Seeress: Book Three (Runes Series)

by Ednah Walters

  Echo drained his drink. “Focus on what you want without panicking or second guessing yourself. You must be comfortable with yourself, Raine. Completely accepting of what you are. You are more than a Seeress. You are a living, breathing, earth-bound Norn.”

  My stomach dropped. Torin growled again. Every time someone mentioned Norns, he went ballistic. The implication was too painful to bear. Accepting that I was a Norn meant I belonged with them, not him. The way he felt after losing his mother would be nothing compared to what he’d feel if he lost me. It would destroy him.

  “How do we catch these people before they hurt another Seeress?” I asked.

  “I think you should be more concerned with how to protect yourself when they get here,” Echo said. “Now that the word is out about you, more wackos are going to come out of the woodworks to claim you.”

  “We will protect her,” Torin said.

  “Not on your own, St. James. You need help. People to claim her. Magical people. All kind of crazies will claim she’s theirs. My Druids brothers and sisters can offer her the best protection against any coven.”

  “Nice try, Echo,” Torin said. “Thanks for the help, but we’ll take it from here.”

  ***

  “Well?” I said when we went back to Torin’s.

  “I don’t want to think or talk,” he said, rubbing my arms. “I want to hold you and block out the world.”

  Andris cleared his throat. “Do you need help?”

  Torin glanced at him and smiled. “I’ll catch up with you later. Oh, get the info on the auction house from Echo and do what you do best. I need to know who, when, and where A.S.A.P.”

  Andris saluted him and left.

  Wow, that was weird. “Why are you guys being super polite to each other?”

  “It’s been a long day.” He tucked wisps of hair away from my forehead, planted a kiss on my temple, and sat on the bed. Slowly, he ran his knuckles down my arm. The hairs on my skin stood as though I was cold, yet heat surged underneath. I shivered. Usually, he’d smile at my reaction. Today, he threaded our fingers, his eyes not leaving mine. His intensity could be unnerving sometimes.

  “Are you worried about me?” I asked.

  He chuckled. “No, Freckles. I got your back. Whoever these bastards are, they won’t know what hit them if they come near you.”

  “You’re not thinking of going after them, are you?”

  He let go of my hands, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pressed his face against my stomach. My fingers sunk into his hair and played with it. His hair was so silky. My breath stalled when his hands slipped under my tank top to stroke my skin.

  He ran a finger along the waistband of my jeggings, and my body responded. It was always the same with him. He took my breath away with a touch. Sometimes, all it took was a look. He pulled me down to his lap and nuzzled my neck.

  I started to feel dizzy, and I realized why. I was still holding my breath. I fed my starving lungs with gulps of air. This time, he chuckled.

  “No, I’m not going after them,” he whispered in a husky voice, his breath warm on my nape. “I want to know where the pendant came from.” He kissed along my jaw. “Your visions say I must.” He rubbed his cheek against mine. “In the meantime, focus on your abilities,” he kissed my temple, “and school,” planted another on my nose, “and your father,” our lips almost touched, “and us.”

  He rubbed his lips across mine in a gentle exploration, one hand palming my face, the other stroking my arm. The kiss was sweet. I needed more. I threw my arms around his neck and gave as much as I took.

  “When do you need to be home?” he whispered.

  “Six-ish.” The clock by his bed had said five-thirty something. “I texted Femi earlier.” I didn’t want us to stop. Today had been so stressful

  Torin rolled us across the bed and reached for my cell. Kill joy.

  I read Femi’s text while he did his best to distract me. “Six-thirty.”

  Making out with Torin was like drifting in a sea of sensations, away from reality and the mundane. His hands and mouth were gifted, and being with him was beautiful, intense, and mind-blowing. Times like this, I hated that we’d agreed to wait before I could give myself to him. Each time, it got just a little harder to stop. It was so frustrating.

  Sighing, he wrapped his legs around mine like a pretzel and held me so there was no space between us, as though he was scared someone would rip me from his arms.

