Seeress: Book Three (Runes Series) (20 page)

I winced. “If you don’t stop Madam Bosvilles.”

“I plan to. Thanks.” She took after her sister. The rattling stopped. Torin appeared just as Gina went through the door. Andris, Ingrid, and Blaine were right behind him.

Everything was normal inside the restaurant, but they still spread out around the room while Torin came to my table. My eyes fell on the protective amulet. In her haste to get away from “evil” me, Rita had forgotten it. I covered it with a plate of Gina’s half-eaten baklava just before my ready-to-kiss-ass boyfriend reached my table.

“Hey,” I said lamely.

His eyes roamed my face. “You okay?”

“Yep. I came for some baklava and time just flew by.” I stood and pretended to notice the others. “Oh, are you guys here for lunch?” I reached under the plate and pulled out the amulet by its chain.

Torin frowned, still searching for an invisible enemy. “No. I sensed you were in danger and thought you were being attacked.”

The runes must have reacted to the magic, and he did have a way of knowing when I was in trouble. “It was just an earthquake.”

“A minor one,” Nikos’ server said from behind him. “We had a few rattling of chairs, but no one was hurt.”

“True.” I took Torin’s arm and led him away from the table. He glanced back and frowned.

“Hawk said you were with friends.”

“Yeah, from school.” The others headed outside, too. Andris was on his cell phone. “I didn’t need rescuing, guys, but thanks for coming. It was just an earthquake.”

“They haven’t reported it yet,” Andris said.

The problem with geeks was they looked up every bloody, freaking thing. “Yeah. Well. It just happened, duh.” Thankfully, Rita and Gina were gone. “Let’s go home.”

***

I was still reading to Dad when I heard the doorbell. Then voices followed. People who came to my house rarely used the door, let alone the doorbell. I angled my head to listen as I continued to read. Multi-tasking was my middle name. The voice grew stronger and then faded. I hoped it wasn’t Rita and the witches coming to burn me at the stake.

My cell phone dinged. I angled the screen and read the text message.

“Your father has visitors,” Femi said.

“Who?” I texted back.

“The Jemisons.”

Cora’s parents. “Give us ten min.”

“Why did you stop?” Dad asked, his voice low, his eyes closed.

“You have visitors. Cora’s parents. Let’s finish the chapter first.”

He chuckled. At least it sounded like a chuckle. “It’s okay, bumpkin. We can finish it some other time. I’m not ready to check out yet.”

“I should hope not.” It was nice to hear him crack a joke. A sucky one, but a joke nevertheless. I debated kissing him, but fear of rejection kept me from trying. The only time I did that was when he was asleep or feverish. I still didn’t get visions when I touched him. “Okay, Daddy. I’ll see you later.”

“Go out and do something fun, sweetheart,” he said.

“I did. Yesterday. We went to L.A. Connection for a party some girls threw, and tonight I’m going out to dinner with Cora.”

“Good. Send Femi in first. I need to look my best.”

We exchanged a grin. His best would still look sickly and emaciated. I closed the door behind me and saw the Jemisons in the kitchen talking to Femi. The scent of freshly baked pie filled in the air.

“Is that still warm?” I asked when I saw the two pies on the counter.

“One is,” Cora’s mother said and gave me a hug. “I thought you might want a piece, so I brought a cooled one, too.”

“Femi told us you were reading to your father,” Mr. Jemison said.

“Yeah.” I got a plate and a knife. “Oh, Femi, he needs you.” I cut a huge slice. When I looked up, Femi was gone and the Jemisons were looking at me expectantly. What were we discussing? Oh, yeah, the whale. “We’re reading
Moby-Dick
. It’s one of his favorite books. That and
The Hobbit
. We finished
The Hobbit
last month and watched the movie. Now it’s Captain Evil Ahab and then the movie.” My father always insisted I read the books before watching movies based on them.

We kept discussing books and movies until Femi came out to get them. I carried my pie upstairs. Torin had been gone since he picked me up from the Mirage. He’d taken Blaine with him.

We didn’t get a chance to talk last night, but the explanation he’d given me for his disappearance for two days had seemed sketchy at best. He’d been checking on leads to whoever had robbed his mother’s tomb and even got to interview his relatives. Like that would stop him from popping in and out of my room. He’d done it at the hospital, right under my mother’s nose and the nurses’ watchful eyes. He was up to something, and his obsession didn’t make sense.

