Runes

16. A SURPRISE

How could she not remember Torin? I glanced at Marj and her Norn buddies. Their expressions were watchful as though daring me to confess.

“Toe ring,” I improvised and shrugged when Cora gave me a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding look. “It was special. They came to the hospital when I was sick and stole everything from me.”

I didn’t know whether I convinced them or not, but I couldn’t eat after that. I munched on an apple without tasting it. What was I thinking challenging Norns? Especially after Andris had told me no one got away with it. I was tempted to glance over my shoulder at their table to see what they were doing. Since I didn’t dare, I forced myself to listen to Cora whine about the meet with our archrivals, Jesuit High and Lake Oswego. Would the Norns strike then?

“With our luck, we’ll lose and be thoroughly humiliated,” she said.

Eirik didn’t say much, but he kept glancing at me. I could tell he was worried.

“So what was that about a toe ring? I’ve never seen you wear one before,” he said as he walked me to my next class.

I tried to smile and act nonchalant even though he’d probably see through my lie, which meant I had to distract him. “Dad bought it for my birthday and left it with Mom. Did the cops ever find the person behind the blackout at L.A. Connection?”

Eirik shook his head. “No. The investigation hit a dead end.”

“Do you remember how people got out of the club?”

“Someone broke down the doors. The bouncers or cops, I don’t remember.”

Torin had saved them, I wanted to remind him. Andris hadn’t lied. The Norns had wiped everyone’s memories. “When I hurt myself last weekend, were we hanging out at my house?”

“No, my old house. It was a dumb idea to have party there to begin with. Why are you asking me all these questions? You still don’t remember?”

I shook my head. “No, but I keep hoping.”

Outside my next class, Eirik tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear, the gesture so Torin’s that my heart squeezed. “Listen, the editorial team is meeting after school,” he said, “but I’ll only stay for about five minutes, so wait for me.”

“Okay. Think you can give me a ride to the pool, too? I want to watch the Gold and Crimson showdown.”

“Sure.” He bent down, kissed me gently on the lips, and took off. I stared after him and sighed. Part of me wanted to finish things with him, but part of me was reluctant to let him go. I needed him now more than ever. Maybe Andris had been right. Maybe I was holding on to Eirik and his love for me in case Torin didn’t come back. What did that make me? Selfish?

Focusing in each class became difficult as the hours passed. I couldn’t stop worrying about Marj and her friends. Would they go after my friends tonight at the meet? What could I do to stop them? I cringed when the bell rang. For the first time in days, I hated that school was over.

Since I couldn’t carry my heavy backpack with all of the books, I made several trips to and from my locker to the front of the school, carrying a few books at a time. I was in the band room picking up my oboe when I felt the now familiar suffocating coldness and froze. Slowly, I turned.

Marj, Catie, and Jeannette stood just inside the room. Jeannette, who was closest to the door, waved her hand and the door closed on its own as though she’d pushed it. Then they just stood there, staring, waiting. Waiting for what? My heart pounded with fear.

“What do you want?” I asked with false bravado.

“You,” Marj said coldly. I swallowed against the fear threatening to overwhelm me when she stepped forward and the others followed. “We don’t take kindly to snooty, smart-alecky, little girls threatening us.”

“Especially when they think they know what’s good for them better than we do,” Jeannette added.

My first instinct was to run, but they stood between me and the door. Behind me was a window. Could I throw the oboe and crash it? They do it in movies. No, I was standing my ground. My grip tightened on the case’s handle, my heart pounding.

“You’ve taken people I love from me,” I said, my voice shaking. “First my father, now Torin.”

“Your father?” Catie asked, her eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

“He’s been gone for months, and we don’t know whether he’s alive or dead.”

Catie glanced at the other two. They shrugged indifferently.

Anger surged through me. “He might not mean anything to you, but he has people who love him and want him back.”

“Let me guess, you?” Jeannette said with a cruel smile.

I really didn’t like this Norn. She was right behind Marj on my hate list. The jury was still out on Catie. “Yes. Me, my mother, and Eirik.”

“Eirik?” Catie asked.

“Don’t start celebrating yet,” Jeannette snapped and glared at her.

“Sourpuss,” Catie muttered.

“Crone,” Jeannette retorted.

“Girls, focus!” Marj snapped then glared at me. “We don’t negotiate with Mortals.”

“Or Immortals,” Jeannette said. “What makes you think we would with you?”

Catie’s laugh echoed around the room. The other two glared at her.

“I’ll give you what you want in exchange for Torin’s punishment and bringing my father home,” I said.

“What could you possibly have that we would want?” Marj asked.

“Me.” A fierce intensity entered their eyes, and I shivered. “Torin saved me when I was supposed to die, and it’s obvious that’s what you want. If I go with you, it makes what he did null and void.” My voice grew stronger. “So take me, and let him go.”

“How does she know—?”

