Hawk went to the customer’s service desk and showed me in painstaking details how to answer the phone. I almost fell asleep. He did the custom framing and wasn’t to be disturbed unless there was an emergency, he explained. Jared was in charge of sales, and I was to confer with him.
“So I’ll answer the phone?” I could do that blindfolded.
“Yes and help customers. Mortals never seem to make up their mind about what they want. They’ll want to know about sizes and prices. You have to put them on hold and check with Jared. Then there’s the framing side of the business, which is what most of our customers come in here for. They will want to know the types of frames we carry. We have shadowbox frames, float frames, clip frames, and digital frames. What materials the frames are made of: metal, acrylic, or wood. They’ll want to know the timeframe if they brought their paintings and portraits, and if we do matting or cropping.”
Yikes. “Okay, now that you’ve broken it down, it does sound like a lot of work,” I mumbled. “Can I get a raise?”
He didn’t crack a smile or even acknowledge he’d heard me. “You’ll get the hang of it. I’ll see you tomorrow after school. If your father wants me to mail the tax forms or do anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me.”
“If we’re not busy, am I allowed to do my homework?”
“Sure. You’ll be here for a couple of hours, so why not.”
A couple of hours could seem like a life sentence if I hated the job. On the other hand, I could always quit. “Okay. See you tomorrow.”
Andris led the way out of the shop, my backpack slung over his shoulder, hands deep in the front pockets of his pants. At the back entrance, he stopped suddenly and peered into the alley.
“What is it?”
“Looking for something,” he mumbled.
I tried to see over his shoulder, but all I saw were tops of a few cars. The parking lot served several stores, including ours. “You sure it’s not someone?”
He glanced over his shoulder and scowled. “Someone?”
“A stalker. You broke up with Pretty Boy Roger, didn’t you? Is he stalking you?”
“Nope.” He pointed the key at the SUV and unlocked it. Then he casually dropped an arm around my shoulder. “Roger and I, Ms. Nosey, had an amicable breakup. He doesn’t even know I exist.”
“Translate that into Mortal lingo, please.”
“I runed him so he’d forget we ever hooked up.” He opened the door and practically shoved me into my seat. “And you are no longer part of their world. You are one of us now.” He smirked, closed the door, and engaged his runes. Next second, he was behind the wheel. He seemed in an awful hurry to leave. “Besides, Roger is not stalker material.”
“You really do have a stalker,” I said, watching him peer out the window as though he expected someone to jump out of the shrubberies separating our parking lot from the art center.
He handed me my backpack and started the car. “You live and learn. I should have runed each and every one of them. You have no idea the nutcases I’ve dated.”
I laughed. “I do.”
“Other than Maliina. She went the extra mile.” He chuckled at his understatement. Wisps of silver strands escaped his perfectly styled hair and fell over his forehead. He was androgynously beautiful—the kind the Biebs’ fans would go ga-ga over, until he opened his mouth. He was rude, sexist, and a general ass-hat.
“Do you want to stop somewhere for coffee?” I asked.
He made a face. “Nah.”
“Please?” I gave him a sweet smile and fluttered my eyelashes.
He shot me a disgusted look, backed out, and eased into the traffic. “You do know I’m not Torin. The sexy smile doesn’t work on me.”
“Sexy smile?”
“Borderline sexy, until you open your mouth and I’m reminded you are an annoying teenager with a penchant for getting those around her in trouble. If you tell Torin I said that, I will snap your neck.”
I laughed. “You would try. Don’t forget I’m Immortal now and a witch to boot. I could make you see things that aren’t there.”
He threw me an uneasy glance. “You wouldn’t dare.”
I shifted, so I could see his face while we talked. “Did you know I was different when we first met?”
“Fishing for complements now?”
“No, wondering if you noticed something different about me, smart ass. Ingrid and Maliina did.” I faced forward and sighed. “Ingrid said witches can recognize each other.”