I finished my homework and practiced the oboe pieces for the upcoming concert. I’d stopped my daily practice after the Norns started messing with me and even fudged the entries on my practice chart a few times. I didn’t feel guilty then, or now. It was the Norns’ fault.

Downstairs, Femi was watching something on her laptop while working on dinner. Dad ate mainly soft or pureed foods. Cora’s mother had left. Probably went shopping. She often did that while her husband visited with Dad.

“Heading to the mansion for a bit,” I told her.

“When is your dinner date?”

“Six.” I had a couple of hours to kill. I started for the portal, but then I remembered something. “What kind of potion involves using someone’s hair?”

Femi froze in the process of chopping a celery stick. “The bad kind. Where did that come from?”

“Just something I saw.”

“Where?” Her voice was harsh.

I shrugged. “Does it matter? What happens to the person?”

She stopped cutting the veggies all together and came toward me. The look in her eyes said she didn’t like what she was hearing. The way she held the knife was unsettling. “The person practicing
bad
magic or the victim?”

“Both.”

“It depends on what the
evil
witch is after or what the person they made the potion for wants. They could control the victim. Make them sick or even kill them. Where did you see this?”

“A vision.” She stopped and frowned. “The person making the potion is an old Seeress. The hair is from a young girl, a powerful witch.”

Femi pursed her lips. “Poor defenseless thing. That’s the kind of magic you find in old grimoires. The hag’s magical powers must be waning, so she’s using the girl’s hair to link with her energy and steal it. If not stopped, the girl will not have any magic left in her. What’s going on, Raine?”

“Can the damage be reversed?”

“I don’t know. People who own grimoires keep them hidden. Whoever the witch is, she will not want the spell reversed. She’s probably destroyed the page with the spell. Whose future did you see, Raine?”

“A girl from my school. She’s sick. In fact, she’s convinced she’s dying. Can you use your contacts to see if we can reverse the curse?”

“Not you.
I
will deal with this. You must not get involved. This is evil stuff. Spells and potions.” She shuddered.

“But you just said she was like me,” I protested.

“She probably doesn’t know it yet. Please, stay away from this girl, whoever she is, until I find out what to do.” She shook her head and smiled. “What are the odds of the two of you in one place?”

Part of me wanted to tell her about the witches, but I had to talk to Torin first. “Okay. I’ll see you later.” I opened the portal to the mansion and entered the grand foyer. It was quiet.

“Is anybody home? Andris?” Thuds came from upstairs and the dining room, which was across from the living room. Mrs. Willow must still be around. I assumed she came on Saturdays.

I peered inside the dining room, but it was empty. The door connecting it to the kitchen was slightly open. My watch said it was almost seven, a bit too late for the cook to be around.

Voices came from upstairs. I stopped at the foot of the stairs and called out again. Andris had a room upstairs by the library. Even when he wasn’t feeding his inner geek with some sci-fi book or a gadget, he loved to be surrounded by books.

Maybe he had his latest conquest up there or was deep in some science fiction world and didn’t want to be disturbed. I turned to leave.

“Hey,” came from upstairs, and I looked up. Ingrid stood at the rail with a sheet around her. Her boyfriend must be around, which might explain why Andris was gone.

“Where’s Andris?”

“With Torin.”

“Oh. Torin said he was leaving him in charge.”

She shrugged. “Uh, about earlier,” she added. “You weren’t just meeting with ordinary friends from school, were you?”

I frowned. “Why do you say that?”

She started downstairs, the sheet dragging behind her. I wondered if she was naked underneath it. What if she stepped on it? Stupid thing to think about now, but she tended to walk around the house half-naked. I often wondered if it was an attempt to draw Andris’ attention or because she was a cheerleader and comfortable in her body.

She glanced upstairs when she reached me and whispered, “I felt the magic, Raine. You found the sister witches, didn’t you?”

So she knew. “I did. At school. They came to see me at the shop, so I took them to Nikos to talk.”

She pouted. “Oh, phew. I was going to impress you guys with my news. You know, call a meeting and tell everyone about them.”

I grimaced, feeling bad for her. The others were just starting to see her as a useful member of the group. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.” She gathered her sheet, which was starting to slip.

“We can pretend I don’t know about them if you’d like,” I said. “Call the gang and wow them. I’ll act surprised.”

A weird expression crossed her face. “You would do that for me?”

I shrugged. “Sure. That’s what friends are for, right?”

