Witches (Runes series Book 6) (35 page)

“Oh-uh, look who has decided to grace us with his presence,” a guy called out to my left.

“Shut up, Orias,” Rhys snapped.

From the resentment in the guy’s voice, I assumed it was Torin, but I didn’t feel the telltale sensation I always felt whenever he entered the room. I turned my stool and realized why. It was Echo, which explained the resentment and envy on their faces. After all, he was Hel’s number one reaper. Some of the men looked ready to throw him out.

“Echo! Over here.” I stood and the room spun.

Echo caught me before I hit the floor. He chuckled. “What are you doing in a den of reapers, young Norn?”

I grinned and studied his blurry face. My first time drinking and I had gotten wasted. On two glasses. I decided that I got a better buzz from using magic. Things were more beautiful, not blurry. And the room didn’t spin. I was sure the only thing stopping me from kissing the floor was the death grip I had on Echo’s leather coat.

“Celebrating,” I said. “We captured a dozen scumbag dark souls. They should have been yours, but I said, naaah! Echo had enough.”

Echo glanced around the room, then back at me. “And where did you put them?”

“My dagger.” I lifted my arm, and showed off my tattoo. Okay, maybe the only thing stopping me from falling over was his arm. “I gave them to Rhys and his sour-puss partner.” That generated a few snickers. “I owed them a soul and I’m investing in the future.”

“I think it’s time you went home, Raine,” he said.

“No, she’s fine here,” Orias said and reached out to grab my arm.

Echo caught his hand and snarled, “You touch her and you’ll—”

“We know,” Orias shot back, his voice filled with hatred. “Her Anglo-Saxon Valkyrie boyfriend will hunt us down. Ingrid already warned us. I meant she’s safe here with us. We have no problem with
her
.” They had a problem with Echo.

“I know what
safe with you
means, Orias,” Echo said, speaking slowly as though the other Grimnir was an idiot. “I meant, touch her and I’d make your life so miserable you’ll beg me to kill you.”

“Screw you, Echo,” Orias snarled.

“Enough,” Rhys said, speaking with an authority that surprised me. After the encounter in the parking lot at school, I’d assumed he hated confrontations. Even more surprising was the fact that both Echo and Orias backed down. Rhys looked at Echo. “What do you want?”

Echo hesitated as though he meant to say something, then shrugged and smirked. “Nothing. I’m taking Raine home.” Echo glanced at Ingrid, and a silent communication passed between them.

Too much past history was mucking up things in this club. I might be drunk, but I wasn’t blind. I remembered everything Cora had told me about Echo and his Druid brothers. Chances were Orias was a Druid.

“Before we leave, just one more thing. Next time we face Warlocks or
Draugar,
can I count on you guys?” I lifted up my glass.

Cheers and raised glasses were my answer.

“Thank you. Drinks are on m…” I had no money. I glanced at Echo and grinned. “Drinks are on Echo.” Another round of cheers.

“I’m not spending a dime of my money on them,” Echo growled.

“Oh yes, you are, Grimnir. Time to start playing nice,” I said.

“No.”

I smacked his chest. “For Cora’s sake, or she’ll be very unhappy. I’ve seen it.”

He glowered. “You’re not supposed to read her.”

“I didn’t. This is all from you. Going once… going twice…” I raised my hand and yelled, “Two drinks for everyone.”

“I don’t have a credit card with me,” he barely snarled.

“Start a tab. I’m sure you’re good for it.”

He sighed. “You’re worse than Cora,” he grumbled, then nodded at the bartender. “I’ll be back to settle it.” Then he scooped me up.

Only one guy ever cradled me in his arms and made me feel safe. Torin. I missed him. Tears rushed to my eyes. I closed them and tried to hide my face in Echo’s shirt since I was hanging on to him like he was my lifeline and praying the room would stop spinning.

“What is it?” Echo asked.

“Nothing.”

He lowered me down, and I realized we were no longer inside Crypt. We were in my bedroom. He placed me on the bed and glanced at Ingrid, who had turned down the covers. I ignored them both, but their whispered voices sounded so loud.

“You let her drink?” he asked. “She and Cora don’t drink or even know how to vibrate and stay sober.”

“I have my reasons. Thanks for carrying her, but I’ll take it from here.”

