Forecast (11 page)

“I think we lost Josh and Grim!” I yelled so Taran could hear me over the crowd.

Taran suddenly changed direction. So did a lot of the people running alongside us. He headed for the closest hotel. The screams were deafening as Taran and I reached the stairs inside the hotel just as the water seemed to just hit. And rise. Fast.

The roar of the water smashing and breaking things was like something from my worst nightmare. Glass crashed below us as we reached the second floor. Wood creaked so loudly I could hear it over the terrified cries of the people racing up the stairs behind us.

Images of the wave rushing through the stairwell and scooping us up hit me so hard I stumbled.

Taran gripped my hand tighter as he raced ahead of me on the stairs, half dragging me. That grip, which was slightly painful, told me he had no intention of losing me in the crowd that suddenly swarmed us. People were crying and fighting to move in wet clothes, shoving others out of their way. Taran pushed through, but I noted he took care not to push anyone too hard. There were a lot of kids hanging on to adults.

We spilled into the hallway. Taran and I ran to the window at the end. Earlier, there’d been a pool on this side of the hotel, but it was covered. Lounge chairs and chunks of what looked like buildings and boats bobbed in the water—which was moving toward the second level fast.

I met Taran’s gaze. “One more floor?”

He nodded. We waded back through the crowd. Hotel guests had opened their rooms to the stranded. Some had started crying, but most were still in shock, glued to windows, mouths slack.

I met the gaze of a small, black-headed boy. His chin rested on what I assumed was his daddy’s shoulder, his arms tight around the man’s neck. Fear clouded his brown eyes making them darker, close to black.

Taran tugged on my hand and we went up two more floors. There weren’t as many people on this one, which surprised me. One of the doors at the end had an Out of Order sign on it. Taran let go of my hand and ran for that door, slamming his shoulder into it so it crashed open. He turned to find me and the swarm of emotions in his eyes stabbed into my gut.

The cold hit me, shivers racking my body so hard I thought my knees would give out. Taran walked toward me and took my hand again before sliding his arm around my waist. “Lean on me. We need to get you warm.”

His skin was icy. “You, too.”

I jumped when a door to my right opened. The man who came through it held something in his hands. “I heard through the door.” He handed Taran a gray sweat suit. “It’s the only extra set of clothes I brought that might fit you. Don’t have anything for the little thing.”

His kind eyes belied the rough tone of his voice. A woman’s sobs sounded from the room behind him.

“Thank you.” I smiled at him. “I can use the top and he can use the bottoms. It’ll give us time to let our clothes dry.” That’s the way the words were supposed to sound, but they came out clackety from the slamming of my teeth.

“Better get yourself warm. No one is going to care if you use that room. It was closed because of a plumbing problem, so you’re welcome to use my bathroom if you need it.”

“Appreciate it,” Taran said, and his voice had less teeth. He nodded at the man and pulled me toward the open hotel room.

I immediately went to the window. The water hadn’t receded yet, but it didn’t look higher. A red chair bobbed toward one of the rooms below me. Something was attached to it. I pressed my hands to the glass, looked closer, dismay sending acid into my throat when I realized it was a person holding on to the chair leg. There were others in the water. I saw an orange coat...someone’s feet.

Bare feet.

Turning away from the horror going on outside, I worked to calm the frantic sobs starting in my throat, tried to focus on the tidy room with its two beds covered in brown comforters. A cushioned, striped chair took up the corner with a desk and chair on the other side of the window.

“Hey, we’re safe.” Taran touched my cheek. “Crap, you’re like ice!” He handed me the sweatshirt. “You can wear this and wrap up in one of the blankets.”

I jammed my shaking fingers into the pocket of my jeans and dug out my phone, setting it on the table between the beds. There were missed calls from Kat. I’d have to call her back.

Shivering, I took the shirt into the bathroom. I wanted to be dry more than I wanted air. Water and snow had seeped under the waterproof coat. My fingers were so cold they hurt, and getting a grip on my wet, icy clothes was so hard, it took me five minutes to remove my coat, sweater and socks. Bra? I thought about being braless with Taran and actually felt real warmth spread in my stomach. I unhooked the soggy, yellow thing and dropped it on the floor.

