Seeress: Book Three (Runes Series)

by Ednah Walters

  “Do any of your relatives look like you?”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “I told you, no one looks like me.”

  That was arrogance speaking. “So no black-haired and blue-eyed cousins or uncles?”

  He sat up. “What is this about? Are you trying to replace me?”

  As if that would ever happen. “Maybe. I’m partial to black hair and blue sapphire eyes, and if something happened to you…”

  He laughed. “I’m not going anywhere, and if someone somehow chops off my head, I’ll be the headless Valkyrie hanging around you and haunting the both of you. I’m going to bed, luv.” He planted a quick kiss on my lips and got up. I watched him until he disappeared through the portal. He was in a strange mood.

  Femi finished with her call and came back to the living room with a broad grin on her face. I had the schedule of Ylvis’ tour. “How is she?”

  “She’s fine, but I’ve warned her about the visitors. She has a sister in New Orleans and will stay with her for a few weeks.”

  One life saved. “That’s great.”

  “Yes, you did good, doll. Your vision saved someone tonight. You just altered a future.”

  Yay for me, but it sounded too Nornish. “How am I ever going to know whether what I’m seeing is the future, the past, or the present?”

  “I wish I could answer that. I think it’s one of those things that comes with experience or you are taught by someone better at this sort of thing.”

  By the Norns, no doubt. “So Ylvis is really coming to Philly in two weeks. Are you going?”

  “I was planning to, but I’m needed here now.”

  “I can watch Dad. It’s only for one evening.”

  “Oh, you’re sweet, doll, but no. I can see them some other time.” She took the remote from the coffee table and switched off the TV. “Come on, it’s getting late.”

  “I still think you should go,” I repeated as we headed upstairs. “I won’t watch Dad alone. Torin is next door and a portal away. If you haven’t noticed, there’s nothing he can’t do.”

  Femi chuckled. “I’ve noticed. I’ll think about it. Goodnight.” She disappeared into my parents’ bedroom while I headed to mine.

  Torin wasn’t there. I looked out the window, but his home was in total darkness. Maybe he was at the mansion. I crawled in bed, but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that something wasn’t right with Torin. He’d seemed so, I don’t know, sad.

  ***

  Torin wasn’t around in the morning. I missed my morning coffee and kiss. Voices filtered upstairs from the kitchen. Smiling, I flew downstairs expecting him. But when I cleared the last step, I recognized Andris’ voice. He was already dressed for school, though he looked like he was off to a photo shoot for some hipster magazine.

  “Morning, sleepy head,” Andris said. “I was about to wake you up with a cup of coffee.”

  I glanced out the window at Torin’s. Where was he? “So are you riding shotgun with me to school?”

  Andris scoffed at the idea. “Nope. You ride shotgun. Come to the mansion when you’re ready.” He kissed Femi on the cheek. “Thanks for the coffee.” He disappeared through the portal.

  I got a bowl, poured myself some cereal, and munched on it without tasting it, my mind on the two girls at school. How was I going to get close to them without giving scaring them? If Ingrid was right, they must have recognized me as a witch.

  “Hey,” Femi said, and I looked up. “You okay?”

  I wasn’t. Where was Torin? It wasn’t like him to disappear when I needed protecting. Not that I needed him now. He’d runed everything, and Andris was pretty capable. And from Femi’s stories, she was a one-woman army. “Yeah. I’ll see you at lunch.”

  Upstairs, I grabbed my stuff and left for the mansion. The others were waiting in the foyer. Ingrid looked amazing as usual in a high-low dress, cute cashmere sweater, tights, and boots. I really liked the bob haircut on her. Very high fashion.

  Blaine had that preppy thing going. He came from a loaded family and his clothes screamed it. I looked like Orphan Annie beside them in my jeans and red sweater. Good thing I didn’t let clothes define me, and the others never pointed out my penchant for jeans.

  “Come on, Seeress. Time to go,” Andris said. He moved fast and grabbed my backpack before I realized his intention. “Since I’m on bodyguard duty I get do everything Torin does. Maybe I’ll get a hot kiss before math class.”

