Witches (Runes series Book 6) (12 page)

We finished cleaning up and opened a portal home. “I need to take care of something this evening, but I’ll stop by later.”

“Tell Jace I’m sorry for scaring him.”

“Will do.” Then he chuckled when he realized what he’d revealed. “Don’t sneak into guys’ bedrooms while I’m gone.”

“Promise.” His expression said he didn’t believe me.

~*~

My cat was asleep on the window seat, despite the nice bed desk I’d bought for her and placed next to my computer.

I headed downstairs, following the sounds to the kitchen where Femi was cooking while watching TV. “I had pizza with Torin’s soccer team,” I told her.

“I know, doll. You texted me.” She tasted whatever was in the pot and sighed blissfully. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

I made a face and hoped she didn’t notice.

“Hmm, too bad.” She laughed. We both knew I hated fish stew. I liked my fish fried or baked, and smothered with herbs. “Is Mom home?”

“She’s with your father.”

My parents were playing chess when I peeked in. It was nice to see Dad up and about. He seemed stronger, his color a lot less zombie-gray. Having Mom around seemed to be good for him, but then again, she had that effect on most people. Or maybe she was using unique runes to manage his pain. To use Mortal terms, he looked like a man whose cancer was in remission.

“Hi, sweetie,” she patted my hand when I kissed her cheek.

“Who’s winning?” I asked, looking over Dad’s shoulder.

“Your mother.” But his eyes sparkled. “Where did you disappear to?”

“California.”

He shook his head. “Florida. California. Where next? Paris?”

“Maybe,” I teased. We traded grins. I was still getting used to the ease with which I could move from one place to another without using transportation. I liked it, but at the same time, it made me uneasy. It reinforced the fact that I was no longer a normal person.

Last week, after the battle with the Immortals, we’d gone to Florida for a few days. Most parents would have worried about plane tickets or the drive. We’d rented a beach home for the weekend and used a portal to access it. We could have slept in our beds if we wanted to, but none of us had wanted to be in Kayville after dealing with evil Immortals.

“What’s happening in California?” Dad asked, his focus on me.

That was something I’d missed the last few months while he’d been bedridden. The way he’d make what I did, however small, seem so important.

Grinning, I walked around and sat on the arm of his chair. “Torin is coaching the Galaxy Academy U-16 soccer team. He also subs as a math teacher at the boys’ school. Caesar Chavez High.”

“Poor kids,” Mom mumbled.

“What am I missing?” Dad asked, his eyes volleying between Mom and me.

Mom glanced at me. “Do you want to tell him?”

Explain the logistics of reaping to my dying father? I didn’t think so. I was still trying to get used to his imminent death. I shook my head.

“Torin and Andris are in California to reap the boys’ souls,” Mom explained.

Dad frowned. “Oh.”

Mom and I exchanged a glance. Was he thinking of his situation?

“I guess I should have figured that out,” he said, speaking slowly as though adjusting his perception. “He became close to the swim team here before the pool accident and joined the football team before the accident. Do you know who will die in Seattle, Svana?”

He sounded more curious than sad, but Mom’s eyes welled with tears. Time to leave before I joined her. I was a sympathetic crier, but I refused to mourn my father while he was still alive.

“I have homework, so I’ll see you two later.” I kissed Dad’s cheek and walked around the table to Mom, who was trying hard to control herself. Between us, I was usually the levelheaded one, like Dad. My flamboyant mother’s emotions were more volatile.

I hugged her and whispered, “He looks great, Mom. Because of you. Because you’re here, so please don’t cry.”

She hugged me tight and hung on. She was a hugger, but this time, I think she was giving herself time to calm down. She leaned back and smiled. Her tears were no longer threatening to fall. “Thank you. Now go. Your homework will not do itself.”

“Why can’t I quit school like Torin and Andris? It’s not like I’m going to need a high school diploma in the future.” I couldn’t tell who was more shocked—Mom or Dad. “Just kidding. I plan to go to college and study something. You know, contribute to the world.” They looked at each other and then at me. I threw up my hands. “Forget it.”

I let myself out of the room. Femi looked up when I started upstairs. She and Mom used portals to go to and from upstairs, but I still insisted on doing a few things like a normal person.

Fur-ball stretched and eyed me as I pulled out textbooks from my backpack.

“Miss me?” I asked.

Why? You don’t do anything remotely interesting or exciting. No potions or spells. Elemental magic is so boring.
She rested her head on her front paws, closed her eyes, and sighed.

“How come you speak English so perfectly?”

Her eyelids parted and she studied me as though deciding whether to respond.
I’ve watched every movie ever made in the last hundred years. I speak most of the world languages fluently.

“Hundred? How old are you?”

A lady never tells her age.

I rolled my eyes. “You’re a cat, Fur-ball, not a person.”

Don’t call me that stupid name. I’m older and wiser than you. Didn’t your Valkyrie mama ever teach you to respect your elders?

“Oh yeah, cat years.”

Mortal years, Norn.

“Don’t call me that.” I settled down to do homework, but I could feel her eyes on me. After I read a line twice without understanding it, I sighed and glanced at her. She was sitting up. “What?”

When are we going to do something interesting around here?

“I do plenty of interesting things.” She jumped up on the table and stared at my book. “Let me guess. You can read most languages too.”

No. Never learned to read or write. What are you doing?

I sighed. “Math. I need to do this or my grade will slip.”

She sat in the middle of my textbook and stared defiantly at me.
The goddess risked a lot to bring me here. You should be working on your magic and thinking up ways to stop the Norns from messing with you, not work on meaningless Mortal stuff.