“Where in Hel’s Mist is Torin?” He didn’t sound like he was leaving.

“Busy.”

“Doing what? She’s his first priority.”

“Echo, just go. I have this.”

“I’m getting Cora to help.”

“No!” Ingrid sounded angry now. “You don’t want her involved in this.”

“STOP IT!” I yelled. “Both of you out!” I could still feel them. I waved my arm and yelled, “OUT!”

Silence followed. Then they left. Onyx crawled from wherever she’d been hiding and climbed onto the bed.

I knew you’d catch something from Grimnirs. Love for Mortal brew. Disgusting.

Shut up, Onyx!
I was sure the bed was floating away. My stomach rolled.

~*~

I woke up with a headache, a ringing in my ears, a weird taste in my mouth, and my stomach growled. A chuckle resounded in my head.

“Go away, Onyx.”

“You’ll have to wake up eventually,” Torin teased. He didn’t sound angry.

I opened one eye, waited until the brilliance of the lamp wasn’t hurting anymore and then opened the other. Torin lay on his stomach on my bed, a big grin on his handsome face.

“I was in danger, and you didn’t come,” I whispered. I was going for accusatory, but the words came out whiny.

He pushed hair away from my face. “The Norns blocked me, and I don’t think this helped either.” He touched the tattoo of my dagger. “Come on, engage your pain runes.”

I did and the headache quickly ebbed.

“If you’re going to do this sort of activity, I’m going to teach you how to vibrate while engaging your speed runes and burning off the alcohol without leaving the bar.”

Why wasn’t he mad I’d disappeared? And what did he mean about my dagger? “That was my first and last drink. If I want a high, I’ll use magic.” I sat up and my stomach made so much noise I cringed.

“When was the last time you ate?”

I shrugged. “Lunch.” No, I hadn’t eaten the soup at Echo’s place in Miami. “No, breakfast this morning.”

“You mean yesterday morning?”

My eyes flew to my clock. It was six in the morning. No wonder I was starving. “Oh crap! I missed my session with Beau.”

“He understood and forgave you because I worked on his truck. Took hours. I don’t know how humans do things at a normal pace. Come on, I’ll make you breakfast while you shower. Lucky for you, your parents didn’t know you and Ingrid decided to have a bridal shower in a bar full of Grimnirs while wearing nothing but animal skin.”

Bridal shower? Yeah, crazy Ingrid would definitely call it that. As for Torin… “Why are you so pleased with yourself? The Norns have a way to separate us,” I said grumpily. “If I marry you, they’ll kill you the way they killed Goddess Freya’s husband or our child like they did to Eirik’s father.”

“No wonder Beau said you looked unhappy at school. He thought someone had hurt you. Namely me.” Torin jumped off the bed, picked me up, and started for the bathroom. “Have a little faith, Freckles. Soul mates always find each other. Look at us. I found you despite being separated by eight centuries. If the Norns succeed, and that’s a big if, I’ll find you again.”

Tears rushed to my eyes.

“No, no, luv.” He lowered me on the counter beside the sink and cupped my face. “Don’t cry. I want you pissed, because you’re good at sticking it to them when you’re pissed. Crying is bad. Crying is weak. Worthingtons don’t marry weak women, and you, Freckles, are not weak. You are about to become my wife.”

I punched him, starting to see hope in the middle of despair. If he could be optimistic after all the crap he’d dealt with, I should be too. And he was right. I was about to marry him. It couldn’t get any better than that.

He tugged at one of the laced up strings. “I like the outfit. In fact, I think you should keep it. On one condition.” I caught his hand when he was halfway done. “You can’t wear this when I’m not around or I’ll have to punch the men who look at you.”

On a different day, his show of possessiveness would have thrilled or amused me. Not today. “You’re not my keeper.”

His eyebrow shot up. “Wanna bet? Reaping was my first priority for eight centuries. Now I have a new priority. You, Raine Cooper. Loving you. Watching over you. Laughing with you. Crying with you. Making babies with you.” He grinned. “Oh yeah. I’m going to be the best father in the world. You can run around and save the world while I take care of our family. And when you need me, I’ll come and rescue you.”

I rolled my eyes at his silliness. “I did great without you yesterday.”