He shuddered. “Don’t talk to me about witches.”
“What is it with you guys and witches? Torin reacted the same way.” I noticed we were headed east toward my place. “You’re really not going to buy me a macchiato?”
“Got that right, but since I’m such a nice guy, I’ll go back to town and pick up your favorite. Extra large.”
I frowned. “Sounds like you don’t want to be seen with me.”
“No, I don’t. You’ll mess with my game. I’m single and on the prowl. Besides, you have papers for your father to sign and you want to catch him lucid.”
He was right, dang it. “How did you know about the forms?”
“Vulcan hearing.”
I rolled my eyes. He was a serious sci-fi fan. Movies. Books. TV series. He ate it up. Of course, he’d never admit it to anyone but those closest to him. He pulled into our cul-de-sac. My eyes went to Torin’s place. The house was closed up.
“Where did you say Torin went?”
“I didn’t.” Andris pulled up in front of my house. “He’ll be back before you know it, so go hug his pillow or something.” He ducked when I aimed my backpack at his head.
“Grande caramel latte with extra cream and watch your back,” I said. He scowled. “Your stalker, Einstein.”
“Oh, that. I’ll be okay.” He was acting weird.
I disappeared inside the house.
“I’m home,” I called out. The door to the den was closed. I pulled out the files from my backpack just as Femi appeared at the top of the stairs.
“Can I see him? I brought the papers he wanted.” She hurried downstairs, but something in her eyes sent warning bells off. “What happened? What is it?”
“He didn’t do so well today,” she said.
“What do you mean?” I started toward the den.
“We went for our daily walk and he became very fatigued. He’s been restless since. Go ahead.”
My hand was already on the door handle. I entered the room. The TV was on some nature channel, but the volume was muted. I saw Dad and gulped. He had an oxygen tube attached to his nose. He hadn’t had that in weeks. I inched closer, my heart pounding with every step.
I eased into a chair and watched his chest rise and fall. His skin was dry to the touch. The light from the screen flickered on his face, giving him a ghostly appearance. I didn’t know how long I’d been sitting there when someone knocked on the door.
Andris entered the room, two extra large Starbucks cups in his hands. He didn’t speak, which I appreciated. He gave me my drink, squeezed my shoulder, and pulled up the only other empty chair in the room and sat.
Oh, he was staying. He could be so sweet sometimes.
Dad was still asleep when I finished my macchiato. Andris had joined him. I shook him awake, and we slipped out of the room.
“Thanks for staying,” I said.
“Don’t read anything into it. I’m a self-seeking opportunist, so now you,” he pointed at me, “owe me,” he jabbed at his chest. “And I’ll collect with interest.” He sighed. “You look like shit. Crying doesn’t suit you.”
Laughing, I threw my arms around him. He was no Torin, but he stepped up really nice when his big brother wasn’t around.
“Hey. You don’t have to choke me.” He patted my back, then stopped protesting as his hands started venturing in Torin territory. “I could get used to this.”
Self-seeking opportunist of the highest kind. I grabbed his hands before they went to
o low and pulled them way. I stepped away from him. “You have a death wish.”
“What Torin doesn’t know won’t tick him off.”
“I’m not talking about Torin.” It wasn’t until he was gone that I realized we never discussed why they hated witches. Oh well. Time for homework before Cora came over.
***
I was in my bedroom finishing when my mirror dissolved into a portal. I waited, expecting the warmth that usually accompanied Torin. It was frigid. Eirik?
I got up, my eyes on the mirror.
“Anyone home?”
Cora. Disappointed, I forced myself to sound upbeat. “Yeah.”
“Are you decent?”
“No, I’m doing the cha-cha with nothing on but a lei around my neck.”
There was laughter followed by, “No, you cannot, you letch. You have a one-track mind. Go. She and I are going to hang out for a while.” Silence followed. They were probably kissing. Then Cora stepped into my room looking flustered. She turned to wave.