I’d stopped listening after her first sentence. “What did she risk? Why did she want to help me? You said she had a reason.”

The cat shrugged, or at least it looked like a shrug.
What god or goddess does something without a reason? They only care about themselves. Most of them anyway. And just because I’m feline doesn’t mean I don’t see or hear things.

“Like what?”

She stretched out on top of my book.
Why do you need to go to school? Don’t you ever do anything fun? And when I say fun, I mean magical. And why do you live in such a small house? There’s nowhere to go and explore.

I leaned forward until we were nose-to-nose. “First, I’m fun. Second, my house is perfect the way it is. And third, I’ll only share if you share.”

She bumped me with her nose.
You can’t blackmail me.

“I just did. Start talking or get off my book.”

Her eyes closed briefly.
She met with Goddess Frigga, and your name was mentioned. Several times. They talk a lot about you up there, but this was different. The two are not really friends. After their meeting, Goddess Freya decided to bring me down here.

“What did they say?”

I don’t know, but I could help you find out. Your turn.

Being blackmailed by a cat. How low I’d sunk. I sighed. “I went to watch a soccer practice and met a nice young man.”

You ditched your Valkyrie for a Mortal? That’s stupid.

“I didn’t ditch anyone, Fur-ball. The boy is on Torin’s soccer team, which means he and his friends will be dying soon.”

The cat stood and tilted her head to the side, emerald green eyes not leaving mine.
Are we going to help them? Maybe stop them from dying?

“I don’t know. Maybe. I couldn’t get a reading from the boy.”

Then try again.

I remembered the way Torin watched out for Jace and knew I couldn’t walk away. “I will.”

Now.

“No, I’m not going to his house.”

I want to meet him. Maybe I can keep an eye on him until you know for sure. That’s what I’m here for. To be your eyes and ears when you’re not around. I’ll know if he’s in danger and alert you.

I shook my head. “This boy lives in California, not here.”

So? It doesn’t matter whether he’s in Moscow or Timbuktu. I know how to access a portal to anyplace. Probably better than you.

“Timbuktu, ha! You don’t have a tag. You don’t even have a name.” I lifted her off my book and put her back on the window seat. “I’ll think about it.”

I don’t need a tag. I’ll always come back to you. But I need a name because I hate Fur-ball.
She rolled on her back.
I want to meet this boy. Our first case.

 
I sighed. “
Your
first case. I already helped two people,
Bastet.
That’s a good name for a cat.”

Not Bastet. How could you go on a mission without me? What kind of a partner are you?

“That was yesterday before you were dropped off here, Artemis.”

No! You can’t have helped anyone because I’ve been watching you since they said one of us would be your, uh…

 
“Familiar. Watching me? You mean you’ve been spying on me, Venus?”

Enough with forgotten goddesses already. And no, not familiar. Muse. I’m here to make sure you grow as a Völva. And I wouldn’t call it spying. Keeping an eye on you. Making sure you are all right.

“Funny I don’t recall getting help from you when I battled Immortals and Norns. Some guardian cat you are. I should call you,
El Diablo.
” I grinned when she hissed. “Celestia?”

She sighed and lay down again.
That’s my middle sister’s name and there’s nothing angelic or celestial about her. She’s self-centered and vain, and she’s the goddess’ favorite. You should have seen her face when she wasn’t chosen to work with you.

Okay, too much sibling rivalry. “Princess?”

My oldest sister’s name. Be creative.

“Jade? Your eyes—”

No.

“Emerald? Moss? Mint? Pear? Chartreuse?”

She rolled onto her side and covered her eyes with her paw.
You totally lack imagination.

“Amber might suit you. I know a girl at school called Amber and she’s a PITA.” The cat peered at me. I expected her to hiss. Instead, I could swear she smiled. “Yeah, I should call you PITA?”

You’d name me after bread? Really?

I grinned. “Pain in the ass.”

She laughed and rolled onto her back. Slowly, she wiggled as though scratching her back.
Keep them coming.

“Ebony. Jet. Slate. Obsidian. Onyx.”

Pathetic.
She rolled back on all fours, hopped down, created a portal small enough for her to walk through.
I’m going to find something to eat.

“Onyx is perfect,” I called after her. I couldn’t believe I’d once begged for a cat.

I got busy finishing my homework. An occasional glance out of the window told me Torin wasn’t back. Was he still at Jace’s? When I finished, I debated whether to go to Cora’s and see what she was doing. She volunteered at a nursing home and her hours were odd. I texted her anyway, then booted my laptop.

Checking for new releases at book sites was something I hadn’t done in a while. Between school, lessons with Lavania, and doing things with Torin, I never seemed to have time for leisure reading anymore. Reading to Dad didn’t count.

I ordered a couple of books, all sequels to series I’d started last year, then started my rounds on social websites. Five minutes in and I lost interest. Selfies, movies and music seemed to dominate the lives of people I knew from school. My life was so complicated that their issues seemed petty by comparison.

Onyx sauntered back inside my room and hopped onto my desk like she owned it.
Let’s go see the boy now. I know you can get a reading if you focus hard enough.

Would Torin still be there? “It’s not a question of focusing. My visions are unpredictable.”

They shouldn’t be. Not for you, the most powerful Völva of this generation.
Onyx walked behind my laptop and pushed it shut. Her eyes glowed briefly.
Try it again.

Glaring ensued. “Ass-kissing will get you nowhere with me.”