Runes #03 - Grimnirs (24 page)

He pulled me to the cups area and selected the largest. I chose a smaller one and cradled it with my injured right hand. The stainless steel yogurt dispensers covered one wall while the toppings were by the cashier.

He moved behind me, his hand resting on my hip. “What’s your favorite flavor?”

“Luscious lemon,” I said, trying to warn my heart to behave. Being this close to him really played havoc with my head.

“I try three to four new flavors every time and mix them up. You should try it some time.”

“No, thanks. Once I find something I love, I stick with it.”

He lowered his head and whispered, “Live a little, doll-face. I’ll even let you choose the flavors for me.”

“Cora?”

I turned, and my eyes widened. “Blaine? What are you doing here?”

Blaine Chapman had been the QB before Torin took over. Raine said his family had moved. He flashed his famous I-know-I’m-hot smile.

“I’m back,” he said. “The team needs me to take them to state.”

I chuckled. “We have a quarterback.”

“St. James is too flaky. Yesterday he took off in the middle of practice. Today, he didn’t even show up. Coach Higgins believes he might disappear during a game, so he called my parents and they said it was okay. Where’s my hug?”

He ignored Echo and gave me a hug. A long hug, which didn’t make sense because he and I had never been that close. Before his family moved, he’d been dating Casey Riverside. Before Raine and Torin, he and Casey had been Kayville High’s perfect couple.

I wiggled out of his arms, since he didn’t seem to want to let go, stepped back, and met a hard, immovable wall. Echo. His hand snaked around my waist, anchoring me to him. I wanted to lean back and savor the feel of him, but I didn’t dare let my guard down.

I glanced over my shoulder and groaned. His eyes were narrowed on Blaine like he wanted to snap his head. The last thing I needed was Echo going psycho on a human because of me. But it gave me hope. Maybe there was hope for us.

“Uh, Blaine, this is—”

“Echo,” Blaine said, the smile disappearing from his topaz eyes. “We’ve met.”

“Get lost, Chapman,” Echo said.

“Cora and I are old friends, reaper,” Blaine said, his eyes turning to me. “Can we connect later? I need to run something by you.”

“Uh, sure. Text me first.” Was Blaine a Valkyrie, too? And why was he acting like we were tight? We might have hung out a few times, but he never had eyes for anyone except Casey. “And, uh, sorry about Casey.”

Anger flashed in his eyes. “Yeah, she didn’t need to die.” He nodded and went back to join Drew and the others.

It was my fault Torin had missed practice on Friday and today. How could the coach call Blaine back after everything Torin had done for the team?

“How well do you know him?” Echo asked.

“Obviously not well enough. He was the QB before Torin, and his girlfriend, Casey, died during the last home game. You seem to know him well.”

“Our paths have crossed. He comes from a long line of Immortals, and like them, he thinks he’s better than us because he serves the gods.”

So Blaine was an Immortal. It explained his prowess in sports. I tried to wiggle out of Echo’s arm, but he refused to let me go.

“What are you doing?” I whispered.

“Keeping you close. I’ll choose the flavors and you press the buttons.”

I was growing impatient with his behavior. Worse, I knew he was doing this because of Blaine. “You don’t need to hold me for that.”

He lowered his head, his cheek brushing mine. “But I do. I like holding you. You are my cuddlebunny.”

Instead of causing a scene, I gave in and pushed the dispensing buttons. When we reached the toppings, I chose fruit—strawberries and blueberries—while he piled candy, gummy bears, and crumbled Oreos on top of his.

“You have a serious sweet tooth,” I said.

“Guilty.” He chuckled, but he sounded distracted. We weighed the cups, paid, and headed outside, whispers following us. Blaine waved. I smiled and waved back.

“I don’t like the way he’s looking at you,” Echo said, following me to the car.

I ignored him and slid behind the wheel. I was not doing this jealousy thing with him. He’d made it clear we could never be together.

 
“Did you hear what I said?” he asked, sliding beside me.