“Hey, Echo,” I called out.
He entered the room, looking dark and dangerous. “Dang! What happened to the lei?”
Cora pushed him out of the room, but she left the portal open. She plopped on my bed and sighed.
“Is that a sigh of happiness or boredom?”
She laughed. “Blissful. I need a junk food fix. Please, tell me you have Cheetos or potato chips for this marathon.”
“Two episodes do not equal a marathon. I’ll get the junk food and the drinks.” I hopped off the bed and went downstairs. Femi was watching something on TV. “What are you watching?”
“Supernatural.”
“Ooh, getting your Winchester boys fix.” I’d introduced her to the series.
She grinned. “Want to join me?”
“Tomorrow night. I’m watching The Originals with Cora upstairs.” We were running low on potato chips. Every time Cora came to my place, she pigged out on junk food. Her mother was a health nut. They grew organic fruit and vegetables, and her mother didn’t buy processed foods.
I took the last bag of potato chips from the cupboard and cans of soda from the living room wet bar, looked up, and caught Femi watching me. “I hope you don’t want something. We are out of chips.”
“No, I’m good. I’ll go grocery shopping tomorrow. If you need anything else, add it to the list on the fridge door. Is Torin coming later tonight?”
“I think so. Why?”
“The door…”
I rolled my eyes. “Stays open,” I said and almost reminded her she wasn’t Mom. Torin and I made out often enough without me giving it up, but I still wanted some privacy during those moments. Upstairs, I stopped when I entered the room. Cora lay on her stomach on my bed and the portal was open. “Why is the portal still open?”
“So I can hear my parents if they knock on my door.”
“Oh.” I threw her the bag of potato chips. She already had my laptop on and the episode up. I slid beside her and opened my soda. “Have you mastered portal runes?”
“I wish.” She swept her hair to the side. It tumbled down her shoulder. “Lavania is supposed to teach me, but we didn’t start because of you and now she’s gone. Do you know when she’ll back?”
“Nope. She’s one of Mom’s supporters, so she’s sequestered, too, until the end of the hearing.”
“She should have just let Echo teach me. He’s brilliant.”
We settled on the bed and shared the chips while we watched the original vampires fight witches for dominance in New Orleans.
“Klaus is so…” Cora sighed melodramatically.
“Tortured?”
“Yeah. He reminds me of Echo, but my man is not so messed up like him.”
I’d noticed she compared every tortured, cocky character on TV to Echo. No one out there could be compared to Torin. Not the Salvatore brothers, not the Winchester boys, and definitely not the Originals. I glanced out the window, but his place was in darkness.
At the end of the second episode, I closed the laptop. “Wow.”
“I know. Don’t you just hate those witches?”
Even in a fictitious TV series, witches were portrayed as evil. “Uh, I think they’re not all bad.”
She bumped me with her shoulder. “You’re just supporting your fellow witches.”
“Loyalty is priceless.”
“I hear you. This has been nice.” She jumped up and walked to the window. “How come Torin’s place is all dark? Did he move to the mansion?”
“He’s around. What is it?” I could always tell when she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure how to do it. She got really antsy. When she hesitated, I sighed. “Seriously, you want me to nag it out of you?”
She made a face. “I want to go back to vlogging,” she said then added quickly, “not about Hottie of the Week or anything that superficial. I want to vblog about real people with real problems.”
She was serious. “Okay.”
“Dealing with souls has shown me people never have conversations about important things. They hold on to their pain, anger, and resentment until they die. But then it’s too late. I want to use the stories the souls tell me, Raine. You know, make each a blog entry, so if there’s someone out there who’s having the same problems, they can do something about it before it’s too late.” She stared at me as though she expected me to blow her off. “I know I don’t have a degree in psychology, but—”
“It’s a brilliant idea. And you don’t need a degree. You’re learning from listening to people.”
She blew out a breath. “Listening to dead people kind of puts things in perspective.”