  We stayed like that for a while, until I couldn’t stand it anymore. I kissed his chest. “You want to tell me what’s bothering you?”

  “Nothing is bothering me.” He spoke against my forehead.

  I didn’t believe him. We had faced some jacked up situations together, but I’d never seen him like this. I was the one who always got twisted on the inside. He was often my rock. My anchor. Something had shaken him to the core, and I wanted to know what it was.

  “Torin?”

  “Hmm,” he mumbled.

  “Talk to me.”

  Silence.

  I waited. The silence stretched. “I’m here for you if you need to talk.”

  His arms tightened around me. “I know.”

  “Do you want to join us for dinner,” I suggested.

  He sighed and leaned back against the pillow with me on his chest. “I can’t. I need to check on a few things. Andris might have something for me.”

  “Do you think the person who put the pendant up for auction stole it or is a relative of yours?” I lifted my head and braced myself on his chest. “Do you have any relatives left? Second cousin or third? A Comte d’Arques?”

  He smiled and ran a finger down my nose. “I have a few here and there. One of them must have stolen the seal from Mom’s tomb.” He swatted my butt. “Come on. Time for you to head home. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. What do you have planned for the evening?”

  “Dinner, a movie with Femi, and homework. Not necessarily in that order.” Reluctantly, I rolled off him and stood.

  He watched me lazily as I adjusted my top and fluffed my hair. “What are you going to watch?”

  “Sam and Dean Winchester.” He groaned, but I just laughed. We had a system that worked. I watched his motorcycle races, and he watched my favorite TV series. “Can we have dinner with Cora and Echo on Saturday?”

  “No.”

  “Oh.” I pouted. “You didn’t even think about it.”

  “Let’s see.” His expression grew pensive. “I have something planned in the morning, afternoon, and evening. The answer is still no.”

  “Why?”

  “Echo and I don’t mix.”

  That much was true. “Cora really wants us to try.”

  He made a face. “Why?”

  “Because she’s my best friend.” His eyes narrowed. “Best girlfriend and this is something couples do. It’s called a double date. You might not have had it during King Richard’s time, but it’s a perfectly normal thing to do in this century.”

  He grabbed a pillow and chucked it at me. “I’m going to get you for that.”

  “At least think about it. And junior prom, too.” He groaned. “You’ll enjoy it. I promise.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “And the prom?”

  “Will you make it up to me afterwards?” He wiggled his brows.

  My face warmed. “Only if you promise to make it up to me after the senior prom.”

  He laughed. “We’re making booty call dates already. Perfectly normal.”

  I grabbed my cell phone and blew him a kiss. He pretended to catch it.

  ***

  “You know you don’t have to do that,” Femi said, entering the kitchen with a tray from Dad’s room.

  “I don’t mind.” I put the last pan in the rack to dry and reached for a dishcloth to wipe the counter down. “You do everything else around here.”

  “Half the day, I sit and talk to your father. He loves to hear my version of history as opposed to what Mo
rtals write. Today we were discussing the misinterpretation of my people’s history.”

  I listened to Femi as I rinsed the dishes in the tray and put them in the dishwasher. Once I wiped down the tray and put it in the cupboard under the sink, I turned to face her.

  “There’s something that keeps bothering me. You are from Ancient Egypt. Hawk is a Blackfoot Native American. Both of you have no ties to the Norse Pantheon. How did you end up in Asgard?”

  She chuckled. “If I could tell you the number of times we’ve been asked that question… We’ll need something to drink for this.”

  “Not me. I’m good.” I watched her measure ground coffee into a filter and start the coffeemaker. Torin was big on vetting everyone around me, but I was sure Mom would not have hired Femi if she didn’t completely trust her.

