Runes #03 - Grimnirs (5 page)

He caught it and threw it on my bed. Then he opened his arms.

“Come here. I should be consoling you, not giving you a hard time. The Norns must have erased your memories. That’s why you can’t remember me.”

“Norns? I don’t know what those are or care. Just. Get. Out.” I grabbed the nearest thing, the poker I’d used to disperse ghosts, and threw it at him. He didn’t even attempt to block it. It bounced off his chest and landed on the floor with a thud.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll find out why and help you remember everything.” His glance went to my bed, and he gave me a slow smile, the implication clear.

“In your dreams,
reaper
,” I snapped, making the word sound like something that had crawled out of a sewer. “Leave.”

He stopped smirking, his tattoos appearing and starting to glow. “Someone is coming.” He angled his head and listened. “Heavier footsteps mean it’s your father. I’m a Grimnir, not grim or reaper. Grimnir.” He moved fast and was in front of me before I could blink, his hand cradling my head, his lips an inch from mine. “And you and I are lovers.”

“No, we’re not.” I tried to push him away, but it was like pushing a wall. A warm wall with a pounding heart and scents designed to mess with a girl’s head. His eyes went to my lips. “Don’t you dare,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Oh, but I do.” Then he kissed me.

I’d expected an invasion of my senses. Instead I got gentleness and something I couldn’t explain. My hands stopped pushing him away. My fingers curled and bunched his T-shirt. I wasn’t sure what I meant to do. Pull him closer, perhaps. All I knew was the fight had left me.

He lifted his head, saving me from humiliating myself. Then he opened his mouth and spoke. “You want me, Cora Jemison. Your mind might not remember, but your body does.”

I wanted to knee him hard, but he was already moving away.

“If the Norns did a clean sweep, you don’t remember my name. It’s Echo. Don’t forget it, because you and I have a good thing going here, Cora. I’m coming back for you.”

That sounded ominous. “Don’t bother.”

“When it comes to you, nothing is a bother.” He stopped next to the full-length mirror on my closet door, his eyes not leaving me, his smirk in place. The surface of the mirror changed texture, growing grainy then cloudy just like the cloud I’d seen him conjure in the store. It churned and formed a tunnel to nowhere. Probably to hell.

Echo winked just as the door flew open and my father stood in the doorway with a worried expression.

“Later, doll-face,” Echo said.

Dad didn’t seem to hear him or see the portal on the mirror. “What’s going on, Cora? We heard you yell.” He glanced around as though checking for an intruder.

“I’m fine, Daddy.” I searched for an excuse and remembered the laptop. “I was online and, uh, kind of overreacted to something I read. I’ll keep it down.”

He frowned, his eyes on the laptop. “What was it about? You?”

“No-oo.” I laughed, though my voice sounded shaky. “It’s the stupid fashion trend. I have no idea who comes up with what’s in and what’s not.” I rolled my eyes and gave a fake shudder, then glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He was still frowning, obviously not buying my act. “Leather is big this fall, and I absolutely loathe the feel of leather on my skin, unless they are boots, which reminds me I have to go shopping. I need a new jacket and sweaters and, oh, pants. Several pairs.” Dad winced. Fashion wasn’t his thing. “You or Mom can drive me into town, since you won’t let me drive.”

“I, uh, your mom can take you.” He started to close the door. “Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes. Come downstairs and help your mother set the table.”

“I’ll be down in a minute.” The door closed behind him, and I slowly exhaled.

I sat on the bed and stared at my reflection. What was going on? I jumped up and stripped. The birthmarks Echo had mentioned were still there. Either someone was playing a cruel joke on me or I’d entered an alternate reality where I was having an affair with an annoying, arrogant grim reaper.

I’d take the cruel joke any day.

3.
 
Two Places or Two People

The closer I got to my school, the more nervous I became. The last two days had been a nightmare—worrying about school, Echo returning with more outlandish stories, watching the videos on my vlog over and over, and trying to find anything that made sense.

The annoying reaper didn’t come back, and I didn’t find anything useful online. It was me on those videos, not someone impersonating me or a doppelganger. The mannerism, facial expressions, even the laugh on those videos said it was me.

But how had I sneaked out of the psych ward? Had I created a portal through a mirror the way Echo had done, but had been too pumped full of psych meds to remember? The problem was I didn’t sound drugged or look loopy in the videos. Not knowing how I’d recorded them was driving me nuts.

For two days, I’d researched supernatural phenomena. Astral projection was a possible explanation. I could see souls, so it wasn’t a stretch. Echo flashed his tats and became invisible, so my astral image could have hooked up with him.

Right. It sounded like something straight out of a fantasy novel. I would have remembered Echo. Making out with him. I just hated the idea of having had sex with him. How could I have forgotten my first time?

Dad stopped at the stop sign, and I pulled up behind him. I’d insisted on bringing my Elantra even though he and Mom had caused a big stink about it. How the heck was I going to go back to being normal when I couldn’t drive myself to school? After clothes shopping with Mom yesterday and souls following us everywhere like zombies, I knew I couldn’t let her chauffeur me around. She’d almost caught me glaring at a soul.