He wasn’t going to let this go. “I didn’t think you wanted an answer.”

“Why are you agreeing to meet with him?”

“Because he asked me to.” I scooped my yogurt and tried it. Tart. Perfect.

Echo watched me with a frown. “I don’t trust him. Don’t like him.” He glared through the windscreen as he ate his yogurt. “His eyes are too shifty, his hair too gelled up.”

I laughed. “You are being ridiculous. Blaine is a handsome guy.”

He rolled his eyes.

“Try this.” Echo fed me a scoop of his treat.

“What flavor is that?”

“Chocolate macadamia.” He licked his spoon. His eyes narrowed. “Chapman walks kind of funny, doesn’t he? And his ears stick out of his head like that elephant… uh, you know, the one that could fly.”

“Dumbo? Seriously?”

He smirked.

“Yeah, Dumbo. He’s probably stupid, too.”

I tried hard not to laugh. “Blaine wants to discuss something with me, Echo, not date me. Besides, it’s none of your business who I date.”

His smile disappeared. “So you think he’s hot?”

I used to think Blaine was perfect. Not anymore. I shrugged.

“Do you like him?”

I sighed. Echo was acting like I had to want only him and no one else. “I’m not doing this with you, Echo. I’m dealing with enough crap without you giving me grief over a friend who just wants to talk. Do you know that it’s my fault Coach Higgins contacted Blaine’s family? Torin missed practice today because he went to search for Maliina. And he left in the middle of one yesterday when Raine contacted him after the soul possessed me.”

“Torin’s problems are his business. Yours are mine. Blaine is not right for you.”

I shook my head, getting impatient again. “Why not? After all, he’s not a Valkyrie or a Grimnir. And he dated a Mortal before. Casey. Your lofty laws don’t apply to him.”

“Oh, but they do. He just chose to ignore them, and look at what happened. The Norns took Casey from him. Idiot. The only ones above the law are the gods, and even their destinies are controlled by the Norns. Don’t waste your time with a shithead like Blaine. In fact, none of the dimwits at your school are good enough for you.”

He spoke with such glee I wanted to smack him. How could he be so possessive of me yet refuse to give us a chance?

“Eirik is a god,” I said before I could stop myself.

Echo scowled. “So?”

“So he promised to come back.”

“He can’t come back here.”

I frowned. “Why not?”

“Remember the unfinished discussion you didn’t want to hear yesterday?”

“You mean the one you wanted to discuss after you told me you don’t date puny Mortals? Which, by the way, I’m okay with that now. I’ve moved on. I’ll find someone who thinks I’m worth breaking a few stupid rules.”

Silence filled the car, the kind that came before an explosion.

I stole a glance at Echo and wished I hadn’t. His eyes flashed with fury. I must have hit a nerve. Instead of feeling triumphant, I wanted to take my words back. He’d broken enough rules and paid the ultimate price—eternal servitude to Hel. He couldn’t afford to break rules anymore.

Echo pushed open the door, marched to the garbage by the entrance of Kip’s, and dumped his leftover yogurt. He had barely touched it. Hand fisted, he aimed for the can as though to flatten it. I braced myself, sure he’d destroy the entire sidewalk with a punch. He caught himself and froze.

I sighed with relief when he stepped back, turned, and walked back to the car. He buckled up and snarled, “Let’s go.”

I felt worse. Not sure which part of the crap I’d spewed had ticked him off, I said, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mocked your position. I know what would happen to you if you broke any more rules.”

He whipped around. “You think I care about Hel’s wrath if I turned you? I would accept a century on Corpse Strand if it meant coming back to you.” He shook his head. “But I refuse to put you through what I’ve seen Mortals endure when they choose one of us. I won’t let it happen. So, yes, I may hate hearing that you’ve moved on and will find someone else, but it is for the best. You can never be mine. You can never love me.”

Too late. “Don’t worry, Echo. That’s never going to happen.” I put my leftover yogurt in the cup holder and started the car.

