Heroes (Eirik Book 2) (35 page)

“Don’t forget the second part,” Syn said. “We are to give him support. Now it’s our turn to ask what’s going on.”

“Trudy?” I looked around, but she’d disappeared. “TRUDY!”

She peered at us from the aisle. Her arms were full of things she’d picked up around the store—jewelry, earrings, bracelets, T-shirts, stuffed animals, and several dragon goblets.

“Can I get these?” she asked.

“Sure.” I pulled out a credit card and slapped it on the counter. I tried to understand her excitement, but I had to know what was going on with Karle. “Translate whatever he says.”

She dumped her goodies on the counter, and while Hayden rang them up, she said something to Karle. He started talking and became more and more agitated as he continued. Rhys moved closer and from their expressions, he understood some of the things Karle was saying. Most of them had been reapers long enough to have picked up languages spoken in all the realms. Trudy took Karle’s arm, and he slowly calmed down. She, on the other hand, became tearful. When he indicated Celestia, something cold settled in my chest. Seeing tears roll down Trudy’s face only made things worse. I tried to put my arms around her and console her, but she shook her head.

“I’m okay.” She wiped her cheeks. “He was reliving the fear he felt sneaking out of his village, and I felt like I was there with him.”

“You felt his fear?” Celestia asked.

“I can get inside people’s heads and see their thoughts and memories, or just feel what they’re feeling. I hate doing it because it messes with my head and my emotions. It is better when I feed them those memories and feelings instead of absorbing them.”

“So what did he say?” I asked.

“Your grandmother arrived in their village on Saturday morning and everything shut down. No one was allowed to leave. She came alone, but by evening, about forty boys and girls dressed like Celestia had joined her. They were confused and scared. She called them her orphans.”

Anger pumped through my veins, and scales appeared on my arms. Celestia reached over and gripped my hand. Her close proximity kept me from shifting and roaring with rage.

“Was there a brunette with green eyes with them?” Hayden asked, and reality returned. We were close, but things could still go wrong.

Trudy translated Hayden’s question, and Karle nodded.

“Oh God.” Hayden covered her mouth, tearing up. Zack put his arms around her. The next second, she ran around the counter and threw up. Zack did his duty as her boyfriend and held back her hair. She must have been worried. The question of how they’d moved between realms still remained.

“When did Karle leave home?” I asked.

“This evening,” Trudy explained after consulting with Karle. “He sneaked out, using the darkness. Only his sister Olea knows he left the village, and she’s covering for him. He has to go back tonight before they discover he’s gone.”

“We’re taking you home tonight. Tell him that.” I gripped Karle’s shoulder and patted his chest. This was the best news in months. “Everyone needs to be warmly dressed for the flight to the pass. Karle can carry some of you, and I’ll carry the rest.” I glanced at Hayden. She looked like crap. “You okay?”

She nodded. “I’ll get ready.”

She opened a portal to their apartment, and she and Zack disappeared through it.

“I’ll get my suitcase from the car and change too,” Celestia said, but I caught her hand before she could leave. I was not letting her out of my sight.

“One of the guys will get it. I don’t want you going outside on your own.”

“I wasn’t planning on it. Ranger parked my car and never gave me the keys.” She pried her hand free. “Stop acting like I’m helpless.”

The former Texan opened a portal to where he’d parked her car and retrieved her suitcase. I watched them the entire time, a fact that didn’t escape Celestia.

“Can I go upstairs to change without you freaking out on me?” she asked.

“Only if Nara goes with you.”

“Seriously?” Celestia rolled her eyes. “Fine. Come on, Nara. Trudy, you too. You might as well see what a real Earth home looks like.”

“No, Trudy stays. I need to explain a few things to the guys and she needs to hear this. She might have questions.”