  I laughed. I waited until we left the house, engaged my speed runes, and moved just as fast as he’d done. I grabbed my backpack back from him. “Haha, I did it.”

  “Working on your reflexes?” Ingrid asked, watching me with a weird smile. I could tell she wished she were the one goofing around with Andris.

  “Yeah. I’m a bit slow engaging my runes, so Torin is helping me get better. We worked on it yesterday and we’ll probably continue today.”

  “I don’t think so,” Andris said as he opened the SUV. He disappeared inside.

  I yanked the door and hopped in the back passenger seat. “What do you mean?”

  “Torin is chasing a shadow that doesn’t want to be found,” Andris said and started the engine.

  “What shadow? Is it about the pendant or the Seeresses?”

  “Yeah, what are you talking about?” Ingrid asked, getting in the front passenger seat. She closed the door and turned to face Andris.

  “Long story, girls.” He left the driveway, following Blaine. “Don’t bother to question me because my lips are sealed.”

  He sucked at keeping secrets. I’d wait until it was just the two of us. “Ignore him.”

  “I always do.” Ingrid said. “Hey, I’m close to finding the witch at school.”

  “Me too,” I said.

  “What witch?” Andris asked.

  “Long story,” I said, repeating his words.

  “And our lips are sealed, too,” Ingrid said.

  “Really, Ingrid?” He glanced at her. “I can understand Raine being difficult, because that’s who she is. You know better. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”

  Ingrid lifted her chin. “How come you’re not teaching me to engage my speed runes like Torin is helping Raine?”

  Andris groaned. “She needs them, sweetheart, and you don’t.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re sweet, and nice, and harmless. There’re no bad guys coming after you. Your life is perfect.”

  “You mean boring,” Ingrid retorted. “Nothing fun or exciting ever happens to me.”

  “You are an Immortal, sweetheart. Make fun happen. Find a hobby.”

  Poor Ingrid. She really needed to stop wanting Mr. Pigheaded here to take her seriously. She had money and could be whatever she liked. I tuned them out and texted Torin. Chances were he hadn’t taken his cell phone. He’d only bought it to shut me up after I’d nagged him.

  We pulled up outside the school. The spot on the curb where Torin usually parked his bike was empty. It wasn’t official, but everyone considered it his spot. Seeing it only reminded me he was out there, probably doing something dangerous.

  Andris and Ingrid were still arguing when we left the SUV. Ingrid took off in a huff and joined her friends. Andris watched her with narrowed eyes.

  “She’s becoming so mouthy,” he griped.

  “That’s because you ignore her. She likes you. Why won’t you give her a chance?” I asked. “It’s obvious you like her.”

  “As cute and adorable as Ingrid is, I don’t have the urge to kiss her. She doesn’t make me lose sleep, and she’s definitely not the person I think about when I—”

  “I don’t want to know,” I said. He could become crass in the blink of an eye.

  “You have a dirty mind.”

  “Yours is twisted.”

  “Don’t insult my mind. You want to have lunch at home or school?” he asked as we entered the school building.

  He was being really sweet. Normally he’d tell me where we were having lunch and t
ry to bully me into agreeing. “School, unless I’m needed at home.”

  “Okay, we’ll meet in the cafeteria unless I get a text from you.” He took off with a bunch of his hipster friends. I went toward my locker and kept an eye out for the two witch sisters. I did that a lot during the day, even heard their Seidr song a couple of times.

  ***

  Andris and Blaine were waiting by the SUV when I left the building at three. Usually, they couldn’t stand each other. Today they were chatting like old buds. No, they were laughing.

  “Okay, Seeress, we’ve decided to pick up where Torin left off,” Andris said.

  I frowned. “Pick up what?”

  “Your lessons,” Blaine said. “Where did you two train yesterday?”

  When I finished explaining, they were staring at me as though I was an escapee from PMI. “What?”

  “There are no trails to speak of up there, and the place is crawling with wild animals,” Andris said with a shudder.

