“You’ll get used to her,” he whispered. Then he nodded at someone behind us. I figured it was his latest conquest, until I turned and my eyes met Taylor’s, Jace’s father.
Taylor senior didn’t carry a poster like the other parents. But then again the mothers were the ones who did the carrying. Most fathers acted like the game wasn’t that important, but they were probably living vicariously through their children. If they knew their kids would be dead in two weeks, I’d bet they’d cheer their hearts out.
No morbid thoughts, please. I couldn’t afford to start thinking about the plane crash now. There was nothing I could do about it.
Andris left to join the coaches. Torin looked toward us once before the referees blew the whistle and the game began. I didn’t know anything about soccer, except the basics—players kicked the ball to the opposite goal and the goalie blocked it or they scored. According to my father’s brief tutorial during the week, players could use any part of their bodies except their hands. I assumed they had offense and defense like in football. Prepared to be bored, I sipped my bottled water.
The other team’s uniforms were red, making them stand out. Galaxy wore white shorts and shirts with slanted navy-blue stripes crossing from their left shoulders to their right hips. The word Herbalife dominated the shirt on the chest. I wondered what Herbalife meant. Maybe they were into herbs and this was their way of saying Have-a-life. I almost giggled at my thoughts. This was going to be a long game.
Fifteen minutes into the game, I joined Ingrid. We cheered and screamed. We high-fived each other when the team scored and voiced our frustrations when the opposing team came too close to scoring or did score. Ingrid had no problem yelling at the referees when they gave a penalty to one of the Galaxy kids. If the parents thought we were crazy supporting kids we didn’t know, they didn’t show it. They were right behind us and we high-fived them too.
Jace was amazing. He was possibly the smallest player, yet he was unstoppable. Agile. Torin knew when to play him and when to pull him out. At half time, his father joined us.
“I’m Zachary Taylor, Jace’s father,” he said, offering his hand.
I shook it. “I’m Raine and she’s Ingrid.” I indicated Ingrid who waved.
“Do you teach at my son’s school?” he asked, his eyes flickering between Ingrid and me.
The makeup Ingrid had put on me must make me look older. “No, Mr. Taylor. We are friends with Coach St. James. We thought we’d come and cheer the team and, uh, Jace. Ingrid made the signs.”
The look he threw Ingrid was full of gratitude. “Thank you. Both of you.”
The second half went faster, and when the referees blew the whistle, Galaxy had decimated San Diego nine to two.
“Semifinals!” was whispered and shouted as parents left the stands and ran into the field to congratulate and hug their sons. The fathers puffed out their chests, but none as much as Taylor senior.
A woman brushed past me, gripped my arms, and said, “Thanks for the support…” The rest of her words faded away with the field and empty seats.
The stadium was packed, the screaming deafening as the large airplane nosedived into the crowd. I wasn’t on the grassy bench anymore, but on the stands on the east side. Around me were the Academy students and their parents, shoving and jumping over each other to get out of the way. They weren’t seated in the path of the plane, but that didn’t stop the mass exodus or their hysterical screams. People pushed and scrambled away from the stands, most heading toward the upper seats and exits.
“Dad!” a voice rang out and I followed the sound to Jace.
“Jace! I’m coming.” His father must have gone to get something for them to eat, because he was the only one pushing through the crowd in the opposite direction.
“No, Dad. Go back! I’m com—”
His words were cut off by a woman who knocked him down as she dragged her younger daughter. Her foot slipped off the seat and the heel of her shoes connected with Jace’s ribs. My stomach lurched as he screamed, the sound mingling with others. His father didn’t see the incident because the wing of the plane detached and flew across the stadium like a Frisbee, catching him and several people with it, including the woman who’d stepped on Jace. It flung them across the field and stopped right smack in the middle of the seats behind where Ingrid and I were seated minutes ago.