Trying to peel off the wet, frozen jeans had me forgetting the warmth, the bra, everything. I thought about running hot water over them to loosen them up, but was scared about the water on my icy feet.

“You okay in there, Coral? Still awake?”

“Yeah,” I breathed. My shivers were starting to hurt, my muscles aching. I gritted my teeth and sat on the edge of the tub to tug the bottom of the jeans. “My fingers are cold. Having trouble with my jeans.”

“Let me help.” The door rattled.

“Wait!” I tugged the sweatshirt over my head, groaning with the small bit of warmth it provided. It fell to midthigh. “Okay, come in.”

Taran had already shed his wet clothes and he wore only the pants. He laughed when he saw the shirt. “It could be a dress on you.” He knelt in front of me. The smooth, golden skin of his shoulders made my fingers itch to touch. He was built long and lean and looked thin in his clothes, but he was anything but. Muscle definition rippled over his chest and stomach. His arms were well defined, strong looking. My mouth watered. I held my breath, surprised I was feeling all this while the world was falling apart.

But then, like the night before with the movie, the need for normal consumed me.

“I cranked the heat up crazy high in the room. Let’s get the jeans off and then we’ll work on those sleeves.”

I tore my eyes from his chest to look at the sleeves of my sweatshirt. I raised one arm over my head and wiggled it to get the sleeve to slide down enough to free my hand. “One free hand is all I need.” That made me think of Josh and Grim for some reason. Okay, because it could be taken dirty. Josh would have already made some kind of nasty, funny comment. Worry for the funny boys made my gut twist. “Do you think your friends made it ahead of the wave?”

“They’re tougher than they look and as stubborn as billy goats.” He sounded certain.

But all thoughts of Josh and Grim disappeared as Taran finally got my jeans off and put his palm on my thigh just above my right knee. His hands felt like fire. I sucked in a startled breath.

“Sorry,” he murmured as a faint hint of red crawled up his jaw. “You’re just so cold and it’s cramped in here.”

He abruptly stood and picked me up. He seemed to be completely over his fear of touching me. I really wished I’d freed both hands because only one got to touch the hot skin of his back as I held on. He cradled me against him, carrying me into the room to set me on the bed. I was hyperaware of my yellow underwear showing.

So was he.

He’d stopped in his tracks. As if my underwear was the headlight and he was the deer.

“Taran?”

He looked up at me and our gazes locked. Then the clackety-clack of my teeth ruined the moment, but the electricity from that brief connection raised the fine hairs on my arms like static.

I closed my eyes as intense emotion flooded my cold body.

He paused and I opened my eyes and met his gaze again. “I’d apologize.” He quirked one corner of his lips. “But I don’t want to. You’re beautiful. I’ll end up saying more. I’ll end up trying more. Eventually.”

“Trying more what?”

He didn’t move. “Touching.”

I stood, my nerves acting like springs. Tugging the top cover off the bed, I wrapped it around myself and nearly lost control of my legs—the relief of warmth was just so strong. But a lot of my heat was coming from the inside. I don’t know what made me walk to him. Don’t know what made me open the blanket and wrap it around him, too—when we both had half our clothes off. I barely knew him but something about dealing with the end of the world made me feel reckless. Or maybe I just really needed the touch of another human being right now. His back, bare and warm, brushed against my hands. Something glinted in his eyes, something that made me think he’d have very little trouble talking me into a bed someday.

“Just so you know, I won’t take advantage of you.” He wrapped his arms around me under the blanket.

I sighed into the warmth, laid my cheek against his chest, frowned. “I know that.”

“We’ve been through a lot. Doesn’t mean that bed isn’t tempting.”

I lifted my head. “Wait, the bed is a temptation?”

He grinned that sly, wicked grin. “Yeah, but not nearly as much as that yellow underwear.”

Chapter Seven

My phone rang—it wasn’t either of my sisters’ rings. I gritted my teeth and wondered if it was possible to do a spell that would affect whoever it was from here.