“No, I don’t,” Trudy said, shaking her head. “I know everything now. I saw your father’s memories and felt the pain of keeping this secret for years when he and Karle were talking. I never understood how he could be happy with the goddess yet was also so tortured. He hid it from everyone, except me.” Her eyes welled and her voice shook. “I thought he missed you and your sister, and I’d take away his pain like I did your mother’s. Tonight, I shared his memories as he interrogated Karle. It was the first and only time I’ve ever done that. I know you think he should have told your mother the truth, Eirik, but he chose to carry this burden alone rather than watch her suffer the pain of living with the truth for seventeen years.”

“He told you that?” I asked, trying to understand her abilities and absorb what she was saying about my father.

She swiped at her wet cheeks. “No, I got it from his head. I would not have done it if he hadn’t cried while listening to Karle describe the orphans, how scared and confused they were. Your father is a very sensitive man and feels things very deeply. When this is over, he’ll finally be at peace, not just your mother.” She took a deep breath and glanced at Celestia. “Let’s go.”

Celestia’s eyes lingered on me for a second, love and understanding shining in them. Then the three women disappeared upstairs and silence followed. The Grimnirs looked confused, except Rhys. His jaw was clenched, his expression unreadable.

“Do you want to tell us what in Hel’s Mist is going on?” Echo asked.

“Trudy absorbs emotions, happy or unhappy, and manipulates memories,” I said and rotated my shoulders. It explains why she sometimes looked so sad and miserable around Mother.

“I meant about your grandmother and the orphans from Earth,” Echo said. “What does that have to do with our goddess?” The other three nodded.

I was not in the mood to explain everything about my grandmother, but there was no evading it. I was done finding excuses for her.

“I’m only going to explain this once, so come closer please. Karle, look around the store and see if there’s anything you’d like to get for your sister or mom.”

Rhys translated what I said, and Karle grinned. The two of them went to browse, leaving me with Echo and the other three Grimnirs.

“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll be blunt. My sister, Einmyria, is not dead.” I paused to let the information sink in. Curses came from the three Grimnirs while Echo stayed quiet, his face pale, eyes acquiring a weird orange glow I had never seen before. Even when I’d fought him about Cora, his eyes had always glowed gold. “My grandmother kidnapped her and the Norns covered it up. I’ve been searching for her the last four months. Rhys and Nara tried for seventeen years but couldn’t find her, and this is why.”

No one spoke as I explained about my grandmother biting orphans to build an army of loyalists, the Norns taking the orphans from the other realms to Earth to be raised by Immortals the same way I was raised, and how we’d found them.

“The Norns must have found out her plans or something. They never act without a reason. I don’t care what my grandmother’s reasons are for binding these children to her. It doesn’t justify what she did to Einmyria. She kidnapped her and bit her out of spite and to make my parents suffer, especially my mother,” I added, knowing how pissed they’d all be on her behalf. If there was one thing I could count on when it came to Grimnirs, it was their loyalty to her.

This time, the silence was even longer, but I felt their anger build. Echo’s eyes were flaming lights of orange, his hand clenching the edge of the counter he’d been leaning on. The wood turned to sawdust as he crushed it, but I doubted he noticed.

“Why didn’t your father tell us?” Syn asked and glanced at Echo. “We would have helped search for her. There are hundreds of us.”

“My father wanted a discreet investigation.”

“So every time you took off from the hall, you were searching for your grandmother around Helheim?” Daiku asked.

I nodded.

“She still doesn’t know, does she?” Echo asked, his voice gruff.

“No, my mother doesn’t know about Einmyria. I asked my father to tell her, but he believes her rage would not be contained. She would wage a war on the Norns and rip this world apart to find Einmyria. She might be less angry once my sister is safely at home.”

Echo stood. “When do we leave for Jötunheim?”

“As soon as Celestia and the others are ready.”

“I need to pack a few things,” he said.

“Me, too,” Syn said.

“No, Syn. I’ll bring enough arsenals for everyone.” Echo opened a portal. Before it closed behind him, we heard his howl of rage.

“Holy shit! I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that pissed,” Syn said.

