Heroes (Eirik Book 2) (36 page)

“Mom,” I said, the name leaving a bad taste in my mouth. She looked at me.

“My baby,” she whispered, and I fought the urge to cringe.

“What is your goddess’ name?”

Her smile was almost child-like, her expression worshipful. “Angrboda, the Mother Goddess, the wise one who sees all and knows all. She is fierce and is not afraid of anything, even death.” She focused on Eirik. “No, she does fear one thing. The monster. You. She loved me, gave me the keys to open the gates to her home, but now she says I’m not ready because I failed her. I didn’t kill the harbinger of death.” She frowned. “I don’t understand. She let the other one leave with the children, and all she did was mark you and prepare you so the goddess could find you. Such a simple task. She didn’t have to kill her own child. Just a little mark. Why does she get to go?”

Marked me? Angrboda had said there were too many Witches eager to visit other realms and one had marked me. Tammy had left with the children. Surely, she didn’t mean that Tammy had done it. She had taught me everything I knew. Was that what Marguerite meant by preparing me? I glanced at Hayden. Her horrified expression said she’d reached the same conclusion.

“Who is the other one?” Hayden asked.

Marguerite grinned at her. “Who? Your mother, my dear. She has the special mark, just like me. See?” She lifted her arm and proudly showed us the scar of a bite like one would show off a trophy. “The goddess kissed me in a vision and I still carry her scar.”

Hayden shook her head. “No. I refuse to believe you.”

Marguerite chuckled gleefully, the child-like smile gone, eyes filled with malice. When she talked, she seemed more lucid.

“What’s wrong, little girl? Just because Tammy adopted you doesn’t mean she doesn’t work for the goddess. The goddess has many followers doing her bidding. We all want to live with her.” She sighed. “I failed her, and now my own child is the harbinger of death.”

“I’m not,” I said, feeling a little sorry for her now. “I save people.”

She laughed, the sound cold and cruel. “You silly girl. Tonight, you begged your fellow Witches to respond to a Call. Death is coming, and they will not survive. Their blood will be on your hands.”

“That’s not true.”

“Leave right now, Marguerite,” Dad said at the same time.

“Their deaths will be on you,” she continued, her demented eyes on me. “And the monster will go to war for you and more deaths will follow.”

What if she was right? My stomach roiled and nausea hit me.

“Marguerite!” Dad barked.

“My own flesh and blood, the harbinger of death,” she continued, her eyes swinging from me to the others. “All of you. Your lives will be in danger because of her.”

“OUT!” Dad bellowed, marched to her side, and grabbed her arm.

She shook him off, the force sending him across the room. He hit a cabinet and shards of glass flew all over the couch and the carpet. While the others ducked or watched in horror, I lifted my hand and went for her throat. I didn’t have to mutter a spell to lift her up or squeeze her neck.

She laughed. “Do it. Break my neck. Show them who you really are. Show your father the real you, Celestia.”

Eirik didn’t try to stop me. Zack and Hayden were busy helping Dad to his feet. I didn’t know what Nara and Trudy were doing, and I didn’t care. Anger, hatred, pain, and fear all collided in me. The need to shut her up, to make her pay for hurting Dad and trying to kill me coursed through me until I couldn’t think straight.

Dad’s eyes met mine and his expression told me what I already knew. I wasn’t a killer. Even if someone deserved it like she did. Since she was an Immortal, a broken neck would just be a slap on the wrist, but I would have proven to everyone I was a killer.

“She will bring death to her kind and mine, death to—”

I let her go, and she dropped to the floor. Eirik hauled me into his arms and cocooned me from her laughter. I shook, sobs raking my body. I buried my head in the curve of his neck and tried to muffle the sounds.

“Get rid of her or I will,” Eirik snarled and picked me up.

I didn’t care where he was taking me as long as it was far away from her. He stopped and lowered me, my back touching something soft. I knew we were in my room.

