“Remember Blaine Chapman? The quarterback?” Please say you remember him.
“Of course, I remember Blaine. But he was the quarterback before Raine’s boyfriend.”
I laughed with relief. Memories intact, yes! “Yes, he was the QB before Torin.” I exchanged a grin with Blaine. “We’re already on our way.” Mom reluctantly gave in. The grin disappeared from Blaine’s face. “You don’t have to drive me home if you have other plans.”
“That’s strange,” he said slowly as though talking to himself.
“Driving me home or having other plans?”
“No, your mother. Everyone at school had their memories erased, but she remembers Torin.”
“I guess I’m getting a pass,” I said as we left the building. Blaine made a face, but he didn’t respond. Something about my parents being spared by the Norns bothered him. Not me. Being best friends with Raine had its perks.
Rhys and Nara appeared by Blaine’s car as we crossed the street. Even though Blaine’s insanely expensive sports car was the epitome of luxury, I missed my car and my stash of Twizzlers.
“What happened to you guys?” I asked when we reached the two Grimnirs.
“Several dark souls managed to get inside your school,” Rhys said. “Maliina must have been testing our responses.”
“We showed her,” Nara bragged.
“No, she showed you,” Blaine said, chuckling. He unlocked his car and threw my backpack in the passenger seat. “While her dark souls were distracting you, she was attacking Cora.”
The two Grimnirs stared at me with horror. I was sure they were imagining Echo’s reaction. “I’m okay, guys. Since no one was hurt, except Drew, no one needs to know what happened.”
They got it—Echo didn’t need to know. The smirk on Blaine’s face said he did, too.
“How did you escape?” Nara asked.
I pulled the fire poker from my backpack, kissed it, and brandished it. “Never fails me. One swing and it cut through her. She started to disperse. You should have seen the look on her face. Dev did something weird. He absorbed her.”
The smiles disappeared from the faces of the Grimnirs.
“What?” I asked.
“We need to find him,” Rhys said. The next second, they were gone.
“Oh. That was weird. Do you know what’s going on? Why a soul would absorb another soul,” I asked, replacing my backpack in the passenger seat and hugging it.
Blaine shook his head. “I know very little about souls, and I’m not interested in knowing either.”
“Chicken.”
He laughed. “Immortals focus on the living, not the dead. You are the only pure Immortal medium I’ve heard of. Witches can be Mediums too, but they are Mortal.”
Yeah, I was so lucky. I hoped Dev was okay. When I looked up, Blaine was studying me with a weird expression. “What?”
“You’re really not going to tell Echo?”
I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go.”
“Really?” he asked again as he started the engine and backed out of the parking lot.
“Blaine, I don’t report everything that happens to me to Echo. It’s been years since he trusted these guys, and I’d hate for this incident with Maliina to divide them again. They’re the only family he has. You have no idea how lucky we are to have our parents and friends.”
He made a face, sadness darkening his eyes. “For most Immortals, their family either believes they’re dead or the Norns delete their parents’ and friends’ memories, and relocate them as far away from them as humanly possible.”
That sounded too personal. “Unless your parents are Immortals, like yours.”
His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “The Chapmans are not my parents.”
***
I was half asleep by the time he pulled up outside my home. Mom ran out of the house, eyes frantic. Stumbling when I stepped away from the car only made things worse.
“Remember, I have to stay until the Grimnirs return,” Blaine whispered.
“I know. I’m fine, Mom,” I added louder when she converged on us, but that didn’t stop her fussing. Dad was just as bad when we reached him.
“Was it something you ate at school?” he asked.
“I didn’t eat anything. It’s probably the stomach flu. In fact, I’m starving.”
Mom asked Blaine if he’d eaten then took off to get us food. I got chicken broth. Boring, tasteless chicken broth when all I wanted was to go upstairs, pig out on Twizzlers, and crash. Blaine got sandwiches with all the condiments, apple cider, and a large slice of cherry pie, which he ate with such relish. I hated him.
