Immortals (Runes book 2) (45 page)

“You don’t seem bothered by it,” I retorted.

“That’s because I have a plan.” She smirked again. “I don’t plan to be one of them for long. I’m under the protection of someone much more powerful. That’s why you couldn’t see through my disguise or feel me. I don’t plan to stick around so you can decide my fate either.”

I shook my head. “What are you talking about? How am I going to decide your fate?”

“Not just mine, the Norns, the gods, the nine realms. You get to give the first signal that starts it all.”

I stared at her, totally confused. “Start what?”

“You don’t know anything, do you? Why do you think the Norns are so scared of you? You are a seeress, Raine. A powerful and unusual seeress. They even have a special name for you. You will be able to see the exact moment the battle of the gods begins. Whoever controls you will have an advantage over the others. Will it be the gods, the giants, Hel’s army of murderous misfits, or the Norns? The Norns don’t plan to leave things to fate. No, they intend to survive, continue running things when the new world begins, and you are going to help them.”

A powerful seeress? I shook my head. “I don’t believe anything you say.”

“Why would I make such an elaborate story?”

“Because you are an evil liar.”

She laughed. “Oh, little, confused Mortal girl. Believe or don’t believe. I don’t care. The Norns own you. Without their protection, you’ll not last a…” The rest of her words were swallowed by screaming students. We almost had a touchdown. The band started a tune. My mind went in circles, panic slamming through me. A powerful seeress who could foretell the day Ragnarok started? Me? No, I refused to believe it. Maliina was trying to manipulate me.

I thought I heard the sound of a Harley, but the music was too loud to tell for sure. I angled my head and listened. I couldn’t hear anything, but I knew Torin was back. I felt him. My heart pounding, I started to get up.

Maliina’s grip tightened on my arm, and she yelled in my ear, “SIT.”

 
If she thought she’d stop me from going to the man I loved, she had another thing coming. I engaged strength and speed runes. Under my clothes, my skin felt like tiny electric currents skidded across it. I waited until tendrils appeared on the backs of my hands. Maliina didn’t realize my intention until I gripped her arm and snapped it just above her wrist.

She smothered a cry. “How did you…?” She saw the runes on my hand. “You’re not supposed to have those.”

“You’re not the only one with secrets, Maliina. And FYI, no one owns me.” I jumped up and ran toward the stadium’s parking. Behind me, a chant rose.

“Torin! Torin! Torin!”

The band started playing the “Hey Song”.

I saw Torin as soon as I passed the bleachers. He was already in full football gear. Tears of relief rushed to my eyes. I ran, laughing and crying at the same time, and threw myself at him. He caught me, lifted me, and turned around, our lips meeting. Sensations coursed through me.

Someone yelled his name. Our lips reluctantly parted ways, and we turned. Several players waved him over.

“Go. I’m happy you’re back, but they need you out there.”

“I couldn’t miss this for anything,” he said, grinning, wiping my tears.

“You’ve already missed over half of it.”

“I’m not talking about the game. Us. Our beginning. Be there when I walk off the field, Freckles.” He stole another kiss then took off.

Still laughing, I stared after him. Our beginning. I loved that and refused to let Maliina’s revelations bother me. I heard a chuckle and whipped around, expecting Maliina. It was Lavania.

“Thank you for bringing him back,” I said.

“The game was important to you, and he was determined not to disappoint you. Have you learned anything new while we were gone?”

I wondered where to start. “First, I, uh, I want to apologize for not telling you someone was writing runes on Eirik. We just didn’t know who to trust.”

Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Torin hadn’t told her? I quickly explained what I’d failed to tell them at Eirik’s house and why, then what we’d learned about Cora and Maliina. “You were right not to trust her, and I’m sorry for thinking you hated her because she’s human.”

Lavania took my arm. “No need to apologize. Mistakes are part of learning, and trust must be earned. I hope you can now trust me with anything.”

“I do.”

“Good. I’m also going to trust you with information you can never share with anyone.” She searched my face. “Eirik will be going home. No, don’t shake your head. He’ll be back whenever he can, but Asgard will be his home from now on.”

I was going to lose Dad and Eirik. It was unfair. I fought tears. “How long do I have?”

“A couple of hours.” She nudged me toward the bleachers, where the crowd was screaming. “You see, it’s only a matter of time before his mother finds him.”

“Who is she?”

She grimaced. “That is another piece of information you can never share with anyone. Torin already knows because he was there when I was given the news.” She paused then whispered, “Eirik is Loki’s grandson. Hel’s son.”

Vertigo hit me hard. I stopped walking, bent over at the waist, and lowered my head. This explained everything—his evil side, the scar on his back. Goddess Hel had a face that was half mummified. Her siblings, the other sons and daughters of Loki, preferred their animal forms. Poor Eirik. What a terrible lineage.

Lavania patted my back. “Come on. Pull yourself together. Eirik needs you to be strong.”

I wiped my cheeks as I straightened. Lavania studied my face and shook her head. “This will not do.” She pulled an artavus from under her dress and sketched something on my cheek then smiled. “There. Much better. Now chin up.”

“There’s something I need to tell you, too,” I said, then just dived in, telling her everything Maliina had told me. Her eyes kept widening as I spoke. When I finished, her grip was like a vice around my hands.

“Oh, you poor child. I should have known this had something to do with Ragnarok. It is the one event the gods fear the most. No wonder Freya sent me to help you.” She gripped tightened. “Look at me.”

