Witches (Runes series Book 6) (39 page)

“Does your decision have anything to do with your Valkyrie boyfriend?” Marj asked.

For one second, all thoughts flew from my head and my stomach dropped. Did they get inside my head? I wouldn’t put it past them. Then I remembered the last discussion with Goddess Freya. They’d blamed Torin for everything and wanted us separated.

“Of course not. This is the path I’ve chosen for me. You’ve told me over and over again that he’s just a passing phase. I see that now. I’m destined for something greater than my youthful obsession with him.”

Another stretch of silence and conferencing among them.

“Fair enough,” Catie said. “Support your Immortals. But if you want this boy back on his feet, you must do a task we each give you. It’s the least you can do for all you’ve put us through with your shenanigans.”

My jaw dropped. “Me? What about what you’ve stolen from us?”

“Stolen from you and…?” Catie asked, latching on to my blunder.

“Me and my family,” I corrected myself, talking so fast my tongue tripped. “My father is in Hel because of you. I’ll never see him again. You know what? Forget it. What do you want me to do?”

They studied me as though trying to see beyond my words, and then Catie looked at Jeannette and nodded.

“Erase every memory of the hospital staff who treated the boy,” Jeannette said.

“Then the students at your school so they don’t remember the Valkyries or you,” Marj said.

“And finally the Witches who answered the Call,” Catie added. “That impossible boy refused to do as he was told.”

I studied their faces, hoping they weren’t tricking me. I hated the very idea of erasing someone’s memories. It was diabolical, like being mentally violated. Yet I saw no way out. Not if I wanted to help Beau.

“How do I do it?” I asked, feeling a little sick to my stomach.

“Link with me and I’ll walk you through it,” Jeannette said.

Yeah, like I was going to fall for that one. “No. Just explain it.”

“Fine. Will it,” she explained. “Mentally go over what they know and will it away, then go over what you want them to remember and plant it as new memories.”

She talked and I listened, and then I followed her instructions.

“These are the new memories. Beau fell asleep at the wheel and rolled his truck. He was thrown clear at impact and became unconscious. The doctors are baffled because he has no external or internal injuries. In a nutshell, he’s a medical anomaly. He’s just a boy in a coma, who will slip right out of it after this and surprise everyone. And all the original records should also be erased and replaced with the ones matching his new medical status.”

I studied Beau, his banged up face, and the machines, and I knew I was doing the right thing. With my eyes on him, I connected with the source of my magic and repeated everything Jeannette had said, until I could see the sequence of events.

A chill crawled up my spine as the bruises on Beau’s face disappeared and the sterile tapes covering the stitches melted away.

Jeannette smiled, and nodded at the other two.

“Good job,” Catie said and glanced at Marj. “Your turn.”

“Remove the memories of the Valkyries and Grimnirs from the people here in your town,” Jeannette said, “so they don’t recognize them. Instead of the Valkyrie playing football for your school, replace him with the Immortal.” She glanced at the others. “What’s his name?”

“Blaine Chapman,” Catie said.

“That’s right. Blaine Chapman. The memories of you will also be erased from everyone you’ve known most of your life. You and Eirik never attended this school. Your neighbors across the street will only know you as the girl who was homeschooled by an eccentric mother and father. This way, when you leave, no one will wonder what happened to you.”

I shook my head. “Leave? I’m not going anywhere.”

“You must continue your studies, and since the Valkyries and your instructor are leaving, we assumed you and your mother will want to leave with them,” Catie said, smiling benignly.

I nodded. “I do.”

“Good. We plan to help with your education whenever we can now that you’ve decided on your future.” She looked at the others and added, “But right now, your focus should be on Beau Hardshaw. You’ve chosen to help Immortals and Mortals. Save him.”

I swallowed and wavered. They were too calm and smug, which meant they were up to something. I just couldn’t see it yet. The one thing they still didn’t know was that Torin and I were married. That should screw up whatever plans they might be concocting.

“Do you need more time to decide?” Catie asked.

“No.” Beau looked so peaceful. If it weren’t for the machines monitoring his vitals, I’d think he was dead. “I’ll do it.”

I closed my eyes this time and wove the memories in my mind: Blaine winning state with the football team, Torin, Andris, Ingrid, and Maliina never setting a foot in our school. Instead of completely erasing memories of Eirik and me, I changed it to Eirik and I leaving after the swim meet incident. If I hadn’t attended middle school I would never have met Cora. Erasing those memories meant erasing hers too. I refused to erase her memories or her parents’.

The cold I’d felt earlier was creeping toward my chest. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that with every memory-manipulation the coldness spread.

The door flew open, and so did my eyes as I whipped around to see Torin standing in the doorway, looking like my champion. The problem was he couldn’t afford to fight these women. He wouldn’t win. He took the scene in with a sweeping glance and reached a conclusion.

