Souls (Runes series)

by Ednah Walters

  “Silly child. You can never intrude.” Svana waved me over. “Torin took Raine away for a few hours. She’s taking this harder than I thought.” She gave me a hug and patted the empty seat beside her. “Sit.”

  “Have you eaten lunch?” Lavania asked from the stove.

  “No. I was planning on it after I visited Raine.”

  “Then you can eat with us,” Lavania said and reached for a large soup mug. She scooped a lumpy greenish-brown mixture into four more mugs. It didn’t look appetizing.

  “It’s very nutritious,” Raine’s mother whispered, and I could tell she was trying not to laugh.

  I frowned. “How did you…? You read my mind.”

  She looked at Femi and the two of them burst out laughing.

  “We can’t read minds, but you have an expressive face,” Raine’s mother said. “Raine reacted the same way the first time Lavania served it. Now she can’t get enough of it.”

  “Because it’s nutritious,” I said, slowly. Nutritious usually didn’t mean tasty.

  “And very tasty,” Femi added.

  “Quit scaring the child,” Lavania scolded them and carried the first two bowls to the table. She went back for two more and sat. They hummed as they ate their first scoops.

  “What’s in it?” I asked, removing my spoon from its cradle and eyeing the soup with misgivings.

  “Eye of newt, lizard lips, and buzzard eggs,” Femi said.

  Lavania smacked her arm. “You are terrible, Femi.” But she was trying hard not to laugh. “Chicken, green peas, and lentils.”

  Swallowing, I took a small scoop and tasted it. My mouth exploded with sensations. I took another scoop, then another, and another. I ignored their giggling and enjoyed every sip. They were like a bunch of teenagers. I half listened to their conversation, which seemed to center around Lavania finding teachers for her school.

  “I expect you two to be part of my faculty,” she said. “Svana can teach Portals. Solids, liquids, and gas.”

  “You can portal into water?” I asked.

  “And out of water,” Svana said.

  “Femi can teach Disguise and… No, that’s Ingrid. Femi?”

  “Magic 101: Channeling your inner witch through objects,” Femi said.

  They laughed.

  “Too mouthy,” Lavania said.

  “Magical Objects,” I said, remembering how she’d shown Raine how to use amulets to see into the past and future.

  “I like it. Have you asked Hawk?” Femi asked.

  Hawk worked for Raine’s parents at their store.

  “I will,” Lavania said. “And I have a few more lined up, which reminds me...” She looked at me. “I would really like to borrow your dark soul sometime, Cora. My knowledge of dark souls is limited, and he’s an expert.”

  An idea popped in my head, and I went with it. “Or you could give him a job at your new school. He could teach about medium runes and dark souls, how to deal with them. I’m sure some of your students might be interested in becoming Mediums.” She stared at me like I’d told her to mate with Dev. Heat flooded my cheeks. At least Svana and Femi nodded and smiled encouragingly as though they agreed with me. “It was just a thought. Thanks for the soup. It was really good and filling.”

  “Thank you.” Lavania spoke slowly as though her mind was elsewhere.

  I took my bowl to the sink and filled it with water. When I turned around, they were talking in whispers. “Um, Mrs. Cooper?”

  Raine’s mother looked at me. “Yes, dear.”

  “Is it okay if some of our swim friends stop by after school to see Raine? I, uh, kind of told them about Mr. Cooper. I hope you don’t mind.”

  She dismissed my comment with a wave of her hand. “No, I don’t mind. I like your swim team. They support each other. Besides, Raine could do with some cheering. When is the funeral, Femi?”

  “Saturday morning,” Femi said.

  Going to the prom the day before would be weird. “I better head back to school. Miss Lavania, you can talk to Dev after he and Echo are done.”

  Lavania smiled. “I look forward to that.”

  She didn’t say anything about my suggestion to add Dev to her teaching staff. Working with magical Mortals might earn him Brownie points and keep him off Corpse Strand, or give him access to bodies with medium runes to possess. What was I thinking? It was the worst idea ever. I waited until there was no one in the restroom before walking through the portal.

