I went to check out the T-shirts and smiled at some of the writings while Echo walked to Tammy. Raine might like them. I chose two and glanced over my shoulder to find Echo with Tammy. He was talking to her, while she studied me with a weird expression.
A door to my right opened, and a girl with flawless brown skin and curly hair with natural blonde highlights stepped out. A memory teased me and disappeared. Her eyes lit up when she saw Echo. How exactly did they know each other?
I moved closer, feeling a little jealous. I frowned. The perfume she wore was familiar, too, and her eyes lit up as though she was happy to see me.
“Hi, Cora,” she said.
“Hi. Have we met before?” I asked.
Something flickered in her eyes, but it disappeared so fast I couldn’t tell what it was. “I’ve heard so much about you and Raine.”
“From?”
“Celestia.”
I rubbed my temple. Another name that sounded familiar. Maybe Raine had mentioned them in passing. “Who is Celestia?”
She frowned and glanced at Echo. “Eirik’s girlfriend and my best friend,” she said, speaking slowly as though regretting mentioning them.
“Eirik has a girlfriend?” I punched Echo on the arm. “Why didn’t you tell me? No, don’t answer that. Whatever happens in Helheim stays in Helheim. Stupid rule. Nice to meet you, Hayden, and you too, Tammy.” The older woman smiled, but her eyes were still wary. My habit of always carrying an ID and a credit card paid off. “Can I buy these?”
“Take them,” Tammy said.
I tried to protest.
“Don’t bother,” Hayden said. “Once she makes up her mind, there’s no changing it. You haven’t spoken to Eirik?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t seen him in months. Well, except on Saturday when he sent his pet hound to help us get rid of dark souls.”
“Garm?”
“Yes. He’s become very secretive. I doubt he’s told Raine about Celestia or I’d know. ”
Hayden pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at Echo. “So you haven’t spoken to Eirik either since last week?”
“No. When we returned to Eljudnir, they packed up and left for Asgard. I have no idea when they’ll be back.”
Hayden blew out a breath. “Okay. Mom said you wanted to talk. Um, we could use our back office or go upstairs to our apartment.”
“I have a better idea,” Echo said. “We can go to our place. I promised to listen to Dev’s ramblings while you two talk. Can we use your back office to open a portal?”
Hayden nodded. “Sure. This way.”
“Pass my regards to your mother, Cora,” Tammy said. “She was very nice to me when I was recovering.” I stared at her for a brief moment, too shocked to react. Of course, she’d know the Jemisons. They were all Immortals.
I nodded and followed Hayden into a room with a round table. Echo opened a portal to the cottage. Dev was pacing impatiently when we entered the room and stopped. There was something different about him. He spread his arms and turned around.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
He palmed his face and slithered into the TV. It flickered on, and his image appeared on the screen in front of the logos. His eyes went to Hayden and stayed on her.
“It’s rude to stare, Dev,” I said.
“Sorry, but she is exquisite, and I never forget a face. Have we met?”
“No, you haven’t. Let’s go, smokey,” Echo said rudely. “They want to be alone.”
“Sometimes I wonder what Cora sees in you, Brother. You are an ass on a good day and a piss poor excuse for a Druid on a bad day. Introduce us.”
Echo shot Dev a venomous look. Echo was proud of his heritage, and for anyone to question it was like waving a red flag to a bull.
“You will be taking that back before the day is over, Brother,” Echo said, imitating Dev’s beautiful Irish accent. Then he gave us his heart-melting smile. “What do you ladies want to drink? I can mix something at the bar or head to the nearest Starbucks.”
“Water is fine,” Hayden said. She was still staring at Dev. “I’m Hayden Ferrand.”
“Devyn Graenenson, but everyone calls me Dev.”
“Do you only possess electronics, Dev?”
“No. I possess people too, but I’m one of the good guys, so don’t frown. I help the dying or those in comas. I possess them and give them some of my energy so they can communicate with their families, which is why I look this amazing. Notice anything different about me, doll-face?” he asked, glancing at me. He spread his arms, and his small image turned a circle on the screen.
“Your energy is clearer,” I said. “How many people have you helped this week?”
“A lot. I lost count after the woman who cursed her sons for faking sadness and told them she made a new will so they weren’t getting a dime. Then there was the man who confused his wife of forty years for his mistress. Did I mention that Mortals are horrible beings? They made me wish I’d never volunteered to help them. I’ll leave you two ladies so I can talk to my brother before heading out again. I have a personal deadline.” He winked at us and floated out of the TV.
Echo brought us drinks—water for Hayden and root beer for me—then joined Dev. He closed the door behind him.
“You must lead quite an interesting life,” Hayden said.
“It’s been quite a ride, but with Echo by my side, nothing seems impossible. He and Dev go way back to their childhood.”
“I didn’t know reapers could deliberately not reap souls.”
“Usually souls who don’t want to be reaped run, which is what Dev did. When he came to me, he was a mass of smoke with barely any shape, but then I learned about his history with Echo and that he was redeeming himself by helping the dying, and I chose to help him.” I glanced toward the closed door.
I returned to studying her, the feeling of déjà vu growing stronger. Everything about her—her mannerism, her voice, even the riotous curls with blond highlights—was familiar.
“So what’s going on?” Hayden asked. “Echo said you want to know more about my life. Instead, you are staring and frowning.”
“Sorry. You look so familiar, and not knowing where we’ve met is driving me crazy.”
“Maybe our paths crossed when we were young. You heard Mom. She knows your mother. We moved around a lot. That was our life, and the life of other orphans I knew. Mom took odd jobs here and there, got us a place to stay until the Immortals after us were sighted. Then, one of the parents took the kids into hiding while the rest acted as decoys.”
“That’s so sad. Did you ever have friends growing up?”
“No. Even though we moved a lot, we didn’t live together as a group. The combined magical energy would have attracted the attention of the Immortals after us. A very evil giantess marked some of us, so we were always aware of each other. I could go to a new school and pick out the orphans based on that connection. So no, I never made lasting relationships until Mom opened TC in Windfall and I met Celestia.”
“What is this connection?”
“A thread of energy connecting us.”
I wondered if I had it. “Did you always know you were adopted?”
“Yes, and it’s not because I’m biracial,” she added, grinning. “Mom told me when a kid in kindergarten pointed out my skin and said it was different from Mom’s, and that I must be someone else’s baby. I went home crying. Mom likes to say I chose her. She’d tell me how most kids don’t get to choose their parents, but I took one look at her and smiled, and”—Hayden chuckled—“she knew she was meant to be my mother. She took me home and never looked back once.” Hayden twisted the lid off her bottle and sipped the water. “And I’d never trade her for another.”
My parents’ faces flashed in my head. They’d chosen me among all the other children, and that meant something. I tried to imagine my life with somebody else, but I couldn’t.
“But constantly moving must have been hard,” I said.
“It sucked. But when we weren’t moving, we had fun. Things just got crazy the last few months with the evil Immortals.” The light in her eyes dimmed. “The evil giantess who marked us was powerful, and some of us were weak and fell prey to her grandiose plans. Yet here we are.”