I didn’t think Jace’s dad and the woman in heels were going to make it. Jace wasn’t moving. People kept stepping on him, kicking him. Not intentionally. He just happened to be on the ground as everyone was looking up and not watching where they were stepping. Because of my position, I could finally see the name of the airline written in English.
The vision cleared and I found myself seated a fair distance from the players and their parents, who were still at the edge of the field. Ingrid’s arm was around me, and her hand gripped mine. From the way she was seated on the arm of the chair, she was also shielding me from prying eyes.
“You okay?” she whispered.
I stared at her in bemusement. Funny how she’d been the other girl for months. Maliina’s sister. Andris’ Immortal. Now she was becoming not just a friend, but someone I could depend on. I nodded.
“The woman bumped you and you froze, then your eyes started to glow. That was my cue. I caught you before you fell.”
“Fell?”
“Your legs kind of gave out.” She smiled at someone, and I followed her eyes to Torin, who might be talking to the parents, but was keeping us in his line of vision. Usually, Torin didn’t trust anyone to watch over me. Ingrid had gained his trust.
As though she’d heard my thoughts, Ingrid added, “He was ready to take you home, but I told him the team needed him, and he actually listened.” She chuckled. “Men just need a firm voice.”
Or maybe he wanted me to see the entire vision. Our eyes met and I saw the concern dancing in the depths of his. I sat up as though to reassure him I was okay. The problem was I wasn’t. How could I be, when so many were going to die? Jace was going to lose his father, right after losing his mother.
The parents started across the field for the American Express Stadium Club. Andris was missing, so he must have been in charge of food again. Some parents looked at us and warmth crawled up my cheeks. They must think I was a wimp. Today was the second time Torin had deserted their children and ran to my side.
“I want to go home,” I whispered to Torin when he joined us.
He looked at Ingrid and without speaking, she moved away to give us privacy. Torin squatted and studied my face. “You sure?”
I nodded. “I can’t eat with them and act normal when I know what’s going to happen to them. And no, you’re not coming home with me or I will not leave.”
He grinned, stood, and offered me his hand. “Whatever you say.”
Somehow I didn’t think he’d give in that easily. “I mean it, Torin. I’ll be okay.”
“I know.” He glanced at Ingrid who was a few seats away. She smiled at us, shrugged, and went back to studying her fingernails. “She’ll tell me if you’re not. You want to come to the club and create a portal in the restroom, or do you want to do it form here? I can shield you.”
I glanced over his shoulder. The team and their parents were already across the field. The other team had already tucked their tails and left the stadium. Losing sucks.
“Shield us.” I pulled my artavus from inside my boot and created a portal. It opened into my bedroom. But it wasn’t empty.
Eirik was stretched out on my bed fast asleep, one leg dangling to the floor. Torin and I looked at each other.
“Were you expecting him?” Torin asked.
“Yes. I sent Onyx to find him. I’ll explain later.” His eyes didn’t leave Eirik and he opened his mouth to argue. “Please, just feed your team. Oh, the woman that bumped into me before I got my vision?”
“Yes.”
“Find out who she is.”
16. Eirik
Ingrid and I stoo
d at the foot of the bed and studied Eirik. I still couldn’t get over how much he’d changed. His Chex Mix hair was longer and more wavy than curly. The guy I had known was gone. In his place was a mysterious man full of secrets and a body… Wow. He was either on steroids or some magical juice because he seemed taller and more buff. I wasn’t sure how to treat this Eirik. He, on the other hand, still treated my room like his own.
“Damn, he’s hot,” Ingrid said.
I grinned. Eirik used to be lean with a swimmer’s body and was a little on the pale side. Now, he was tanned and buff. His T-shirt had ridden up in his sleep, giving us a view of some serious six-pack.
“Yeah. He’s even prettier.” He’d worn black the last time I saw him. Today, he wore Levis and a T-shirt with a black trench coat.