“I have,” Rhys said. “He has a thing about betrayal. He will tear apart anyone who dares to stand in our way. That’s one good thing about him. He is a formidable warrior.”

“You two have a history?” Daiku asked.

“Some,” was all Rhys said, and he walked away.

CELESTIA

Since Zack and Hayden were in her bedroom, I used the bathroom to change. I could hear the sounds from the living room as Nara showed Trudy around. The microwave dinged more than once.

I was happy for Eirik, but also worried. This had better be it. If it turned out to be another wild goose chase, he’d be devastated, especially after what Trudy said about his dad. Dad. I needed my phone to call him when I got back.

I pulled on snow pants over my leggings, shoved my feet in snow boots, and placed my regular boots into the suitcase. I wasn’t bundling up like last time, but I had my coat and cloak, and kept my gloves and hat in the pockets of my coat for later. There were no sounds coming from behind Hayden’s door when I walked by. I knocked, but no one answered. They’d better not be making out.

“Guys? I’m coming in.” I opened the door and peered inside.

The room was empty, but Hayden’s weekend duffel bag was on the bed. Frowning, I closed the door and continued to the living room. Nara and Trudy were watching something on TV.

“Can you open a portal to my house, Nara? I need to get something.”

She frowned. “I thought Eirik didn’t want you going anywhere without him?”

“So? Who said I have to do everything he says?”

She grinned and got up. Trudy pushed several buttons on the remote, until she found the right off switch for the TV and jumped up, too.

“I want to see your house,” she said. “And I like the idea of ignoring Eirik too. He can be so bossy.”

Nara opened the portal to our porch just as Zack and Hayden walked into the living room with their bags.

“Where are you guys going?” Hayden asked.

“To get your phones,” Nara said. I had already gone through the portal and was standing on our porch.

Something was off. Lights blazed inside our house, yet no sounds came from inside. Cold fingers crawled up my spine, and I shivered. There was a dark energy in the air, but something about it was familiar.

“Do you feel that?” Hayden asked, coming to stand beside me.

“Yes.” Recognition hit me and sucked my breath away. My mother.

“So much dark emotion and… It’s repulsive,” Trudy said, her words reaching me from afar. I tried to say yes, but my throat had seized up. Blood pounded in my temples, and my chest hurt as I struggled to breathe. No wonder Dad had acted strangely and begged Eirik to get me out of town. His mad dash to my school had nothing to do with my trancing. He had known she was back.

“She’s here,” I whispered, my voice trembling.

“Who?” Hayden asked, but her voice sounded distorted as though time had slowed down and everything was in slow motion. I wanted to march into the house and kick her out, yet I couldn’t move.

Zack said something I didn’t catch and came to stand on my other side as though to protect me. He didn’t know this was one danger he couldn’t protect me from. Even as a child, he couldn’t do it. Hadn’t stopped him from trying, though.

“Who is it?” someone asked, but I couldn’t answer. Calling her “Mother” would be wrong because she’d lost the right to that title fourteen years ago when she’d ripped out my heart. Marguerite Devereaux was what I called her now.

How dare she show her face here? What could she possibly want?

A portal opened and Eirik appeared, his expression furious. Relief coursed through me. He must have felt my panic. And now that he was here, things didn’t feel so dire. I wanted to fly into his arms and pretend this wasn’t happening, but I knew I’d be delaying the inevitable. The brief paralysis disappeared as anger replaced it.

“I told you not to go anywhere without me,” Eirik said, closing the space between us. I searched his face. On a normal day I would have told him he wasn’t the boss of me.

“Did you know about her? Did Dad tell you Marguerite was here?”

“Who is Marguerite?” His bewilderment was genuine.

Zack cursed. “She can’t be back,” he ground out. “Not after all this time.”

“She is. What did Dad tell you at school?”

“To get you out of town and not bring you back without calling him first. I knew he was worried about something else other than Witches dying and stolen bodies, but he refused to tell me. Is Marguerite your mother?”