  Femi waved me over to a chair. “Immortals and Valkyries come from every continent and every corner of the globe. No pantheon is better or more powerful than the other. Norse, Egyptian, Vodun, Greek, Roman, Incan, Mayan, Hindu, Chinese, Slavic, Sumerian, and many more. The problem with gods and goddesses is that they are proud and selfish. They stay involved in our lives and listen to our needs if, and only if, we still revere them and ask them for help. You ignore them and they get angry and retreat to their realm. My gods rest in the Duat, a realm of the dead, the gods, and everything supernatural. It’s pretty much similar to this world, except it’s magical. My people stopped revering their gods, so the gods retreated. The same thing happened with the other old religions. Just a minute.”

  She got up to pour the coffee. She must have forgotten I didn’t want any and brought back two steaming mugs. She drank hers black, but I liked mine sweetened and creamed. I got a creamer and sat.

  “For awhile there, the Greek pantheon was strong because of the heroic deeds of the demigods, but the Norse Pantheon outgrew them because of Valkyries, Grimnirs, and Immortals. The fact that they recruit priests and priestesses regardless of race or continent works in their favor. We connect the gods and the Mortals. Valkyries and Grimnirs with their daily trips to the realm of the gods. We, Immortals, by working here on earth to make sure Mortals don’t destroy each other.”

  I forgot about the movie we were going to watch as she regaled me with tales from around the world. The wars she’d fought in, causes she’d taken on, and the Valkyries she’d been assigned to.

  “It is an honor to serve your family. One day, I can boast that I served you when you were just a young, fledgling Immortal.”

  I winced. “That sounds bad.”

  She laughed. “No. We were all young once, but we can’t escape our destinies. Watching over you is mine.” She leaned forward and added, “And that’s despite being considered hot-tempered and impossible to get along with. A rebel among Immortals.”

  “Really? I would never have guessed.” She laughed. But I reached a decision. Mom trusted Femi, so I should trust her, too. “Talking of destinies, I had more visions.”

  Her eyes lit up. “When?”

  “Last night and this afternoon. They happen when I touch magical objects.”

  “Soon, it won’t matter whether they are magical or not. You’ll connect with the ka of things and people.”

  “Ka?”

  “The soul. My people believe everything—people, plants, animals, even inanimate objects—has a soul. Did you black out again?”

  I grimaced. “Yeah. I forgot that I was having a vision and panicked.”

  She gripped my hands. “Then we’ll work on helping you stay in control and remembering it is just an illusion. We’ll start with magical objects. Their kas are much more powerful, which is why they are the first ones you’ve connected with. Next, we’ll use inanimate things around the house, the plants, and animals, and finally Mortals.” She reached under her nurse’s tunic and gripped the ankh amulet she wore around her neck.

  “I also know that the people killing Seeresses are really after me,” I added.

  She sighed. “I’d suspected it, but I was hoping you wouldn’t come to that realization yet. We have much work to do before they get here. And make no mistake, they will. I need to talk to that boyfriend of yours and Andris. Hawk must also be in the loop since you’ll be working at the shop.” She looked up and groaned. “Look at the time. I need to get your father ready for the night.”

  It was only eight-thirty. After I wished Dad goodnight, I headed upstairs and booted up my computer. It was time to learn more about Torin’s family. I settled in bed and Googled the de Clare family.

  Alexander Paul d’Arques, the twentieth Earl of Worthington, was elected to the House of Lords in two thousand. The earldom had passed down from one generation to another. A few times they lost it due to treason or sons being disinherited, some even forfeiting the title to distant relatives. One line caught and held my attention.

  Adelaide d’Arques was executed of heresy in twelve-ten. Her accuser was her pious husband and a close friend of the king, William de Clare, Lord of Oakley and Earl of Worthington.

  Yikes. This was different from the version Torin had told me.

  There were very few photographs of the d’Arques online, except for the present earl and his family. I studied him and his three sons and daughter. None of them had black hair and blue eyes like Torin. Since they didn’t look like Torin, who the heck was after me?

  8. FRESH RUNES

  There were fresh protection runes on my car. Just when I was getting used to the old ones Mom had scribbled on my car months ago, which had faded. I really, really hated runes on my personal things. Torin knew that. I glanced at my house and groaned.

  Seriously?