A sudden cold draft filled my car as I stepped on the gas. I smothered a scream and slammed on the brakes when my eyes met Echo’s in the rearview mirror.

“Where did you come from?” I screeched.

Echo grinned at me from the back seat of my car. “Morning to you too, doll-face.”

“How did you—? Never mind. You probably walk through metal, too.” His tats were glowing again.

“Yes, I do,” he bragged.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell you to leave me alone?”

“Didn’t I tell you I can’t? I miss you.” He draped his arms around the headrest of my seat and scooted forward.

Heat rushed to my face. The thought of him as my lover filled my insides with butterflies. That it wasn’t nausea annoyed me. He was the grim reaper, damn it. A being I was supposed to fear and revile, not…
 
I wasn’t sure what I felt when he was around. Annoyed was at the top of the list.

“I told you I don’t know you and we are not…”

“Lovers? I know. That’s new.”

“What?”

“The blush. You never blush, even when I do the naughtiest—”

“Oh shut up, you letch. It’s like you have a one-track mind.”

“That’s not my fault. You never wanted to talk. Not that I minded. I loved having you rip off my clothes.”

“Don’t worry; it won’t happen again,” I shot back as my body heated with images his words evoked.

“Want to bet?”

A car honked, and I realized I hadn’t moved since he appeared in my car. There was a long line of cars behind me.

“Now see what you made me do.” I eased off the brake. Ahead, Dad’s truck was nowhere in sight.

“Sorry about that,” Echo said, but he didn’t sound or look it. He reached out and lifted the hair on my right shoulder.

I swatted at his hand. “Stop that.”

“Can’t help it.” He planted a kiss on my neck. The car swayed as I momentarily lost control.

“I’m serious. Quit messing with me, Echo.”

“You smell amazing.” He trailed kisses up my neck to my ear and inhaled.

The sensations that invaded my body were downright frightening. Not even Eirik had ever made me feel like this. If I could forget Echo was a lunatic and I was losing my mind, I would have enjoyed the sensation.

I reached up and tried to push his head away, but it was like moving a boulder. Worse, my hand sunk into his hair. It was silky, and for one brief moment, I wanted to run my fingers through it, maybe hold his head in place and savor the moment.

He bit my ear. I squealed and, once again, lost control of the car. “Dang it, Echo. We could get into an accident.”

“But we self-heal.”

I self-healed, too? Nice. No, not nice. I refused to start buying into his crazy assumptions. “I could hurt someone.”

“There’re just Mortals. If it’s their time to go, it’s their time to go. No force of nature can stop that. No, that’s not true. Norns could. You look breathtaking this morning. Love that shade of red on you. Very vampy. What is it you once told me? Red gives you the extra oomph when you are having a shitty day.”

The only person who knew that was Raine. “Who told you that?”

“You, doll-face. Why are you having a shitty day?”

I glared ahead. “Because you are screwing with my head. How come you keep saying things I don’t remember?”

“I told you. The Norns put a whammy on you.”

“Norns?”

“Deities of destiny. Mean, bitter hags. They control the destiny of all beings—Mortals, Immortals, even the gods. Interestingly, I just found out why they targeted you and erased your memories.”

“Why?” Not that I believed his rambling.

“Say please.”

I was tempted to ignore him, but something weird had happened to me and I wanted answers. I eased the car into a parking spot across from my school, switched off the engine, and turned to look at Echo. He was dressed in all leather again today. I realized that what I’d assumed was a leather shirt was actually a vest of some kind. Once again, he wore fingerless gloves and silver Gothic rings with weird markings.

“Please,” I said through clenched teeth.

He touched his lips. “I want a kiss, too.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why are you such a tool all the time? You think this is fun for me? Not remembering things? Waking up one morning and seeing souls? Ending up in a psych ward, where they pumped me full of drugs, then coming home only to be met by you, a reaper?”

“Grimnir,” he corrected then frowned. “Are those the fake memories the Norns gave you? Psych ward? That’s just wrong.”

“I was in a psych ward,” I snapped.

He raised his hands. “Okay. No need to be snippy.”

“I’m not—”

He covered my mouth then smirked when I bit his hand. I bore down until I tasted blood. He didn’t even wince. His grin broadened instead.

“Drink my blood, doll-face. Bond with me for eternity.”

The thought was scary. I pushed his hand away and wiped my mouth. “Ew. Can your blood do that?”

He laughed.

“Will you be serious for even a second?” I asked.

“Don’t you want to be mine forever?”

“Ew, no.” I made a face. “I don’t even like you.”

“What’s liking me got to do with anything? As long as you want me, I’m good.”

“I
don’t
want you.”

He gave me a slow wicked smile. “Want me to prove it?”

Silence followed, and I could feel heat crawling up my face. He reached out to touch my face, but I dodged his hand.

“Okay, I’m kidding about the blood,” he said. “But you can bite me any time.” He proudly showed me the bite mark I’d left on his hand. The runes on his hand glowed bright and the wound sealed, the blood disappearing too. “It’s nothing my runes can’t heal. To bond with me, sweet-cheeks, I’d have to rune you.”