“Can I stay at Raine’s over the weekend, Mom? The funeral is tomorrow morning, but she could use some company. I promise to be home Sunday evening.”
She shook her head. “Not when you’re not well. We’ll go to the funeral tomorrow as a family, and if you’re feeling better, you can spend some time with her. I have to keep an eye on you in case you throw up again. If you can’t hold anything down, I’m taking you to the doctor.”
Whining ensued, but she didn’t back down. Worse, Dad supported her. When they presented a unified front, I always lost.
“I’ll go lie down. Blaine, come with me.” I indicated the stairs with my head. Unease flashed on his face, but he followed me.
Mom followed us and stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Are you still planning on going to the prom tonight?”
“No, Mom. It wouldn’t feel right without Raine.”
“What about Moonbeam?”
I sighed. “I’ll call Mrs. Hightower and tell her I’m quitting.” Or tell her in person. I planned to swing by and say goodbye to Captain G and Mr. Reeds.
“Blaine, Cora needs her rest, so don’t stay up there too long.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mom gave me a strange look. I wondered whether she thought I was messing around with Blaine behind Echo’s back. “He’ll leave as soon as Echo gets here, Mom. And the door will stay open.”
“What’s with the door?” Blaine asked as soon as we were out of Mom’s hearing range.
“Her way of making sure no monkey business is going on in my room.” I entered my bedroom and went straight for the Twizzlers.
“So you and Echo have never—”
“None of your business, Blaine.” I attacked the licorice sweets, eating several at a time. Blaine eyed me with a frown. “Want some?”
He shook his head.
“Feel free to use my laptop.” I kicked off my boots and crawled under the blankets, cargo pants and all. “Wake me up around four. I have a date with three girls.” He didn’t question me, but I told him anyway. “I’m doing Kicker, Sonya, and Naya’s makeup and hair for the prom.”
22. A VERY SPECIAL PROM
“Time to wake up,” a voice whispered.
I forced my eyelids to lift. It was dark, but I recognized the outline of the man looming over me. I laughed and attacked him.
There was no other way to explain the way I grabbed Echo, pulled him down, and wrapped myself around him, cover and all. Squeezed the crap out of him. Kissed whichever parts of his face I could reach.
He laughed. “I can’t breathe, doll-face.”
Air was overrated. “I’m never letting you out of my sight or—”
Then I remembered the things that had happened earlier. Dev. Maliina.
I half pushed him away, half wiggled out of his arms and touched the lamp. Light flooded my room and bathed his beautiful face. He was dressed in his reaper clothes and his coat was buttoned up—a first. I wanted to fly back into his arms, but darn it, he shouldn’t worry me like he had.
“What took you so long? I was scared the Goddess decided to lock you up or something. Did you place Raine’s father? Dev is gone and—”
He kissed me, effectively shutting me up. When he lifted his head, his lips twitched and his eyes gleamed. He enjoyed messing with my head. “I’ll explain everything, but first, you need to get dressed.”
“Yes, doll-face. I’m not answering questions until you are dressed. The dark souls are about to attack, and we need you as bait.”
My stomach hollowed out. Did I hear him right? “Bait?”
“Yes, bait. I know I wanted you to stop helping souls, but I was wrong and selfish. Now I’m putting my selfish ways aside to help your Mortal friends. They need you. I need you. Souls can only see reapers when we are in the same room with them. You, they see from miles away. We want them to find you.”
Okay, someone had replaced my usually overprotective boyfriend with a Doppelganger. Echo would never use me as bait. “Who are you, and what have you done with my Echo?”
He chuckled and stood. I noticed my prom dress, neatly draped over the chair complete with satin gloves and head gear. “What’s that doing out?”
He saw the direction of my gaze. “Raine chose it when she was here earlier. We are going to the prom, Cora-mio.”
Except he was wearing reaper clothes. “No, I’m not.”
