Seeress: Book Three (Runes Series) (9 page)

Making sure I was alone again, I pushed the door and yelled, “Hey, you in there. Come outside so we can talk.” The singing stopped, but the echo hummed and magic charged the air. “Can you hear me?”

No response. Maybe he was shy.

“Listen, I just wanted to warn you that your kind is being killed.” Frowning, I let the door swing close, but the singing started again. Getting pissed, I pushed the door and called out, “This is not funny, okay? Just remember what I said. Warn your people.”

I waited for a response, but there was none. I hurried to class. Mrs. Bates, my über strict calculus teacher, stared at me with narrow eyes.

“You know how I feel about tardiness, Miss Cooper,” she said. “See me after class.”

I should rune her to make her forget. On the other hand, this was my first tardy, so I was safe from detention. Throughout the class, I kept waiting to hear the song again or see a witch boy walk past my class, but no such luck.

Mrs. Bates’ brown eyes were cold as she watched me walk to the front of the class. “You’ve always been a hard-working, responsible student, Lorraine. I don’t want to see that change because you’re associating with the wrong crowd.”

Seriously? One tardy and I was associating with the wrong crowd? “I have an A in your class, Mrs. Bates.”

“This is not about your grades. This is about breaking school rules. You were outside the classroom when the bell rang, and then you left.” She studied me from the rim of her rhinestone glasses. “What were you doing outside the boys’ bathroom?”

Crap! “I, uh, heard someone crying and I went to make sure he was okay.” I gave her a bright Girl Scout smile.

Mrs. Bates’ eyes narrowed. “Was he?”

“No. I tried talking to him through the door, but he didn’t respond. I even opened the door, but there was no response. I know it’s against school policy for girls to enter boys’ bathrooms, so I came to class.”

“Hmm.” That meant she didn’t believe me. “One tardy check.”

My day basically went downhill from there. It got worse when Torin was a no show during lunch. He wasn’t waiting outside my classroom, and his Harley was missing in the parking lot. I headed to the cafeteria. Cora was already seated with Kicker and Sondra.

“So you got ditched, too?” Cora said.

“Yeah” was all I said.

Cora scooped the soup and tipped the spoon. Mystery meat and overcooked veggies dropped in the bowl. “Echo didn’t even stop by to tell me he’d be gone.”

“Torin always makes us lunch.” I pushed the lettuce around the table.

“Echo usually has the food delivered before I get home.”

A giggle came from Kicker, but Sondra elbowed her. They looked at me expectantly. “What?”

“We are living vicariously through you guys,” Kicker said. “It’s your turn. What does Torin do?”

Oh crap, I couldn’t be that girl. The annoying, whiny, clingy girlfriend. I pinched myself. Ouch. I wasn’t dreaming. I was actually indulging in self-pity. Total loser-dom.

“Are you guys going for early decision?” I asked, determined not to think about Torin or dying Seeresses.

Kicker and Sondra groaned.

“We don’t want to discuss college,” Sondra said. “We want to hear about your love lives. Do you two double date often?”

Funny, I hadn’t thought of that. Cora wore a look that said the idea never occurred to her either. “We’re planning on one this weekend,” I fibbed.

She caught on. “Is it Friday night or Saturday?”

“Saturday. I’m working on Friday.”

“Working? Where?” Cora asked.

“At our shop. Three days a week. I’m going to learn how they run things.” I put a bit of lettuce in my mouth and munched on it. It tasted like crap. I pushed my tray aside.

“So back to your question about college,” Cora said, pushing her soup aside. “Have you guys decided on one yet?”

Kicker was planning to attend the University of Portland. Sondra’s mother was a former Husky, so she was planning to apply to the University of Washington in Seattle. With everything happening in my life, college was the last thing on my mind.

“I haven’t decided. You?” I asked Cora.

“I thought about going to Florida, but I might just stay closer to home. Eugene or Portland. As long as I study psychology I’m good.”

Kicker wanted to know why Florida. Echo had a house in Florida he used when he wasn’t escorting souls to Hel.

“Is Echo going with you?” Sondra asked, eying Cora’s Druidic ring. Echo had given it to her last month after meeting her parents.

“He’d better. Will Torin go with you to wherever?”

