But the trees… So many of them were on the ground. After this, I was going to have my work cut out for me. I engaged my runes, going for strength, speed, and endurance. The healing and pain runes dotted my skin automatically whenever I was in danger.
Torin was easy to spot, with his brilliant runes and his gravity-defying moves. He matched his father’s moves. The body slams. The slugging. Their clothes were in tatters, their faces bloody and muddy, and their hair tangled with leaves and twigs.
“Come on, old man,” Torin bellowed. “Is that all you got?”
His father dragged himself from the ground, his face red with rage. “You would not be a Valkyrie if it weren’t for me, boy.”
They charged. I winced as they collided, the force throwing them in the air. I should do something. So far no one had noticed me. Hawk made up for two men, his movements precise as he mowed down Immortals. Femi’s laughter rang out with each kick and punch. The Earl’s Immortals didn’t stand a chance, not with the witches involved.
A witch pointed his staff at an Immortal and sent him flying across the forest, taking down several trees with him. Several Immortals were on the ground holding their heads. I was sure the images the witches projected were gruesome.
A scream came from my left. Rita, Gina, and their mother had the Earl’s girlfriend trapped. She was begging them to spare her.
I hoped they drove her insane. Yeah, I know. Super bloodthirsty of me, but she deserved it. Where was Mom?
My eyes returned to Torin. He and his father were back to trading insults. Torin enjoyed a good fight, but for the first time, he wasn’t having fun. Their rage was still not spent.
I sighed. Five more minutes and I was going to do something. After all, Mother Earth was on my side.
“Do we take these two or those three?” Echo yelled. I turned to caught him and Andris messing around with several Immortals.
“All of them,” Andris said, and they went after the Immortals with moves any pro wrestler would be proud of.
“Raine, behind you,” Lavania warned.
I turned in time to see a blurry Immortal sprinting toward me. A flicker of my hand and a fallen tree lifted and knocked him across the clearing. He landed and vines did the rest, wrapping him up like a mummy.
Someone laughed, and I whipped around. Torin gave me a thumbs up, and then he scowled. “What are you doing here?”
“Helping. Who said you’re the only one who can have fun?”
“Where’s my mother’s soul?”
“With Cora. On your right!” I yelled.
He whipped around, going from calm breeze to a twister in a fraction of a second. He caught his attacker in the ribs with a roundhouse kick. The sound of bones cracking filled the air. Nice move.
I pointed a finger and vines wrapped him up. Gentle, please. He has broken ribs.
That became my job, wrapping up Immortals and keeping them down. The ones that were down kept healing and getting up, but I caught them one by one. I wasn’t sure what we’d do with the witches once this craziness was done. They shouldn’t remember fighting Valkyries or Immortals. Maybe Mom would come up with something.
A blur raced toward me and I braced myself for an impact, but Torin tackled her and snapped both her legs.
“No one touches her,” he snarled. He looked up and called out, “You hear that?” A few people stopped pounding each other and glanced toward him. He stepped in front of me, hands on his hips. “You touch Raine Cooper and this stops being a game.”
Oh, the arrogant son of… an evil Immortal. He just made me appear weak and defenseless in front of these people. I kicked him in the butt. Hard.
Because of my runes, the force flipped him over his head and he landed on his ass. Now that should make him act right. Someone laughed. I knew that laugh. I turned and my eyes met Eirik’s. He saluted me and went back to fighting.
Torin glanced over his shoulder and shot me a mean look. “Stop horsing around and tie them up. If you haven’t noticed, the vines are the only things keeping them down.”
I stuck out my tongue. “Then stop playing around with your father and break something already,” I said, twirling the vine around the woman he’d just injured.
“I already did. Several times.” He jumped to his feet and took off to help Lavania who’d been ambushed. His laughter reached me, and I smiled. He was enjoying himself now.
Unbelievable. Fighting must be in their blood. Not so much in mine.
Part of me was happy the Immortals avoided me like the plague, thanks to Torin’s threat. Still, I used trees to knock them out and then tied them up with vines. I was like a child poking helpless ants at a picnic.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Catie asked, and I looked up.
They finally showed their faces. And they weren’t Bash and the twins. “Fixing the mess you made.”
“The mess we made?” Marj asked.
“Oh yes. You set the Earl on this road, hoping to use him to manipulate Torin and get me exactly where you wanted me. However, you forgot one thing.”
They stepped back without answering.
“She’s not alone,” my mother said, coming to stand beside me. “And I know how you think.”
Torin dumped his father’s unconscious body at the feet of the Norns. “He’s all yours. And it will be my pleasure to take out anyone you send to hurt or manipulate Raine.”
Andris cleared his throat. “I have her back, too. She’s the annoying younger sister I never had.” He winked at me. “Or wanted.”
We were slowly forming a circle around them.
Echo laughed. “This has been fun. Nice family reunion and all. Call me next time you have another.” He opened a portal and disappeared.
“Stop trying to feed my student false information,” Lavania snapped. “I will give her the information she needs when she’s ready.”
“And the rest of us,” Femi said, indicating Blaine, Hawk, and Ingrid, “will always stand by the Cooper family.”
I waited for Eirik to say something, but silence followed. I turned to search for him. Eirik and the witches were gone. Even the dead bodies. “Where’s Eirik?”
Everyone looked around. I wasn’t the only one surprised by his disappearance. Did he just stop by to save the day again? It was becoming a nasty habit. Where did he go this time and how was he going to erase the memories of all those witches?
“He took the witches with him,” Mom said with a smile. “Run along and make sure they forget what happened here. It is your job to clean up after us, so fix the forest, too.”
“We will take the Immortals, but Eirik will erase the witches’ memories and Lorraine will fix the forest,” Marj said and grinned.