“You did
okay
without me. You ordered Mother Earth to help with the bears and you got drunk, big whoop. I don’t need help from Mother Earth and if I’d been at Crypt, we would have made out at the bar and been the envy of every Grimnir in the room.”

I gave up. When he was in a teasing mood, it didn’t matter what I said. Besides, I was too tired and hungry to come up with a response. My stomach growled. Someone ought to come up with runes for hunger pangs.

He went back to unlacing my top. “Let’s remove this and get you in the shower. You smell like Grimnirs and Hel.”

I pushed his hand away. “No. Go away.”

“I’m scared you might keel over if I—”

“Leave.”

He chuckled again as he left the room. The shower didn’t make me feel better, but at least I was clean. My crazy leather outfit was gone. Torin. He wasn’t really serious about keeping it. It was made by magic, which meant it would eventually go back to its original state.

It was about six-thirty and my house was quiet. I put on lotion and paused to study the tattoo of the dagger. It was so convenient to carry it this way. I bet I could do the same with the rest of my artavo. I removed it and handed it to Onyx for safekeeping.

Afterwards, I headed to Torin’s. He was making steak and eggs for breakfast. I walked to where he stood and wrapped my arms around his waist. “I’m sorry for being such a grouch.”

“You’ll make it up to me this weekend.” He turned to face me and ran his fingers down my cheek as though memorizing its texture. “Do you know why?”

I shook my head.

“Because we’re getting married on Saturday.”

How could I focus on anything else after that? It was one thing to discuss the possibility of something happening and quite another to know it was going to happen.

I can’t recall what happened after that. I was in the house then at school. My ring was on a chain around my neck, the diamond digging into my skin, but I didn’t care.

“I’m getting married on Saturday!” I wanted to yell. According to Torin, they were working on setting things into motion, but keeping it quiet. “Does your father know?” I asked him when we walked toward the school building.

“Yes.”

I still didn’t trust that man.

“Remember, you can’t tell anyone about it, including Cora.”

“That’s going to be hard.” I saw Cora enter the school with Ingrid, but she was gone by the time we reached the lockers. Torin walked me to my English class, which was in the opposite direction from his one class.

As soon as he left, I felt them. I looked up and down the hallway, but didn’t see them. Refusing to let them take away my moment, I shrugged and entered the classroom. Mr. Q was already in class.

But I couldn’t focus, my thoughts wavering between the plans for Saturday and the Norns. When class ended, they were waiting in the hallway. Part of me wanted to ignore them. Today was supposed to be my day. Refusing to get pissed, I entered the bathroom, locked it, and waited.

They floated in, looking smug. Yeah, I was becoming quite the expert at reading their wrinkly faces. I didn’t speak.

“We know what you’re up to,” Marj said, the annoying voice scraping on my nerves. “It’s not going to work.”

My stomach dropped. How did they know? Before I could respond, someone started banging on the door. I ignored her.

“What is not going to work?” I asked, faking ignorance.

“Your defiance will have serious repercussions,” Marj continued as though I hadn’t spoken. “Your mother and the Valkyrie, they’ll all suffer because of you.”

I swallowed, my stomach starting to hurt. Who’d told them? The Warlock? I’d bet he was spying for them. The banging on the door continued.

“Think about all the people you’ve helped. Do you want to destroy their lives?” Jeannette asked.

“Don’t do it, Lorraine,” Catie said. “You want us to back off, we’ll back off. Just don’t destroy your gift this way. You’ll be forced to do disgusting things.” She reached out as though to touch me and I cringed.

“Despicable things,” Jeanette mumbled.

“Destroy your life,” Marj said, moving closer too.

“Damn your soul,” Jeanette mumbled. They were crowding me in.

“And the souls of those who help you,” Catie added.

“For eternity,” Marj added.

“GO AWAY!” I screamed.

They stopped and backed away.

“Don’t do it, Lorraine,” they said it together. “Don’t do it.”

I blocked my ears, but the words echoed inside my head.

Don’t do it, Lorraine… Don’t do it, Lorraine…

A loud crack filled the room and the entire bathroom door came crashing down. Officer Rudolf, Mr. Q, and students peered into the room.

“Are you okay, Miss Cooper?” Mr. Q asked.

“We heard a scream,” Officer Rudolf added and entered the bathroom, eyes darting around as though searching for an intruder.

