Runes: Immortals - Runes: Immortals Part 38
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Runes: Immortals Part 38

I hurried back to the sink, aware that Eirik had gotten up to help me clear the table. I knew he was after revenge, so I shuffled away, ripped sheets of paper towel, and went to wipe the table.

"Goodnight, Dad... Mom." I raced for the stairs.

I was checking to see if Torin was back when Eirik entered the room.

"I can't believe you kicked me in front of your parents," he griped, planting his sneakered foot on my gold and brown duvet and lifting the leg of his pants. "It's swelling."

His foot was fine. "I didn't kick you that hard. Besides, I'm wearing sandals, you baby. Quit putting dirt on my covers. So what's your verdict on Dad? Did he seem sickly to you?"

"He seemed fine." Eirik walked to the other side of the bed, pulled out the pullout bed, stole half my pillows, and plopped on it. "I mean, he's still thin, but he seemed okay. Where's Torin tonight?" he asked.

I glanced out the window one last time and dropped on my bed. I scooted to the edge of the bed, so I could see Eirik's face while we talked. "The players had dinner at the coach's tonight."

"So you two already sleep together?"

"He stays until I fall asleep then goes home."

"I mean, you know, before you fall asleep. Do you have sex?"

My cheeks warmed. I couldn't believe he just came right out and asked me. "That's none of your business."

He grinned. "So you haven't. But he's buttering you up with gifts." He picked up the delicate hand blown glass of a rainbow twirling around a clear arched piece. One base was the northern hemisphere of Earth and the other a land with tall buildings grouped together on top of a stone mountain. Torin had surprised me with the piece after our trip to the waterfalls, and I loved it.

"Be careful with that." I took it from Eirik's hand and put it back. "And he doesn't need to butter me up."

"You know what that is?"

"Bifrost, the rainbow bridge connecting Asgard to Earth."

"No, I mean it is a signature piece. Mom collects them, so I know they cost thousands of dollars. He's definitely buying his way into your pants."

"Shut up." I hit him with a pillow. He yanked it from my hands and placed it behind his neck.

"How are your lessons with the Valkyrie?"

Grateful for the change in topic, I didn't reprimand him for calling Lavania the Valkyrie. "Great. I have runes now. Watch this."

I visualized Goddess Freya's rune and a tingle started on my forehead, the feeling of well-being coursing through me. I didn't have to look in the mirror to know I had Freya's rune on my forehead. I added Odin's on my right cheek, Thor's on my left, and Tiw's, the god of justice, on my chest.

Eirik sat up, his eyes wide.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"Beautiful." He reached up and touched my forehead. "They make you look, I don't know, unworldly."

"I have more." I focused on the runes of virtues. The beautiful etches spread on my arms like roots of a giant tree.

"That's a lot," Eirik said with awe.

"I etched them the last two days. I still have to add coded ones." He gave me a blank stare. "Bind runes. You know, two or more single runes combined to form a new one? Never mind," I added when he still wore a clueless expression. "They're gorgeous, powerful, and tailor-made for specific purposes. Lavania is really good. You should train with her, too."

A thoughtful expression settled on his face as though he was thinking about it. He shook his head and plopped back on his pillows. "Nah."

I let the runes fade. "Why don't you like her?"

"She was rude to Cora the first day we met."

"Are you sure? Cora told me she was nice."

"Cora was just being polite. Lavania was dismissive when she talked to her and did it with that condescending smile. What else have you learned?"

"History of Immortals, Valkyries, the gods, and, of course, Norns." By the time I finished explaining, he wore a preoccupied expression. "I showed you mine, so now show me yours." I sat up and stared at him expectantly.

He grinned and hooked his thumb under the waistband of his jeans. "Really?"

"You're disgusting. I meant runes."

He laughed. "Promise you won't be jealous?"

I rolled my eyes. "Quit procrastinating."

They appeared first on his face. He had Odin's on his forehead like Torin, and Goddess Frigg's, Odin's wife-or, should I say, Eirik's grandmother-on his right cheek. The one on his left cheek was unfamiliar. "Whose is that?"

"I don't know. My father's, I think," he mumbled, his cheeks acquiring a pink tint. Then like he'd opened a floodgate, runes inked his arms. There were so many of them. I recognized some, but the majority were new to me. Some were visible on his collar, which meant he had more.

"Remove your shirt," I said.

He threw me an incredulous look. "I'm not removing my shirt."

"I've seen you shirtless countless times, bonehead."

"Yeah, that was before you made out with Mr. Perfect Body next door," he retorted.

I giggled. "I'll tell him you're crushing on him... No, I'll tell Andris." I wiggled my brow. "He's bisexual."

Eirik sat up. "No way."

"Yes way. He's dating some guy right now. Roger. Really pretty. Wears diamond studs." I gawked when Eirik pulled off his shirt. "Whoa, that's a lot of runes. Did you etch all of them?"

He shook his head. "No. They just appeared, and every day I get more."

"What did your parents say about them?"

"Nothing. I mean, I haven't shown them. Do you think deities pass runes through their blood to their children?"

"That's possible."

"I guess mine came from my father and my mother, whoever she is or was." He reached for his shirt, which had dropped on the floor, and I saw his back.

My eyes widened, and it wasn't because of the runes. The scars he'd had as a child were back, just like Cora had said. They were even uglier than I remembered. Something else registered. I recognized virtues runes on his body, but they were upside down or faced the opposite direction. I checked the ones on his face and arms again. Even Odin's was opposite. I should have noticed that right away. What did that mean?

"Well?" he asked.

"Your runes are drawn wrong. They're, like, facing the opposite direction."