He crossed his arms and arched his eyebrows. “You don’t have to, but I thought you might want to stop the dark souls from attacking the students at the prom tonight. After all, you took up this challenge when you joined forces with Dev.”
My stomach had dropped at the part about dark souls attacking students. Now, it churned. I scooted to the edge of my bed and started unbuttoning my top. “Start talking. Who said they were attacking? When did you talk to Dev? Is he okay? When I last saw him, he was blending with that evil soul…” Maybe he didn’t need to know that.
Echo chuckled as though he’d read my mind. “He talked, and I listened. I know about Teléia and Maliina attacking you. We’re cool now.”
“Is he okay?” I threw the top on my bed and started on my cargo pants. “He absorbed her soul.”
“Trapped, not absorbed,” Echo corrected. “He delivered her to Rhys and Nara, who escorted her to Hel and personally placed her on the boat to Corpse Strand. No one escapes that boat. I got the entire story from Rhys and Nara, along with how they’d stalked you, and I didn’t touch a hair on their heads.” He smirked as though proud of himself. I know I was. “Bottom line is Maliina knew about the prom and told the dark souls that this town is full of Immortals with artavo—the blades souls need to etch medium runes on their Mortal vessels. She told them that you and the other Immortals would be at the prom tonight. All they have to do is follow your beacon. You were hers. They are free to take over the Mortals. According to Dev, the attack is in,” he glanced at his cell phone clock, “fifteen… no fourteen minutes and twenty seconds.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”
“You were sleeping so peacefully I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Besides, we needed to take care of a few things.”
“What things?” Now only in my bra and panties, I shimmied into the gold and black flapper prom dress. Echo watched my every move with utter enjoyment as though I was undressing instead of dressing. “What if they’d attacked earlier and come to my house?”
“There are Grimnirs stationed outside, and Dev is on top of things. What are you doing?”
I was on my knees, searching under my bed. “Looking for my stupid boots?”
“Oh, I put them away. You need these.”
I turned and found him holding black heeled shoes. “I can’t hide my artavo inside those. My boots have special pouches.”
“You don’t need your artavo tonight. Give me your foot.”
I glared. “Echo,” I warned.
“I’ll carry one artavus for you,” he said. “Just one.”
“Then I’ll carry my poker. It disperses them better.”
“Not tonight. We plan to reap them all.” He took my foot, propped it on his thighs, and proceeded to put on my shoe for me. I slapped his hands when they crept along my leg. He moved to the next one and pulled me up straight into his arms. I knew what he was up to.
I tried to wiggle out of his arms, but they tightened. “I need to do my hair.” As soon as the words left my mouth I realized something else. Blaine had forgotten to wake me up. “Oh crap!”
“What?”
“Kicker, Sonya, and Naya are never going to talk to me again. I was supposed to do their hair and makeup for tonight, and I slept through it.” I wiggled out of his arms and marched to my dresser. With Raine and the Valkyries moving on, Kicker and the others were the only friends I had left. “It’s Blaine’s fault.”
“No, it’s not. Your friends’ hair and makeup were done,” Echo said. “I told you, I took care of things while you rested.”
I paused in the process of making a loose bun and studied him through the mirror. “Who did their hair?”
“Ingrid’s people. Blaine said he had to wake you up to do it, and I told him to piss off. Ingrid overheard us and offered to help. She knew people who made house calls. I think she mentioned facials, hair, makeup, nails, and then she gave them directions.”
I blinked. Had the whole gang decided to hang out in my bedroom while I slept? “She did that for me?”
“Yes, but I paid for the whole thing.” He was cute when he bragged.
“You’re the best.”
“I know.” He stood behind me and played with the hair on my nape. My eyes went to the clock. We didn’t have time for anything else.
I moved my head, forcing him to step away. While I finished pinning up my hair, Echo walk to the window and signaled the Grimnirs. I left a few locks to frame my face, put on the hairband, and quickly applied lipstick. The twenties hairstyles were shorter and more chic. I had planned to curl my hair and try to achieve the look without chopping half my mane off, but a loose bun was the best I could do now.