“Yeah.” I hoped so. We hadn’t discussed college. There were lots of things we hadn’t discussed. Part of me was envious of Cora. She had her life together. With Dad’s illness and Mom’s uncertain future, I was waiting for something else to go wrong.

I found myself indulging in a little self-pity after lunch, but I kicked the habit when I realized what I was doing. It was pointless.

Torin, Andris, and Echo were by the Harley when school let out. The three of them being civil to each other was a rarity. Seeing them in a deep conversation set off warning bells all over the place. Torin often knew when I was nearby, but not this time. Whatever they were discussing must be serious.

“Hey, guys,” I said, and they all turned. Maybe I was imagining it, but they looked guilty. Then something the Seeress had said in my vision flashed in my head.

Your kind is not supposed to kill.
Could the killers be Valkyries?

“What are you three plotting?” Andris and Echo took off with mumbled excuses. “Okay. Weird. What’s going on?”

Torin chuckled, his hand coming to rest on my arms. “We need to talk.”

“Does it have anything to do with why you’ve been gone?”

He pressed a kiss on my forehead. “Let’s talk at home.”

“Why? Is this about the Seeresses?” Something flashed in his eyes. “Are they dead?” Again his expression gave him away. “How many?”

“Raine…”

“Do you know who’s targeting them and why?”

His eyes darkened, but his expression said he wasn’t going to talk. Anger slammed into me. “Are they Valkyries or Immortals? Your kind is not supposed to kill Mortals, yet they are killing Seeresses. Mortals. I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Raine—”

“Don’t try to hide things from me, Torin. If Seeresses are being targeted by Valkyries, I need to know why. What are they after? Am I next?”

He closed the gap between us and shut me up the only way he knew how. I tried to fight him, but I lost before I even began. When he lifted his head, I could only stare at him. Blue flames leaped in his eyes. He was furious.

“We’ll talk at home.” He lifted me and put me in the seat of the Harley. Then he sat in front of me, taking my arms and wrapping them around his waist. “Hold on tight.”

I obeyed him and hated it. My anger started building up again halfway home. By the time he pulled up in his garage, I was ready to decapitate him.

“I cannot believe you played me like that. I swear, sometimes I want to knock sense into your thick skull, but you won’t feel the pain. So I’m left yelling while you look at me like you have no idea what I’m talking about.”

“I really have no idea.” He crossed his arms and angled his head. “What did I do this time, luv?”

His voice had dropped an octave, all smooth and sexy. I shivered, responding to it even when I was so pissed I wanted to scream. Then he had the gall to smirk at my reaction. Most of the time, I didn’t mind that he found my responses to him amusing. This time, it only fanned my anger.

My hands landed on my hips. “You are a bully, you tard. You manipulate me when I ask questions you don’t want to answer.”

His brows disappeared under the shaggy hair across his forehead. “We kissed, Freckles.”

“No,
you
kissed me and you did it to shut me up.
You
used my feelings against me. And that means my feelings for you make me weak, and pathetic, and easily manipulated.”

The smile left his face, and his eyes turned cold. I took a step back. He followed. “You think your feelings for me make you weak?”

 
“That’s right.” I stopped running when I reached the steps leading into the house. There was nowhere else to go except inside. From Torin’s expression, he would catch me before I turned around. “And you took advantage, you jackass.”

He opened his mouth, but I knew he’d only try to justify his actions and make me see things his way.

“Don’t want to hear it. Until you are ready to talk and not treat me like I was born yesterday, stay. Away. From. Me.”

Eyebrows came down, until they were slashes. His eyes grew cold, promising retribution, but I wasn’t backing down.

“I refuse to be treated like some delicate person that must be babied and shielded from unpleasantness all the time. If you can’t see that, then I don’t know what’s going to happen to this relationship.”

I swallowed as his cool eyes suddenly pulled a one-eighty and blazed with something I’d only witnessed once, before the Norns stole his memories. He was furious. “Are you done?”

I hesitated. Had I gone too far? “No.” I hated that my voice shook with uncertainty. “Yes, I’m done. For now.” I turned, opened the door, and marched to the mirror in his living room. I wanted him to stop me, to beg me to stay.

“Uh, Raine?”