“Your phone rang like five times while you were in the bathroom, so you should probably get that.” Taran stepped back.

I kept the blanket around me with one fist and grabbed my phone off the table. “The other calls were all Kat,” I told him. “What?” I nearly yelled into it as I watched him walk into the bathroom and shut the door.

“Coral?” It was Raven.

“Yeah, I’m in the middle of something and Kat keeps calling. She’s bugging the crap out of me, totally freaked about what’s happening down here.” I rubbed my temples, realizing I had been picking up on Kat’s worry through our triplet bond. It wasn’t Raven’s fault—she didn’t know she was interrupting. “Sorry, Raven.”

“In the middle of what?” she asked.

I paced to the other side of the bed. “What do you mean what? Haven’t you been watching the news?”

“Not today. Are you okay?”

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes. “I found Taran—”

“Taran?” she interrupted.

“The
warrior
I was supposed to find, remember?” I knew I sounded like a bitch, but he’d been about to kiss me and I’d liked sharing that blanket with him and right now, that warmth and connection seemed like the only thing that would keep my terror over the water at bay.

“Are you okay? Really?”

“I will be. We had to sneak out of his house because the cops told him he couldn’t leave and then a huge wave hit Florida.” And other places, I thought. I rubbed my forehead. Exhaustion crashed into me so fast and hard, I wanted to cry.

“A wave? Like a tidal wave? Or a tsunami?” Now she sounded as freaked as Kat probably was. “Gods, Coral, are you okay? This is happening crazy fast. Too fast. Where are you?”

“Taran and I busted into a hotel room on the fourth floor of...” I trailed off because I couldn’t remember what hotel we’d ran into, only that it was a sort of yellow color and had four floors. “I have no idea what hotel we’re in. We just ran with the crowd.”

“Are you sure this Taran is the one?”

“Yeah.” I walked to the corner farthest from the bathroom and cupped my hand over my mouth and the phone. “He’s in the bathroom. Raven, there’s something else going on here. His hammer’s missing and I’m not sure he
really
gets that he’s carrying Thor’s soul. Even though he has goat friends.”

“Goat friends?” She paused. “I don’t know about this, Coral. Goats?”

“Not real goats. Boys. Friends. Josh and Grim Tanner. But they have pointy chins with little beards on them and everything. And you should hear how they talk!”

“Why did the cops tell Taran not to leave his house?”

“Suspicion of assault. Twice. But there wasn’t enough proof to hold him, and I think it also had something to do with the fact his dad is a cop. But then the wave came.” I thought about the boy I’d seen in the vision. Was it three or even more now? The exhaustion pulled my thoughts every direction.

“Um, Coral, maybe you guys should go back into the crowd.”

“Look, I’m okay. Safe for now. What’s up there? I hear something in your voice?”

“Do you know a spell that would have cedar and peppermint?”

I thought for a moment. I knew several. “Did you touch it? Was it oily?”

“Could have been, but it was dry by the time I got to it. Whatever it is, I think it’s created a mob riot. Coral, people have lost it—they’re beating the crap out of each other in a Walmart parking lot.”

“Really—” I lost my train of thought when Taran came out of the bathroom. Guess the plumbing problem had nothing to do with the shower because he was rubbing a towel over his wet hair. His sweats had slipped low enough to show a slight trail of hair under his belly button. This time, I felt like the deer. Then he held out his hand and closed his eyes. I narrowed my own. He glanced at me and red crept up his neck.

Hammer?
I mouthed, lifting an eyebrow.

He nodded, the blush climbing into his cheeks.

“What’s going on there, Coral? Is everything really okay?”

It took effort to tear my gaze off Taran. I turned away so I could focus. “No, but if I’m right about your spell, you don’t have time to worry about me. Did you smell anything else? Something kind of bitter?”

“Yeah.”

“Myrrh.” I rolled my eyes though she couldn’t see. “And I can’t believe you don’t remember those smells from that campground in Kansas. Remember that old Deadhead groupie?”

She went silent and I could almost hear her mind working over old memories. “But that was a seduction spell. Coral, trust me, the people in this parking lot aren’t interested in hooking up.”

