Heroes (Eirik Book 2) (30 page)

He nodded.

“Good.” I ran a claw along his cheek, leaving a trail of blood. “Don’t disappoint me, Immortal.” I pushed open the door and glanced back at him. He was already lifting his friend. I entered the conference and closed the door.

~*~

The room was a small lecture hall with stadium-style seating. The only lights came from the bright screen on the stage. A man with a Van Dyke beard was on the podium yapping about something.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness. There were stairs on either side of the door, so hopefully upstairs wasn’t as packed as downstairs. I headed that way. It was empty. Instead of sitting, I stood by the rail, rested my arms on the top, and studied the audience.

The light from the screen fell on faces of men and women who could pass for thirty to fifty years old. Men appeared to prefer suits while some women wore pearls or handmade accessories like Raine’s mother. There were about two hundred of them.

My focus shifted to the speaker—Mr. Van Dyke Beard. Everything he did on his tablet appeared on the screen behind him. There was a map of the US with red marks on it. There was a concentration of red in Oregon—the Portland area and Kayville, where I had grown up.

“As you can see, the children of the Norns have been spotted all over the country, but every time my team gets close to an enclave, we usually find them gone and no one remembers ever seeing them. Not even their neighbors. In the last six months alone, it happened in Salem, Nashville, San Francisco, and outside Portland in Kayville.”

That must have been me. And where in Hel’s Mist did they come up with the “children of the Norns?” Those old hags shunned men.

“We’ve always believed they have the ability to sense us or powerful clairvoyants keeping tabs on us, so we came up with a new approach.” Van Dyke Beard paused to study the faces of his audience. “We decided to use young Witches to spy for us. Since I own dozens of gyms and dojos across the country and know covens across the state, I convinced young Witches to sell us information in exchange for Immortality.”

Laughter rippled across the room.

Pompous bastards!
The more I listened to him, the more I wanted to crush them. Not just him, but the whole lot of them. Using young Witches to further their agenda just because they had money was despicable. The practice of using the weak was as old as time, but it was personal with these Immortals because of my sister. Even if Einmyria was not involved, I’d still be ticked off because of the innocent, helpless orphans.

“They reported to us whenever there were new Witches”—he used air quotes—“in town acting strange. These children of the Norns take a while to reveal their gifts, but they always do. They can’t help themselves.” Chuckles met his words again. “In the last year, we’ve had dozens of false leads, until last night when I received a call from a young man I trust. He is very gifted and serious about acquiring immortality. I knew he wouldn’t call me unless he had something worth reporting. We checked it out, and it led us to our first orphan.”

“How is this orphan going to help us find the others?” a man with a familiar British accent asked, and I searched for him. He was seated at the front. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew that voice.

“They have a special bond that causes them to gravitate toward each other, Lord Worthington,” the speaker said. “We need to give them a reason to come to us. We believe if one of them is in danger, the others will come to help.”

“In other words, you are going to use your catch as bait?” Lord Worthington asked.

“Yes.”

“Can we hear from this young Witch you mentioned?” he asked.

The speaker snapped his fingers, and a woman escorted a young man wearing a varsity wrestling jacket to the podium. He was tall and heavyset with dark hair, and he smirked as he stared at the audience.
Moron.
I hated traitors.

“How do we know he’s telling us the truth?” someone asked.

The speaker slapped the guy’s back. “Tell them, Alejandro.”

The traitor traded places with the speaker. “I was at a club Friday night with friends I’ve known since childhood when I was introduced to the girl. Hayden.”

I leaned forward. Celestia had mentioned leaving Hayden, her cousins, and her friends at the club on Friday. Alejandro must have been one of them. If he mentioned Celestia, he was dead.

“She claimed to be a Witch but didn’t act like one,” Alejandro continued. “There was something off about her. I tried to find out more about her, but she was vague and even got angry when I asked her a few personal questions. I mean she’s dating my best friend, and I have to look out for him.” He glanced at Van Dyke Beard, who nodded. “My suspicions grew when my friend’s cousin got up to dance with some dude and she followed them. I’m not sure what that was about, but I know Celestia.”

I growled.

“She often uses her visions to help the police, so I’m used to seeing her disappear before she goes into a trance. The girl, Hayden, must have done something to me because I lost track of time and couldn’t remember anything that happened after that. She’d wiped my memories. I was on the dance floor when Celestia returned.”

Damn it! Stop saying her name.

“I saw Hayden leave the table, so I followed and overheard her telephone conversation with her mother. She was worried about leaving another town she’d called home for years and starting new elsewhere. So I called Mr. Sandavol.”

Someone was coming upstairs. I tensed and let my dragon senses take over. His scent reached me first and I relaxed. Rhys.

“We had her family store under surveillance.” Van Dyke/Sandoval had the mic. “But now we have her.”

The applause followed, and my tolerance meter shot through the roof.

“They’re wrong,” Rhys said, coming to stand beside me. “We have her.”

“Tammy and the kids?”

“Still missing.”

Damn!
“Where in Hel’s Mist are they? The Webbers?”

“Not here either and no one has reaped their souls. They must have escaped. We need to leave before they realize we’re here. The others are waiting by the entrance.”

“Screw leaving. They’re not getting away with this. Go. Take Hayden to safety. I need to get that idiot Witch friend of Celestia’s out of here and have a little chat with these people.”

“Then I’ll stay to help.”

“No, Rhys. Go. What I plan to do might affect you, too.”

He cursed, and I grinned. He’d seen what my berserker powers could do. I hadn’t planned on using it, but these Immortals needed to be taught a lesson for terrorizing those kids.