Thank goodness. I turned, so ready to fly into his arms. He stood by the back door, my backpack in his hand. One eyebrow lifted. “Forgetting something?”

My backpack. He called me back for my stupid backpack. I marched back and reached for it. He whipped it behind him. “Apologize first.”

Now he wanted to play games? “Give it to me, Torin.”

“Apologize for the mean things you just said.”

“Mean…? Bite me.”

“With pleasure.” He dropped the backpack and reached for me.

He was insane. I took off, engaging my runes before I reached the mirror. I didn’t hear him behind me, but he moved so quietly like a jungle cat and I didn’t dare look.

I went through the portal, expecting him to come charging after me. When I turned, he was in his living room, smirking, my backpack dangling on his finger.

“When you’re ready to
beg
me for forgiveness, come for it.” He walked away as the portal closed.

I couldn’t explain how I focused, but I managed to read to Dad without drowning in my anger. I was about to leave when he said, “Femi tells me you’re going to work at the Mirage.”

Did I talk to her about it? I couldn’t remember. “Yes. Three days a week. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. With Mom gone, I figured I might as well learn how things are run.”

He smiled. “I think it’s a wonderful idea. If I wasn’t laid up, I would have come up with it myself.” He patted my hand. “I’m proud of you, pumpkin.”

I faked a gasp. “Finally, some appreciation.”

He chuckled. “So we’ll read on Tuesdays and Thursdays?”

“And weekends.” He might not say it, but I knew he looked forward to the hours we spent together. “This time I promise not to cry when Ahab harpoons Moby-Dick.”

“Or cover your ears?” he asked with another dry chuckle. The only way I’d need to do that was if he read it to me again. Femi had explained that the tumor was pressing on the part of his brain that affected vision. His eyesight was getting worse.

“I know how it ends now, so I’m good,” I said. “But I still hate the pompous, egg-head Ahab.”

Dad shifted on his pillows, and I reached over to adjust them. “I think you’re confusing Patrick Stewart in the movie with Captain Picard in Star Trek.”

“Well, despite Captain Picard’s stellar performance, I still think Captain Ahab got what he deserved.” It was nice to see Dad laugh and go toe-to-toe with me on a subject.

I left him watching TV and went in search of Femi. Singing led me upstairs. She had headphones and was singing along with Bon Jovi while putting away towels in the hallway closet.

“Done, doll?” she called out, removing the ear buds.

“Yeah. He’s looking great.”

“He had a great day. He signed the papers you brought home and even conferenced with Hawk. Oh, Torin stopped by. He said he’ll be at his place.”

Yeah, like I was ready to talk to him. My hour with Dad had become almost two hours. Lucid moments with him were so rare I hadn’t minded. “Do you need help with the laundry?”

“No, I’m good. Text me if you’re not going to be home for dinner, okay?”

“Okay.” I touched her arm. “Thanks.” A hamper with my laundry sat in the middle of my bed, but I didn’t bother to put them away. I stopped telling Femi I could fold my own laundry because she never listened.

I reached for my backpack from where I usually dropped it and realized I’d left it at Torin’s. Just my luck. I needed to do my homework, which meant crawling back to that slug.

I grabbed my cell phone and turned to leave when something caught my eye. Torin’s family seal. I slipped it on and studied my reflection.

Torin loved to buy me gifts, including a cute tennis bracelet for Valentine’s Day last month, which I was sure cost an arm and a leg. The diamonds were real. But this piece was the best yet. As I traced the etched horseman I swore I heard a horse neigh. There was something special about it. It was the only reason that could explain the visions.

Should I show it to Torin? Maybe later. As for begging him for forgiveness, it wasn’t happening. Two could play this game. Andris would get my backpack.

Letting the image of Andris fill my head, I engaged my runes and the mirror responded. The portal opened into the mansion’s foyer and memories flashed through my head. Unpleasant, nasty images that made me feel queasy.

Instead of the smooth marble floor and walls with works of art I was sure belonged in a museum, slabs of concrete crumbled and floors cracked like a ten-pointer earthquake was ripping it apart. Twice I’d fought Maliina in this room and each time I’d come close to dying and losing someone I loved.