I stared at her helplessly.

“You are not to worry about a thing. The Norns will not win. You have the gods on your side. Remember that.”

I nodded, feeling relieved. A little.

“Good. Let’s go and deal with this insufferable little Norn.”

Maliina was gone when we arrived back at the field.

“Where’s Cora?” I asked Kicker.

“She just left.” Her eyes didn’t leave the players. “I don’t know why she’d want to miss this. We only have five minutes to go.”

“She’s gone,” I whispered to Lavania.

She patted my hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll find her.”

Feeling the burden lifted off my shoulders, I pushed thoughts of Maliina aside and focused on cheering for Torin. The crowd rose on its feet and grew eerily quiet, their eyes on the players. The scoreboards showed that we were tied with the Crusaders, and they had the ball. I didn’t understand football. All I knew was the scrimmage was closer to their goal. The Crusaders could win. Beat us on our own field. That would be beyond humiliating.

From the scrimmage, Torin stole the ball and took off, running and dodging the Crusader’s players, our defense paving the way for him. The whole stadium erupted. My parents were watching the game at home because they’d chosen not to come, but I wished they had. Torin was amazing, and the last play was the most memorable in football history. Well, my pitiful and short football watching history.

When Torin scored the last touchdown, the crowd went wild and there was mass exodus from the bleachers as everyone ran onto the field. I cheated with runes and met Torin before the other players.

“You were awesome,” I yelled.

He scooped me into his arms, sweat and all. We were still kissing when his teammates lifted us up and ripped us apart. I reached for Torin’s hand as he reached for mine, but the two groups moved apart. I forgot about my problems and Maliina, Dad’s condition, and Eirik leaving and laughed, enjoying the moment. I’d tell him about Maliina later.

Then I felt a familiar clawing feeling saturating the air. It was stronger than before. More menacing. The grandson of Loki was coming out to play.

I searched for Eirik just as fights broke out everywhere. Players from our team leaped at the Crusaders, supporters pummeled each other. Even cheerleaders were going at it.

“Torin!” He was already on the ground, running toward me. “Put me down,” I yelled to the students carrying me, but they didn’t listen.

Torin snatched me from their arms. “Find Cora. Whatever she’s doing is causing this. I’ll get Eirik out of here.”

“It’s not Cora. It’s Maliina. The real Cora has been under psychiatric care since the meet. I’ll explain later.” Then I saw Maliina. She was all over Drew, her legs around his waist, hands in his hair, lips locked. Eirik watched them from the bleachers, eyes glazed. Andris and Ingrid were trying to talk to him with little effect. “There he is.”

“I see him. I’ll get him out of here.”

“I’ll find Maliina!”

“Engage your runes,” Torin ordered as he took off, using the crowd to hide as he became invisible.

Imitating him, I dived into the crowd and engaged my runes at the same time. They flashed in my head in quick succession. Strength. Speed. Protection. Defense. The crowd made it hard to reach Maliina, but when I finally did, I yanked her from Drew’s arms. He wore a bewildered expression as she fell backward. I landed on top of her and brought both fists down on her chest. The ground shook around us.

She screamed obscenities and aimed a punch at my chin, almost knocking my teeth out. The force sent me flying backwards into Drew, knocking him and several students down. By the time I stood, Maliina was speeding away.

Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the crowd. I stared into Lavania’s eyes, runes all over her face. “Disengage your runes and re-engage them in this order: transformation and regeneration, protection, strength, defense, speed.”

In seconds, I was covered with runes. Holy crap! Talk about being zapped by a sudden surge of energy.

 
“Follow me,” she ordered.

I did, scared that everything would be blurry and I’d run into people, but the way my eyes processed images had changed. It was as though time had slowed down and everyone was moving at a slower pace while I moved at normal speed. I could see clearly and dodge people and obstacles. No wonder Torin rode his bike like Hel was chasing him and never hit anything.

***

We stopped in a restroom inside the sports complex. It was the same restroom Ingrid had used the first time I’d seen her use a portal. The mirror dissolved and opened into Eirik’s living room. Sounds came from somewhere in the house.

“They are here,” Lavania said.

I followed her inside the room. A thud hit the wall and rattled the pictures. Eirik’s parents peered at us from behind a door. Lavania indicated for them to stay put as more thuds shook the house.

We followed the source to the foyer, which was like a war zone. The walls and marble floor had cracks and dents like they had been created by a demolition ball. Broken glass and picture frames littered the floor. One wall had several holes, and I could see right through them to the pool deck.

I ducked as a bust of Alexander the Great flew past my head. Eirik and Torin were still fighting, but they weren’t the only ones in the room. Marj, Jeannette, and Catie stood on the grand staircase. Watching, doing nothing like always. They never dirtied their hands, the cowards. Maliina stood at the other end of the foyer by the hall mirror. In her hand was the dagger the Norns had given me. From her filthy clothes, she must have been fighting Torin, too.

“Let’s go, Eirik,” Maliina begged. “He’s not worth it.”

“He’s not going anywhere,” I yelled.

Eirik stopped from ripping a slab of plaster off the wall, which I presumed he meant to use as a weapon, and angled his head toward me. His eyes were still glazed, but he responded to my voice. “Raine?”

“I’m here,” I said, stepping forward, careful not to trip on the debris.