spare you. I’ll allow you to join my household. Whatever you hear,
do not
open these doors. Do you understand?”