Marj raised her hand and cut off Jeannette. “She doesn’t. She’s guessing, but we’ll see if she’s willing to go through with it.” She angled her head. “Someone’s coming. Let’s go.”

They grew hazy until I could see through them. Then they disappeared. My legs gave out under me, and I sat on the nearest chair just as one of the custodial workers walked in.

“You okay, miss?” he asked.

“Yes, thanks.” I clasped my oboe against my chest and left the room, surprised my legs could carry me. Eirik was pacing the front hall when I arrived. During our walk to his Jeep, he talked about a Trojan Gazette special edition they planned to print. I must have made appropriate responses because he didn’t ask if I was okay.

I slouched in my seat and got lost in my screwed up world as Eirik started the engine. A month ago I was just your average teenager. Now I had a date with death. A date I’d made. For the guy I loved. Eirik didn’t say much during the drive home, until he turned onto my cul-de-sac. “Looks like my parents found a new tenant.”

My eyes flew to Torin’s house, and I sat up, my heart tripping. A moving van stood in the driveway, blocking the entrance to the garage door. I couldn’t tell whether the motorcycle was inside the garage or not.

Torin. Please, let him be home.

I jumped out of the Jeep before Eirik switched off the engine. “When are you picking me up?”

“I was planning on waiting for you, then going to my place and picking up my stuff.” He stepped out of the car, lifted my backpack from the backseat, and noticed I was staring at Torin’s place. He followed my gaze, his expression puzzled. “You’ve met your new neighbors?”

“No, but, uh, could you just pick me up after you collect your swim stuff? I have to do some of the exercises the doctor recommended. You know, for my wacky memories.” I made a goofy face, picked up my oboe, and raced toward the house.

“Whoa, slow down.” He ran after me and wrapped his arm around my waist. “I’m happy to see the sparkle back in your eyes, Ms. Wacky Memories.” He planted a kiss on my temple. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes, and you’d better still be smiling. I’ve missed the way your face crunches up when you smile.”

“That’s insulting.” I unlocked the door. “My face doesn’t…” Something familiar prickled my senses as I stepped into the foyer. A scent. Footsteps. “Mom? What are you doing home…?”

A tall man appeared in the doorway of the study.

“Dad?” The oboe fell from my hand. I closed my eyes, praying I wasn’t imagining him, then opened them just as fast. He was still there, smiling, walking toward me. I flew across the room, straight into his arms. He groaned and laughed when he almost lost his balance.

“It’s okay, my little warrior,” he murmured into my hair.

I didn’t know how long he held me while I cried before I leaned back and looked at him. “Where were you? We were worried and scared. I almost gave up, but Mom…” She stood behind him in the doorway, her hand covering her mouth, tears running down her face. “She never gave up. Never doubted you’d come back. You lost weight.”

He laughed and pressed a kiss on my forehead. “And you climbed your tree without waiting for me to catch you. Thank you for taking care of her while I was gone, son,” he added and extended a hand toward Eirik, who was still standing in the entry with a stupefied expression on his face.

“It wasn’t easy, so it’s good to have you home, sir.” They did their manly hug. It was great to have Dad back. It was a miracle, or maybe not. The Norns must have responded to my threat, which meant Torin was back, too. Telling them goodbye was going to be painful.

“Where was he, Mom?” I asked.

“A commercial fishing boat rescued him from the ocean. He’s been unconscious all this time at a hospital in, uh, somewhere in Central America.”

“But it’s been months. Why didn’t they call the airline? The police? The crash made international news.”

“Sweetie.” She cupped my face. “I’m sure the people on the boat had their reasons for not wanting the police involved, but he’s home now and that’s all that matters.” Mom kissed my forehead, patted my cheek, and went to pick up my oboe from the floor. “Were you two going somewhere?”

“A swim meet,” Eirik said, glancing at me. “Do you still want me to pick you up?”

“No. I want to talk to Dad first.” Then go to Torin’s.

“No, pumpkin,” Dad interrupted. “Go with Eirik. I’ll be here when you come back.”

“But I want to know what happened and…” I noticed the way Mom clung to his side, and it hit me. They probably wanted to be alone. I glanced at Eirik. “Okay. Pick me up in twenty minutes.”

“Nice to have you back, Mr. C.” Eirik yanked the door and disappeared outside.

I ran to the kitchen and looked out the window. The moving van was gone. How was I going to go next door without an explanation? I turned and found my parents watching me with indulgent expressions.

“Is he gone?” Dad teased.

He knows about Torin? “What?”

“Eirik. Since when do you watch him drive away?” he teased.

My faced warmed. If only he knew. I hugged him again. “I’m so happy you’re home, Daddy. I still want to hear details of what happened, okay?”

He grinned. “Absolutely.”

“We have a new neighbor, Mom,” I added, heading for the stairs. In my room, I knelt on the window seat and stared across at Torin’s window.

