Runes (Paranormal Romance, YA,) (23 page)

“That would be nice, but I won’t finish my homework,” I whispered back.

He gave in without an argument and gave me a brief kiss. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow. I have to go in early for a meeting with Drexel.”

Drexel was his art teacher and Visual Arts Club advisor. I checked my cell phone as soon as Eirik left, but there was no message from Cora. Not that I expected any. Sighing, I locked the door and headed upstairs. Mom was still awake when I walked past her door.

“How was it?” she called out.

I popped my head inside her room. She had a large book on her lap and receipts all over her bed. She was doing her finances.

“You do know there’s software for such things,” I teased, no longer feeling queasy.

“I’m too old fashioned for computers.” She continued to scribble.

“I can help if you’d like. I took computer applications last year, which covered Microsoft Excel.”

“No, sweetie. I’ll stick with what I know while you…” She studied me with a knowing smile. “You focus on your school work, being a teenager, and finding a guy that puts stars in your eyes.”

“Eirik puts stars in my eyes.” I fluttered my eyelashes.

“Then I’d like to hear more than ‘okay’ after an evening out with him.”

My face grew warm.

“Don’t worry, sweetie. You’ll meet the right guy someday and you’ll understand.”

I shook my head. “Goodnight, Mom.”

“Night, sweetheart.”

In my room, I changed into my pajamas and was getting ready to start my homework when I got a text from Eirik. He’d stopped by Cora’s to make sure she was okay. She got home safely but was still acting crazy. I hope whatever had gotten into her would wear off by tomorrow or Maliina was going to get an earful from me.

I barely finished my homework when the lights in Torin’s bedroom flashed on and off. My heart skipped, but I ignored the signal and turned on the computer. I’d wait until tomorrow and see how Cora was doing before talking to him. Right now, I was dying to meet Goddess Freya, my protector.

11.
 
BEING IGNORED SUCKED

The beautiful Freya was the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, war, and wealth. She was also the guardian of feminine magic and a patroness of women who attain wisdom and power. She was part of the older Norse pantheon known as the Vanir, while Odin, Thor, and Loki were part of the younger gods, the Aesir. Reading how the Aesir fought Vanir gods and took over reminded me of how Zeus and the Olympians fought the Titans in Greek mythology. The only difference was Odin and the Asgardians embraced the Vanir gods and goddesses afterwards.

Odin might have received magical runes, but Freya taught the gods sorcery, spells, and charms when she moved to Asgard. The interesting part was, when soldiers died in battle, she received half of the dead heroes while the other half went to Odin in Valhalla. These soldiers then trained for the final battle between the gods and their evil enemies, when our world would be flooded and destroyed.

The more I read about the goddess, the more I wanted to learn. I had to remind myself she wasn’t just a mythological goddess. Torin and his immortal friends believed in her and other Norse pantheon, and the runes associated with them gave them real powers.

Remembering Ingrid’s scathing words about my sketches, I traced the two runes associated with Goddess Freya several times in a notebook.

Once again, the lights in Torin’s bedroom flashed. I ignored the signal and crawled into bed. Half the night, my mind went in circles with the things I’d learned.

Mom took one look at me in the morning and frowned. “What happened?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Is this still about Kate?”

“No, homework… tests…” I escaped behind a bowl of cereal before she could question me anymore.

I drove to school without worrying about accidents or something bad happening to me. That didn’t mean I ignored the runes on my car. I planned to find out who wrote them and why they felt I needed protection. After Cora’s crazed driving last night, maybe I could ask whoever it was to protect her, too. Or I could do it myself now that I knew how to sketch the runes. The problem was my runes would freak her out. I didn’t have the invisible ink Torin and his people used, and I had no plan of talking to them or asking them for help.

Lady Luck wasn’t on my side, though. The first people I saw when I arrived at school were Ingrid and Maliina as they stepped out of Blaine’s SUV. Like a magnet, Maliina found me. She said something to Blaine then crossed the parking lot and cut me off.

“Lorraine.”

“Maliina.” I kept walking.

“Do you really think those runes will protect you from me?”

“I try not to think about you, Maliina.”

“You know what they say about keeping your enemies closer? I perfected it. Last time Andris showed interest in another girl, I took care of her.” A cruel smile twisted her lips as she glanced at her sister.

“You turned your own sister?”

“No, but I made sure Andris did, so stay away from him.”

“Only if you stay away from
my
friends,” I retorted.

She laughed. “Your friend is an idiot, gullible. I hope she had a nice drive home last night.”

 
“Yeah, thanks to Goddess Freya,” I bragged, lying through my teeth. “She not only protects me. She protects anyone close to me.” The smile disappeared from Maliina’s lips. I wasn’t sure whether it was because I’d mentioned the goddess or something else.

“You can’t be with your friends all the time, Mortal. She might just be a pawn in this game we’re playing, but Eirik Seville is much more. He intrigues me.”

“Stay away from him.”

“Or what? What can you possibly do to me?” She chuckled gleefully and took off. I stared after her then released a shaky breath. What a sicko. She’d done something to Cora, or her car. For what? An obsession with a guy?

Torin pulled up as I crossed the street. I thought I heard him call my name, but I kept going. My sanity demanded I stay away from him and his kind. Cora was waiting for me by the lockers, her expression contrite.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said, hugging me. “I was horrible to you, and I can’t even explain why.”

I could. I checked her face and the back of her hands for runes. There were none. “I’ve seen you at your worst.”

“I know. Dad took my car keys when I had a fender bender and threatened he’d take my car until I leave for college if I got into another accident. I’m going with the original plan. One lesson and I’m done. I’ll text Ingrid and explain.”

“Good. Did she or her sister do or say anything to you before they left the pool last night?”

