He smirked. “You could be you once a month.”
“You’re an idiot.” I smacked the back of his head.
He chuckled. “Why? Because I’m honest instead of cheating?”
“No, because we all need a man who puts us first twenty-four-seven. When are you going to learn that?”
~*~
We appeared at the top stands inside the StubHub. Since it was only practice, there were few spectators. Probably parents and grandparents. In Kayville, the entire family usually came out to watch a kid play.
“Doesn’t the US National Soccer Team practice here?” I asked Andris.
“They’re on the road this week. I think they’re playing Peru and Brazil.”
“Did you rune lots of people in order to replace their coach?”
Andris chuckled. “Nope. The coaches are volunteers, so we just had their bosses promote them. With extra workloads, they had to step down from coaching. However, the LA Galaxy Academy soccer program is very organized, and I needed to bring my A-game to fix their roster of coaches.” Now he was bragging. “I added our names in their system, threw in our qualifications making your man the next most qualified person, and sent a few e-mails. It helped that Torin had coached youth soccer in England and knows Beckham.”
“Really?”
He shot me a disgusted look. “Of course not. But all he has to do is open his mouth and they believe anything he says. If I cared, I’d fake a British accent too.”
Except Torin’s accent was real. That he’d kept it for centuries was cool. I followed Andris down to where the parents were seated. Most were women.
Torin was walking up and down the side of the field, yelling instructions to the players. He removed his baseball cap, wiped his brow and slapped it back on his head. He took everything he did seriously. I sat behind some of the parents while Andris sauntered toward the field.
After a few minutes, I got bored. I should have brought a book. Sports weren’t my thing, but this was different. Torin and Andris wouldn’t be here unless some of these kids were going to die. Such a tragedy. The U-16 league was for sixteen and fifteen-year olds. I touched my seat to see if I could get a vision.
Nothing.
I touched the next seat and the stadium disappeared.
In its place was a park and to my right was a man at a picnic with his wife and two daughters. The scene changed to show him at their graduation, then a wedding. I grinned as the vision faded.
Nice to see a happy family for a change. I reached behind me and got another vision. Nasty divorce, but the wife seemed happy. The last one had me yanking my hand from the seat. Pervert.
Obviously, the seats could only give me visions of their last occupants, not the catastrophe that was going to happen at this center. I might have to touch the turf on the field to get a reading, or the boys when their mother’s weren’t looking.
I studied the women in front of me. Some had their heads close together as they talked, their eyes on their kids. A few were on their phones. One had her e-reader on. I eavesdropped on the whispered conversation from the ones near me.
“I’m still angry at the way Coach Taylor abandoned our kids,” the brunette said. She wore white capris and a light blue top. She also had high-heeled sandals, not exactly what moms in Kayville wore to soccer.
“I’m not,” her blonde buddy answered. Her white sundress went down to her sandaled feet and she had some serious boobs, though they looked too big to be real. “Taylor was a yeller. I mean, I knew his life was a mess, but still… Harry likes the new coach better. He’s firm without being scary, and he seems to know a lot about what he’s doing.”
“I love his accent,” White Capris said.
Blondie giggled. “Sexy, just like Beckham’s.”
“He’s better looking,” a third woman joined them. She was dressed more like a soccer-mom. Jeans and a T-shirt, just like I was, and a baseball cap. “Josh talked of nothing else but the new coach, so I had to come and see for myself. Who’s the blonde?”
“He’s friends with the coach,” White Capris said. “He’s just as good-looking. Probably European though he really doesn’t have an accent.”
“I love European men,” Blondie said. “They’re so cultured. Love the way they care about clothes. I mean, look at him.”
Andris in white slacks and a trendy short trench coat with his collar turned up did look like he’d stepped off some runway of a European designer. He didn’t join Torin at the other end of the field. He walked to a table with a pitcher of water and poured himself some first, then turned and lifted it toward the bleachers. He probably knew the attention he was getting and loved it. The parents waved or nodded.
