Seeress: Book Three (Runes Series) (23 page)

Wow. “So my vision helped.”

“Yep.” He stroked my cheek.

I grinned. “Sweet. I’m officially a Seeress. A good witch.”

“Thank goodness,” he mumbled, his hand moving to stroke my bare mid-section.

This hatred of witches had to stop. I caught his hand and sat up. “I have a confession to make.”

“Shoot.”

He wasn’t going to like this, and I wasn’t sure where to start.

He sat and lifted my chin. “What is it?”

Okay, here goes nothing.
“We have witches at our school. Rita and Gina, uh, something. I don’t know their last name. They’re here with their mother, who’s also a witch. In fact, there are lots of witches in Kayville. I touched Rita’s amulet and saw her entire life. Clearly.” I grimaced. “She’s been living with an evil witch—”

“Whoa. Slow down. Start from the beginning.”

Even though he tried to hide it, Torin was pissed. He got up and paced. He was such a drama queen. He stopped, kicked a rock, and continued pacing.

“What part of what I said pisses you off?” I asked.

He stopped, opened his mouth, and closed it. Not a good sign.

I waited. The silence continued. Really not a good sign. “I’ll paraphrase. Are you mad that there are witches? That someone told the supernatural world I was in trouble, or that I found the cause of Rita’s illness?”

“I don’t know. I thought all we had to deal with was this bastard after you. Now a coven of witches is living in our backyard and you’ve become chummy with them. We don’t associate with witches, Freckles. Like Mortals, they’re not supposed to know about us.”

That hadn’t occurred to me. I was an idiot. “I completely forgot.”

He rushed to my side, cupped my face, and pressed his forehead to mine. “No, don’t feel bad. As long as you didn’t tell them who you are.”

“Of course not.”

He smiled. “Good. We don’t know if they’re here to protect you or support the other guy. Why? We don’t know what he wants or even what he is.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead then went for his shirt.

I wanted to say “he looks like you” but until I saw his face clearly, I was keeping my mouth shut. I got up and threw the bottles and wrappers in the basket. He grabbed the blanket, rolled it, and threw it in the basket.

“We’ll know next week, right?” I asked.

“Yes.” He picked up the basket and extended a hand to me. We walked hand-in-hand. “So this girl caused a mini earthquake at Nikos?”

“The people thought—”

He tugged my hand. “I got it the first time. I was just teasing.”

He didn’t sound amused. “Oh. Okay. Ha-ha, good one, Torin.”

He bumped me with his shoulder. “So can you move things yet?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t tried.”

“Do you want to?”

“I’m barely getting used to visions, so no. Are we walking home?”

“No. But I want to savor this moment. Just the two of us doing something normal couples do. Walking hand-in-hand. Enjoying nature.”

Like he could ever be normal. I grinned. “Okay.”

We walked, kissed, and acted like a normal couple out in the woods. We even stopped by University Falls and frolicked in the water like a couple of carefree kids before going home.

***

Once again, the gang was meeting at my place. Andris sat at his usual place at the kitchen counter, stuffing his face. I was sure the pies Cora’s mother had brought would be gone by the end of the meeting. I wondered if Ingrid had told him about New York. Femi sat by his side. The rest of us were around the kitchen table.

Torin, seated to my right, had told everyone what was going with an expressionless face. Something was off about him. I couldn’t put my finger on it. It was just a feeling that all wasn’t right with him.

“So who made the Call?” Andris glanced around. “I know I didn’t and neither did Torin. Valkyries and Mortals don’t mix, which leaves one of you Immortals. Ingrid?”

She shook her head. Her eyes were bruised and red, like she’d been crying, and her usually perfect hair was a bit tousled. I hope the New York plan didn’t fall through.

Blaine slanted Andris a look. “I wouldn’t, so don’t ask.”

Femi chuckled. “I know plenty of witches, Andris, but I wouldn’t and couldn’t have made the Call. Despite what you might think, we Immortals stay away from witches’ affairs.”