“You,” he snarled. “No wonder everyone out there is on a time loop doing the same thing over and over. Stay away from her.”

“This is none of your business, Valkyrie,” Catie snarled. “Lorraine, you’re almost done.”

“Whatever they’re asking you do, Freckles, don’t do it,” Torin begged.

“I’m trying to save Beau, Torin,” I explained, torn between listening to him and helping Beau.

Torin pulled out an artavus and moved to my side. “I’ll save him for you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Marj said, moving closer to the bed. “Your status will be revoked and it will be another millennium before you’ll ever be considered for the position of an Idun-Valkyrie.”

“I don’t care about being an Idun-Valkyrie. You will not manipulate her when I’m around.” He gripped my hand.

“What about when you’re not around, Valkyrie?” Catie cut in. “You won’t just lose your new position, you will be assigned to Goddess Hel and posted in her realm, not here on earth.”

My stomach sunk at the threats. Torin and I belonged together. I tugged his hand. “I told them I was on the side of the Immortals and Mortals, and I was staying here.”

Fear flashed in his eyes. Torin was fearless, so this couldn’t be good.

“What did they ask you to do?” he asked me, but his eyes were on the Norns.

My eyes flashed between him and the Norns as I explained erasing the memories of the hospital staff, the students at school, and the Witches.

“I don’t like it, but this would prove—”

“Nothing,” Torin cut in. “They’re liars, Raine, and they’re still trying to trick you. Each Norn gives a task to a novice. If she accomplishes the tasks, she’s bound to them for as long as they deem fit. That’s how they recruit Valkyries and Immortals who resist them. Remember the loophole in their binding laws we talked about last week?” He glanced at me. “I wasn’t subbing at CC High. I went to find answers.” He went back to glaring at the Norns. “This has nothing to do with saving Beau. They’re trying to bind you to them.”

“It is done, Valkyrie,” Jeannette said triumphantly. “You’ve lost. She’s bound to us already.”

“I didn’t complete the last task,” I protested.

“Oh, but you did,” Catie said. “I asked you to heal the forest and you did. That was your
first
task.”

“And you just erased the memories of the hospital staff,” Jeannette chimed in. “Task two.”

“And I believe you completed fixing the memories of people in this town,” Marj finished. Her eyes went to Beau. “Too bad about the boy. We didn’t cause his accident. We don’t do that sort of thing. Whatever did you do to anger our evil sisters, Lorraine? Let me guess. They know you have the dagger.”

I stared at them in shock. “You knew all this time?”

“About the attack by the dark souls in Carson and in the forest?” Catie asked. “Yes, we did. We hoped you’d realize there’s no one who can help you but us.”

“She doesn’t need your help,” Torin said. “She has me.”

“No, she doesn’t. She’s now bound to us, Valkyrie. Check her arm. She has our rune now.” They laughed gleefully.

One by one, they disappeared.

Torin took my hand and pushed up the sleeve of my jacket. A glowing
valknut
, the three intertwined triangle rune of the Norns, appeared on my skin. And with a last evil smile the Norns vanished.

I stared at Torin and moaned, “No.”

A grin touched the corner of his lips. “Look again,” he said.

I stared at my arm. Two runes appeared, both attached to the rune of love.

“Those are our bonding runes. The runes Andris and Ingrid etched on us yesterday when got married. One etched on you and another on me, yet we carry them both. We are connected now. Bonded. Mated.”

The two runes were bigger and brighter than the Norns’
valknut
. They reminded me of Beau’s tattoos, the bigger butterfly dominating the menacing dog. Love always wins.

“They’re wrong, Freckles,” he said. “You and I bonded first and our bond is stronger, and that’s why our runes are bigger and brighter than theirs. What they don’t know is that we’re going to kick their asses when we face the Valkyrie Council. We are going to win this battle.”

I exhaled and hugged him tight. I hope so. I really, really hope so.

“Now what are we going to do about him? Should I heal him?” he asked.

“No.” I shook my head. I refused to let him throw away his future. “I need to think. I plan to stick it to the Norns. What do they fear the most?”

“Exposure,” he said.

The door opened behind us, and Mom peeked in. She saw us and rushed forward to give me a hug. “Thank goodness you are okay. Those hags put us on a time loop we couldn’t escape. The worst part was we were aware we were doing the same thing over and over again.” She studied my face. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “They tried to trap me. No, they tricked me and bound me to them, but we won.”

“What?”

I looked at Torin and he explained to her what had happened. She looked worried, but tried to downplay it. “And the boy?”

“We’ll figure something out.”

The door opened and Femi stuck her head inside, “Lavania says his parents are coming back. She can’t rune them again.”