She smiled. “Thanks, Raine. Happy to know you have my back, but you don’t have to. I’ll be okay.” Her cheeks grew pink. “Oh, uh, you can be the first to know my secret. I’ve decided to leave at the end of the school year. Femi has contacts in the fashion industry, and she made a call for me.” She grinned. “I did an interview last month with a market editor at A-la Mode last week. She loved that I know so much about the fashion industry and market. I’m going to intern for her in New York.”

“That’s great, Ingrid. I’m happy for you.” Andris had wanted her to have a hobby. This one was taking her far away. A portal away, but still… Oh, he was so going to hate this.

“Don’t tell anyone yet, including Torin,” she warned.

I pretended to zip my lips, which made her chuckle. Another sound came from the dining room, and the hairs on my nape rose. “Is Mrs. Willow working late today?”

Ingrid shook her head. “No. She left already. Why?”

“I keep hearing sounds from the kitchen. I don’t want her to see me use the portal.”

Frowning, Ingrid angled her head. “I don’t hear anything. Blaine left with the others, and Echo doesn’t come here unless Torin is around.”

She gathered the sheet tighter around her, engaged her runes, and zipped down the stairs past me and into the dining room. Within seconds, she was back.

“There’s no one there, but one of the guys left a mess in the kitchen again. I’m not cleaning it.” She muttered something in her language. Sounded like a curse. “They never admit it.”

“Maybe you have a ghost in the house,” I teased as I headed toward the foyer portal.

“Don’t joke about that, Raine.” She shivered. “I don’t like souls. I used blocking runes so I don’t have to deal with them.”

Most Immortals did. I was the opposite. I wanted to see souls. I couldn’t be a Valkyrie and work with Torin unless I saw them. I waved to her.

Lavania had insisted that I didn’t need to escort souls or do anything because I was a Seeress. The gods would take care of me, whatever that meant. She didn’t understand. I didn’t want to be a pampered Seeress just because I could see when Ragnarok started. I wanted my life to have a purpose. Like Torin, Andris, and Echo reaping souls. Even Cora had found a way to use her abilities.

Just before I entered the portal, I stopped. I had a weird feeling that I was being watched. I turned and studied the foyer. Ingrid was gone and there was no one but me. A chill filled the air, making me shiver. Weird. Shaking my head, I engaged my runes and went home.

The lights in the bedroom across the yard from mine were the first sign that Torin was home. He didn’t come to the window. The stinker.

I found the perfect outfit. I wasn’t a dress person, but this was going to be a one-time DD. Two alpha males just didn’t mix. They’d knock heads over everything—who drove us, the bill, where to go. The whole evening was bound to be a disaster.

I was putting the final touches on my makeup when the portal opened. Torin. Finally. I turned, expecting to see him saunter into the room.

“Can I come in?” Cora called out.

Disappointed, I sighed.

“Sure.” I got up and went to close my bedroom door. “Your dad’s still here, so keep your voice low.” I turned and caught her studying my outfit. “What do you think?”

“It’s perfect. Simple but elegant. Love the accessories, too.”

“I raided Mom’s jewelry box.” The dark-blue dress with white zigzag across the chest flared down from my rib cage. It was flirty and girlish without being over the top. The navy-blue, three-quarter sleeve cardigan was the same length as the dress. The stacks of bracelets, dangling earrings, and necklace had lots of red and matched my heeled boots. I grinned at Cora. “You’re rocking a bathrobe tonight?”

“I can’t seem to decide on anything, but seeing your outfit helps. I think we’re going somewhere private tonight.”

“Really? In Kayville?” We had national restaurant branches galore, and they were usually packed on Saturdays.

“They actually got together this morning to discuss the details without starting World War III.”

“No way.”

She laughed. “Oh yeah. See you in a few.”

She disappeared through the portal, and I headed downstairs. Sounds came from behind Dad’s door. Femi was preparing two dinner trays. She stopped fussing with the tray and beamed.

“Look at you. You look amazing. You should wear dresses more often.”

“You sound just like Mom,” I said and wished I hadn’t. I missed her. “Do you need me to carry anything?”

She gave me one of the trays.

Inside the room, Dad and Cora’s dad were watching ESPN. Dad was propped against the pillow while Mr. Jemison sat on the chair at the head of the bed. Dad usually perked up whenever Cora’s dad visited. I stayed with them for a few minutes.

At five to six, Torin entered our living room, and my heart trembled. He looked amazing in a dress shirt and a dinner jacket.

His eyes narrowed on me, a slow smile curling his lips. Hel’s Mist. That grin was downright sinful. Warmth infused my body. He had no business looking at me like that. Not when my father was in the next room.