I squeezed my eyes tight and clung to him, pain, anger, and fear colliding. Eirik murmured words in a language I didn’t understand and dropped kisses on my hair, temple, and forehead.

Everything she’d said about me was true. I had begged Doctor B to send Witches to help Raine. If there was a battle and my people got killed, their blood would be on my hands. The more I thought about it, the harder I cried. The door opened and closed, and the tears kept flowing.

I wasn’t sure how long I cried before I became aware of Eirik’s body pressed tightly against mine. My arms and legs were wrapped around him as though he was my anchor, and his shirt was drenched with my tears.

“She was right about me.”

“No she wasn’t,
stjärna mín,
” he whispered, and the tenderness in his voice sent a fresh rush of tears to my eyes again. He kissed the tear on my eyelashes and cheeks. “I convinced Doctor B to send the Witches to Oregon, not you.”

He was only trying to make me feel better. Then I remembered where we were supposed to be going.

“Oh no, you need to go. The others are waiting for you.” I wiggled to get away from him, but he wasn’t having it. He rolled on his back, his arms firm around me.

“No, you need me, and they can wait. You are just as important to me as my sister.”

“You’ve been searching for her for months, Eirik. Just go. I’ll be fine.” I wiggled, but his arms tightened.

“And I’ve been searching for you my entire life, Celestia Deveraux. I can’t go, not without you because I won’t be fine. I need you. My sister needs you.”

“But I’ll only cause more deaths. You heard—”

“The ravings of a lunatic. Sorry, Dimples, but your mother is as crazy as my grandmother. Doesn’t surprise me since they work together. If you are the harbinger of death, then I’m death, because where you go, I follow.”

Tears rushed to my eyes again.

“No, no, no. Please, don’t cry anymore,” he said, wiping the fresh tears that started to flow. “I can’t take it. Having you in my arms is the only thing stopping me from shifting and going on a rampage.” He ran his knuckles along my jaw and chin, then kissed my nose.

“I’m a mess,” I mumbled and tried to hide my face in his chest. He gripped my head and lifted it to study my face.

“You can have a red nose, runny eyes, and the words
harbinger of death
tattooed on your forehead, and you’d still be beautiful. You, Celestia Deveraux, are mine. For always.” The intensity of his eyes felt like a touch, and I stopped breathing.

He traced my jawline with his thumb and then gently caressed my lips. They tingled, desire pulsing through my body. I gripped his shirt, wanting him yet knowing it was unfair to crave his touch when he needed to focus on his sister. He was like a drug I needed to make my world right, but I had to deny myself.

“I was a fool to think I could put you on a shelf while I made my family my first priority.” He chuckled, the sound sending tingles across my chest. “You’ll always come first, Dimples,” he whispered, leaning in. “Always.”

I counted the seconds as his lips moved closer to mine. My chest hurt from holding my breath too long, but I didn’t care. I could wait for him for eternity. Okay, maybe not eternity. The anticipation was killing me.

He stroked my cheeks, his eyes locked with mine. He broke eye contact to press his lips to my jaw and then made a trail up to my ear.

“My number one,” he murmured. “You drive me crazy with need. Tempt me with your lips. Challenge me with your eyes.” He tilted my head and kissed my neck, soft nibbles designed to drive me crazy. Then he left a heated path along my neck that had me pressing against him. I arched my neck into his mouth, giving him better access. His touch was intoxicating. Low moans filled the room. I wasn’t sure whether they came from him or me, or both.

“
Stjärna mín,
” he whispered moving slowly toward my lips, deliberately making me wait. He gently brushed his lips across mine, and air rushed out of my lungs. “Sweet, sexy lips. I’ve tried to resist their pull. Scared I’d lose control and hurt you. I didn’t even realize it until now.” He kissed the corners of my mouth, his touch gentle. My heart pounded and my body tingled with each brush, but I wanted more. He’d never hurt me. Not Eirik. Not my dragon.