I removed my phone and was checking my text messages when Soccer-Mom Number Three asked, “Is he the coach’s boyfriend?”
I almost laughed.
The first two women looked at each other. “I don’t think so,” White Capris said. “Their body language doesn’t indicate anything like that.”
“My gay-dar didn’t go off either,” Blondie chimed in. “And the way he stared at these babies,” she stuck out her chest, “confirmed he’s batting for our team. I should have team dinner at my house on Friday before the Saturday game. We could all socialize and learn more about them.”
A woman seated in front of them tilted her head and threw over her shoulder, “I’m having one tomorrow. Text Deidra. As the Galaxy rep, she schedules all pre-game and post-game dinners.”
The first two women dove inside their purses for their cell phones and started texting furiously. Refusing to be left out, Soccer-Mom Number Three also reached for her phone.
I grinned. Torin had that effect on most women, young and old. Had he really stared at Blondie’s boobs? Or were they talking about Andris?
I glanced at my chest. My breasts were modest and I had never worried about their size before. I mean, Cora had a serious rack and I never felt lacking because of her. Would Torin want a bustier girlfriend?
As though he felt me stressing, he glanced toward the bleachers and waved me over. At first, every woman near me assumed he was indicating her. They looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
Torin blew the whistle and the players headed toward the water table. He spoke briefly to Andris, then lowered his wraparound glasses and cocked his eyebrow.
I knew that look. If I didn’t go, he’d come and get me. Necks craned when I stood, and eyes followed me down the stairs. Feeling self-conscious, I wished I had worn a jacket or coat over my T-shirt and jeans. It was easy to pretend you were invisible when wearing something bulky. Then I’d be sweating. The boots already made me feel overdressed. This was California. It might be spring, but it was already warm, the temperature perfect.
Torin was high-fiving the boys and cracking jokes when I reached them. He pushed his glasses into his hair and studied my face. “You okay?”
He could always tell when I felt out of place. I shrugged and gave him a sheepish smile. He could have kissed me or introduced me to the players as his girlfriend and made me feel even more self-conscious. Instead, he took my hand and went back to talking to his players.
They hung on his words and he seemed to have already memorized their names. The boys stared at me curiously and looked away when I caught their eyes. They might only be fifteen and sixteen, but they were taller than me. Most of them anyway.
It was hard to believe some of them would die in the coming month. Funny I used to wish I were a Valkyrie. Now the thought of knowing people were going to die and doing nothing to stop it made me a little sick.
Two more adults I hadn’t noticed before joined us. They were part of the coaching team, Torin explained as he introduced me. I wondered if they’d make it.
“Okay, let’s finish here and head home. Unless…” he paused for effect and got everyone’s attention, “you want to grab pizza right here before going home?”
All the players looked at each other in confusion. “Coach, the food stands
are opened during game days only,” one of the boys said. He had a deep voice and was growing a moustache.
“And today, Bill,” Torin corrected. “From now till we win the championship in June, we’ll eat here at the Stadium Club whenever we practice here.”
He got the players. Even the assistant coaches were surprised and thrilled by the news. I wondered how much he had to pay to make this happen. I did research StubHub after our talk and knew it was an exclusive restaurant only available by reservation on non-game days.
As the players ran back to the field for the last fifteen minutes of practice, one of the coaches went to talk to the parents. Torin focused all his awesomeness on me. “Can you hang out with us afterwards?”
“Sure. I’ve always wanted to see inside the Stadium Club.”
He chuckled because he knew I was lying. I had very little interest in sports, unless he was playing. Hanging out with the players though meant I could touch them and see who was going to die. That sounded morbid, but I was curious, and maybe I could tweak a few things and save some lives. I glanced at the stands and found the parents’ eyes on us. They seemed pleased by the news about pizza. Or was it a chance to talk to the coaches? I wondered if some of them would die too. Torin’s target souls were hard to predict. They were told where to go and wait.
