Runes: Immortals - Runes: Immortals Part 27
Library

Runes: Immortals Part 27

"Quit drooling," Cora said from the other side of the counter. I hadn't seen her enter the kitchen.

"Shut up."

"Just sayin'. Ready to leave?"

"Yep." She said something, but I didn't hear it. I was busy watching Torin say his goodbyes. I wasn't sure what he said, but Dad stood and shook his hand. Mom got up and gave him a hug. As though he felt my eyes on him, he glanced toward the kitchen and smirked.

"Still drooling," Cora said when I turned.

"Yeah, shoot me. I hope you don't mind if we go in his SUV."

"That's okay. I'll pick up my car later." She headed back into the dining room to get her purse, totally ignored Eirik, and walked out of the room. Eirik watched her every movement, his jaw tense.

I sighed. This could end up being a very long night. "Are you coming?"

He jumped to his feet. "I'll take my Jeep and follow you guys. I'm not letting Jaden anywhere near her again."

I wanted to shake him. "Don't tell me that. Tell her." I pointed in the direction Cora had gone.

"Why, so she can throw it in my face? She's impossible to have a conversation with."

They were both impossible. I gave Dad a kiss, hugged Mom, and said bye to Eirik's parents. Andris, Ingrid, and Lavania must have left with Torin. Outside, Torin pulled up to the entrance of my driveway and opened the front passenger door. He'd also gotten rid of his shirt and dinner jacket and replaced it with a T-shirt and his leather jacket.

Eirik hopped into his Jeep, which was parked in our driveway. He'd been the first one to arrive. I got in the car. Behind me, Cora stared at Eirik through the window. I could tell she was frustrated. She was in the middle seat, while Ingrid and Andris sat in the back.

"He's going to follow us," I reassured Cora.

She harrumphed. "Why?"

"You'll have to ask him."

Andris leaned forward and rested his arms along the back of Cora's seat as Torin looped the cul-de-sac and took off. "So you and golden boy are together?"

"No, we're not," Cora snapped.

"Ooh, the lady doth protest too much, methinks," he said, quoting Shakespeare's Hamlet. He leaned back against his seat and smirked. "I guess Cupid must intervene again."

That wasn't a bad idea.

"No, he can't," Torin said. "Stay out of their relationship, Andris."

"Hey, I'm good. If I fixed them, I could ask for anything. Maybe a few centuries in Asga-"

"Shut up, Andris!" Torin warned in a voice I'd never heard him use before, and it stopped Andris. Cora wore a bewildered expression. She had no idea what Andris almost gave away.

"You told him?" I asked Torin.

"No, I didn't. Probably Lavania. I'll talk to him about keeping a lid on things."

Torin pulled up outside The Hub. By the time he walked to the passenger side of the car, Eirik had parked beside us. The Hub was a video store, but it also sold books, comics, and manga, and had a cafe. From the number of vehicles in parking lot, it was packed.

"Drop them off and come back for me," I said. "I should be done in fifteen to twenty minutes."

"I'm not leaving you alone with them," Torin whispered in an uncompromising tone.

"I'll be fine."

"I don't trust them."

"Me neither, but they're too worried about-" I indicated Eirik with a nod, "to try to pull something."

Torin's eyes narrowed stubbornly. "No. I'll give you space to talk to them, but I'm coming inside."

The back passenger door opened, and Andris stared at us. "What's the hold up?"

Torin dangled the car keys. "You go ahead and get us tickets. We'll join you in a few minutes."

"Why?" Cora protested, peering at us from behind Andris.

"I need to buy something," I said. "It's a surprise for my, uh, Dad. We'll be there before the movie starts, Cora. I promise." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she nodded.

How we were going to get to the theater was going to be a problem now that Torin insisted on coming with me. Pigheaded man. Andris stepped out of the car, closed the door, and crossed his arms. He was no longer smiling.

"Okay, you two. The truth or I'm not driving anyone anywhere."

Torin's eyes narrowed. "Stop being an ass."

Andris smirked. "Still not going."

I closed my eyes in annoyance. Andris was like a child sometimes, and Torin only egged him on. "Fine. The Norns came to my house, and I'm supposed to meet them," I whispered, looked at my watch, and added, "Like right now."

Andris shuddered. "Ooh, nasty hags. Good luck with that." He ran around to the driver's side and took off.

Torin laughed.

"Did you say Norns?" Eirik asked, stepping out of his Jeep instead of following Andris.

"Yes. I've got to go." I started for The Hub.

"Wait," Eirik called. "I want to ask them a few things."

I turned. "No, Eirik. Don't. Stay away from them."

He shot me a look that said he was coming whether I liked it or not, but Torin gripped his arm and cut him off. "She talks to them first, Seville. We'll make sure they're not up to their old tricks, but you don't join them until Raine's done."

Eirik yanked his arm from Torin's grip and snarled, "Who do you think you're talking to, St. James?"

"Ease up, man."

Convinced Torin would stop Eirik, I raced across the parking lot and entered the video store, almost bumping into a couple standing too close to the door.

"Excuse me," I mumbled and hurried past them. Not sure where to start searching for Marj and her girls, I looked around. Two lines of customers waited to check out. Directly ahead, a mother was losing a battle against her daughter over cotton candy. Beside them, a couple of girls giggled over the CD cover of their latest idols.

"There you are," Marj said, appearing beside me.

She was alone. I hated talking to her. I would much rather deal with Catie. "Where's Catie?"

"Waiting for young Eirik to enter the building. You shouldn't have brought him with you. Come on. Follow me." She led me toward the back of the store, where picture books were displayed. It was empty this time of the night. She reached inside her jacket, pulled out a leather sheath, and offered it to me. "Take it."

My eyes volleyed between the sheath and her face. "What is that?"