This didn’t look good. Some of the students were taking pictures, others videotaping me. Yes, I might be pissed at the Norns, but I wasn’t going to live this down if I didn’t think fast.

“Miss Cooper?” Office Rudolf asked.

“There was a spider,” I said, standing up. “A giant, hairy spider with big eyes and it kept coming for me.” Students snickered in the hallway. “I’m allergic to spiders, so I have this pathological fear of them.”

“She does,” Ingrid’s voice added from behind the crowd. “I’ve seen her swell up like a balloon when bitten. Last time we had to take her to the ER,” she added. “Move aside, please.” The students stepped out of her way. She grabbed my hand. “Are you okay? Were you bitten?”

If I read her expression correctly, she wanted me to say, “Yes. I think so.” I grabbed my arm, faking a swelling.

“She needs to see the nurse. Move aside, please. I need to take her to the ER.” She added over her shoulder, “The school needs to do something about these pesky bugs or someone might sue them.” When we were a fair distance away, she asked, “A spider?”

“I couldn’t tell them the Norns were there and at their meanest.”

She pulled me into a room and closed the door. “What did they want?”

Their words returned to haunt me and with them came anger. How dare they take something beautiful and make it seem dirty and evil. Just because they chose not to marry didn’t mean marriage was horrible.

“To stop me from marrying Torin. They think I’m going to destroy my gift, damn my soul for choosing him. In which universe does that make sense? I don’t care what they say. I’m going to marry Torin.”

Ingrid grinned. “Engage your invisibility runes.” She pulled out an artavus just as students poured into the room. She created a portal and pulled me through it.

My feet sank into plush carpet and I looked around with interest. We were in a gorgeous bedroom decorated in gold, teal, and burgundy. The bed was huge and looked like an antique. Same with the chairs and chest of drawers, and there was the most beautiful tri-fold vanity mirror and stool.

“Where are we?” I asked, looking past an arched doorway with pinned back, heavy draperies to a patio. I started forward, drawn to the incredible greenery visible out the window and a swarm of voices that came from outside. So many voices.

Ingrid caught my arm. “Not yet. You can explore some other time. Right now, sit down.”

She pushed me onto the bed. I bounced on it once, and touched the duvet. Silk. Soft. “Seriously where are… What are you doing?”

“Removing your boots.” When I tried to stand, she went into hyper-speed, removing both my boots and my jeans. “And before you ask for the third time, we are in England. At Torin’s… since you’re getting married in”—she looked at her watch—“the next thirty minutes, I should call this castle your place. Remove the shirt. I’ll get your mom and Femi.”

My mouth opened like a fish out of water as she hurried to the inner door and said to someone, “Tell them we’re here, Mrs. Donovan. I’m getting her ready.”

Ready? I wasn’t ready. Not mentally. “But… but… Torin said Saturday.”

“That was in case the Norns got inside your head. As soon as they got the license yesterday, he wanted the deed done today.” She lifted a bag I hadn’t seen from the floor and placed it on the vanity. “Hawk has officiated many Immortal weddings, so he’s marrying you two. You have me as your bridesmaid and Torin has Andris. Oh, and your father gets to give you away. He’s in the den downstairs. Come on. I need to finish your hair and makeup before your mom and Femi get here.”

I couldn’t move. My eyes went to the window. Torin owns a castle? He’d said he owned a place in England, not a freaking castle. Was it old? New? I wanted to explore. “A castle?”

“Yep. Built in the 1600s but he’s modernized it as technology has changed. I love the stairs, but the place needs elevators. Make sure you put in some when you’re the mistress.” She patted the vanity seat. “Sit.”

I didn’t think I could stand or walk. I wanted to see Torin.

“Listen, we need to have this wedding before your next class, so move your ass.” She went into hyper-speed and by the time she was done, she’d arranged makeup on the vanity counter.

I stared at her. “Are you kidding?”

“Not today. No one is going to suspect anything. Your spider stunt worked to our advantage. Two classes are the maximum we can miss.”

“Where’s Torin?”

“Getting ready in the east wing. Seriously, Raine, get over here.” She plugged in a curling iron and pulled out facial cleansing towels from a bottle.

I sat facing the mirror, but she turned me around. It took her under five minutes to do my face and my hair. My jaw dropped when I faced the mirror.

