Immortals (Runes book 2) (24 page)

Oh, the perfect opening. “Good. She was getting ready for a date when I saw her.”

Eirik froze.

“She looked amazing,” I added.

His hand clenched. “Who’s she going out with?”

“Jaden Granger.”

Eirik made a face like he’d swallowed a fly.

I continued his torture. “She’s supposed to text me the movie they’re planning to watch, so we can join them.” The doorbell rang, and I left to answer it. Eirik stayed in the dining room, probably plotting mayhem. I felt a little guilty. Maybe I should have waited until after dinner before saying anything about Cora’s date.

I opened the door to find our neighbors, led by Lavania, who looked breathtakingly beautiful as usual. My eyes went straight to Torin. He looked gorgeous in a navy-blue dinner jacket over a white shirt. He didn’t wear a tie and the top buttons of his shirt were undone. He winked at me. Blushing, my eyes reluctantly moved back to Lavania, who carried a covered crystal bowl.

“You’re back,” I said.

“Just for dinner.” She placed the bowl in my hands. “This is dessert. It must stay frozen until it is time to eat it.”

“I’ll put it in the freezer. Come in, please.” I stepped back and turned to call my parents, but they were already walking down the stairs.

Mom wore one of her free-flowing dresses that reached her ankles. A headband sat on her head like an ancient Egyptian princess’ crown, her black hair cascading down her back. She looked amazing. Like Dad loved to say, these dinners were for her. She loved to entertain. Dad looked handsome in a V-neck black sweater over a light-blue shirt. His curly brown hair, which I’d inherited, minus the curls, had grown and almost brushed his collar. I wondered if he’d dislike Torin.

Dad studied Lavania intently after they were introduced and surprised me when he said, “I hope my daughter is being a good student.”

“Yes, Mr. Cooper,” she answered politely.

“Call me Tristan.” He smiled at Ingrid before acknowledging the guys. “Andris, nice to see you again.” Really? I wondered. “St. James, nice to meet you.”

That answered the question of whether Dad had been conscious when Torin rescued him from the hospital in Costa Rica.

Mom led the way into the living room before going to get appetizers—deviled eggs, and goat cheese with pepper and almonds. Eirik’s parents arrived just as we started serving drinks. It was seven on the dot. Eirik, our designated bartender, stationed himself behind the wet bar, while I waitressed. Once again, I was reminded that even though Torin and his Valkyrie buddies might look around our age, they were much, much older and could consume alcohol. Eirik and I were the only ones having soft drinks. Eirik shook and mixed concoctions like an expert and grinned, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. Once again, I wished I hadn’t told him about Cora’s date.

Dad played host. His standard opening line was “Where are you originally from?” He had asked Andris the same question the first time they’d met.

Ingrid was really from Norway and was about two hundred years old. I noticed the way Andris’ eyes kept drifting to her as she talked about her town. She looked beautiful in a simple black dress, her makeup flawless.

Torin’s fingers lingered on mine when I handed him his drink, his eyes telling me I looked beautiful. My cheeks warmed. I had taken extra care tonight with my makeup, and I knew the emerald top was flattering. I hoped my eyes spoke for me, too. He looked so dashing tonight I wanted to stay right there and drool. He often wore jeans and T-shirts under his leather jacket, so this was the first time I’d seen him in anything formal-ish. I hoped we sat next to each other during dinner. Having him as my boyfriend was slowly sinking in, and I wanted to savor it.

Andris, seated on the other side of the couch and flanking Lavania, cleared his throat, and I realized I was taking too long giving Torin his drink. Andris winked at me and said, “I’ll have a martini.”

I turned to find Dad’s eyes on us. He was probably still trying to understand the dynamics of my relationship with these Valkyries.

“What part of England were you from, Torin?” I heard him ask as I went to get Andris’ drink.

As soon as Torin mentioned the crusade, the conversation shifted to history of that period, King Richard I, and his accomplishments.

“He was a generous man and a brilliant military strategist,” Torin said, explaining how King Richard got his first taste of battle at age seventeen.

“Could he speak the English language?” Dad asked. “There’s no record that he could.”

Torin chuckled. “Fluently, but he couldn’t write it as well as he did the language spoken in northern and southern France.”

“How tall was he?” Dad asked. “Some books say he was about his brother’s height, while others insist he was a giant of a man.”

The Q and A continued until Mom motioned me to join her in the kitchen. Reluctantly, I got up and followed her.

“This was a wonderful idea, wasn’t it?” Mom whispered. “Look how much your Dad is enjoying himself.”

We had a clear view of the living room from our position. Dad laughed when Andris called King Richard III a douche. Even Eirik’s parents appeared more relaxed. While they continued to discuss the British monarchy, we put the food on the table.

“Now for the seating arrangement. Your father and I will sit at our usual places at the ends of the table. I’ll have Sari and Johan on either side of me, and you and Torin on either side of your father.”

“Can Torin sit beside me?”

Mom pursed her lips then smiled. “How are things between you two?”

“Better. We went to the cemetery together yesterday.”

Mom smiled. “Okay, you can sit beside him, but you two had better behave. Your father needs a little time to adjust to your training without learning you’re dating a Valkyrie as well. Across from you two, I’ll have Eirik and Lavania.”

I shook my head. “No. Eirik and Ingrid.”

She frowned. “Why not Lavania?”

“He doesn’t like her.”