“No one suspects you, Femi, Blaine, or Ingrid.” I shot Andris a censuring look. “Seriously?”

“Maybe it’s you, Seeress,” Andris said, giving me a pointed look. “You probably sent a magical distress signal without knowing it.”

“We’re not playing the blame game, Andris,” Torin said in a hard voice.

“I can defend myself, Torin.” I narrowed my eyes at Andris. “Are you forgetting I’m new at this, Andris? I don’t know any witches, except the two at our school. I don’t even know what a Call is or how it is done.”

“If you’re in distress, you contact the Old Religion Council representative in your area,” Ingrid explained. “That’s usually the oldest high priest or priestess or witch or shaman. Then he or she contacts the other council members and they spread the word.”

Thank goodness for Ingrid. “Thanks, Ingrid.”

“It’s not my job to educate you or give you information,” she practically snarled.

I blinked, completely blindsided by her attack. “Excuse me?”

“Why is it you screw up and no one says anything? You really think you’re above the law just because you’re special?” she said.

My stomach dropped. Okay. Not exactly what I’d been expecting from her. “What are you talking about?”

“Laws, Raine. Rules you don’t break, or you pay the consequences. He,” she pointed at Andris, “drilled them into me. You just ignore them, and everyone is perfectly fine with it because you have a boyfriend who protects you and Immortals ready to do things for you and a mother—”

“That’s enough, Ingrid,” Torin said.

 
“Ingrid, what in Hel’s Mist?” Andris snapped at the same time.

“I’m tired of everyone bending over backward for
her
. She knows the laws. Why can’t she follow them? Think before she acts?” She jumped to her feet and glowered. “Mortals are not supposed to know about our existence. You expose who you are, you expose all of us.”

The silence that followed showed just how unexpected her attack was. I tried to swallow, but my mouth felt like sandpaper.

“Ingrid,” Torin said gently. “We understand how you feel, but you can’t—”

“You don’t understand. No one does. I’m tired of being ignored. For once, I want someone to take my side. See things from my point of view.” She paced, her eyes darting from face to face. “I’m going to say what all of you are thinking, but won’t say because you don’t want to hurt her feelings. What if the two witches are speculating about us right now? What if they’re asking questions or telling others? We don’t know how many people they’ve told about her because she had the urge to show off her new abilities.”

The barb hit hard and sucked the breath out of me. I’d told her about the witches yesterday. She’d seem okay with it. What happened between then and now?

“I didn’t tell them anything, Ingrid,” I said. “What I did, any Mortal Seeress would have done. I’m not an idiot.”

“No, you’re not. What you are is a novice, and you shouldn’t be out reaping souls with the guys while we stay at home or—”

“That’s enough.” Torin’s eyes glowed with fury. “Whatever issues you have, take them up with Andris or Lavania when she comes back. Leave Raine out of it.”

Her chin trembled, tears rolling down her cheeks. “Do you know what it feels like to act normal for centuries? To be a part of a group who treats you like you don’t matter, but you can’t complain? I’ve kept quiet even though I’ve wanted to say something. I’ve lived with guilt when someone I’ve known for months got hurt and I couldn’t help them. I’ve lived with nightmares of seeing friends die when I could have stopped it. I don’t reap, so I don’t have the luxury of escorting them to Asgard or saying goodbye, so excuse me if I want to vent.” She stomped her feet.

Andris got to his feet and approached her as one would a wild animal. “Listen, sweetheart—”

“Don’t!” She marched away from the kitchen and disappeared through the portal, leaving behind a heavy silence.

I cringed as I looked at the others. How many of them thought I got away with things because of Torin and my mom?

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, feeling so small.

 
“Don’t. You owe no one an apology.” Torin’s eyebrows were slashes above arctic eyes. He stared at the remaining three, daring them to contradict him. “Just so we are on the same page, Raine didn’t expose us. She did what any Mortal witch or Seeress would have done.”