I wanted to tell him she was not my mother, but my eyes stayed on the door, my heart pounding hard. I didn’t want these people to witness what was about to happen, especially Eirik. He’d forgiven his mother after all the things she’d done to him. I planned to bitch-slap mine from here to Hel and back without feeling an ounce of guilt.

“I think you guys should leave,” I whispered, my throat tight.

Eirik scoffed at the idea. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Please,” I added. “This is a family matter. Go back to Hayden’s. I’ll call you when I’m done with her.”

Eirik cupped my face and forced me to look at him. “I’m staying, Dimples. Not because you need me to fight your battles. You do great on your own. I’m doing it because no matter what, you and I always have each other’s backs. Didn’t we already claim each other? You have me. Always. And there’s not a damn thing you can do or say to make me walk away.”

A rush of tears blindsided me, and I swallowed hard. “I’m not like you, Eirik. I’m not nice and forgiving. She hurt me, and I’m never letting her do it again.”

“I don’t expect you to, but your battles are mine. Just like you made mine yours. I’m here to stay.”

“Me too,” Hayden chimed. “If she wants a piece of you, she’ll have to go through me first.”

“Me too,” Zack added.

“Who is it?” someone asked. I wasn’t sure whether it was Trudy or Nara.

“Her mother,” Hayden whispered back.

“She’s not my mother,” I snapped. “She’s never been my mother. Grams was.” I felt bad for snapping at her, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

Taking a deep breath, I led the way into the house. Dad jumped to his feet, his expression showing a range of emotions—surprise, anger, fear. He looked pale and haggard as though he’d aged overnight. I was aware of the woman still seated on a side chair in the living room, but I didn’t look at her.

“Sweetheart, what are you doing here?” he asked. “I thought you’d already left for your vacation.”

“I forgot my phone.”

He wasn’t the huggy type, but he pulled me into his arms and pressed a kiss on my temple. “Please, leave. Turn around and leave.”

“No, Daddy. I can’t.” He’d done his best to protect me from this woman. Now it was my turn to protect him and myself. “I have to do this.”

Sighing, he stepped aside and indicated Marguerite with a slight movement of his hand. “I don’t know if you remember, uh…” He looked so helpless that my anger at her threatened to choke me.

“Marguerite,” I said, having no problem using her given name. “I remember her, and I’ve seen pictures of her at Zack’s house, but she was much younger then. Aunt Genevieve put most of them away years ago.” The smile slipped from Marguerite’s face.

“Celestia, my dear,” she said, leaning forward, her smile uncertain. “You’ve grown into a beautiful young lady. Is that Zack?”

Her jovial voice was like nails on a chalkboard, and I cringed. I studied her, a few memories sneaking in, most of them not good. I had inherited her lips, hair, and the shape of her face. I wish I hadn’t. She was dressed casually in a long skirt and top, her hair long and her face hardly lined. Beside her was a large bag, a signature accessory for every Witch. Her smile broadened. The memories that accompanied that smile weren’t nice either, and I must have reacted because Eirik moved closer until I could feel his reassuring presence behind me.

“What do you want, Marguerite?” I asked.

She frowned. “To see how you’re doing, dear. I’ve tried to visit you over the years and your father always said no. And when I came into town, you and your grandmother were always gone.”

If I didn’t hate her so much, I would have given her the benefit of the doubt. “I was fine eleven years ago when you left, Marguerite. And I’m more than great now. So if you don’t mind, get out of our house. No one wants you here.”

Her smile wavered and her face twitched. “I’m so sorry for the things I did and said in the past, Celestia. I was under the thumb of a very powerful being. I couldn’t fight her. I’m better now, and all I want is a chance to get to know you. I’m your mother, and I love you.”

I could not believe she’d blame someone else. “My mother? I lost my mother three years ago. She protected me, guided me, and loved me. She never tried to drown me or left me in the bayou over and over again, hoping the alligators would finish what she couldn’t do.” Gasps came from behind me. “And she never tried to burn me. You are just the woman who carried me for nine months and gave birth to me, then did her best to destroy my spirit. Well, lady, that shit didn’t work because here I am.”