“Keep drooling and we’ll skip dinner,” he warned in a voice as smooth as satin.

“That should be my line, dufus. Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” He closed the gap between us, bringing all that pure deliciousness my way. My breath caught. He smelled amazing. “Can you handle that?”

“I can handle anything you dish out.” He chuckled, and I realized how that sounded. Like a challenge. He loved challenges. I bit down on my lower lip and wrapped my arms around his. “Am I going to like this surprise?”

“What’s not to like? I’m part of the package.”

I rolled my eyes. “Bring that arrogance down a notch, pal, or this evening will be a disaster.”

He turned his head and pressed a kiss on my temple. “Did I mention how amazing you look tonight?”

“No, but that’s a start.”

He laughed, then glanced over my head and said, “See you later, Femi.”

“You kids have fun.” There was laughter in her voice, and I knew she hadn’t heard every word we’d exchanged. She might be laid back, but Mom had left her in charge of me.

We entered the portal and appeared in Echo’s living room. Now I was confused, but I refused to give Torin the satisfaction of asking again. Then Cora and Echo entered the room. She looked preppy in black shorts, a striped blue shirt with matching high-heeled shoes, and a white dinner jacket. Echo wore his usual duster, but he traded his leather for a black dress shirt and matching pants.

He led us to the front of the house where a limo waited. Cora and I exchanged glances. I was sure I wore a bemused grin on my face. A date with these guys was out there. I’d never been inside a limo or a city like Miami, except at Echo’s.

The nightlife was in full swing, people crossing from their cars to restaurants and clubs, some like us rolling in limos. This was an upscale neighborhood, and it showed in the clothes the people were rocking. I was happy I’d worn a dress.

Torin drew my attention when he chuckled. The sound sent a warm shiver down my spine. As though he felt my response, he shot me a half a smile. I had no idea what he and Echo were discussing. He ran the tips of his fingers up and down my bare skin, from my elbow to my palm.

Sensations turned me into a puddle of goo. I couldn’t remember accepting a drink, yet I held a sparkling something in a chute. I sipped. Non-alcoholic. Cora stared at her man with a love-struck grin.

I forced myself to focus on Torin and the words coming out of his mouth, but I got distracted again by the sensual curve of his lips and the way the blue lights inside the limo made his sapphire blues glow with an unearthly brilliance. The shadows under his high cheekbones were just as fascinating.

He bumped me with his shoulder, and I gave him a broad grin.

“Would you like some music?”

Wasn’t there music already playing? No, that was the pounding adrenaline hurtling through my veins and fantasies I was weaving. “No, I’m good.”

We pulled up outside a building. Going by the name, it was an Italian restaurant. Someone opened the limo door from outside, and the guys ushered us toward the entrance. I overheard a hostess on the phone say, “We are booked solid for the rest of the night. We do have a few openings for tomorrow night.”

The club must be popular, except it was empty when we entered.

Nice interior. Very upscale. Candles graced every table, but the focus was on the one in the middle of the room. They’d even pushed the other tables and chairs back to create space for our table. The setting was for four, and four servers waited with napkins draped over their arms.

It was surreal. Our servers were super nice and polite. The female with a cart of drinks lost her train of thought a couple of times. I couldn’t blame her. Torin had that effect on most of the female population. Throw in Echo and the entire female population didn’t stand a chance.

I got ginger-lemongrass soda. The menu listed ten dishes, and they all looked so good.

“Is there something you don’t like?” Torin asked.

“Shouldn’t that be ‘I
do
like’?”

“Nope. We’re going to sample all of the dishes listed. If you want Chef Vincenzo to make anything else,” he lifted his hand and a hovering waiter whipped out a notepad and pen, “he can add it to our menu.”

“This is good,” I said. I couldn’t believe they’d arranged all this.

“I agree,” Cora seconded.

“I’m reserving judgment until I eat this carefully planned menu.” He gave Torin a mocking smirk.

“Don’t start, limo man.”

Listening to their exchange, everything fell into place. Echo had been in charge of transportation, and Torin had been in charge of our diner. I was sure the evening would be a disaster, but we all found a common ground. First was the great food by an enthusiastic chef who came out to personally check on us. Second were horror movies. Who knew reapers would like a zombie apocalypse.

“Everyone dies in the series,” Cora complained. “What’s so great about that?”

“That’s the fun part of it,” Echo said. “Now if only something like that could happen in real life.”

Cora punched his arm and murmured something I didn’t catch.