Voices reached me before I changed the destination to the portal in the hallway near the kitchen, and Andris and a middle-aged woman came into view. He saw me and winked. The fact that the woman kept walking without glancing my way told me she was a Mortal. Mortals couldn’t see portals.

“See you tomorrow, Mrs. Willow,” Andris said when they reached the front door. He shook her hand and closed the door after she left.

“Are you into cougars now?” I asked, entering the room.

“Really? Does she look hot enough to hold my interest?’

I rolled my eyes. And I used to think Torin was full of himself.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, missy. I have taste.”

“Sure you do.”

“All my cougars have been hot. Mortals and Immortals. Valkyries and even minor goddesses. Variety spices life.” He looped his arm around my shoulder. “I’ll give you a couple of centuries and your eyes will start wandering, too. Of course, I’m assuming Torin is your first, unless you and golden boy closed the deal.”

He’d assumed wrong about Torin being my first because we were waiting, and Eirik and I never went that far. He always called Eirik golden boy and not in a nice way. Poor Eirik. Thinking about him meant worrying about him. Unfortunately, the mansion used to be his home, which was another reason I hated coming here.

“Hey,” Andris said and squeezed my shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah. And FYI, the idea that I’d ever want anyone other than Torin is beyond absurd.” He might act like he invented douchebaggery and piss me off at every turn, but he set the bar so high I couldn’t imagine another man reaching it.

“Ah, to be young and naïve again,” Andris said and sighed. “I’ll make you eat those words someday, sweetheart.” We walked past the stairs and entered the hallway connecting the foyer and the other downstairs rooms. Andris stopped suddenly and lifted the pendant from my chest. “The de Clare seal. He gave it to you?”

He sounded surprised. I nodded. Torin’s family name was de Clare, but he’d taken up St. James after his older brother James died in the crusade. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“It is priceless, and I’m not talking about its value.” Andris frowned and bit his lower lip as though undecided about something. “It means a lot to Torin, so don’t lose it.”

He was acting weird, and I hated when he talked down to me as though I was a child. “Of course I won’t lose it.” I took it from his hand and slipped it under my shirt, so it rested on top of my undershirt. We continued down the hallway. To our right was another set of stairs leading to the second floor. Beyond it were several bedrooms, including Eirik’s old room and the pool. To our left were the doors to the dining room, kitchen, and pantry.

“Has he told you about his family?”

“No.” Torin didn’t talk much about the past, except about his brother.

Andris’ frown deepened. “I’m sure he will when he’s ready. Some things are way too personal and painful to share, even with those you love.” He sounded glum as though reliving his painful past. “I only found out about a century ago when he was wasted after… Let’s just say he was wasted.”

Curses came from the kitchen, and a change came over Andris. His serious tone disappeared, and the flippant guy I knew took over. “Lover boy is still venting. He scared four of the six applicants before we even started interviewing them.”

Crap! I didn’t want to see him yet. But curiosity won. “Applicants for what?”

“Cook slash housekeeper slash whatever I want her to do around the house,” he said.

“A Mortal for a housekeeper? You’re going to give her a heart attack if you appear out of nowhere.” I waved toward the hallway mirror portal.

He shrugged indifferently. “We all don’t have Immortals tripping over themselves to work for us. Mrs. Willow only makes dinners, so she won’t be here until we are home from school, except Fridays and Mondays, when she’ll come in the morning before we leave for housecleaning and laundry. She doesn’t get a house key either. Torin insisted.” Andris pushed the kitchen door, and I smiled when I saw the dishes on the counter. “He refused to consider the two I liked just because one couldn’t cook and the other was intimidated by the size of the house.”

“We were interviewing for a housekeeper, not your next lover,” Torin retorted. He looked up and saw me. “Hey, you. Came to apologize?”

“We could have hired one as the cook and the other as a maid,” Andris cut in before I could respond.”

“And you’d have seduced both by the end of the week.” Torin’s eyes stayed on me. “I can tell you what to say if you’d like.”

Seriously? “I’m not apologizing. I’m not the one who acted like a douche.”

“Did I miss something? Did you two fight?” Andris asked with glee. “Your fights are so entertaining and hil—”

“Shut up, Andris,” Torin snapped, but his eyes didn’t waver from mine.