The drive to Raine’s was uncomfortable, the silence oppressive. I hated fighting with Echo but, but I wished he’d stop treating me like a child. I wasn’t asking for forever with him, just a chance to be with him for as long as I could. I brought the car to a stop and switched it off.

“Cora—”

“Don’t. I have one question. Why can’t Eirik come back here?”

“Because I will capture him and personally escort him to Hel.”

My stomach dropped. Sometimes I wasn’t sure whether he said things to get a rise out of me or because he let his reckless side take over. I studied his face. “Why would you do that?”

“The conversation we never finished yesterday involves Eirik. Luring him back to Earth is the reason I came to your house after we met at the store.”

Now I was confused. “I thought you came because you and Maliina were lovers.”

Echo rubbed his nape. “No, I was on a mission, Cora. The plan was to use the girl Hel’s son loved as bait and lure him back to Earth. That girl was Maliina the last time I checked. Or should I say, Maliina impersonating you. The fact that Maliina and I had sex a few times just made things easier for me than the other Grimnirs.”

“Bait?”

“Yes. Except I found you, not Maliina. And I put you in harm’s way.” He went silent and then glanced at me. “Torin and Andris were right. I always have an agenda and I’m good at what I do. I lie, bend the laws, and play dirty to win. That’s who I am, and I’ve never had a reason to change.”

“I don’t believe you. You’re not that manipulative.”

“Oh, but I am. I was planning to sleep with you, or the person I thought was Maliina pretending to be you, and make sure the Valkyries knew about it so they could contact Eirik to come to your rescue. He’s in love with you. Everyone knows it, including Goddess Hel. She knows that anyone who has you can lure Eirik out of hiding.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Could Echo really be that cold-hearted? “So when you said that the goddess wanted me dead because Maliina had failed to lure Eirik to her, you lied?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t even flinch. “But that was before you knew that I wasn’t Maliina.”

“Does it matter? I was going to do it up to the point when I learned the truth from Torin that you were not Maliina. That I was dealing with two different women. The truth changed everything, except the objective. I will
never
use you as bait. You’re the innocent person in all this, and because of that, I’ll protect you from my brothers and sisters eager to please the goddess. But if Eirik comes here, I’ll take him to his mother. Why? Because it is a job. It is my objective. My mission. And I never fail to deliver.” He paused, but his eyes didn’t leave mine. “Like I told you before, I’m not good for you, Cora. I will not lose sleep over handing Eirik to his mother or lying to the Valkyries, but when it comes to you, I can’t—”

I pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh. I know.”

Silence filled the car.

“So you are saying that you’re mean, ruthless, a liar, a manipulator, and basically a badass guy I shouldn’t associate with?”

He grinned, but his eyes were sad. “That about covers it.”

Yet he was being honest with me. Just like when he’d opened up and told me about his Druid background and why he’d ended up on Hel duty. He was a good guy. He just didn’t see it.

“Were you really searching for Maliina last week?”

“Oh yeah. I want to know what runes she etched on you so we can fix you, but I also have other plans for her. She’s not getting away with what she did to you.”

If he couldn’t see what an amazing guy he was, I would find a way to show him. I didn’t believe he’d hand over Eirik to his mother, either.

“I think Raine is trying to get your attention,” Echo said, his gaze on the second floor of the Cooper’s house. I followed his eyes and saw Raine on her window seat. She waved.

“Just one more question, then I’ll leave. Why are you telling me the truth about your mission?”

“I hate lying to you. I told you yesterday that I’d always tell you the truth.”

“What if I told you that taking Eirik to Hel would hurt me?”

Echo gave me a sad, resigned look. “I’d ask for your forgiveness and then take him anyway. Remember, both his parents are there. And being alive, he cannot be trapped behind the halls of Hel like his father.”

Funny, I hadn’t looked at it that way. Still, I didn’t believe he’d do it, knowing it would hurt me.