  “There are plenty of trails and you can outrun wild animals,” I said and threw my backpack and oboe in the back of the car. “So is the offer still on, or do I run alone?”

  They looked at each other.

  “Chickens,” I teased them, getting inside the car.

  “She has a point,” Blaine said. “We can run faster than any animal, and if she trains in such an environment, anything else will be a piece of cake.”

  “I don’t care if she’s right or wrong. We are not running through some damn jungle like a pack of wild animals. We’ll take the back roads and race cars. You two have lived here long enough. Find us a route that’s not busy this time of the day. I’ll show you who is chicken.”

  “See you guys at home,” Blaine said and hopped into his seat. He was already driving his sports car with the top down.

  “Tell me about this witch at school?” Andris asked as we took off.

  “I think there are two of them. Sisters. And they are new because I’ve never seen them before.”

  “Why didn’t you tell Ingrid this morning?”

  Torin’s words rang in my ears. “I don’t know. I want to see if we find the same girls. There could be more.”

  Andris shuddered. “Witches.”

  “I understand Torin’s aversion to witches. What’s yours?”

  “None of you beeswax,” he said rudely.

  He entered our cul-de-sac, and my eyes went to Torin’s place. It was still locked up. “Where is he, Andris?”

  “Searching for the person that put his stuff up for auction,” he said.

  “Why is it so important?”

  Andris brought the car to a stop at the curb by Torin’s mailbox. “I never question why your man does the things he does. I just go with the flow.”

  “Should I worry about him yet?”

  “Nope. Out of the car. Be at the mansion in ten minutes or I’m coming for you.”

  “Can you promise me something?”

  He gave a long-suffering sigh. “What?”

  “Promise to tell me the truth if he’s in danger, okay?”

  “Okay.” He rolled down the window and watched me walk away.

  I turned and cocked my eyebrows. “Go. I’m at home now.”

  “Did I ever mention you have a sexy walk?”

  I kissed my fingers and patted my butt.

  He laughed and took off. I entered the house. “Femi, I’m home.”

  “In here,” she called out from Dad’s room. I peeked in. She was changing the sheets on his bed. She must have seen the concern in my eyes because she said, “He’s having a bath.”

  I made a face. The bath had a contraption to keep him in place. “I’m running with Andris and Blaine. I should be back in an hour or so.”

  She paused in the process of fluffing a pillow and pursed her lips. For one second I thought she’d object, but Andris outranked her. “Make sure you take your cell phone with you.”

  “I know.” I grabbed an apple in the kitchen before heading upstairs. In less than ten minutes, I was in the mansion.

  Blaine was pacing in the foyer. He wore running tights and a shirt like Torin had yesterday, but the impact of all that hotness was wasted on me. “Where’s Andris?”

  “I don’t know.” He looked up at the second floor. “Hey, Andris, move it.”

  “So how are we going to do this?”

  “I have no idea what he has in mind. He’s calling the shots, as he put it.” Blaine made a face. It was obvious he wasn’t used to taking orders from someone who looked around his age.

  “Have you worked with a lot of Valkyries?”

  He nodded. “My parents have helped quite a few. I tend to work with Mortals. You know, wars, law enforcement, and private detective stuff.”

  “You’ve worked with the police? You look like any high schooler.”

  He grinned, topaz eyes twinkling. “I can look older when I want to.”

  “Do you see your parents often? I heard they’re in Rio.”

  “A couple of times a week.” He chuckled. “Rio is a portal away.” He glanced up again. “Andris!”

  “Hold your horses,” Andris said from the top of the stairs. His outfit had to be just right. Unlike Blaine’s black and gray outfit, his had neon green stripes that matched his shoes and jacket. Since he wasn’t sporty, he was probably breaking them in.

  “Nice outfit,” I said.

  “You’ll thank me when it gets dark. Blaine lead until we are out of town. We leave the compound with our runes engaged.”