“It’s gotta be Mom. Sounds like a command spell and it will make people do whatever she wants. She’s used one before. All she has to do is get enough of it into space, make a suggestion and it’ll spread as long as the oil is a little wet. It can even dry and be pretty powerful.”

“Suggestion.” She trailed off as if she was trying to remember the spell. “She must have sprayed it on the carts. But why? Makes no sense.”

“Sounds like she wants a fight.”

“A diversion!” There were noises—the slam of a door, then more voices. “Is there an antidote?” she yelled.

“I’m sorry—I don’t know! It will fade soon anyway. But you can’t worry about all those people. All you can do is—”

“Protect Vanir,” she interrupted. “Thanks, Coral. I have to go.”

I set my phone back on the small table just as the power in the hotel shut off.

“Crap!” Taran strode to the window, pushed the curtains all the way open. Not that it helped much with it being overcast and storming.

I joined him, still wrapped in the blanket, still freezing. The water hadn’t receded yet. Debris floated along with it as it moved. Snow fell onto trees and buildings and melted into the water. There were cars, chairs and...I squinted, knowing I didn’t want to know for sure, but my heart already did. I choked as hot tears flooded my eyes. “Gods,” I whispered. “There are still people in that.”

“Don’t look.” Taran turned me away from the window and wrapped his arms around me—blanket and all. “It’s going to get cold in here fast. We should probably get under more blankets.”

There were voices in the hall and I thought about the other people. “We have to open up the room so some of the other people can come in and get warm, too.”

“We should.” He nodded. “Just give me a couple of minutes first.” He took my hands and had me open the blanket so he could step in close against my body again.

“Oh, you’re so warm,” I murmured, wrapping my arms around his back. The movement cocooned us together, and his body heat felt so nice, I pressed my cheek against his chest as I had earlier. “So... a couple of minutes to cuddle?” I smiled against his skin.

“Yeah. Something good after...just after.”

I knew what he meant. The devastation of the town—of a lot of towns by now—made me feel shredded. I couldn’t imagine how many people hadn’t gotten out of the water’s way. Tightening my arms around Taran, I breathed him in.

“You’re something else,” he said, his voice so husky, it sent shivers up my back.

“So are you.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I’m glad you decided to find me to protect me.”

I knew he still thought it was funny. “I didn’t expect all this.”

“Which part? The storm surge, or whatever it is I’m starting to think we both feel?”

“Neither. No, both.” I shook my head slowly. “You’ve got my brain firing a little off.”

“Good, because you’ve got my entire body firing off.” This time, his groan sounded more embarrassed. “Wait, scratch that—didn’t come out right.”

Heat filled my cheeks and I knew my blush would be highly visible, even in the low light. “I’m glad I mess you up.”

“Me, too.” He rested his forehead on mine, then sighed. “We should let people in. But I’d rather be alone with you.”

I looked at the bed, then back at him. “It’s going to get even colder. We can sit under the covers together. Keep each other warm.”

“Works for me.” He cupped my face, stared at me another long moment then dropped a light kiss on my lips before sighing and walking to the door.

The moment he opened it and invited them in, a bunch of people filed into the room. They all had blankets so I figured the hotel staff had passed them out.

There were lost, terrified expressions on every single person who settled in. People sat on the floor against walls. A group huddled on the other bed. Taran crawled under the covers with me and we sat against the headboard—our sides plastered to each other. Two teens and an older woman sat on the edges of our bed. They talked about what they’d seen on the news—the last thing heard was storms had hit halfway up the coast, too.

“I heard Cuba is gone,” a woman on the other bed said. “Just gone.”

Taran threaded our fingers together under the covers, and I sat kind of stunned as people talked around us. The end of the world was really happening and all these people had no idea exactly what was going on—they just knew it was awful and scary as hell. I felt Taran’s heat against me, leaned closer. The responsibility I felt in that instant nearly crushed me, and I selfishly needed some of his strength. We had to stop this somehow.

But what could we—a bunch of kids carrying god souls—do?

“How long until the water goes away?” A girl about my age threw the question out into the room.