  “You are unbelievable,” Dev said.

  I winced. “Sorry. I forgot you could hear me. I’m sure the last thing you want to do is teach a bunch of hormonal teenagers. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  “Shut up, Cora Jemison!” he snapped just as a girl walked into the bathroom. I brought the phone closer to my ear. She gave me a weird glance and disappeared in one of the stalls. “You’re infuriating, opinionated—”

  “You said I was sweet this morning,” I protested.

  “You are all the above, but you’re also the most wonderful friend a soul could possibly have. You defended me, threatened Rhys with physical violence while shaking in your boots, overcame your jealousy and actually talked to Nara, and now you want to save me from eternal damnation.”

  “Stupid, huh?” I asked.

  “No, brilliant.”

  “Are you saying you’d love to teach?”

  “Duh. Of course I would. I know a lot about dark souls and their runes, and what they do and how they do it. You have no idea what this could mean. I could make up for all the people I possessed and whose heads I screwed with. I could get my soul back.”

  “Shh, keep it low,” I whispered, my eyes on the stall with the girl.

  “Are you kidding? I want to hug you and shout this from the tallest building. This is exciting. Huge.”

  The girl opened the door and shot me a weird look. I gave her a sheepish grin and indicated my phone. “Drama queen.”

  She smiled briefly and went to wash her hands, but kept an eye on me through the mirror above the sink.

  “Cora?” Dev asked.

  “Just a second.” I waited until the girl left. “What do you mean you could get your soul back?”

  “Long story. Just know that there’s a reason why plants don’t whither when I walk past them. I’ll explain one day. Right now, Rhys and Nara are waiting for you, and you have class.” He sighed. “Did I mention I think I’m crushing on you right now? I mean, seriously wishing I was a Mortal?”

  I laughed. “You can’t handle me, Dev.”

  “Don’t you mean Echo can’t handle the competition? He’ll smash things. Snap my neck. Yank out my heart and win.”

  I was laughing hard by the time I left the bathroom.

  ***

  Downstairs, I was surprised to see students filing into the auditorium. The principal must have called for an assembly during second lunch. Most students were already seated, and the thought of squeezing past pointy knees or brushing against people wasn’t appealing.

  I stood by the door and the next second wished I hadn’t. Drew and his buddies walked in. I didn’t like the way they looked at me and then him before planting themselves right by my side. I gave them a tiny smile. The other two guys smirked while Drew pretended I wasn’t there.

  Seriously? He needed to get a life.

  Principal Johnson walked to the podium, and silence filled the hall. “We’ll make this short. We received numerous calls this morning from parents concerned about the food we serve here at school.”

  Oh crap. Mom and Ingrid must have called. I cringed.

  “We follow Health Department Food Safety Guidelines when we cook the meats, the vegetables are fresh, and our suppliers are up to code on food handling. If you have food poisoning from anything you’ve eaten at school, go to the nurse, and tell her what you ate.”

  Murmurs filled the auditorium.

  “The second thing on the agenda is the prom,” the principal continued. “We’re still getting calls from parent
s concerned about the safety during prom. If your parents don’t want you to attend the prom, respect their wishes. However, I want to reassure those attending that we have taken extra precautions to ensure everyone’s safety. We will have twice the number of chaperones during both proms. Students must stay in the cafeteria at all times. If you…”

  I tuned him out. Attending the prom was not on my agenda. Parents had a reason to worry. First was the swimming pool and then the football game. Luckily, they didn’t know about the witches and the Immortals killing each other in the forest. That wasn’t the reason I wasn’t attending thought. With Echo gone, the whole prom thing had lost its appeal. Then there was the funeral on Saturday. I wanted to be there for Raine.

  Assembly over, I waited for Drew to leave before racing to the exit. Nara and Rhys were by the windows. I made eye contact, smiled, and kept going.

  I texted Raine between classes and checked on Dev. Raine didn’t return my text, and Dev didn’t want to talk.

  “I’m napping,” he growled.

  I doubted souls napped. Talking to the Grimnirs were out of the question. I felt neglected. Lonely. I even texted Echo even though I knew the reception in Hel sucked.