I grinned. I had a lot of hair that could look overwhelming when curled, but she’d created soft waves, until halfway down and then had made the curls tighter and kind of layered. The front was pinned away from my face except for two strands near my temples. I reached up and touched the hairclip.

“Something borrowed. What do you think?”

“It’s amazing.”

“I know. I’m good,” Ingrid bragged.

The door opened and Mom and Femi walked in carrying a white organza wedding dress. Femi described it as a princess Chantilly lace gown with sequins and a full skirt. A designer friend of hers had gotten a team of seamstresses to work on it using the measurements from my prom dress. They’d worked for thirty-six hours straight and had barely finished the gown.

Mom and Femi refused to let me see my reflection as they fussed and adjusted lace and the bodice. It was a perfect fit. The veil had the same sequins used on the dress, but the earrings and the tiara had the same diamonds as on my engagement ring.

Minutes crept by. I stopped looking at the clock. Femi talked about her weddings and how mothers would not talk about certain things. Mom never had that chance because she’d been told right after her powers showed that she should dedicate her life to becoming a high priestess. That led to her being made Immortal, selected to join the Valkyries and of course, tapped to be a Norn.

“Women in my time were prudes and didn’t discuss sex,” Mom said. “Not me.”

“Mom,” I whispered.

“The first time can be scary, Raine, but it only gets better,” Mom said.

“Don’t,” I moaned, my face warming up.

“I made sure you stayed pure until your wedding night, so I’m allowed to be proud and do the traditional thing,” she said.

“Don’t forget, she chose well,” Femi cut it. “Most men would not have waited.”

“Most
girls
would not have waited for a man like Torin,” Ingrid added and they all laughed.

I covered my face, wanting to die. After another five minutes of torture, they slipped crystal-encrusted sandals on my feet and stepped back. Mom’s eyes welled up, her hand pressed to her chest.

“My baby,” she whispered. “You look like a princess.”

“We did good,” Femi piped in. “And in such short notice.”

“Can I look now?” I asked impatiently. The three of them nodded and I turned. The girl in the reflection could not be me, was my first reaction. I did look like a princess.

“I’m going to check on your father,” Mom said, but I heard the tears in her voice.

“Mom, wait!” I called to her before she left the room and gave her a hug. “Thank you for making this perfect. You’re the best Mom a girl could ever have.”

“Oh honey, I brought this on you. If it weren’t for me, all this mess with the—”

I pressed a finger on her lips. “We’re not discussing
them
. Not today. Don’t forget that if it weren’t for you, I would never have met Torin.” We hugged again. Then she left. Next was Femi. Ingrid was changing into a light-blue dress.

Cora was never going to talk to me after this. We’d never discussed marriage or weddings, but she would have loved to be by my side.

Mom returned with a dried bouquet of flowers, a blend of white and soft shades of blue. “Something old and something blue,” she whispered. “I carried this when I married your father, and I kept it for today.”

I couldn’t talk. I was sure if I did, I’d start crying.

We headed downstairs. I was nervous, scared, and excited at the same time. We went down a curving ivory staircase with a polished ebony banister. Soaring ebony columns with ivory and gold accents at the base stood in the main entrance. I forgot about the room when I saw Dad.

Tears rushed to my eyes.

He stood at the bottom of the stairs, his eyes alert and filled with pride. Because he didn’t do chemotherapy like most cancer patients, he had a full head of hair, which was combed and styled. His hair was so long it almost brushed the collar of his shirt. He never kept it that long. I wasn’t sure why I was thinking about that now. Despite looking frail and gaunt, he had color in his cheeks and he looked dashing in a tux. As I got closer, his eyes grew shiny with tears.

“Pumpkin,” he whispered.

“I told you your wish would come true,” I whispered back, fighting tears.

“What wish was that?” Eirik asked from the doorway to our right, a camera in his hand. He was here. He raised the Nikon to his face. “Smile.”

He took pictures and gave me a hug, then took Dad’s arm.

“No, son,” Dad said. “I got this. I’m walking her down the aisle and handing her over to Torin,” he chuckled, but it sounded hollow as though he was barely hanging on. He cleared his throat and added, “He’d better take good care of you.”

I took his arm, a tear escaping. “He will, Daddy. I know he will.”

“I’ll make sure he does,” Eirik added. “More pictures.”