Cora frowned. “Not really.”

“Are you sure?”

“I know I acted like I was crazy or something, but it had nothing to do with them. All Maliina did was show me this really cool pen that’s shaped like a dagger. She accidently scratched my arm, but it was nothing. There was no blood. Where’s Eirik? I owe him an apology, too. He stopped by my house to check on me and I went loco on his poor head.”

“You had a bad moment. I’m sure he’ll understand. He came early to see his art teacher about something.”

We turned a corner and almost bumped into Torin and Jess with her sidekicks—Danielle, Savanna, and Vera. The four girls, all seniors, had been the relay
Dream Team
before I joined varsity. I replaced Vera in my freshman year, and they never forgave me.

Jess was plastered to Torin’s side like a wet rag, one hand rubbing his chest absentmindedly as she talked. I wanted to yank her arm from its socket and drag him away from her. Our eyes met, and my breath froze in my chest. Blue fire flashed in the depth of his sapphire eyes. He was pissed, yet when Jess reached up and touched his cheek to draw his attention, his expression softened as he stared down at her. I couldn’t explain why it hurt to see them together. I had no claim on Torin. He could date whoever he liked. Looking away, I tried to control my emotions. Luckily, we were close to the restrooms.

“I’ll be right out,” I said and slipped inside.

“Did you see that?” Cora hissed, following me. “Torin totally ignored us like we were invisible or something.”

I didn’t speak. Instead, I found an empty bathroom and ignored Cora’s rant from the other side of the door. Why did it hurt to see Torin with someone else? I didn’t want him or own him. I had Eirik. Besides, Jess was the senior co-captain of the swim team and knew our best swimmers. Since Torin wanted to recruit our best swimmers, he would need her help.

“We’ll never ever be part of that crowd, and he’s been here… what? A week and he’s already one of them? So unfair,” Cora ranted on.

“We have our friends, Cora.” I opened the door and washed my hands even though I hadn’t used the bathroom. “And he obviously belongs with them.”

“Belongs, my butt. You should have snagged him the day he moved next door.”

That was never going to happen. I rinsed and dried my hands. “He’s not my type.”

Cora laughed.

“What?” I snapped, getting irritated by her attitude.

“Torin St. James is every girl’s type,” Cora said as we stepped out of the restroom.

“Should I be jealous?” Keith said from behind us.

Cora turned and slipped her arms around him. “No, you shouldn’t, silly. I’m crazy about you.”

Keith kissed her. “I should hope so, because I’m crazy about you, too.”

I shook my head at their show of affection. Yesterday, she was talking about breaking up with him and this morning she was crazy about him? Cora could be so unpredictable.

Eirik caught up with me before I reached my math class. Torin and Jess were already by the door. She was draped all over him as they made goo-goo eyes at each other and he played with her hair.

“Your hair is like silk,” he’d told me. Did he think Jess’ perfect hair was silky, too?

The kiss Eirik pressed on my lips felt awkward. Or maybe it was just me. He nodded at Torin and took off. I was halfway to my seat when Jess stuck her head in class and said, “Nice to see you two finally got your act together and stopped acting like brother and sister, Raine.”

I didn’t bother to answer her. She wasn’t worth my time. Besides, I knew her dislike of me went beyond swimming. Her friend Danielle had had a thing for Eirik, for like forever, and got nowhere.

“We thought you were into girls or something,” she added.

I stopped. I didn’t need another viper coming after me. Maliina was enough. If I could, I’d walk back and shut Jess up with a slap, but physical violence wasn’t encoded in my DNA.

Instead, I turned and smiled. “It’s nice to know you can actually think, Jess.
I
thought there was nothing but air between your ears.”

She blinked and opened her mouth, but I was already turning away. Snickers followed. Face red, I slid behind my desk and opened my math textbook. I couldn’t believe I just did that.

“Way to go, Raine,” someone said.

Torin entered the class, and I couldn’t help looking up. I braced myself for his anger. After all, I had insulted his new girlfriend. His eyes twinkled with a devilish delight. Why was he happy? I’d just pissed off the meanest girl on the swim team, which meant she was going to make my life hell. As a senior co-captain, she helped the coach with seating arrangements on the bus when we traveled to meets and assigned rooms for overnights stays. I could already see her making me sit and room with freshmen.

When he paused by my desk, I looked down.
Please, go away.

“We need to talk,” he said.

“No, we don’t.”

“Yes, we do. Wait for me after class,” he added.

For the rest of the period, I was aware of his eyes on me. I didn’t wait when the class ended. Part of me knew I wasn’t just running away from Torin. I was running from my growing feelings for him. From my reaction when I saw him with Jess, my feelings were stronger that I’d thought.

Luckily, Eirik was waiting by the door. Unfortunately, so was Jess. Someone forgot to tell her only desperate girls walked guys to their classes and waited around for them like a groupie. She shot me nasty look. As we walked away, I heard her annoying high-pitched voice as she whined to Torin. How could he stand her voice?

Oblivious to my yo-yoing emotions, Eirik talked about his meeting with his art teacher. Mr. Drexel was sending some of his photographs to some national photography contests.

“Oh, that’s great,” I mumbled, not really paying him the attention he deserved. His photographs always made it to nationals every year. Maybe they would win this year. If he noticed my inattentiveness, he didn’t show it.

I gawked when Torin stood at the entrance of my physics class and looked around. I slouched lower, trying to be invisible. He found me anyway, then sauntered to the front of the class and handed Mr. Allred a piece of paper.

“You’re three weeks behind, St. James, and will need to work hard to catch up. Saturday classes are always an option if you find yourself struggling.”

“I have a friend in this class who’s agreed to tutor me. There she is. Hey, Raine.” He waved enthusiastically.