"The special artavus we talked about. You will need it."

I took a step back, anger slamming through me. "I want to talk to Catie."

"Take the dagger, Lorraine," Marj insisted. "Young Eirik has darkness inside him that will infect everyone around him and start something no one can control. Mortals will feel whatever he feels, only magnified. If he's angry, everyone will be filled with rage. If he's envious, everyone around him will experience murderous jealousy. His darkness will consume this town."

I stared at her with round eyes. No wonder the people at Cliff House had gone ballistic. He had infected everyone with rage. Was it because I'd left with Torin or was it because Cora had flirted with the jocks?

"He cannot be allowed to live if the darkness takes over."

"NO!" I shouted, and a few people peered at us from behind the shelves. I ignored them and leaned toward Marj. "I will never willingly hurt Eirik. I don't care if he becomes a murderous monster or the devil incarnate. Never. I'll find a way to help him."

"Raine! You okay?"

I looked behind me. Torin stood a few feet away, runes glowing on his face and hands, eyes flashing. I nodded, too pissed to answer him.

He extended his hand. "If you want to leave now, we'll leave."

"Stay out of this, Valkyrie," Marj snarled.

Torin's jaw clenched, but his eyes didn't shift from me. "Raine?"

"I'm fine. She's just testing me."

Torin continued to study me. "Fine, but I'll be by the CDs if you need me."

The CD racks were at the end of aisle and visible from where I stood. Having him that close was reassuring. Marj glared at him as he strolled away. He stopped by the first rack, leaned against the wall, and crossed his arms. His stance said he wasn't going anywhere.

"Foolish, Valkyrie. He didn't learn anything when we erased his memories. I should have sent him to Hel's Hall. Maybe I will if he continues to defy me."

Panic rolled through me, but I refused to show it to this petty and vindictive hag. "I'm sure he knows just how powerful you are, but he's more concerned about my safety right now."

Marj's head whipped toward me. Her eyes narrowed as though she was trying to see if I was being disrespectful. Cold crawled under my skin, and I shivered.

"This isn't a test, Lorraine," Marj said. "Eirik cannot be saved. When the time is right, you will have to kill him."

"Never," I said.

Her eyes glowed eerily. "You're an insolent child. Saving your life was the worst mistake we ever made. A total waste of time and runes."

That hurt. "So why did you?"

"We thought you'd save the boy, but from the looks of things, you've failed." She shoved the artavus at me again. "Take it."

I ignored the knife. "How was I supposed to save him? Maybe I can still do it."

She snorted, and for a moment, I was sure she'd refuse to answer. "It's too late, but I'll explain. Eirik comes from a powerful family."

"I know. He's Odin's grandson."

"Not just that side of the family. I'm talking about his mother's side."

"Who is she?"

Her eyes hardened. "It doesn't matter who she is. Do not interrupt me again," she snapped. "His mother comes from a dark family, and that darkness runs through Eirik. We saw the future, where he leads the enemies of the gods in the destruction of Asgard and the inhabitants of other realms, including Earth."

"Ragnarok, the war between the giants and the gods," I said before I could stop myself.

Her eyes glowed, but she didn't snap at me this time. "Yes. In our vision, we saw a war started, not by Baldur's death, but by his child. A boy born to hatred, nursed on anger, and raised in darkness. A boy with a heart so cold even the Norns trembled in his presence."

No wonder they hadn't tried to take Eirik away. They were scared of him. She looked over my shoulder and grimaced. I turned to see what held her attention. Torin had moved closer, his eyes not leaving us. I wondered how much he'd heard.

Marj continued to glare at Torin, who stared right back. Her eyes acquired that chilling, spooky light. "We chose a different path for the boy when we took him from his mother and brought him to Earth to be raised among humans. Instead of darkness, we wanted him surrounded by light. Instead of hate and anger, we wanted him to experience love, find joy and happiness. Warmth was supposed to replace the coldness in his heart. It hasn't."

"That's not true," I said, my heart pounding with dread. "Eirik is the most loving, most giving, and warmest person I know."

"Yet his essence has dimmed since we first made contact with you."

Maybe it was their fault Eirik was changing. Even as the thought flashed through my head, I knew it wasn't true. Last year, we'd studied Tempest by William Shakespeare in English lit and discussed what shaped a person's behavior and character. Heredity and the environment all played a part. Maybe the darkness inside Eirik had been waiting all these years to crawl out. "How can I help him?"

"Catie thinks you can." She said it as though it was unlikely.

"Catie also thinks someone is helping the darkness."

"She is wrong. Just like she's wrong about you. I don't think you have it in you to help the boy. Both you and your mother have failed the boy."

I bristled. "My mother?"

"Despite your mother's tendency to ignore rules, she's a very giving woman. Your father has proven himself to be a noble man, too. The plan was to have them be Eirik's guardians. No one would have thought of looking for him at the home of a fallen Valkyrie. But by the time we arrived, your mother was pregnant and desperate to have you. Losing you would have devastated them, changed them, and maybe even made it impossible for them to want or love another child. So we helped your mother through the rest of her pregnancy and made sure you both survived. We placed the boy with an Immortal couple and made sure they understood he was to be raised as close to your family as possible. The love from your parents to you was supposed to naturally flow to young Eirik."

Everything made sense now. Eirik living next door to us. My parents' relationship with his. His parents probably "traveled" a lot so Eirik could spend most of his childhood at our house. I'd just assumed they were cold and indifferent. "It did."

"So you say," Marj said.

"You don't know him the way I do," I insisted. "He's going through something right now. That's all. Once everything is sorted out, he'll be fine. If something is drawing this, uh, darkness out, I'll be there to help him."

"Don't believe everything Catie tells you. There's nothing messing with the boy. The darkness is coming out of him like a web out of a spider. But if you want to help..."