  Kicker, Sonya, and Naya were waiting by my car when I left the school building after school. Rhys and Nara kept their distance, but didn’t miss a thing. I wasn’t sure whether they had a ride or if they’d sprint alongside my car like The Flash.

  The three girls crowded me when I reached my car.

  “Poor, Raine,” Kicker said. “She told me her father was getting better.”

  “When did he die?” Sonya asked.

  “When is the funeral?” someone else asked.

  I must have answered them. Then we piled into the two cars. I opened the back door and indicated for the Grimnirs to ride with us. Rhys shook his head.

  Kicker rode with me while Sonya went with Naya. I didn’t see the Grimnirs until I stopped at the red light and caught a glimpse of them from the corner of my eye. They ran parallel to the car, until I pulled into Raine’s cul-de-sac and they disappeared. My mother’s car was parked in Raine’s driveway.

  I was getting out of my car when I noticed two other cars behind Naya’s. The three co-captains and several members of the team.

  “Did you tell them?” I asked Kicker.

  “We got an e-mail from Doc,” Jared, a co-captain, said.

  “Oh. Thanks for coming. I know Raine will appreciate it.” I led the way to their door, not too sure she would. She opened the door looking a lot better than yesterday. Her smile was a bit wobbly as she welcomed us. Mom, Raine’s mother, Lavania, and Femi were in the den. From what I could see through the open doorway, the bed was gone.

  While Raine led the others to the living room to join Ingrid, Blaine, and Torin, who were watching basketball on TV, I went to give Mom a hug. She and the three women were eating pie, sipping wine, and giggling like a bunch of women on a girls’ night out. The room was once again a den, no hint it was once a sick room. Even the large-screen TV was now in the living room.

  “When are you heading to the nursing home? I brought an extra pie for your friends,” Mom said.

  I glanced at my watch. “I won’t leave for another forty minutes.”

  “It’s in a cooler in the car.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” I gave the other women a brief smile and turned to leave.

  “Not so fast, Cora,” Lavania said. “We hear you and Echo are getting serious.”

  My cheeks grew warm. I was so going to kill my mother. I turned without making a comment, their laughter following me.

  Torin and Blaine were passing out drinks. I helped Ingrid with the pies. Mom must have gone on a baking binge after I left. She’d even brought a tub of homemade whipped cream.

  I didn’t get a chance to talk to Raine. She didn’t talk much and still looked like she hadn’t slept in days. Torin and Ingrid basically played host and hostess. Not that it was difficult. They spent the entire time watching basketball.

  “Are you going to be home this evening?” I asked Raine before I left at a quarter to four. She’d walked me to the car. The others were still inside.

  “I’ll probably be next door. Neighbors and Dad’s friends keep calling. I can’t stand it.”

  I could just imagine. Her father had been active at local sporting events and had belonged to a group of bikers. He’d been very sporty. Definitely Valhalla material.

  “Have you, uh, contacted Eirik?” I asked.

  Raine’s chin trembled. “We went looking for him today, but he’s disappeared again.”

  “Knowing him, he’ll make a grand entrance.”

  “Or be a hero and then disappear again,” Raine said and rolled her eyes.

  “They’re all drama queens.”

  We laughed and, across the street, Mrs. Rutledge’s curtain moved. She was probably watching us with disapproval. She was such a nosy neighbor.

  “Has the old hag stopped by yet?” I asked, sliding behind the wheel.

  “Oh yeah. She brought lasagna. Mom’s freezing the dishes for later. They’ll become handy after Femi leaves.”

  I hadn’t really thought about Femi leaving. Now that Raine’s family didn’t need her, she had no reason to stay. Probably go teach at Lavania’s School of Magically Gifted Teens. From what Lavania had said, she wanted Raine and Ingrid to attend her special school. That meant Torin and Andris would leave, too. I was going to be left friendless.

  At least, I’d still have Echo and his Druid Grimnirs now that they were back in his life. I remembered what I wanted to tell Raine, lowered the window, and called out, “Hey.”