We filed out of Beau’s room. The father saw us and frowned. “Who are you?” he asked, not recognizing me.

“Friends from school,” I said.

“Have they figured out what’s wrong with him?” he asked, looking at Torin.

He shook his head. “No, Mr. Hardshaw.”

“What good are these doctors when they can’t heal a simple boy?” I overheard him object as we walked away, but I was still reeling from the fact that he hadn’t recognized me.

In the waiting area, Seth and the others were still there. Amber and Ellie saw me and smiled, then their eyes slid to Torin. There was no recognition, just curiosity. Had I really scrambled their memories?

Mom, Femi, and Lavania disappeared into the nearest bathroom to create a portal home. Torin and I took my car. “How did you know where I was?”

“You mean other than the fact that we’re even more bound to each other than before and I know when you need me?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes.”

“Onyx found me. I love that cat.” He revved the engine and eased out of the parking lot. “I had tracked down my father to some gentlemen’s club in London and was asking him how he’d known about the loophole in the Norn’s binding law when Onyx arrived. She likes to make an entrance.”

“Let me guess, she was this high,”—I indicated the area near my nose—“with a shiny coat and piercing green eyes?” I asked.

Torin chuckled. “Yep.”

“She did that when I called her to the forest the other day.”

“Is that the day you were attacked, and you somehow forgot to give me the details?”

“No, it’s the day I got drunk and swore never to touch alcohol again. As for the loophole, I think it’s more like the green light to trap unsuspecting, naive Immortals into Norn servitude.”

Torin reached for my hand and brought it to his lips. “It works both ways, luv. If you don’t follow their instructions, the bond loses its impact. If you have a more powerful bond with someone else first, like we do, that bond dominates.”

“Does that mean if you piss me off, my Norn bond will dominate?”

He shot me a quick glance. “I refuse to believe my bride would think of something that horrible.”

I grinned and rested my head on his shoulder. “About your father, do you trust him now?”

He laughed. “Not in this lifetime. He’s a self-serving opportunist who will hitch his wagon to any winning horse.” He brought the car to a stop outside my house. “Not that you are a horse, but I think he realized you’re more important than going to Asgard. He won’t tell me where he gets his information though.”

“Probably from the evil Norns.” I explained about the dagger, the attack in the forest, and the
Draugar
. “He knew about the attack by the
Draugar,
and that I was the target.”

“Nothing he does surprises me anymore. Are you sure you don’t want me to heal Beau?”

I shook my head. “I can’t risk losing you. Once the Norns find out we’re married, they’ll be pissed and I’m afraid they’ll take it out on you to punish me.”

He sighed. “I can take anything those hags dish out.”

“Including being banished to Hel?”

He gave me a lost puppy look. “Would you come with me?”

I kissed him. “Of course I would. Someone will have to keep the goddess away from you, but I’d rather live here than in Hel’s Hall, so no healing Beau. I’ll come up with something.”

“Come on, I need to talk to your mother and the others about something my father said.”

That was the second time he’d referred to him as his father, not the Earl. “What?”

“Inside.” He walked around the car and grabbed my hand then frowned. “Where are your rings?”

I touched my pocket. “I had to remove them before going to the hospital.”

Mom, Lavania, and Femi were in the kitchen peering at something on Femi’s laptop when we entered the house.

“I like that better,” Femi murmured. “It has more room for the students and the staff.”

“This one is more secluded and has a drawbridge,” Lavania said.

“What is secluded?” I asked and they looked up.

“We’re trying to narrow down properties for the school,” Mom said when she looked up and saw us. “What do you guys think?” One window showed a Gothic castle in North Wales, England, worth five million pounds. The second one was in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The last one was a secluded château in France.

“The Gothic,” Torin and I said in unison.

Mom grinned at the other women. “They’re starting to think alike.” Her face became serious. “Okay, sit down. We want to hear everything.”

There was only one chair, so Torin sat and pulled me down onto his lap. I told them everything, and then Torin added the information from his father. “He thinks there will be more attacks by dark souls. He’s not sure when, but he insists someone is organizing them. I was sure he was the one doing it, but after what Raine learned, it might be someone working with the evil Norns.”

Mom sighed. “Who else would be stupid enough to work with evil Norns after what happened to Maliina? Now they’re after my baby.” She rubbed my arm.

“Sorry, Mrs. Cooper, but she’s mine now,” Torin teased, removing the rings from the pocket of my jacket and sliding them back on my finger. He got a smack on his hand for his pains.

“She’ll always be my child, Torin. We’re ordering dinner, then sitting down in earnest to figure out this school business once Hawk gets here.”