“Please,” the word slipped out. I needed to taste him or I’d go insane.

A low growl erupted from his throat and his mouth found mine. The first taste of him sent my world spinning out of control, my senses exploding. His hand reached down to pull me closer and tighter against him. His teeth nipped my bottom lip, and I gasped at the sensation. He angled his head and ran his tongue over it, soothing yet pushing me farther into the zone where nothing mattered but him and me.

This was what I’d wanted and dreamed of all these months. The fulfillment of all my fantasies. This sense of completeness. I let go of his shirt and threw my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, greedy for more. Things were happening to my body I didn’t understand, but they felt amazing.

Eirik gripped the back of my head and rolled us until he was on top and trapped me with his leg. He tore his lips from mine, trailing kisses along my jaw, up my cheek, and down my neck, his breathing harsh. I gripped his face and pulled him to me, silently asking for more. He reclaimed my mouth.

As if possible, the taste of him was even more intoxicating. It was as though I was kissing him for the first time. He tasted the same, yet different. And his scent made my head spin. I could breathe him in forever. Kiss him for hours. His hand slipped under my shirt, the intimate touch stealing my breath away, yet I welcomed it. He swept my rib cage, his finger slipping under my sports bra. Something rough grazed my skin and my breath hitched at the sensations. It was different and exhilarating.

Eirik growled and went still.

Not sure what was happening, I fought through the sensual haze, gripped his face, and lifted his head. He stared at me with slitted golden eyes, scales dancing on the surface of his skin. He removed his hand from under my shirt, and I saw the scales covering his knuckles and his elongated nails. The partial shift caused the new sensations.

“Did I scratch you?” he asked, his voice filled with anger, probably self-directed, his eyes tortured.

“No.” I reached to kiss him, but he turned his head and pressed his lips to my wrist. Now I understood why he’d resisted kissing me. He’d been scared of losing control of his body and shifting while we made out. His arms tightened as he lowered his head and buried his face in my chest. I stroked his hair and tried to calm him down, my heart aching for him. He mumbled something. I gripped his head and lifted it, needing to look into his amber eyes. They were back to normal and hard to read. “What is it?”

“Was it different when I touched you and we kissed?”

“No. It was still you.” I didn’t dare tell him he’d tasted differently. If he got frustrated because he’d shifted, I could just imagine his reaction if he knew his kiss and touch had produced heightened sensations. He’d go back to the “no kissing” rule, or worse, resent his dragon form. My need of his touch and to touch him was too great to let his issues with his two forms get in our way, especially now that I knew how intoxicating he was.

“My greatest fear is not being able to control the shift while we are together,” he whispered. “I could really hurt you.”

Yes, he could, but I couldn’t afford to think like that. “I don’t care if you go into a partial shift.”

“I do.” He lifted his head. “But it won’t happen again,” he vowed and claimed my mouth. He moved, completely covering me as he deepened the kiss. Melting into him became as easy as breathing, but he held back. His body was taut, his touch reverent, but careful. I knew then that it was going to take some serious make-out sessions to convince him I wanted all of him—human, partially shifted, or fully shifted. They were all him, and I was the lucky girl to have him.

He froze and rolled off me, and for a moment, I thought he’d shifted again. He tucked me under his chin, his breathing uneven. Then the knock came. I didn’t want to answer it. I wanted to lock the door and shut out the world, Marguerite, and her harbinger of death crap, and kiss Eirik again until he lost his head.

“You ready to face them?” he asked, his warm breath fanning my forehead and sending a shiver through me. “Dimples?”

“I need a moment.” I wanted another chance to kiss him, damn it.

“Just a moment,” he called out.

“We need to go,” Nara said from the other side of the closed door. “Echo is back in the store and he looks ready to hurt someone.”