  10. MISSING

  Cora dropped her tray next to mine, and I dragged my eyes from Gina and Rita. “What do you mean we can’t have a double date tomorrow?”

  “Torin is out of town. He’s been gone since Wednesday.” I picked up the biscuit and took a bite. It was the only appetizing thing on my tray.

  “Gone where?”

  “I don’t know.” That little fact was beginning to worry me.

  “Did you two fight?” She took a bite of her pizza.

  Whatever issues Torin was struggling with, I wish he would just talk to me instead of pulling a disappearing act. We’d tackled our share of issues since we met, but he’d never just disappeared. What if he was in trouble and needed help?

  “Raine? Did you two fight?” Cora asked again.

  I shook my head, my eyes drifting to Rita and her sister. For the last couple of days, I’d studied them. Rita was pale and timid, yet she seemed to be the more powerful of the two. I got stronger vibes from her. The few times our eyes had met, she always smiled. Gina was the poster child of teen angst: dark clothes and black nail polish, multiple ear and nose piercings. She looked like she could kick some serious ass. And she acted protective of her sister.

  “Does it have anything to do with his seal?” Cora said. “Echo said he’s obsessed with finding the person who had it auctioned.”

  I didn’t want to discuss Torin, so I forced a casual shrug. “I don’t know.”

  “Could this food get any more unappetizing?” Andris asked, sliding beside Cora. He bumped her with his shoulder. “Hey, gorgeous.”

  Cora grinned and glanced at his styled silver hair. “Right back at ya.”

  “What are you two plotting?” Andris asked.

  Cora sighed. “I was just asking Raine—”

  “If we can get our men to get along on a double date tomorrow,” I finished. Cora studied me questioningly. “You do want that, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, but Torin is MIA.”

  “Oh, he’ll be back,” Andris said. “He’s playing Lord of the Manor right now.”

  I frowned. Could Torin really reveal his true identity to his relatives? The way he was big on rules, I doubted it.

  Across the room, Rita walked away from her sister. Finally. It seemed like forever waiting to see them apart. They were always together. Gina was having a deep conversation with their new friends and probably didn’t know her sister had left.

  “I’ll be back,” I said and got up. />
  “Where are you going?” Andris asked.

  “Restroom.” I hurried after Rita, not caring if he believed me. He didn’t have to worry about me leaving the school grounds without him. With Torin MIA and someone out there after me, I wasn’t taking chances.

  Rita was disappearing around the corner. I ducked into a doorway, engaged my runes, and rejoined the students in the hallway. She was a few students ahead.

  “Not bad,” Blaine said from behind me. His runes blazed, too. “Where are you going in such a hurry and fully cloaked?”

  “Andris sent you to follow me?”

  “Nope. I was talking to some girl when you zipped past. Nice move using a doorway to engage your runes.”

  “You guys drummed that in me the last two days.” Rita disappeared inside the library. “I need to pick up a book. See ya.”

  I ducked past students, almost bumping into a couple, and entered the room, but Rita had disappeared. Damn! I searched the aisles, aware that Blaine had followed me inside. I was close to giving up when I spotted her at the end of an aisle. She was chanting.

  I entered the aisle behind her, made sure no one could see me, and willed the runes away. She whipped around, her eyes wide. She took a step back.

  “Hey.” I wiggled my fingers. “It’s Rita, right?”

  “Yes. How do you know my name?”

  “You and Gina are new and you both wear the same pendant, which makes you stand out.” I paused before adding in a lower voice, “I know what you are.”

  She swallowed and took another step back. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  I raised my hands. “It’s okay, Rita. My name is Raine Cooper. I’m like you. I heard your Seidr song. You sing beautifully.”

  She laughed nervously. “Thank you. We knew there were witches in the school, but Mom couldn’t find you by scrying.”

  That was because we weren’t really witches. “We can hide our powers.”

  She smiled, color seeping in her pale cheeks. “I knew it. I told Gina, but she said I was being ridiculous. She said no witch could hide from Mom’s scrying. Mom said there was a powerful magical core here. Did you answer the Call, too?”