Eirik stood and walked to the mirror. I followed, visualizing my runes. By the time I stood beside him, runes coiled on my skin. We compared the familiar ones.

"Why are mine different?" he asked, but he didn't seem concerned.

I studied the ones on his back. "I don't know. When did they start appearing?"

"Right after the meet when the swimmers died."

"And the scars?"

"Friday night."

Friday night was the first time he shifted into his other, evil form. I winced, hating that I always referred to his Hulk persona as evil. I loved Hulk. He was my third favorite superhero after Thor and Iron Man. As I watched, the runes disappeared and so did the scars, leaving his back flushed. Were the runes and the scars connected? He pulled on his T-shirt and started for the bed, but I caught his arm.

"What?" he asked.

"I think we should talk to Lavania about your runes and scars."

CHAPTER 21. POISONED.

Eirik yanked his arm from my hand and gave a brief laugh. "Hel no!"

"Eirik, you have weird runes. That can't be good. If you won't talk to your parents-"

"I'm not discussing my problems with that Valkyrie," he snapped.

"Just because she doesn't like Cora?"

"She treated Cora like she was nothing. Someone beneath her."

I closed my eyes. I loved Cora, too, but he was being stubborn over nothing. "Then ask her to apologize or something." He made a face, walked back to the pullout bed, and sat. Seriously, he could be a real pain sometimes. "Why the double standards? You're not nice to Cora most of the time, hurt her every time you surround yourself with other simpletons, yet you refused to forgive Lavania."

"That's different." He scrubbed his face and glared at me. "I'm protecting Cora from me. My other self. Once all this blows over, I plan to ask her out." His cheeks grew pink. "Lavania thinks Cora is not good enough for me. Who does she think she is?"

"A powerful Valkyrie with an amazing knowledge of runes." I closed my eyes and exhaled. She also needed to control her mouth. Being a senior Valkyrie didn't give her the right to say whatever she pleased. "Let me talk to her. I won't mention your name or-"

"No." He jumped up, runes appearing on his body. "This is my problem, Raine. I'll deal with it."

"We're in this together. The Norns asked me to protect you."

He bowed. "Then I release you from your obligations." He walked toward me, smirking. "You have a new life as an Immortal. Enjoy it."

"You know I can't do that when you have this thing hanging over your head."

"Over my head, not yours."

"Semantics. You and I-"

"Don't!" The mirror dissolved into a portal. Instead of the warmth I often felt whenever Torin created a portal, a frigid draft shot across the room. I shivered. "Don't talk to anyone about the scars or my runes. And FYI, I'm not attending the swim meet on Saturday. Seeing Cora screws with my head."

"Then talk to her. Explain why-"

"No!"

"Oh, you're so annoying." I was seriously contemplating kicking his deity behind. "And don't you dare interrupt me mid-sentence or I swear... I love you, Eirik, but your stubbornness drives me nuts. You are family, and family sticks together through thick and-"

"Family?" He turned and faced me, eyes narrowed. "Just because you throw that word around doesn't make us a family, Raine. Let's be honest here. You are a Cooper. I'm not. You have two loving parents who'd do anything for you. Mine couldn't care less what happened to me, so they dumped me here. Hel, I'm not even human. So yeah, stay out of my business. This monkey on my back and upside down runes are things I inherited from my parents. This is my problem. My family problem, so stay out of it." His eyes became unfocused the way they did whenever he shifted. The same demented, evil smile curling his lips, he turned and stepped through the portal.

Hurt rained down on me. I stood there and stared at him. The portal opened into his bedroom, which was huge enough to sleep the entire swim team. He'd been part of my family his whole life. I never cared that he was loaded and pampered and impossible when he didn't get his way. He was like the brother I never had. An annoying brother. How dare he disown me? I didn't care whether his Hulk persona came out to play. I was going to slap him into Asgard.

I started forward, intent on following him. He whipped around and stared at me with a hard expression. I froze. Then something registered. The glaze that had covered his amber eyes was gone. Could he control the shift? I know I hadn't imagined it.

"Eirik?" The portal started to seal from his side, the swirling gray mass filling the short hallway, a chilling draft of air sweeping past me. "Eirik!" I gripped the frame of the mirror and stared helplessly as the gateway closed. The last thing I saw was his smile. It had grown sad. Frustrated, I wanted to scream. I needed to learn how to create portals. No, I needed...

Torin. Where was he?

The portal opened again with a warm breeze, and Torin walked into my room. "What is it? What happened?"

"Eirik..." My throat burned, making speech difficult. Torin wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face in his neck.

"You're shaking. What did he do?" He looped his arm under my knees, effortlessly lifting me up. He reached the bed and sat me on his lap. "Deity or not, I'm going to make him sorry he hurt you."

I shook my head, tears racing down my face. I couldn't believe I was crying, but no matter how hard I tried to stop, I couldn't. There was a knock at the door. It opened and closed, but when I looked over, there was no one there.

I wiped my cheeks. "Who-"

"Your mother." Torin wiped the wetness from my cheeks, his eyes probing. "What happened?"

"I hate Eirik," I ground out.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do." I scrambled off his lap and paced. He got comfortable, piling pillows behind him on the headboard and crossing his arms.

I started talking and didn't stop until I finished with, "I know I should be happy he can control the shift, but all I can think about right now is the things he said. When this is over, I'm going to make him so sorry he won't forget for millennia. I don't need this from him now." Tears rushed to my eyes again, and I blinked hard to stop them. "Dad looks like he has some debilitating disease. You healed him after that fall, but he looks worse instead of better. And to top it all, Lavania told me to choose between my training and Cora. What kind of crap is that? I thought she was nice and sweet, and she's morphed into this imperial high priestess trainer from Hel's Mist. I need-"