“Don’t mind them,” Torin said, misunderstanding my frown. He touched my cheek, flashed a cocky grin, and went to join the assistant coaches.
I was still staring at him when Andris planted himself in front of me, a Galaxy Academy hat in his hand. “As one of us, you get to wear this,” he said.
“I don’t see you wearing one.”
“And mess up this?” He pointed at his perfectly tousled hair. He put the hat on my head and adjusted it. “There. Now those cougars know you’re his. Let’s sit down before we wilt in this heat.”
The temperature was perfect. “Can we sit away from the parents?”
He chuckled. “You heard them talk about Torin, didn’t you? I went invisible and eavesdropped. Shameless hussies.”
“I don’t care what they think.” I slipped my arm through his. We started for the seats when I felt icy fingers crawling up my spine. I shivered and stopped. The feeling was so sudden I knew the effect didn’t come from the Mortals.
“What is it?”
“We’re not alone,” I said, searching the stadium, but it was impossible to know where someone could be hiding.
“Lord Worthington?” Andris asked.
“I don’t know.” The feeling grew stronger and became more familiar. Norns. I remembered the smirks on their faces the night we defeated Torin’s father and his minions. I’d like to pretend the Norns were just sore losers, but from our previous dealings, I knew they’d be back. Which group of soccer moms were they mimicking? The three that had gushed over Torin?
“I’ve changed my mind. Let’s sit behind the parents.”
Andris didn’t argue. Maybe my face gave me away or maybe it was my body language, but he went all protective, arms on my shoulder, eyes vigilant, tension in his body. He was primed to act.
We sat a few seats behind the three women, so we could talk without being heard. Blondie turned and smiled at us. Andris winked at her, which earned him a chest thrust and a come hither smile.
She wasn’t one of them. And neither were her two friends. I shivered again and the next second, Andris dropped his trench coat around my shoulders and added his arm. I leaned against him even though I knew he couldn’t warm the chill. It had nothing to do with the temperature. It was the crazy mental link I had with the Norns.
Still, I mumbled, “Thanks.”
He slipped on his sunglasses and casually glanced around the stadium. “If he’s here, we should lure him away from the stadium and finish him off. Torin will never know.”
I forced myself to focus on Andris. Even laughed. “Nice plans, except Torin and I made a pact never to keep secrets from each other. If we go after his father, we’ll have to tell him what we did.”
“I don’t have to,” Andris said. “Torin can be pissed at me, but once he calms down, he’ll thank me. The Earl deserves to die.”
“I was thinking of changing his destiny.” After giving him a choice, of course.
“Too tame. Shift into Torin and finish him off. Would be a nice way too. He’d know his own son hated him so much that he gave him a one-way ticket to Corpse Strand.”
Being tortured for eternity on the island of the damned in Hel was more than what the Earl deserved. “Sorry. It’s the same thing, Andris. No matter who I mimicked, he or she is still me. I just can’t do it and not tell Torin.”
Andris growled in frustration. “Fine. Once you shift into Torin, tell him you don’t want anything to do with him, but he should apologize and pay restitution to the family of every witch and Seeress who died last week. Then he must disappear and never contact you again.”
I thought about that. “I like it. To make sure he’s paid restitution, he should e-mail Torin some sort of evidence. A receipt of the transaction or… Wait. Weren’t the Witches’ memories wiped after the battle? They wouldn’t remember how their parents or siblings died. An apology would be pointless.”
Andris shrugged. “Anonymous donation with a condolence should suffice. And I like the idea of sending proof to Torin. This way, he knows his father’s remorse is genuine without actually dealing with him. Once he’s done with his penance, I’ll finish him off.”
He could be so bloodthirsty sometimes. “You kill an Immortal and you’ll end up on Hel duty permanently this time,” I warned him.