“I think I might offer Dev, Cora’s soul, a teaching position,” Lavania said. “It might quicken his recovery. Do you guys have anyone else in mind?”

“Blaine and Ingrid might like the positions,” I said.

“They’re already shortlisted,” Lavania said. “I decided Ingrid is too old to be a student.”

“My father,” Torin said, and the shock in the room was palpable. No one spoke. I turned to look at him. Not to put his idea down, but come on. His father was a total douche and even he didn’t trust the guy.

“Why?” I asked.

“To keep an eye on him. What better way than in a school full of Witches and other Immortals? Besides, he has enough experience warring. He could be in charge of martial arts and battle strategy.”

“Well, we’ll have to think about that, Torin,” Lavania said. “As the founders of the school, we’ll also have put it to a vote.”

“Founders?” I asked.

“Oh yes. There’s your mother, Femi, Hawk, and me. We have three months to get the school going and send out admission letters to all eligible Witches around the world.”

I stood, wanting to be alone with Torin. “Well, good luck. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

They stared at us with knowing expressions and heat rushed to my face. I could swear one of them muttered, “Young love,” as we walked away.

 
“We’ll be next door if you need us,” Torin said.

“Let us know when Andris comes back,” Lavania added. “Oops, we need Ingrid here. She had some wonderful suggestions earlier about classes.”

Just before we entered the portal, I glanced back and caught Mom watching us. She wore a haunted look, and I wondered if she was thinking of Dad or worrying about me.

~*~

We went back to the castle and spent another night fulfilling some of Torin’s fantasies. He had so many of them. I would never look at a mirror again without seeing our reflections. He made me forget about the Norns, but not Beau.

I woke up before Torin did and watched him sleep. The clock on the wall said it was one in the afternoon, which meant it was five in the morning in Kayville. I wondered if my memory deletion thing worked. Every time I thought about it, I felt guilty. Since Beau was in a coma when it happened, did it affect him?

“Still worrying?” Torin asked, and my eyes flew to his face.

“I was actually watching you sleep.”

He stroked my cheek and grinned. “You should have woken me up.”

“You looked so peaceful.”

He leaned in and kissed me. The kiss grew intense fast. It was another hour before he left for the bathroom. Then I heard the water running. He came into the bedroom and whispered in my ear, “Want to have a bath with me?”

For an answer, I turned and looped my arms around his neck. He scooped me up.

“Do you know today’s your prom night?” he asked.

“So?”

“So do you want to go?”

“No. Oh crap! I meant to call Cora last night and warn her.”

“About?”

“The memory erasing thing. If it worked, she shouldn’t talk to people about you guys or me. They’ll think she’s lost it. Is there a way you can find out if it worked?”

“Sure. I’ll call one of the football players and see if he remembers me.”

I pushed the matter aside and enjoyed the moment. Torin had invested a lot in modernizing the castle. The tub was big enough for the two of us. The bath lasted longer than we’d planned, and then Torin disappeared through a portal.

I stared at my arms and thought of him, and our runes appeared. The more I thought of him, the brighter they appeared. The feeling of love and wellbeing washed over me. I dozed off with the runes still on my skin. I probably had a dopey expression on my face.

When Torin woke me up, he had breakfast and flowers on a tray. He was wearing my favorite sweatpants. As usual, they were indecently low. My stomach growled and my attention shifted to the tray. The setting was for one.

“Aren’t you eating?” I asked, sitting up.

“Later. I need to take care of something first.” He pressed a kiss on my temple, but I felt the tension pouring from him.

“What is it?”

“I’ll explain when I come back, luv. Rest.” He pulled on a T-shirt and left.

I was tempted to follow him and find out what was going on, but I refused to be that woman. You know the kind who was so insecure she spied on her husband.

Oh, who was I kidding? We had so much crap going on, this could be a matter of life and death. Or Andris and Echo could be back from Hel. I wanted be sure that Dad’s soul was safe.

I changed and opened a portal to his place in Kayville.
Our
place. I stopped at the top of the stairs and angled my head to eavesdrop. I heard Blaine. It was the morning ritual at his place. He made coffee and all the non-tea drinkers at the mansion moseyed over to get some. I didn’t hear Andris, which meant he wasn’t back.

This was stupid. I should either go downstairs and join them or find something else to do. Like check on Beau at the hospital.

Instead of turning into a stalker, I opened a portal to the hospital. I’d been to Kayville Medical Center so often over the last eight months I knew the place inside out. There was the night we kept vigil after several swim team mates got injured at a club. It was my seventeenth birthday. Seemed like a long time ago now. Then there was the time I was first admitted after Maliina hurt me. I hated thinking about the bitch because my thoughts automatically switched to evil Norns. She’d been an evil Norn-in-training. Amazing how different she was from Ingrid.