“Looks like it’s lower already,” a man said as he stared out of the window. “It’s going to be bad. The town started evacuations too late. If we had this much water here, it had to have gone inland pretty far.”

I picked up my cell phone but it had no signal. It was so strange having no access to information. All we could do was wait this out.

“I hope my dad is okay,” Taran whispered.

“Me, too.” I turned, laid my forehead on his shoulder.

Everyone kept talking, but I started to tune them out. Taran shifted us until I could actually rest my cheek on his chest again and he could put his arm around me. His warmth and the drone of voices lulled me into a sort of stupor where I thought about the people who hadn’t made it, worried about my sisters. Were they going through something just as bad? I got the feeling there was more than just a fight in a Walmart parking lot for Raven. And I should have called Kat. Bossiness aside, she’d be frantic. If there was anything I knew for sure, it was that she loved me even when her mouth got away from her.

With plans to call her as soon as my phone worked, my body took the decision of whether to stay awake or not right out of my hands entirely. I fell asleep to the sound of Taran’s heartbeat.

* * *

“Hey, wake up.” Someone nudged me and I blinked to find Taran staring down at me. I blinked harder to clear my vision, not sure I liked his worried, exhausted half smile. “It’s been hours and I think we should try to find my dad. The water receded.”

A few people still milled about the room. Taran handed me the sweatpants he’d been wearing. I looked down to see he’d put the wet jeans back on. He grimaced. “Trust me, you want the dry pants. The guy who gave them to us came by the room and said to keep them.”

“Thanks,” I said, clearing my throat when it came out scratchy. I didn’t remember ever being this tired. Wiggling into the pants under the covers, I frowned when Taran handed me damp socks.

“Sorry. I guess it’s too cold for things to dry out. I should have thought to turn on the heater in the bathroom before the power went out. It’s a good thing you have those orange boots. My shoes will be worse.”

It took a long time to get out of the hotel. The debris—chunks of soaked drywall; broken, jagged pieces of wood; and twisted fragments of metal—started in the stairwell. Picking over it while keeping my balance was harder than I expected. The first floor lobby made both Taran and me stop and stare. Broken wood from furniture and possibly boats lay in haphazard piles, pieces of walls and appliances mixed with overturned chairs and soggy paper. Puddles stood all over the place and anything with any sort of indentation was filled with water—including an open suitcase on top of part of a table. A woman knelt in front of what was left of the front desk, crying, digging through debris.

“There’s a boot there,” I whispered to Taran, pointing.

He quickly climbed over debris and helped the woman pull rubble off the person attached to that boot. Her sobs grew louder, and Taran laid a gentle hand on her shoulder as she crouched over the fallen man. One who’d obviously not made it out of the water in time.

Blinking back tears, I watched Taran pick his way back to me.

Cold wind swept through an opening in the wall and I shivered. Hard.

Taran cursed, took my hand and helped me over some chairs. Some of the water on the floor looked as if it was beginning to freeze. That scared me enough to walk faster toward the front of the lobby. The door had been washed out completely, but the opening was covered by what looked like half a boat. Taran growled and shoved it hard. It creaked and crashed over, sending up splats of water and snow. When we got outside, I stared at the huge thing—no ordinary person would have been able to budge that. The shocked look on a man’s face on the other side of it proved that. Even Taran looked startled, but he pulled me to the left—away from the crowds gathering and standing around shell-shocked as they took in the ruins of the town. We had to walk around what was probably the other half of that boat.

“We’ll cut through yards—or what’s left of them—to get to Hollywood Boulevard,” he said, and I actually heard his teeth chatter. “I really want to find my dad. I need to know he’s okay.”

While the wind had slowed a little, the snow now fell hard, though it melted on the wet ground. The temperature had dropped even more. “This is going to start turning to ice soon,” I said as we skirted around a car on its side. There was a pink teddy bear sprawled next to it. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I tightened my fingers around Taran’s. I was terrified we were going to see bodies. There was no way we wouldn’t. Swallowing the thick lump in my throat, I squared my shoulders and stepped carefully over chunks of broken concrete.