“Dead Mortals means more reaping for you, Echo?” I teased.

Echo smirked. “No, it means Ragnarok is around the corner.”

I frowned. “How do you figure that?”

He leaned forward. “Best way to kill zombies is by chopping off their heads. Best weapon for that is a sword. No more guns, just machete-wielding Mortals trying to avoid the inevitable.”

 
From what I recalled, the first signs preceding Ragnarok was “sword age,” a period of violence and battles followed by three years of nonstop winter when families would turn on each other. Then Ragnarok itself would be next, the death of the gods and destruction of the world to make way for a new world.

“Don’t be so bloody literal,” Torin said.

“Or talk about chopping people’s heads off during dinner,” Cora added.

Echo rolled his eyes. “Okay. What should we discuss?
Supernatural
?”

“Now that’s a series worth discussing,” Cora said.

Torin and Echo groaned. Cora and I just laughed.

“Stop hating,” Cora said. “I would not have known how to disperse souls with iron if it weren’t for the Winchester boys.”

“So that’s where you got that crazy idea,” Echo murmured.

“Brilliant idea,” Cora whispered and kissed him.

“Have you guys set a date yet?” I asked.

Cora exchanged a look with Echo. “Don’t say it,” she warned.

The smile he gave her was downright sinful. “I asked her to elope with me when she turned eighteen, but she wants to go to college first.” He shuddered. “I hate college as much as I hate high school.”

“Nobody asked you to go,” Cora said. “Just plan on being there between my classes and in the evening, or I’ll hook up with my R.A.”

Echo scowled. “What in Hel’s Mist is an R.A.?”

“Older college guys who prey on freshmen,” Torin said and smirked.

Echo didn’t look too happy. He glared at Torin. “Why are you so happy? Raine is going to college too, isn’t she?”

The smile disappeared from Torin’s face. I held my breath and waited for him to say something. Anything. We hadn’t discussed college and now wasn’t the time.

Echo chuckled. “Let me guess. You two are going to the same college.”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I plan to be her R.A. and T.A. ,” Torin said. “Then we’ll start working on the basketball team.”

“Basketball team?” Cora asked.

Torin gave me a slow grin. I knew that smile too well. He was about to say something naughty. “The number of children I want,” he said.

I choked on my drink. Where the heck did that come from? He had the nerve to pat my back and whisper, “You okay, luv?”

I wanted to neuter him. We hadn’t even talked about college, let alone marriage and kids. I assumed he planned to propose and wait for my response before I started popping out those babies. Babies. With Torin. The thought was mind-boggling.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have a couple of centuries to practice and fulfill all my other fantasies before we start,” he added.

My face, I was sure, was as red as the jewelry I’d borrowed from Mom’s jewelry box. I couldn’t come up with a response, so I stared at the flickering candlelight and plotted his slow demise. Would he haunt me if I decapitated him? Probably.

He reached for my hand and interlocked our fingers. He tugged, forcing me to look at him. Glared was more like it. He was always pushing my buttons. Deliberately keeping me off balance.

“I hate you,” I mouthed.

“You adore me,” he whispered back. He brought my hand to his lips. My heart trembled, heat racing under my skin from where his lips touched. He didn’t play fair.

My “not at this moment, pal,” sounded forced.

“But I made
this
,” he waved his hand to indicate the restaurant, “happen.”

He could be such a baby. “It was nice.”

He rolled his eyes and glanced at Cora. “Was dinner nice or
awesome
, Cora?”

“Awesome.”

Torin slid me a grin. “Dinner was awesome, ergo, your man delivered.”

“I chose the restaurant and rented the limo,” Echo said.

Pissing contest before dessert. Great! I hated to be around when the bill arrived. Cora showered Echo with praises; then silence followed as the servers cleared the table. One came with the dessert cart. She rattled off the treats and lingered, her eyes volleying between Echo and Torin. Cora and I might as well be invisible.

Andris chose that moment to swagger into the room. The hostess tried to detain him, but he waved toward us. “I’m with them, sweetheart.”

Torin was already on his feet by the time Andris reached us. “What is it?”

“We’re back,” Andris said.

“Are you kidding?”

“Would I?” Andris glanced at me. “Thank you.”

I tried to understand their conversation and failed miserably. “Back from where? Why are you thanking me?”

“Someone caused the Norns to remove the death block, and only one person can do that. You. We need to go.”

Torin glanced at me.

I shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.” Or had I? I could tell he wanted to leave. “Go. I’ll be fine.”