Did he really believe that or was he just supporting me?

“What are we supposed to do now?” Blaine asked.

“Stay away from them.” Torin glanced at me, something flashing in the depth of his eyes. I’d say fear, but Torin didn’t spook easily. “In fact, we should all be vigilant because this could be a trap. I’m sure everyone in the supernatural world knows where the witches are. If the bastard after Raine made the Call, all he has to do is follow one of them here.”

That never crossed my mind. “Maybe we should ask the ones at our school if various covens are represented and if more are coming.”

Torin shook his head. “No. We don’t want them to know about us, or even suspect we know why they’re here. I’ll make sure they don’t remember your interaction with them.”

“You’re going to rune them?” Femi asked.

Torin nodded.

“What if they told their mother or other witches about Raine?” Femi asked. “I can find out more without arousing suspicion since I’m not a student at your school. They won’t see me coming, and when I’m done, they won’t remember a thing.”

“We’ll see.” Torin slanted Andris a glance. “Do you know if Ingrid has spoken to them?”

He shook his head. “No. They don’t know who she is, but she knows who they are.”

Torin scowled. “Keep an eye on her. I don’t know what’s going on, but—”

“I’ll find out. She’s been acting weird for weeks.”

“Blaine, have you talked to them?”

“Other than the moment at the library, no.”

Torin didn’t even look at me. That hurt. I was the screw-up who’d become chummy with the witches without considering the consequences. “I can rune them.”

Torin shook his head. “No. I don’t want you anywhere near those two.”

“I made this mess; I should be the one to fix it.”

He cracked a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Freckles—”

“Please.” His jaws tensed, and blue flames leaped in his eyes. A flutter of nervous energy licked my stomach.

There was nothing left to discuss, so Andris and Blaine left, leaving Femi, Torin, and me in the kitchen. His eyes were locked on me with unnerving intensity.

“Anyone wants to watch
Supernatural
?” Femi asked, leaving her stool and walking toward the pantry. “I’m making caramel popcorn.”

I didn’t respond, and neither did Torin. Flashing a sweet smile, I waited for him to smirk and say something smart-alecky. Instead, he leaned closer, sliding his arm along the table, and took my hands, eyes narrowed.

“You okay?” he asked.

I started to nod then shook my head.

“Ingrid shouldn’t have attacked you the way she did. I’ll talk to her.”

“No, don’t. She was right about some things. I shouldn’t have followed Rita to the library and exposed what I can do. It was stupid and… just stupid,” I whispered, feeling like crying and hating myself for it.

His grip tightened. “It’s not your fault. Lavania should not have left you when she did. The first thing I’m going to do when I get to Valhalla is demand she gets back here and finish your training.”

I blinked at him, my eyes burning with unshed tears. “She’s a witness at my mother’s hearing.”

“So?” He pushed back his chair and stood.

So? What kind of shitty attitude was that? “Anything that affects Mom affects me. It is her future being decided in that court.”

“I know, but she can find other witnesses.” He lowered his head so we were eye to eye. “Try to keep a low profile at school until
I
fix this mess.”

“But I thought that I was—”

“No, Freckles. I will fix this, okay?”

Anger threatened to swallow me. It didn’t matter that I understood where he was coming from. He shouldn’t disregard things that were important to me. I opened my mouth to tell him, but I couldn’t speak. My chest hurt, and my throat burned. I closed my mouth and nodded.

“And do not go anywhere near those two witches,” he added.

I stared back at him without moving.

“I mean it, Raine. Disobey me and you will not like the consequences.” He straightened, turned, and walked away. I expected him to, I don’t know, look back. Show remorse for the way he just spoke to me. He didn’t.

Instead, he walked straight to the portal and disappeared without a backward glance. Tears threatened to fall, but I held them back. Crying would have been too much.