“Celestia!” Dad said.

She moved so fast I didn’t see her coming until her hand was seconds from my face. I braced myself for the sting, but it never came. A snarl came from behind me and Eirik caught her wrist, his hand already covered with scales, his nails elongated into talons. How could she move like that? I gripped the rune on my clasp and saw the runes on her arms and face.

“You touch her, and I will personally drag you to Hel and chain you to a wall,” Eirik warned so calmly I shivered.

Marguerite swallowed, fear flashing in her eyes. “It’s you,” she whispered, staring at Eirik’s hand. “The monster the goddess warned me about. The one who will turn my child into the harbinger of death.”

She yanked her arm away and rubbed the welts around her wrist. More runes appeared on her arm and the redness went away. When had she become an Immortal?

The look she threw me was filled with venom. I tried to remind myself she couldn’t hurt me anymore, but my brain pulled a fast one on me and old memories replaced recent ones. I cringed, my shoulders hunching as I tried to make myself small. I used to do that as a child. I’d find a corner and pray the shadow hid me from her, but her words crept around corners and through shadows. They always found me. Eirik’s hand rested on my waist and I leaned against him. I welcomed his warmth, his comfort.

“Which goddess warned you?” Eirik’s voice was cold, unlike the heat pouring from him.

Marguerite sneered. “The goddess who comes to me in my visions and tells me how to serve her so one day I can join her. The one who ordered me to kill her.” Arrogance left her voice and she grew sad as she continued, her eyes becoming unfocussed. “She told me to light the fire and leave her in her crib, but an angel came and rescued her. An angel with flaming hair. I saw her walk through the fire, her body glowing. The goddess said to drown her in the tub. But I found her on the floor, nicely wrapped in a blanket I’d never seen before. I still have it.” She dug inside her large bag and pulled out a blanket. When Eirik tried to take it, she snatched it out of his reach. “It’s mine now.” She clutched it closer to her breast. “She said to take her to the bayou, but whenever I arrived home, she’d be in her playpen. Her guardian angel was smarter. Faster. The goddess said I must become more than what I was, be better so I could fulfill her wishes. She helped me become faster, stronger.”

Her hand whipped out as though to touch my face, but I shrank back. At the same time, Eirik’s arm circled my waist and lifted me away from her.

“All I had to do was get rid of you and everything would be okay. If I didn’t, you’d awaken the monster and the monster would devour my goddess and turn you into the harbinger of death. But I couldn’t do that when the redhead kept stopping me, so I left you and your father and went searching for her. I searched everywhere, and when I came back, another had taken my place.” She studied Eirik while I tried to understand what she was saying. “But you are here now. The monster has awakened, and my baby is the harbinger of death. So much blood will be on her hands. I’ve failed the goddess. No wonder she said I couldn’t go with the orphans.”

Orphans? We looked at each other. Marguerite turned, walked to the chair, and sat. She looked so sad and pathetic. Maybe she wasn’t evil. Maybe she was just nuts. If I hadn’t heard Grams’ memories, I would have believed that. They both had the same premonitions.

Dad wore the dazed look of someone who’d been knocked on his head. He must have seen the dragon scales on Eirik’s arms. I couldn’t look at the others. Now they knew all my dirty secrets.

Eirik’s grip was firm as he tugged me along and sat opposite Marguerite. He angled his body and shielded me from her. The others moved closer while Dad kept his distance.

“The goddess in your vision, the one who tells you what to do, what does she look like?” Eirik asked.

“Old. Ancient. Wise. She demands perfection. Fail her and she brings you grief and sorrow. I failed her.” Tears welled in Marguerite’s eyes, and she shrank against the chair, the baby blanket still clenched against her chest. She looked like a psych patient, and I hated myself for feeling sorry for her.

“Does your goddess have a name?” Eirik asked.

She didn’t answer. He tried again. Silence. This was too important for me to keep quiet.