I didn’t understand why the three Norns wore triumphant smiles. They’d failed again. Unless everything that happened today had been part of their plan. But to what end?
They were never going to give up. Torin reached for my hand. As usual, he knew when I needed him.
“As always, it’s been a pleasure. Good luck next time. Let’s go home.” He glanced at Mom and the others. “All of us.”
He opened a portal, and we all filed in. I saw the faces of the Norns just before the portal closed. They waved and looked so pleased with themselves. I needed to find out what the other Norns had meant when they said I had to choose a side and make it official. Now that Lavania and Mom were back, they should know what that meant.
EPILOGUE
“So no one saw Eirik leave?” I asked.
“Nope.” Andris planted his feet on the footstool of my chair. “I have to give it to our young god. His plan was brilliant. He called the witches, pretended he was with the Earl and flipped the script the last minute. Sheer genius.”
Yeah, it was. Without the witches’ help, we might not have defeated the Immortals or released Torin’s mother. Torin was catching up with his mother with Cora’s help, and the older crew—Mom, Femi, Hawk, and Lavania—were at my house. I wondered what they we
re talking about. Probably rehashing what had happened. We had staked the mansion’s kitchen while we waited for Torin to finish.
“I don’t understand why he had to be so mean when he came to get Raine,” Ingrid said.
“He was being watched,” Blaine said. “Bosvilles is a powerful Seeress. When we left to talk to the witches, Eirik was telling them what he expected from them and it wasn’t what they did. He talked about going to Asgard after joining the Immortals. Then he slipped Femi the real instructions. The spell. Supporting us. The whole nine yards.”
I studied the instructions Eirik had left behind. He’d told them where my father was and where to find us and to wait until the witches did the spell and released Lady Adelaide. I wished he’d stayed.
“Do you think he went back to Hel?” Ingrid asked.
I couldn’t tell them what he’d told me. There was no way he went back there.
Andris shrugged. “Possibly.”
“Or Asgard,” Blaine said and, for the first time, I didn’t hear a yearning in his voice. He’d just seen how that need to go to Asgard could eat at someone until they were mad with it.
I checked my watch. Torin was still not done. Should I start worrying?
“We should go out and party,” Blaine said.
“I’m in,” Ingrid said. “This is the most fun I’ve had in years.”
Andris jumped up and pulled her to her feet. “Then let’s not stop. We’ll use a portal and go anywhere—” He glanced back at me and frowned. “Coming?”
I got up. “No. I’m heading home.” To wait for Torin.
Andris tilted his head. “You sure? Torin is going to escort his mother to Asgard.”
“I know. You guys have fun.” I followed them, waited until they used the portal, and then used it to go home. Voices came from downstairs. I heard Mom’s. Femi’s. Even Hawk’s. What were they discussing?
I was just about to open the door when the portal opened and Torin walked in with Cora. I studied his face for signs of stress, anger, or bitterness. There was none. He was calm, happy.
“Hey,” I said. Totally lame, but I couldn’t think of anything else.
He chuckled, took my hand, and pulled me closer to Cora. It was strange listening to him introduce me to his mother and hearing her thoughts. When I hugged Cora, I knew I was really hugging Lady Adelaide. She was smiling when she separated from Cora, her eyes no longer glassy and lifeless.
Torin cupped my face and planted a fast one on me. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. We are taking that weekend vacation together. Not a word,” he said, pressing his finger to my lips. “We’ll take Lavania and Ingrid.”
“Great! Andris, too.”
His eyebrows came down fast. “Why?”
“Because the more the merrier. And Blaine.”
“Oh, I’m so going to regret this.” He pressed a kiss on my forehead and turned to face his mother, who was watching us with an indulgent expression. “Come on, mother. James is waiting.” He engaged his special runes and, when a portal appeared, flashing rainbow lights were visible at the other end. As soon as they reached the other side, something happened to her. She seemed more solid and less ethereal. When Torin took her hand, I grinned.
“Do you want to hear what Torin told his mother about you?” Cora asked from behind, and I turned.
I knew exactly how Torin felt about me. “Uh, I don’t know. Why?”
“Because I hope Echo feels about me the way Torin feels about you.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the bed. “Otherwise, I’m going to be green with jealousy. Let’s start with the day he saw you.”
As Cora talked, I found myself worrying about the forest. Had the Norns rescued the trees yet? Should I check? No, not without Torin. I wouldn’t put it past the Norns to be waiting for me. I forced myself to sit still, listen to my best friend talk about our boyfriends, and pretend everything was perfect.
BIOGRAPHY
Ednah is the author of The Guardian Legacy series, a YA fantasy series about children of the fallen angels, who fight demons and protect mankind. AWAKENED, the prequel was released in September 2010 with rave reviews. BETRAYED, book one in the series was released by her new publisher Spencer Hill Press in June 2012 and HUNTED, the third installment, was released April 2013. FORGOTTEN, the next book will be released early 2015. She’s presently working on the last book in the series, tentatively titled, VINDICATED.
Ednah also writes New Adult paranormal romance. RUNES is the first book in her new series. IMMORTALS (book 2) was released three months later. GRIMNIRS (book 2.5) is the bridge between book 2 and 3. Ednah is presently working on book 4, tentatively titled, WITCHES.
Under the pseudonym E. B. Walters, Ednah writes contemporary romance. SLOW BURN, the first contemporary romance with suspense, was released in April 2011. It is the first book in the Fitzgerald family series. Since then she has published six more books in this series. She's presently working on book seven.
You can visit her online at www.ednahwalters.com or www.runestheseries.com. She’s also on Facebook, twitter, Google-plus, and blogger.
Seeress: Book Three (Runes Series) Page 33