“What? Why?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Mom sighed and gave me the seating cards. “Go ahead and place the seating cards.” She didn’t let go of the cards when I reached for them. “Look at me. I had a long talk with Sari and Johan and learned a few disturbing things. How long have you known about Eirik’s night terrors?”

“Uh-mm, since yesterday.”

“Oh. Did he have them last night?”

I shook my head. “No.”

“Hmm.” A pensive look settled on Mom’s face. “Okay, he can sleep on the pullout bed, but be careful when he gets an episode.”

“Okay, Mom.” Eirik would never knowingly hurt me, but what if he did? I didn’t have runic magic to heal me like his mother. On the other hand, telling him he couldn’t spend the night in my rollout bed might reinforce his belief that things were different between us. Sighing, I pushed the matter aside.

My seating arrangement was perfect, alternating the men and the women with Eirik and me on either side of Dad. Andris sat beside Ingrid, which seemed to make her happy. The men held the chairs for the women, waiting until we sat before taking their seats. I didn’t pay attention to the conversation once we started to eat. Torin’s left hand reached for mine under the table. The way Dad’s eyes kept straying to us, I wondered if he knew.

We were having Lavania’s mud-pie dessert when a familiar chill crawled up my spine. I frowned, recognizing the feeling too well. No, they wouldn’t dare come to my house. Even as the thought crossed my mind, the doorbell rang. Oh, that was bold.

“I’ll get it,” I said, my heart pounding. Torin’s eyes narrowed on my face, a question lurking in their depth. I shook my head. “Excuse me.”

My mouth went dry as I hurried across the living room and yanked the door open. My eyes locked with Marj. Behind her stood Jeanette and Catie. So angry I wanted to scream, I stepped outside and closed the door behind me.

“What are you doing here?” I said through clenched teeth.

Marj’s eyes narrowed. “Looking for Eirik. Where is he?”

I indicated my house with my thumb. “Inside. You can’t come to my house.”

“We can do whatever we want,” Marj retorted.

“We didn’t mean to intrude,” Catie said at the same time. “But when we didn’t feel young Eirik’s essence, we were concerned. Is he okay?”

“Yes. What do you mean you didn’t feel his essence?”

“It’s the way we monitor our charges,” Catie explained. “We focus on their essence. Something is shadowing Eirik’s. Are you sure he’s okay?”

My eyes volleyed between Marj’s foreboding expression and Catie’s concerned one. Jeannette had turned and now looked away from the house as though on sentry duty, so I couldn’t see her face. “He’s been, uh, having night terrors, and last night he blanked out.”

They looked at each other.

“The transformation is happening already,” Marj said.

“The darkness is too powerful,” Jeanette added and shuddered.

“No, it’s not,” Catie protested. “Something is wrong. Seventeen years of love and nurturing cannot crumble this fast. Someone is doing this to him.”

“What were you talking about?” I asked.

Marj pinned Catie with a glare. “No one is doing this to him. The darkness is taking over because she,” Marj pointed at me, “failed him.”

“It’s not her fault,” Catie protested.

“She fell in love with a Valkyrie and forgot him,” Jeanette added.

“I never forgot Eirik,” I protested. “I love him, and he knows it. I’d do anything for him.”

“Then why is the darkness consuming his soul?” Marj asked.

“It is moving too fast,” Catie said. “Someone is helping it.”

“No, the boy is just weak,” Jeannette piped in.

“Eirik is not weak,” I snapped.

“You know what that means.” Marj looked at Catie with a challenging expression. “She’ll have to use the dagger to stop him.”

“Whoa! No one is daggering anyone.” I tried to understand their banter. “So what you’re saying is Eirik is possessed by this, uh, darkness?”

Marj looked at me as though I had lost my mind. “Of course not. Didn’t your mother explain anything to you?”

“Kind of.” Marj opened her mouth, but I lifted my hand, my attention going to the window on my left. A shadow shifted behind the curtain, which meant that someone just entered the living room. Probably Mom looking for me. “Listen, I know who Eirik is and why he was raised on earth. I also know that you knew about the shadow or darkness following him, but you refused to explain to anyone what it is, just like you didn’t explain to me what you meant by I was alive because of him. I know you are powerful and invincible, but you,” my eyes swept their faces, “suck at explaining things. If Eirik is really in danger, I need to know from who or what. If you’re playing mind games and something happens to him, I will hold you three accountable. But if this is a concocted plan to lure me to your side, I will become a Norn just so I can break every rule you hold sacred. So, I’ll ask again. What is this darkness after Eirik?”

“The darkness is not after him. The darkness is
within
him,” Marj said.

I stared at her. “What?”

“She’s coming,” Jeannette warned. Lights from a car swept the cul-de-sac.

“Come with us, Lorraine, and we’ll explain,” Catie said.

I hesitated. Even though I wanted to help Eirik, I still didn’t trust these three. This could all be another one of their tricks to get me to leave with them. “No, I can’t leave right now, but I can meet you somewhere in, say, an hour.”

Marj snorted. “We don’t have time—”

“We’ll make time,” Catie said. “Meet us at The Hub in thirty minutes.”

Thirty minutes would be pushing it, but…

“We have to go. She’s almost here,” Jeanette warned.

They moved toward the driveway and blended with the darkness. The tap-tap of heels on pavement reached me. Then Cora appeared from the same direction, a puzzled expression on her face.

“I thought I heard voices. Were you talking to someone a few seconds ago?” she asked.

“No, just talking to myself.” I glanced behind her, but the three Norns were gone.