EIRIK

Celestia sat up and gave me a sweet smile. I couldn’t help myself. I pulled her down and kissed her again, but I was careful. Shifting when I kissed her had scared the crap out of me. When it had happened in Kayville, I’d thought it was a fluke. I barely controlled it on her deck after Hayden was taken. From now on, I was all about making sure my dragon senses were under lock and key when we made out. I shuddered thinking about the pain I could inflict on her.

I angled my head and deepened the kiss, but it wasn’t enough. I memorized the texture of her lips, the taste of her. I trailed kisses on her jaw and continued to her neck. She moaned and pressed closer. We had to stop. Even as the thought crossed my mind, I worked my way back to her lips.

“Let’s go,” she said.

“No.” I pressed a kiss on her chin and then her lips again. She tasted amazing. I leaned back, looked into her eyes, and groaned. It was one thing to need her until I couldn’t think straight and quite another to see that need staring back at me.

“We really need to go before Echo storms in here.”

“If he dared, I’d rip his head off.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Go. I need to freshen up.”

“I have to face your father,” I said, not looking forward to it. I’d failed to keep Celestia away as he’d asked me to.

“He’s not an ogre.”

I reluctantly left her room and paused in the hallway to cool down. Laughter came from behind Celestia’s closed door. I even heard a “Yes!” Grinning, I started for the living room. Dizziness hit and my stomach grumbled. I needed food.

Chief Deveraux looked up and his eyebrows slammed down when he realized I wasn’t his daughter. Someone had swept the broken glass, but the cabinet was beyond salvage. I wondered if he knew that Marguerite was now an Immortal with the abilities that came with runic magic.

“How is she?” the chief asked.

“Good. She’ll be okay. I’m sorry I couldn’t keep her away, sir.”

He shrugged. “I think she handled herself very well. Your people are gone,” he added when he saw me glance outside. “They used a portal.”

“And Marguerite?”

“Left through a portal. I guess she’s now an Immortal too.” He looked behind me and his eyes lit up. I turned to see Celestia enter the room. Her cheeks turned pink when our eyes met. I hoped she was remembering our kiss.

Her father got up and hurried to her side, and the two disappeared into the kitchen. I waited in the living room, wishing I had something to eat. They didn’t stay for long, and I couldn’t read Celestia’s face when she joined me.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

I opened a portal and turned to wave bye to her father. He looked defeated. Celestia paused then called out, “I love you, Dad.”

A smiled transformed the chief’s face. “Same here, sweetheart.”

Echo was pacing when we entered TC. He stopped and glared, but didn’t say a word. I noticed the handles of swords sticking up over his shoulders. The same with Syn. Daiku had one. Ranger had a knife belt while Nara had daggers. I couldn’t see any weapons on Rhys.

“Holy crap!” Celestia whispered.

“I think this is their way of saying they mean business,” I said.

No one said anything, except Rhys. He was carrying a bag. “We dropped off the suitcases at the hall, and Maera gave me this.”

“Please tell me she sent food.”

Celestia laughed. Rhys threw me the bag. Inside were my favorite pastries—loaves of bread stuffed with various meats. My mouth watered. Man, I loved that woman. After changing back and forth, I was running on empty. Well, almost. I pulled out one and bit into it.

“And these?” Nara added, and I looked up. She had a garment bag and pinned on it was a note. I knew what was inside. A fancy outfit.

“I’m not wearing that,” I said between bites.

“The outfit and the note are from your father,” she said. “He insisted you change.”

Damn
. Father didn’t waste time. I shoved the rest of the sandwich into my mouth and read the note. Every realm I appeared in, I was their son, a representative of Hel’s Hall, and must look and act the part. He added a list of what I could and could not do. I stopped reading and growled. The Grimnirs could look like invaders from Hel while I had to wear a fancy outfit? Everyone watched me and waited for my reaction.

“Are we using the Eastern Gjöll Pass?” Traveling as a dragon meant I’d ignore my father’s instructions.

Karle spoke, and Trudy translated. “It’s the only way in and out of Helheim.”