“Take her to Eljudnir. She can’t go back to her place because they might be waiting, or to Celestia’s for obvious reasons, and her mother is still missing. She has no one. I’ll explain everything to my mother when I get home.”

“Okay. And FYI, Nara took out the guard you left at the door.”

“Why? I promised not to rip his head off. That guaranteed his cooperation.”

“She has trust issues.”

“And an insatiable thirst for violence,” I added.

Rhys chuckled. “That too.”

“The two of you should stay with Celestia until I get there. I have a feeling she’s going to disobey me.”

“Got it.” Rhys headed downstairs. Sandoval was still yapping about how they’d negotiate with the Norns once they had all their children. The very idea of Norns negotiating with anyone was hilarious. They’d just wipe their memories and turn them into hobos. Now that was a wonderful idea.

I watched the entrance open and close behind Rhys. With the guard gone, I needed to make sure it stayed shut. I pulled
Gunnlögi
and sent it flying. It flew above the heads of the audience.

The whirring sound attracted attention and in seconds, people pointed and followed its progress across the room. I directed it to the door. The head punched a hole through one door, whipped, created a second hole through the other, and wrapped around the handle. They would have to remove it to open the door, and that was impossible. The noise level of the audience went up.

“Up here,” I called out, using my dragon’s voice. It echoed around the theater. The audience looked up. Others scrambled to their feet to see me better. This was the moment Celestia would add, “I come in peace” without cracking a smile. She was adorable, but man, was I crazy about her. “Ignore
Gunnlögi.
It’s making sure no one comes inside while we talk.”

The noise level rose. Some idiots in the back tried to remove my mace with little success. I gave them a few minutes before lifting my hand. Silence swept the room.

“Where do I start?” I leaned against the balcony rail. Someone directed the light at me. Usually, I’d mind, but I wanted the Immortals to focus on me. My eyes slitted, so I could control the amount of light entering them. “I’ll start with Alejandro. You are a disgrace as a friend and a Witch. How could you betray your best friend by betraying his girl? Zack loves Hayden, you moron.”

Alejandro stared at me in shock, his face ashen.

“Get out of here and hope she doesn’t tell him because you won’t just lose your best friend. He has a mean left hook, and he will beat you to a pulp before you finish your apology. Go. I’ll make sure the mace allows you to pass.”

“No, he stays,” Sandoval yelled and grabbed Alejandro’s arm. “Who are you?”

“I am one of the orphans, Van Dyke.”

Gasps filled the room.

“That’s right. I came to this meeting to make a few things clear. You see that red dot in Kayville on your screen? That dot represents me. Pull out your iPhones and tablets and do a search for the name Eirik Seville, Kayville High swim team. I was a Trojan for two years, give or take a few months. I lived with my Immortal parents until my dragon powers started to show, and I learned I didn’t come from this world. Now, Van Dyke, let the Mortal go.”

“No, you come down here,” Sandoval called.

Now I had to humiliate the bastard. I moved to the rail and jumped, runes blazing, bones snapping and reforming as I shifted midair. The clothes Litr had brought ripped and fell on the audience below.

Screams split the air. Four months of landing had prepared me for this. The stage, however, wasn’t sturdy. I flattened it and caught Alejandro with the hook on my wing before he got buried in the debris. Van Dyke wasn’t so lucky, but then again, he was an Immortal. He screamed as he disappeared under the rubble.

A buzz filled the hall, and from what I could see on the faces on the Immortals standing and those seated closest to me, they were ready to bolt. Most Immortals on Earth were once Mortals, so the ability to shift only came from the other realms.

“Oh, where were we?” I lowered Alejandro and nudged him forward. “Go home, Alejandro.”

No one spoke. He walked forward, his gait so unsteady I was sure he was shaking. I unlocked the door, and he pushed it open. He looked back once before the door closed. I trapped it with
Gunnlögi
again.

“I’m sure you’ve confirmed who I am. Yes, I’m an orphan, and you have it wrong. The Norns will not negotiate with you or anyone. You could dangle one of the children as bait and the Norns still will not appear or negotiate with you. Why? Because they don’t care about you or the children or anyone else if it doesn’t further their agenda. And most of these people you call children of the Norns have never left this realm and will
never
leave this realm.”

The noise level rose as they looked at their friends.

Sandoval tried to sneak out of the wreckage and join the audience, but I caught him. “You stay. Your team has terrorized my kind for years and you deserve to be my snack! So sit down, Sandavol.” I pushed his head with my wing.

Silence spread across the room. Sandavol sat on a section of the broken stage.

“Now, let me make one thing clear. Leave the orphans alone. They’re of no use to you. You don’t touch them. You don’t bully them. You don’t use them or even look at them wrong,” I said. “I am their protector. You mess with them and you mess with me.” I sat in the debris that was once the stage and studied the silent audience.

I found Lord Worthington. Pompous bastard. He sat in the very front of the audience with a smug expression on his face. Beside him sat a woman dressed in black. On his other side and behind him were men dressed like her. Personal bodyguards? He was behind this mess, and I wanted to hurt him so badly I could taste it.

“Any questions?” I asked.

“Who are the orphans?” Lord Worthington asked, and a murmur swept the audience. Of course, he had to be the one.

“They are children of the gods, giants, and magical creatures. Like me. They may look human, but they are much more. Like me. Their parents are the only ones stopping them from fighting back. So hurt even one of them and the children will all fight back. And if they ever do, you will not stand a chance.” I glanced at Sandavol, and he turned away. “Look at me.” He cringed. I snarled and he did. “Tell your boss the hunt stops now.”

Sandoval lowered his head.

“It stops now.” This time, I stared straight at Lord Worthington. I glanced at the audience. “Okay, we are done here. You can leave.”