  The man I plan to slowly kill sauntered across the lawn. I forgot about the runes as my heart tripped. He wore a white tee under his leather jacket. He rarely wore white, but it looked great against his black hair and leather jacket. Was it always going to be like this with him? The excitement of his presence? The anticipation and flutter of my heart even when I wanted to scream at him?

  “Is this really necessary?” I waved to indicate my car.

  “Absolutely.” He wrapped an arm around my waist, lowered his head, and planted a kiss on my nose. “Come on. Time for school.”

  He was in such a chipper mood I was sure he had more unpleasant surprises in store for me. He half-jogged around the hood of my car and gave me a what-are-you-waiting-for look across the hood as he opened the passenger seat.

  “What did you do?” I asked.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You seem pretty pleased with yourself. So what did you do, other than etch these on my car and house?”

  His innocent smile didn’t fool me. I put my backpack and oboe in the back of the car and slid behind the wheel. The trees around our homes and the neighbors’ all had runes. More runes on trees along the road, buildings, around the school’s parking lot, and on the school building.

  “When did you have time to do all this?” I asked, touched despite my unease.

  “Last night.”

  “You do know you can’t wrap me in a cocoon in the name of keeping me safe.”

  “We decided it was the right thing to do now.”

  “We?” I asked, parking in the lot across from school.

  “Me, Andris, Femi, and Blaine. Oh, and Hawk. Femi contacted him. When you engage your runes, nearby runes respond and start a dominoes effect. We’ll feel the ripple wherever we are and pinpoint your location.” He stroked my hair, tucking a lock behind my ear. “For the best part, you start training today. You’ll work on speed, engaging your runes while on your feet, and evasive maneuvers. I know the perfect place for practice. After dinner, you can work with Femi on channeling your energy.”

  This was good. I leaned over and kissed him. “You are amazing.”

  “I know.”

  “You should have asked me to help with the runes,” I added.

  Torin grinned. “You would have slowed us down.”

  “Hey!” I protested, but
he got out of the car before I could act.

  He was still laughing when I joined him. “This is why you need to train. Your reflexes are slow. You think and act like a Mortal. That jab should have caught me in the ribs. If you’d engaged your strength runes, you would have cracked a few.”

  I’d never knowingly hurt him like that. I gave a dramatic sigh. “There goes my belief that being a Völva meant I’d be pampered and revered and never have to lift a finger.”

  “That was then. You have to think and act like a Valkyrie. You have to be fast and strong.”

  “Oh gee. I thought all Valkyries did was reap souls,” I teased. Cora waved to us from the school entrance. “Cora says souls are defenseless and scared like newborn babies.”

  Torin snickered. “She deals with lost souls. We pluck them from the middle of battlefields, avalanches, hurricanes, earthquakes...” He stopped and scowled. “Why am I telling you what you already know? The Valkyries in Valhalla and Falkvang train with the warriors. During Ragnarok, everyone will go to war. Everyone. Even you.”

  “What?” I screeched.

  “Yo, St. James,” Heath Kincaid, running back, called from behind us. As usual, he was with his three sidekicks—Sloane Menken, Pete Cavanaugh, and Drew Cavanaugh, the annoying guy who’d dated Maliina during the weeks she’d impersonated Cora.

  “We are having a birthday party for my boy here,” Heath slanted his head to indicate Sloane, “on Friday at L.A. Connection. He’s getting a full ride to U of O, thanks to our stellar performance at state. All the guys are coming, so we hope you,” Heath pressed a fist in his palm and bowed toward Torin, “and Raine will make it.”

  “When does it start?” Torin asked.

  “Eight o’clock. The whole team is invited.” Heath high-fived Sloane

  I developed selective hearing when they mentioned L. A. Connection and barely heard the rest of their discussion. I’d avoided that club since my seventeenth birthday party when a swim team member died.

  “Raine?” Cora yelled. She was getting impatient.

  I touched Torin’s arm, indicated Cora, and mouthed, “I’ll see you in class.”