The first time he’d appeared after visiting Asgard, he’d carried a mace or flail with a spiked round head. When he wasn’t using it, it had coiled around his arm, from his hand to somewhere under his sleeve. I couldn’t recall whether it was his right or left arm. He now had a mace tattooed on his right arm. The handle disappeared between his thumb and forefinger as though he was holding it.
“Aren’t you going to wake him up?” Ingrid asked, walking to the other side of the bed and studying Eirik from a different angle.
“Why? Want an introduction?” I teased her.
“Why not? The first time we met I didn’t know he was a god. I’ve never really met a god before.” She tilted her head to the side and studied him from yet another angle. “He’s changed. A lot.”
“Yes.” Yet in some aspects he hadn’t. He still slept with one arm across his eyes and hogged the bed. Part of me wanted to wake him up, but another part was uneasy.
“You’re just going to stand there?” Ingrid asked.
Before I could respond, Onyx entered the room. Well, not exactly entered. She stopped in the threshold and hissed.
“What, Onyx?”
Get that thing out of our room.
Thing? I was so not in the mood for her drama. I nudged Eirik’s knee. He mumbled something and turned his head sideways toward Ingrid, his hand fell away from his face. He was all skin and muscles, his jawline more defined. He might be eighteen now, but he looked more like he was in his late twenties. I pushed his knee again. Harder.
His eyelids lifted to reveal unfocused amber eyes. Then they sharpened and locked on Ingrid. But instead of saying something, he turned his head and found me.
I swallowed, waiting for, I don’t know, the old Eirik. Or the new, mean Eirik. Or maybe even the evil Eirik. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he swung his feet onto the floor and stood.
“Where’s my hug, funny face?”
I leapt into his arms, tears rushing to my eyes. The old Eirik was back. I hugged him tighter. He chuckled and turned towards Ingrid, his arms not letting me go either.
“Hey, I’m Eirik,” he said.
“Ingrid.”
“Sorry, she’s having a meltdown or I’d shake your hand,” he said, talking about me as though I wasn’t there, still refusing to let him go. “We’ve met before, right?”
“And fought on the same side. I better leave you guys. Raine…” She paused and chuckled. “Tell her I’ll be at the mansion… Oh, your former house. I don’t mean it’s no longer—”
“It’s okay,” Eirik reassured her. There was a draft accompanying the portal opening and closing as she left. Only then did I lean back from Eirik. I still held on to his shirt. Fists of it in case he decided to pull a fast one and disappear again. I was being a girl again and didn’t care. Eirik was back.
“You’re such a drama queen,” he said, wiping the wetness from my face.
“Shut up.” I pushed him until he sat on my bed and sniffled as more tears threatened to fall. “You’re not moving until you tell me everything. And I mean it, starting with your trip to Asgard.”
“Can I get something to eat first? I’m starving.”
I laughed. The old Eirik was definitely back. But I didn’t want to share him with Femi and Mom or even Dad. Not yet.
“Stay here. I’ll get you something. Do not move.” I created a portal and was about to go through when I looked back at him. He was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, his expression serious. He could disappear again.
I walked back and grabbed his hand. “Changed my mind. You’re coming with me.” He chuckled. “Cut that out. I’m not taking chances with you. You have a nasty habit of appearing to play the hero, then disappearing.” Luckily, no one was in the kitchen, but there was a note on the fridge door.
‘Food for you and Eirik in the stove.’
I turned and glanced at Eirik, who was already eating an apple. “How long have you been here?”
“An hour,”—he checked his watch—“and a half.”
“You should have come to find me.” I removed the roast and potatoes from the oven and placed it on the counter.
“You were busy cheering for Torin’s team. Didn’t want to get in the way.” He got up to throw away the apple core and took the plates from my hand. “Besides, I got to catch up with your mother and Femi. And I decided not to eat until you got here.”
“I could have gone to eat with Torin’s team.” I would have if I hadn’t gotten that traumatic vision again.