  Raine turned.

  “You want to hang out this evening? Maybe after dinner?”

  “Sure. Or have dinner with us. We have plenty of food.”

  “Okay. See ya.” I waved and took off. As soon as I pulled out of the cul-de-sac, I placed my cell phone on the front passenger seat. “You okay in there, Dev?”

  “Hmm?” he sounded drowsy.

  “Are you still napping?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I haven’t been able to do that in years.”

  I frowned. “Really?”

  “Really. Souls, lost or dark, are always on the move, hiding from one place to another, always on the lookout for Grimnir Bounty Hunters.”

  “Who are Grimnir Bounty Hunters?” Echo hadn’t wanted to discuss them.

  “An army of specialized reapers who go after specific souls for the goddess. Echo was one of them until recently. They know where we hide, how we hide, and can sense us as soon as they walk through a portal. Then there are Witches with the ability to find us. Teenagers who’ve watched too many sci-fi movies and think dispersing us with iron is cool.”

  I winced. “Sorry.”

  “No need to be. You never sliced me. Just threatened. However, because of you, I’ve found peace, even though it’s only temporary.”

  I hoped it wasn’t. “How did you survive all these years? And how come you don’t suck life out of living things.”

  He chuckled. “Suck life… You have a mean way of putting it. I stopped using humans as vessels. It had become an obsession, and I didn’t like how I felt when I wasn’t inside someone.”

  “Did you always possess people?”

  “No-oo. At first, I hid in empty caves and forests, shying away from people, but soon I wanted to be around them and upgraded to storage facilities, abandoned homes, and office buildings. Then I heard of possession. Lost souls don’t move in groups, but our paths cross and you hear things. I started by possessing wild animals, then domesticated ones. Mortals love their pets. It felt nice to be loved, but animals make terrible vessels. Chasing my tail, humping some stranger’s leg, or obsessing with scents is not my idea of fun.”

  I laughed. “I’m sure you were a wonderful dog.”

  “I sucked. Dogs don’t have the will to fight possession, and I felt bad for them. I went back to wild animals, but after centuries, I caved. The lure of
Mortals was too great, and I was too weak.”

  I pulled up into the parking lot of Moonbeam Terrace Nursing Home, but instead of the leaving the car, I waited for him to continue. I still had seven minutes to kill.

  “I tried a Mortal, and it was the most amazing feeling. To eat real food, feel, love. I didn’t care that the women thought their husbands or boyfriends had changed. I hopped from man to man. I was more attentive and loving. I tried to stay away from men with families…”

  He became silent.

  “It took a long time before I realized what I’d become,” he added in a sad voice. “I was going through a Mortal a month. When not using a vessel, I affected things everywhere I went. People. Plants. Animals. I hated what I’d become. In fact, it was a wonder I rediscovered my humanity. Um, you’re going to be late.”

  “Don’t worry about that,” I said. “How did you change?”

  “Rhys and Nara are here. In fact, they’ve been following us since we left your friend’s house.”

  I hadn’t noticed. They stood by the entrance of the nursing home. I hated waiting for answers, but I didn’t want to be late. I reached in the back seat for the pie. “Promise to finish that story, okay?”

  “Aye, aye, Miss Jemison.”

  I grabbed my phone, cradled the pie in my arm, and bumped the door shut with my hip. The shrill sound of an ambulance pierced the air. Ambulances came to the nursing home all the time, so I didn’t pay it any attention. Old people had so many ailments and most of them could become fatal fast. Occasionally, we lost a resident.

  By the time I reached Rhys and Nara, the ambulance was screeching to a stop behind me. I stepped aside as the EMTs rushed into the building. I glanced at Nara then Rhys, but something in their expression set off warning bells. Before I could ask what was going on, the other two Grimnirs I’d seen with them at school appeared. My chest tightened with dread.

  “What’s going on, guys?” I asked, forgetting I was the only one who could see them.

  18 SHE IS BACK!

  “Go inside, Cora,” Rhys said.

  I searched the parking lot, but there were no dark souls lurking around. “They’re here?” I whispered.