I was pulling on the satin gloves when Echo turned around. He stared at me in awe without saying a thing. That was good.
What was I forgetting? “My parents. We can’t leave them here unprotected. What if Maliina told the dark souls where I live?”
“We’re leaving two Grimnirs to keep an eye on them. They think you’re asleep. In fact, your mother checked on you just before I woke you up. She was doing it every hour when we were all here earlier, so we have about an hour before she does it again.”
He closed the gap between us and lifted my chin. He studied my face as though memorizing it. “You take my breath away, Cora-mio. You’ll always do.” He touched the corner of my lips, and I was sure he was going to kiss me, but all he said was, “engage your invisibility runes.” His voice had gone husky.
I did and allowed him to lead me through the portal. We appeared in a bathroom, but the silence was spooky. Where was the music? The voices of students?
“Where are we?” I asked.
“The Sports Complex.” He pushed open the door and we started down a hallway, the runes on our skin lighting the way.
The Sports Complex housed the gyms, the pool, and the exercise room. It was separated from the school’s main building by a large patio and a parking lot.
“The prom is supposed to be in this building, in the gym,” I said.
“It is.”
“Why is it deserted?” I’d attended three Homecoming and Valentine dances at school, and the hallways were always packed with couples making out or talking. I threw a glance at Echo. “And I can’t hear the music. You don’t think they’ve already attacked, do you?”
“Nope.” He didn’t seem worried. “I’m sorry you didn’t get the prom you wanted,” he said.
Was he seriously discussing that now? “I don’t care. Something is not right, Echo.”
We turned a corner, and I saw flashing lights from the gym falling in the hallway, yet the music wasn’t playing. There was also a sudden chill in the air. Had they forgotten to adjust the thermostat again?
“It’s freezing.” And the silence was ominous.
As we approached the entrance to the gym, I swallowed, imagining students unconscious on the floor. I glanced at Echo one last time, but he was smiling. No
t sure what that meant, I peered inside.
My jaw dropped. No wonder he hadn’t seemed worried. Instead of juniors from my school, the place was packed with souls wearing twenties outfits and dancing the foxtrot, yet there was no music.
“This is why it’s cold,” Echo whispered in my ear. “Not exactly the prom you wanted, but we improvised.” He nudged me forward, and I crossed the threshold.
Jazz music blasted my senses, the shift from silence to noise jarring. I looked down and saw the runes running along the floor and the door frame. They were creating a dampening effect and preventing the music from escaping the room. In fact, the entire room was covered with runes—the floor, parts of the walls that I could see, the bleachers, and the ceiling.
“Are all the runes for dampening the sounds?” I asked.
“Some,” he said. “The rest can let the dark souls in, but not out. They’re opposite those I put around your house.”
My eyes returned to the dancers. The women were dressed like me in flapper outfits—sparkling, drop-waist dresses with fridges, fancy hairbands with or without feathers, and satin gloves. Some even carried fake long cigarette holders. The guys looked sophisticated in tuxedoes or three-piece suits.
Echo pressed a kiss on my temple. “What do you think?”
“Still processing. Are dark souls really coming tonight?” I asked.
“Oh yes. We spread the word that they were after you and regular souls came out in support. Unfortunately, most of them need closure and will probably want to meet you ASAP.”
I grinned. “I don’t mind. Where is the real prom?”
“Hey, this is real. Supernatural, yes, but absolutely real.”
I rolled my eyes. “Where are the other students?”
“In the cafeteria. There’s food, drinks, and live music, and we runed the walls so no one can leave. If Maliina hadn’t told the dark souls about the prom, we would have gone elsewhere to trap them. Blaine came up with this.”
“It’s brilliant.” The cafeteria was in the school’s main building, and with no sounds coming from the Sports Complex, no one would suspect there was another prom, or a trap.
Souls (Runes series) Page 29