“I knew you’d be home.” He served himself enough food to feed ten people. “Remember, I’m a Seer just like you.”
I got some food, but it was too early for me to eat, so I ended up watching him shove food in his mouth. He reminded me of Beau.
“So you saw me come home early in a vision?” He grinned and nodded. “Do you also project images to people’s heads?” Not that I thought he was behind the visions I’d been seeing of Torin, but it didn’t hurt to ask. “Do you?”
“I can, but choose not to.”
“Can you tell if there’re Witches in town?”
He swallowed, lifted a finger, and got up for a drink. He removed a bottle of orange juice, twisted the top off, and chugged.
“You’re still as disgusting as ever,” I scolded him, getting him a glass. “Mom will kill you if she finds out you’re drinking her favorite juice from the bottle,” I said.
“She won’t know if you don’t tell her,” he shot back and we both laughed. It was like old times. It didn’t matter how often I warned him and threatened to tell on him, he always chugged from the bottle, unless I served him the drink.
“There’re Witches in town, but they came with me. Why?”
“Someone has been putting visions in my head.”
“What kind?”
Warmth crept onto my face. The visions were too personal to share with him. “Can you see premonitions about yourself?”
“Nope, and my friends know better than to mess with you.”
“They know about me? You mean the Norns didn’t delete their memories?”
Eirik smiled mysteriously and went back to his food. I nibbled mine and watched him instead. He demolished the contents of the plate, then he started on the pie—one of the two Cora had dropped off.
“You know this withholding of information never works with me. I need answers, Eirik, so start talking.”
“I’m still eating,” he complained.
“So talk while you eat. Never stopped you before.”
He shot me an amused look. “You do know I’m a god, right?”
“And you do know I don’t give a shit, right? You’re my best friend. No, my brother and I have…” My voice trembled to a stop. I took a deep breath then finished. “I’ve missed you.”
“Here comes the waterworks,” he mumbled.
I kicked him. “Shut up! I want to know what happened, so I can find a reason to forgive you for putting me through so much grief and crap for the past seven months.”
He leaned back and inhaled deeply. “I’ve been waiting for that.”
“What?” I asked.
“You getting pissed.”
I took a deep breath an
d slowly counted backwards. Yes, I was angry with him and hurt, but this was not the time to bring that up. My eyes went to the tattoo peeking out from under his sleeve. I took his arm and pushed the sleeve back, my eyes following the mace. When I looked up, he was staring at me with sad eyes.
“I’m not mad,” I said.
He snickered.
“Okay, I am pissed and hurt, you jerk. You can’t disappear on me and not even bother to let me know you’re okay. You are a freaking portal away. And I swear, if you ever pull a last minute appearance again and then disappear without talking to me, I will hunt your sorry ass down and make you regret it.” I blew out air. “There. I’m done. Not going to rant and rave again.” His lips twitched as though he was trying not to smile and I pretended not to see it. Instead, I traced his tattoo. In the next second, I dropped his arm like it was a snake and jumped. “It’s alive.”
“Sorry about that. I should have secured it properly.”
“What do you mean?”
“I store it in me.” He pushed the pie aside. “See? Unbond.” He flexed his arm and runes appeared on his skin. The spiked ball of his mace peeled off his skin like a Band Aid. By the time it reached his wrist, it had leapt into his hand. He placed the weapon on the counter.
“How do you do that?”
“Magic. I project it to the mace and will it to meld with me.”
“Nice. Who taught you?”
“The Witches. Everywhere I’ve visited, they’ve come out to meet me and teach me stuff. I’ve made friends across the globe.”
I frowned. “Do they know what you are?”
He nodded, grinning. “That’s why they came when I called.”
He didn’t seem too worried about the laws or hiding the existence of the Norse Pantheon from Mortals. Or maybe that didn’t apply to the gods. “How was Asgard?”
Witches (Runes series Book 6) Page 26