“Torin,” I whispered. “Please, come to the window. Give me a sign you’re back.”

“Hey, Freckles.”

I froze. So scared I was imagining him again, my heart threatening to pound right out of my chest, I slowly turned around. He wasn’t a figment of my imagination. He stood by the closet’s full-length mirror as though he’d just stepped through it. He probably had. Dressed in his usual black, his hands shoved in his front pants pockets, he looked so breathtakingly beautiful. The lock of raven hair brushing his forehead was as familiar as the wicked smile that often curled his lips, except the smile was missing this time.

“You’re back,” I whispered.

Blue flames leaped in his eyes, his gaze roaming my face hungrily. “I had to.”

“My father is back, too.”

“I know. I found him.”

“You? I thought the Norns—”

“They don’t care enough. I’d risk anything for you, Freckles,” he whispered, his voice low and intense. “I’d do anything to make you happy, and that’s why I found him.”

One second he was across my room, the next, he’d pulled me into his arms. His mouth found mine, hungrily molding it and every sense in my body to his will. I grabbed his shirt and hung on for the ride. I was drowning in sensations, the haze of pleasure so intense I groaned. He became the focus of my existence. His scent, his addictive taste, the feel of his hard, hot body.

He growled something under his breath and pulled me closer, his hand caressing my sides, moving around to my chest. I stopped breathing. He tore his lips from mine, his breathing harsh, eyes intense as he stared at me. I sucked air into my starved lungs and smiled. He opened his mouth to speak and closed it without saying anything, stark pain flashing in his eyes.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I can’t do this,” he whispered achingly. “I thought I’d come here, see you one last time, and say goodbye, but it’s not enough. You make me feel things I’ve never felt before, Freckles. Make me want and crave the impossible. When I’m with you, the rules cease to matter. The reason for my existence becomes you.” He cradled my face. “Yet I know I’m not right for you.”

“You are.” I reached up and gripped his hands.

He shook his head, his expression wreathed with torment. “No, you can’t live in my world,” he said in a hoarse whisper. “To do that, you must be like me, and I’ll never let that happen.”

I pressed my fingers on his lips to stop him from saying anymore. “I know what you are, Torin. Andris told me everything.”

He frowned. “When?”

“The night of the Homecoming Dance.” I searched his face. “I don’t care that you are a Valkyrie. Why didn’t you heal me when you had a chance and start turning me into an Immortal?”

Torin closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against mine. “I couldn’t do it any more than I could let you die. You’re not some unhappy girl in a bad situation that needs to be rescued like Maliina and her sister. You have a wonderful life, Freckles. People who love you.”

“I don’t care.”

“Don’t say that when you know it’s not true. You care.” He cupped my face, caressed my cheeks. “I ignored their existence because I loved how I felt when I’m around you. You made me laugh, chased the loneliness away. For once, I was willing to ignore the rules and go after what I wanted. What I needed. But then I saw how your friends rallied around you when you were at the hospital, saw the look in your mother’s eyes when she thought she’d lost you, learned about what she’s been through for you, and I couldn’t ignore them anymore. I knew this was where you belonged. With them. Alive.” Sounds came from downstairs. He stepped back, his hands falling to his side, runes appearing on his perfectly chiseled face. Behind him, my mirror became smoky. “I have to go now.”

My knees threatened to give out as I stepped toward him. My attempt to save him had failed. “You can’t leave me.”

“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is, Freckles.” Desperation clouded his brilliant eyes and more runes appeared on his skin. The mirror was now swirling gray smoke. It was nothing like the portal Ingrid had created. “You have a chance to live a normal life with your father and mother. Do it. Enjoy it. Make my sacrifice mean something.”

“But you promised…” My voice trailed off, and tears sprang to my eyes. The portal formed. I couldn’t see where it led. It was a murky, dark mass of nothing. “You promised you’d do anything to make me happy.”

“Anything but take you away from your family. They love you as much as you love them. They need you.”

“I need you.”

“You’ll be fine. You’re strong. Be happy. For me.” He stared at me one last time as though memorizing my face. The runes started to glow, highlighting his handsome face, his raven hair, and sapphire eyes. Then he turned and walked toward the portal. Smoky tendrils leaped from the dark walls and grabbed him. As I watched, the darkness swirled around him, swallowing him. Then the mirror reformed.

My knees gave out, and I folded on the floor like a wet cloth. My breathing hitched, tears racing down my face. I curled up my legs and wrapped my arms around them as though to make myself small and invisible, but my pain was big, consuming. Torin had shattered my heart into tiny pieces. No, he’d ripped it from my chest and left with it, leaving behind nothing but a giant hole. It hurt to breathe, to think, to imagine my life without him.

It was a while before I noticed the chill. It crawled under my skin, causing me to shiver. Soon, I couldn’t feel the cold either as numbness crept through me.