“Whipped,” Andris muttered and snatched a plate of food off the table.

We ignored him. After the seriousness of our discussion outside the kitchen, I’d concluded that Andris was a lot more complex than he let on. He adopted different personas to suit each occasion, faking shallowness when he wasn’t. No, change that. He could be shallow, rude, and childish, but he also had depth. He was amazing with electronics, and only those close to him knew he loved books.

Torin still waited, but I wasn’t playing. “You made them cook something as part of the interview?” I asked instead.

Surprise flickered across his face. I’m not sure whether it was my calmness or question that caused it. “Just a dish and they couldn’t get it right.” He dumped the contents of two plates and reached for two more.

He’d shed his jacket, and every time he reached up to put the spices back on the shelf, the shirt rode high and bared his abs. No sane woman could focus on cooking with his intoxicating presence around. I knew I couldn’t.

“Most of them thought if you just throw in spices everything would naturally turn out perfect,” he continued. “And they called themselves cooks.”

“No one can meet your impossible standards, bro,” Andris called out from the other end of the counter before cutting something on his plate and putting it in his mouth. He ate with utter enjoyment. “He even had them sample what he’d cooked,” he added. Despite his belly aching, Andris loved fine food. “If they couldn’t identify at least two spices, they were out the door.”

“Mrs. Willow did,” Torin said. He dumped the entire content of a pan in the garbage. “She was the only one who understood that cooking is an art.” He scooped a piece of something and offered it to me.

Our eyes met, and the moment stretched. The air sizzled with so many emotions it hurt to breathe. If this was an olive branch, I was accepting it. Fighting with him was too emotionally draining. I opened my lips, and he placed the morsel in my mouth. Flames leaped in his sapphire blue eyes.

I wanted to close the gap between us, but my taste buds exploded. “Whoa. That’s good. Is that yours or hers?”

“Mrs. Willow’s.” Torin pointed at the fork-licking Andris. “He’s eating mine. She didn’t even blink when I told her that sometimes she’ll have to cook for twice the number of people. One woman had the nerve to ask if she’d get a bonus for cooking for more people. Another asked if we were interested in a live-in housekeeper since our “mother” was out of town indefinitely. We didn’t advertise for a live-in.”

“She was perfect,” Andris mumbled.

Torin shot him a disgusted look. “Don’t you have something better to do?”

Andris pointed at his laptop. “Researching witch stuff. After what we found out…” His eyes went to me and slid away. So they were determined to keep secrets. Great. The olive branch just broke. And I couldn’t ask Andris to get my backpack now.

I started out of the kitchen. Behind me, I could hear them argue.

“There’s plenty of time for that,” Torin said. “You’re on kitchen duty, so glove up.”

“Again? Why me? Why can’t Ingrid or Blaine do it? They’re Immortals assigned to us, not the other way round. They are the ones who should be interviewing the housekeeper and doing chores around here. Blaine raids the kitchen after the lights are off and never cleans up after himself.”

“One hour then turn off the oven, Andris.”

I felt a little sorry for Andris. Blaine had lacrosse, and Ingrid was at cheer practice. It didn’t matter that Immortals assigned to Valkyries were supposed to lend them whatever support they needed. Torin wasn’t too big on depending on other people.

He stepped into the hallway just before I entered the portal. “Where are you going?”

His place. “Home.”

He laughed, mocking me. Was I blowing this out of proportion? Surely, I’d better make sure he understood I wouldn’t take crap from him. His place was quiet. He had such a vibrant presence he tended to dominate his surroundings. Without him, his home lacked its usual appeal. Or maybe it was our fight messing with my head.

I checked the living room, then the kitchen, but my backpack wasn’t there. I peeked in the garage. Nothing. Sounds came from upstairs. Dang it, he was back. I tiptoed and searched everywhere downstairs and came up empty, which meant he had it upstairs.

Sighing, I headed his way, wracking my brains for solutions. He was going to make me beg. Try to anyway.

His door was open, and I caught him changing. He kicked off his shoes, toed off his socks, and reached for his T-shirt. I usually enjoyed watching him pull his shirt off and on. Not today. I wanted him clothed and focused on what I was about to say. He pulled off his shirt and reached for his belt.