“Actually, the goddess might thank me. She gets another monster to fight on her side during Ragnarok.” Runes covered his skin. “I’ll be back in a few.” He took off at hyper-speed.
I couldn’t believe he just went invisible in broad daylight. But then again, that was Andris. He never cared who he pissed off. The problem was the Norns were around and might have seen him.
I closed my eyes and tried to find them, but all I heard was static.
I know you’re here. What do you want?
No response, but the cold under my skin expanded. Goose bumps spread all over my body and my lungs hurt as though I was breathing in icy fumes. I looked around, expecting them to appear. Nothing happened. I tried to link with them, but it was as though a heavy veil was blocking me. My head hurt when I tried to push beyond it. This was different. I knew they were Norns, but they felt different. Did I piss them off that much they’d do this to me?
If you have something to tell me, show yourselves, I snapped.
Just when I was sure I couldn’t take it anymore, the link broke and the feeling disappeared. I sucked in air and tried to regulate my breathing. My chest expanded as warmth replaced the iciness that had crawled under my skin.
I glanced at the field and saw Torin running toward the stands. I didn’t have to see his face to know he’d sensed my distress. At least that was what he claimed. Valkyries couldn’t feel the presence of Norns, but he and I shared a bond I still didn’t understand. Eyes followed him to where I sat.
He squatted and frantically searched my face. “What happened?”
“I’m okay now,” I said, aware of the parents watching us. “Go back and finish the game.”
He touched my arms then cupped my face. His hand was so warm. “You’re shaking. Was it my father?”
“No, Norns. They’re gone now. I’m okay. Really.”
“What did they want?”
“I don’t know. I tried to communicate with them, but they locked me out. In fact, I think they blasted me with something and blocked my attempt to connect with them. It was like nothing I’ve experienced before.”
His jaw clenched. “I’ll let the assistant coaches finish while I take you home.”
“No, Torin. We can’t leave. The players need you, and I want to meet them. Go finish the game, then let’s have pizza.”
He studied me intently then glanced around. “Where�
�s Andris?”
“He went for a run. He should be back any minute now. Please, go.”
He nodded and stood, but I could see he was reluctant to leave. Andris appeared, saw the look on Torin’s face, and yanked his sunglasses off. His eyes volleyed between me and Torin. “What happened?”
“Stay with her.” He turned to leave, paused, and added. “Please.” Then he hurried back to the field.
Andris looked thoroughly confused. “He just said please, right? He didn’t just bark orders and expect me to follow them?”
I threw him a tiny smile. He wasn’t even breathing hard after his run and his hair was still perfectly moussed. He had to tell me his secret. And why was I thinking about such mundane things when I had the Norns to worry about?
What were they up to now? They often appeared when they had a diabolical plan to lure me to their side. Maybe they knew what I was planning to do tonight and this was their way of telling me to back off. If that was the case, they got their wish. Whatever grandiose ideas I had about finding out what was going to happen to the players went out the window. Anything to keep those three bitches out of my life.
“Okay, you’re ignoring me.” Andris cut through my thoughts. “What’s going on?”
I blocked my mouth like I was about to cough. “I can’t talk to you while you’re still cloaked, Andris. I’ll look like an idiot. Wait for them to stop staring.” Andris decloaked anyway. I should have known he wouldn’t listen. “Seriously?”
He smirked. “When humans see something that doesn’t make sense, they come up with a rational explanation and life continues. Was the Earl of Darkness here? Did he approach you while I was gone? I couldn’t find him anywhere.”
“No, he wasn’t here.”
He scowled. “Then why was Torin looking like he wanted to reduce the entire stadium into rubble?”
“We had a different kind of visitors.” Before I could explain, he cursed.
“Why can’t they just leave you alone?”
“You know why.” I was one of the Völur who’d announce Ragnarok and they wanted me on their side. “There was something different about their presence tonight. It felt darker. Almost evil.”
Witches (Runes series Book 6) Page 8