I’d bet. I had yet to see my first soul. “So when do you want to start? Are you going to change their names, the setting?”
Her face crunched as though she was about to cry, and then she hugged me. “Oh, I knew you’d support me.” She jumped up and peered into her room through the portal. “Echo doesn’t know. I thought I’d run it by you first. I’m going to start this week. I’ll need your input before I upload, so expect to watch something in a day or two. Oh, there was something else I meant to ask you, but I can’t remember now.” She pouted and blew out air. “Phew. Oh well. It will come to me. Gotta go. See you tomorrow.”
I smiled. She still got all chatty and her voice developed a high-pitch tone when she was excited. It was one of her endearing qualities.
I got ready for bed and went downstairs to say goodnight to Dad, but he was still asleep. I left the inventory and tax papers behind.
Torin wasn’t back when I went back upstairs. I stared at his house. I was tempted to text Andris, but I didn’t want to be that girl—needy and clingy and completely useless when her boyfriend wasn’t around.
I was in bed when warm air blew into my room and Torin entered.
My heart tripped. He made it so easy for a girl to drool. He’d already changed into his sweatpants and tank shirt that hugged his chest and showcased his sculptured arms. As usual, he was barefoot. I studied him from above my book.
He swaggered to the foot of my bed. “How come you’re in bed early?”
I lifted my book without speaking.
“Miss me?”
I pursed my lips and pretended to think about it before shaking my head. Okay, so I was a bit pissed at him because he hadn’t bothered to check in. Teleporting took seconds.
He crawled under the blanket from the foot the bed and worked his way up, slowly driving me crazy. Did he ever do anything like a normal guy? I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until he wiggled his head between my chest and my book. He gave me the most adoring look ever. “Hi, luv.”
The stinker. He knew when to work that British accent to his advantage, and I almost forgave him, but I had standards. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to get your attention. You know I hate to be ignored.” He bobbed his head to indicate the book, which was on top of his head. “What are you reading?”
“Moby-Dick,”
I said, forcing my heart to behave. It wasn’t easy with his chest pressed against mine and his legs trapping one of mine.
“Isn’t that the book you’re reading to your father? You’re cheating again?”
I put the book face down on his back and ran my fingers through his hair. I tended to get caught up in the stories Torin and I read together and sneaked a read without him, which drove him nuts. This was different. Dad had read Moby-Dick to me when I was little, and I had a feeling this time round, we might not finish it. I couldn’t even explain why I was reading ahead. I still didn’t feel like discussing my father.
“Guilty,” I said.
“And you look it.” He slid his arms under my shoulders and propped himself on his elbows. His face was inches from mine. “So what did you do while I was gone?”
“After the shop, I came home. Cora visited after dinner. Where were you?”
“Touching base with the other Valkyries.”
I frowned. “About the Seeress?”
He nodded. “Most Valkyries are being called back to Asgard.”
My stomach hollowed out. If he left… I couldn’t even begin to imagine my life without him. “You’re not—”
“Not that I’ve heard. I’m sure they have enough helpers in Valhalla.” He stroked my hair. “I’m not going anywhere.”
He couldn’t promise that. “But if they order you—”
“I’m not going anywhere, Freckles.” His voice said he’d defy any orders, which would only land him in trouble. He lowered his head and added, “No one will ever make me leave you.” The kiss that followed was sweet and too brief. He shifted and switched our positions, his arms wrapping around me. “So when you said you came home, do you mean you came alone or did Andris pick you up? Because if he didn’t, I’m going—”
I pressed a finger to his lips. “Whoa, slow down. Andris did. Poor guy. He has a stalker and acted really fugitive-ish. He also seemed to think you won’t approve of my working at the shop after school.”
He stiffened. “Why would you want to do that?”
“It’s something to do.”
“You do me after school,” he retorted.
Seeress: Book Three (Runes Series) Page 6