“Rune me?”

“Etch these,” he pointed at his tattoos, “on you with my blade. Don’t say anything. Your father is here. I’ll explain about Norns later. Right now, I gotta go. Souls don’t wait around forever, you know. They run, and the lucky ones follow hot Grimnirs like you.”

I turned to find Dad by my door.

“I’m not a grim,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Grimnir, doll-face. Stopping calling us grim. It’s insulting. Do I get a kiss before I leave?”

“No.”

“Oh, come on.”

Ignoring him, I opened the door and hauled out my backpack. Echo was already outside, looking like the angel of death in his black clothes and duster, the only color was his smooth golden skin with glowing tats. No, not tats. Runes.

I glared, but it was wasted on him. He just smirked, leaned against my car, and gave me a slow perusal from under heavy-lidded eyes. I shivered. Did he have to do that? He must have perfected that pose in front of a mirror, but he looked so hot. Ignoring him wasn’t easy, but I managed to drag my eyes away. The parking lot was empty except for a few cars, but soon it would fill with cars and bikes. Oregon was a green state and unless it was snowing, a lot of students biked to and from school.

“I’ll carry your backpack,” Dad said.

“It’s okay, Dad. I got it.” I locked my door. Echo still hovered.

Dad touched the bottom of my backpack. “What are you carrying? It looks heavy.”

I rolled my eyes. “They’re just books, Dad. And please, stop treating me like I’m sick. If I can drive myself to school, I can carry my own backpack.”

“And if you engage your runes, you can carry him without breaking a sweat, too,” Echo added.

I didn’t look his way, but I put that information away for later. Not that I had any runes or intention of engaging them. Whatever that meant. Dad still studied me with a frown.

“You’ve lost quite a bit of weight,” he said.

“I agree,” Echo said. “I felt it yesterday when I lifted you. I think you were pining for me and refused to eat.”

Ignoring him was becoming harder.

“They don’t exactly serve large potions at the crazy house,” I said.

Dad winced, and I wished I hadn’t brought up the mental hospital. He’d looked uneasy whenever they visited me at PMI. It was probably hard for him to accept that his only child had been institutionalized.

“Told you those were false memories from the Norns,” Echo interjected.

I wish I could tell him to shut up. I reached up and kissed Dad’s cheek. “Love you, Dad.”

“How come he gets a kiss and I don’t?” Echo asked.

“What was that for?” Dad asked at the same time.

“For being the greatest dad.” I started across the street, and he fell in step beside me. Echo flanked me on the other side. He was saying something, but I tuned him out. He talked too much. More cars screeched to a stop behind us. I glanced back, recognizing a few. Soon the front entrance would be packed with students wondering where I’d been. Staring. Pointing. My worst nightmare.

“School,” Echo said and shuddered. “Why Valkyries insist on mingling with Mortals in this cesspool boggles the mind. You swore you wouldn’t come back here either, but since the Norns screwed with your memories, I suppose you don’t remember that.”

I let my hair fall forward, so Dad wouldn’t see my face, and I glared at Echo. “Just go away,” I mouthed. “Please?”

His eyes narrowed. Then he sighed. “Okay, but you owe me.”

“For what?” I wanted to ask, but I didn’t want to know the answer. His crazy stories were adding to my nightmare. I didn’t check to see him disappear, but I knew the moment he was gone. The air was less charged. It was as though he emitted some pulse and I was tuned in to it, which was crazy because every time he appeared, frigid air followed.

We entered the double doors leading to the front office. The secretary waved us into the principal’s office. I didn’t really want to see Mr. Elliot. A phone call explaining my return would have been enough, but Dad had insisted on talking to him.

“Mr. Jemison,” the principal said, standing up. He shook Dad’s hand, nodded in my direction, and indicated the chairs across from his.

“So what I can do for you?” he asked, sitting.

“My daughter,” Dad glanced at me and smiled, “has missed quite a bit of school, and I’d like to help her catch up. I do not want her to repeat a class or for her grades to suffer.”

Mr. Elliot smiled and leaned forward. “That’s very admirable, Mr. Jemison. But like I told you in the e-mail, Cora is a great student and will have no problem catching up.”

Yeah, right. I was going to have no social life for the rest of the year.

Dad frowned. “You don’t think she needs help? She’s been gone a while.”

Mr. Elliot smiled. “The teachers will give her packets of missed work, and she can take any quizzes and tests she missed. But I don’t think she’s missed enough for us to worry about. Her grades are good. I checked. If she has problems grasping concepts, the teachers will work with her.”

I tuned them out and slouched in my seat. Most students who’d missed weeks of school often struggled to catch up. Raine could help me. No, I wasn’t running to her for help. I’d plod through the packets alone. When Dad and the principal stood, I realized they were done talking.

Outside the office, students hurried past, but no one stared or pointed. Dad glanced left and right before turning to peer at me. He looked worried.

“Go,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”