“No, it’s not,” Echo said, but he didn’t bother to explain. He was still ticked off about the waiting.

“We reap from all the realms, and our cave serves as the entry point,” Rhys said. “We don’t allow visitors to Eljudnir to use our entrance for obvious reasons.”

“Except tonight,” I said, and Rhys nodded. “Damn. Then we have to obey my father.” Groans escaped the Grimnirs, except Rhys who was obviously used to following Daddy Dearest’s orders. “We are representatives of my mother and Hel’s Hall. We don’t attack unless in self-defense. We must be polite to our hosts, and we must bring Einmyria home. In fact, he says we shouldn’t come back without her. My mother suspects something is up.”

Karle, who had been worried about getting home, grinned. Without the hour’s flight to Eastern Gjöll Pass, we’d be in his village in a matter of seconds.

“There’s more.” I turned to the next page. The outfit was a surprise, a present from Asgard for whatever form I chose. What in Hel’s mist did that mean?

I unzipped the garment bag and saw the black and gold leather warrior outfit—a sleeveless shirt and pants with reinforced padding, a black breastplate with gold trim, knee-length black boots with gold buckles and a gold stripe, and matching arm braces. A gold cloak with green lining hung from the shoulders. I noticed something interesting about the gold on all the accents. It wasn’t a uniform. It had a subtle pattern that made them look like dragon scales. I laughed.

“Now we’re talking.” I read the last line: the boots and pants would become leg braces when I shifted while the sleeveless shirt and the breastplate would adjust to my size. The cloak didn’t change, but I must wear it at all times because gold was my color now and green was my mother’s color. I was grinning when I looked up. The others wore curious expressions, except Echo. He was still annoyed. “Hayden, can I use your séance room?”

She stared at me without responding, her eyes haunted. The revelations by Marguerite must still be eating at her. I was sure there was an explanation. Celestia was probably reliving what her mother had said too, but she hid it well. Her strength was one of the reasons I was crazy about her. Where others folded, she kept going.

Without waiting for Hayden’s response, I disappeared into the séance room and changed while I demolished most of the sandwiches. I knew I should focus on getting my ass to Ironwood Forest ASAP, but my mind kept drifting to what Celestia’s psycho mother had said about the Call leading to deaths. Doctor B was sending the Witches to Kayville for a mass spell to protect Raine, not fight Immortals. The Witches wouldn’t stand a chance if that happened.

I planned to warn Torin. Raine already had enough on her plate with her father’s illness and her emerging powers. My only concern was Torin. The man might not be able to keep this from Raine. I’d watched them the last several months, and he told her everything.

The outfit was a perfect fit, even the boots. The gold buckles shifted on the sides of the boots then snapped into place. The same thing happened with the arm braces. They readjusted on their own once they made contact with my skin. I adjusted the breastplate, studying the material. It seemed to shift as though alive. I shoved my artavo in the hidden sheaths in the boots and paused when another idea popped into my head.

I could infiltrate Worthington’s band of greedy Immortals and sabotage them from within. I remembered the arrogant smirk on his face as the others tore each other apart while he sat there unscathed. I wanted to screw his plans and watch his reaction when he realized I’d played him. Then let the Witches have a go at him before giving him what he wanted—a trip to the realms of the gods. A month in Corpse Strand chained to a wall should cure whatever crawled up his royal ass.

Of course, this all depended on whether the Immortals were willing to break the rules and kill Mortals to get their hands on Raine. Killing a Mortal guaranteed an Immortal’s soul a one-way ticket to Corpse Strand. How many would be willing to chance that?

I ran a finger through my hair, straightened my cloak, and left the séance room. The clang of swords reached me before I saw Echo and Syn going at it as though trying to decapitate each other.

Echo stopped when he saw me and got nicked on the arm. The cut didn’t bleed. Even his duster closed up with the right runes. I needed to learn how to do that. The others turned and gawked. I grinned at their reaction.

“Not bad, right?” I said. They nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Where are your other clothes?” Celestia asked in an unsteady voice and cleared her throat. She’d removed her snow pants, but kept her coat and cloak on. She was trying to be cool, but my senses picked up her accelerated heartbeat. She couldn’t take her eyes off me, and I loved it.

“In the séance room. Why?”

“You might need them.”

She always watched my back. “No, I don’t need them.” I grinned again. “Trust me.”

Echo led the way into the cave, a glowing artavus in his hand. As usual, there were Grimnirs arriving with souls or leaving. They stared without asking questions. We moved to the inner chambers of the cave. I’d never bothered to explore it. Whenever I arrived, my goal was often to get to the hall as fast as I could, and when I left, I used the nearest walls that stretched to the cave entrance. The walls appeared made of icicles, but I suspected they were quartz. The walls of the inner cave had colored surfaces ranging from pink to dark blue. I counted seven different colors, each presumably leading to the other seven realms. The ceiling was higher to accommodate Jötun souls, I supposed, but the quartz surface was rough and reflected the light from the blades.

“I didn’t know you had these here,” Karle said, his words coming out in English now that he could use magic and force his will. He walked to the gray surface and glanced at Rhys. “To Jötunheim?”

Rhys nodded. “But you decide which part of Jötunheim.”

Karle removed his artavus and etched runes on the surface. It was strange watching him because he wrote at a normal speed. Maybe only reapers had speed runes. The surface grew grainy and then shimmered mercury before it peeled back to reveal a narrow passage. Night sounds filtered through, but they sounded distorted. My eyes adjusted to the darkness until I could see tree trunks.

“Welcome to Ironwood Forest,” Karle said and started forward, but Rhys caught his arm.

“We go first,” Rhys said. Echo and Syn pulled out their swords and engaged speed runes. In seconds, they were gone. Rhys growled. “I was going to go.”

“Next time don’t announce it,” Nara retorted. “Just do it.”

“What is it with you guys and Echo?” I asked, but Rhys and Nara clammed up. Syn appeared at the end of the pathway.

“It’s clear,” he said.

Rhys and Nara took the rear while Daiku and Ranger went ahead of me. I stayed close to Celestia and Trudy, and Hayden and Zack followed us.

The other end of the portal was the face of a rock that went on forever. From the looks of it, it was part of a mountain and we were deep in the forest at its base. The change from extreme cold to moderately warm temperatures was nice, but deformed, short trees with gnarled trunks and weird shapes surrounded us. To make matters worse, they appeared to move. Or maybe it was the trick of the darkness and occasional moonbeam. The tall trees formed a dense canopy that hid the moon. Moss covered the ground and made it impossible to tell jutting roots from the rocks. Like the trees, I was sure some of the roots actually moved.

A few Grimnirs stared at us from the cave in Helheim before the portal closed. Hopefully they wouldn’t say anything to the others, because word spread fast in Eljudnir. Mother would know we’d gone to Jötunheim.

Karle took the lead, and the Grimnirs fanned out—Echo and Syn to our right, Daiku and Ranger to the left, and Nara and Rhys remained in the rear. The light from the artavo and the runes on our bodies only went so far. The magic of the forest was so strong it distorted light and perception of depth, and the damn roots kept moving under our feet. Celestia and Trudy lost their footing a couple of times, and I had to rescue them.

“Do you want me to carry you?” I whispered to Celestia.

“No,” Celestia said.

“Yes,” Trudy responded at the same time.

I chuckled at their two different responses.

“Shift and fly us out of here,” Trudy added. “This forest is so creepy. I think the trees move.”

“Stop it, Trudy,” Celestia said. “I’m trying to focus.”

“Can you sense my grandmother?” I asked, since I couldn’t find her scent.

“No. The magic here is even more powerful than in Helheim. It’s messing with my powers.”