17.  CHOICES

It seemed like forever before a knock resounded on my door.

"Just a minute." I swiped at my cheek and struggled to my feet, my movement sluggish and automatic, like a robot. I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. My eyes were red. One look at me and anyone would know I'd been crying.

"Pumpkin, Eirik's downstairs," Dad said from the other side of my door.

I didn't really want to go, but if I stayed, I'd have to explain why to my parents, especially Dad. I'd never been able to hide anything from him. Then there was Eirik. He and I might have a special relationship, but he deserved more. I had to break things off with him. Tonight. He was a wonderful guy who deserved a girl who was crazy about him. I wasn't that girl.

"Raine?"

"I'll be out in a second, Dad," I called.

I changed my shirt, brushed my hair, and put on sunglasses. Downstairs, Dad studied my face and frowned. Please, don't ask me what's wrong. If he did, I'd start crying again.

"Love you, Dad. So happy you're home." I gave him another tight squeeze, kissed Mom, then joined Eirik. We ran to the Jeep. It was raining, typical fall weather in Oregon.

"It's great to have your dad home, isn't it?" Eirik said instead of starting the engine.

"Yeah. It's a miracle." My voice shook.

Eirik lifted the sunglasses from my nose. "You don't have to hide behind the sunglasses, Raine. I know you've been crying. I also choked up when I saw him."

I laughed, faking amusement. But having Eirik believe I'd been crying because my father had returned was a relief. I took the glasses from his hand and threw them on the tray between our seats. "Okay, let's go. Warm ups will start in," he checked his watch, "five minutes."

He started the engine and took off.

I didn't bother to glance at Torin's house as we drove by. He was gone. It didn't matter how much it hurt, I had to learn to live with the fact that he was gone and was never coming back. Tears filled my eyes again. Eirik reached for my hand and squeezed it.

***

We parked behind Draper Building, which housed Walkersville University's pool, racquetball courts, indoor basketball and tennis courts, and the gym. College students were everywhere. Inside the building, I headed to the balcony while Eirik disappeared in the boys' locker room.

Since this was an intrasquad meet, the bleachers were empty except for the girlfriends and boyfriends of some of the swimmers. I ignored them and moved to the lower row of seats. Some of the swimmers were in the pool, warming up. Others had towels around their waists or shoulders and were busy talking. I spied Cora. She was in the pool and hadn't seen me yet.

I pulled out my phone and headphones. Right in the middle of checking my music playlist, I felt the telltale prickly feeling on the back of my neck. Someone was watching me. I turned my head, checking my right then left. My eyes widened when I saw Andris and Ingrid.

What were they doing here? Was Torin around, too?

I searched past the few students seated behind me to the top of the bleachers. My stomach dropped. Marj, Catie, and Jeannette stared at me with unreadable expressions. Norns and Valkyries in one place meant bad news, but I didn't care anymore. Marj and her friends had turned down my deal and taken Torin, so let them do their worst. In fact, they could all go rot in hell. The real hell with eternal suffering and Lucifer, not theirs run by some goddess living in a fancy-shmancy hall.

Ignoring them, I turned around. Eirik entered the pool deck, and I tried to catch his attention, but he was staring at someone. I followed his gaze and frowned. He was staring at Cora with a weird expression. She'd just pulled herself out of the pool.

I blinked, not sure if I was reading him correctly. He'd never looked at me like that. Could Eirik be into Cora? Had I been blinded by our friendship and not seen something right under my nose? Or maybe I was imagining things. His expression soured, and I saw why. Cora was hugging one of the senior swimmers and laughing at something he'd just said. Wow, Eirik was definitely into Cora.

Jaw tense, Eirik turned and looked toward the bleachers, obviously searching for me. I waved. He saw me and waved back. I reached a decision. Just because my heart was broken and my dreams were shattered didn't mean I'd let my friends die. Eirik deserved a chance to win Cora's heart, and I planned to bring them together.

I glanced to my left, and my eyes collided with Andris. He scowled. Another turn of my head and I had a stare down with Marj. She looked away first, then glanced at the skylight above the pool. I followed her glance and wondered what they were planning. It was still raining, but it was just a drizzle.

You're not winning, crone.

She smiled as though she'd heard my thoughts. I got up.

"Where are you going?" Andris asked, appearing suddenly beside me. Ingrid appeared on my other side.

"What do you want, Andris?" I asked rudely.

"To reap the souls of your friends, that's what." He gripped my arm and pulled me down on the bench beside him. "You shouldn't be here, Raine. I already told you. No one can change their destiny."

I yanked my arm from his hand. "How are they going to do it? Another electrical outage? A gas leak? Why am I asking you anyway? Death is not your department." I glanced at the three Norns and called out, "What is it going to be, Marj? Mass electrocution? Gassing?" Several students turned to see who I was talking to, but I didn't care that they couldn't see the three Norns.

"Who are you talking to?" Andris asked.

"The three Norns in the back row."

Andris and Ingrid followed my glance.

"There's no one there, sweetheart," Andris said.

If the Norns could make Torin forget meeting them, they could easily be invisible to Andris. "Believe me, they're here. I can't believe I tried to make a deal with them."

"You did what?"

Something in Andris' voice had me dragging my eyes back to him. "I tried to make a deal with them. You know, me for Torin's punishment."

"Why would you do such a stupid thing?" Andris ground out.

I glared at him. "It's my fault Torin's in trouble. Isn't that what you suggested I should do in order to save him?"

"I did not," Andris protested, fear flashing in his eyes.

"Actually, you did say it was the only solution when I brought her to see you last weekend," Ingrid said. "You'd been drinking," she added.

He frowned. "I must have been wasted. You didn't tell Torin, did you?" There was fear in his voice now.

"Of course not. Not that it matters. They didn't take the deal. Torin's gone, and they're here to finish off my friends." I glanced over my shoulder and found the three Norns staring at the skylight above the pool with unnerving intensity. I followed their gazes and gasped. The skylight was moving, shifting, and changing color. "A portal is opening."

"About time," Andris said with glee, and I wanted to smack him. No one should be that excited about people dying.

Like the portal on my mirror, this one was grayish. The ominous, swirling mass churned faster and faster. Unaware of the mayhem about to be unleashed, Doc blew the whistle, and the first race began.

"Doc! Stop!" I yelled, but the cheering students swallowed my words.

I jumped up, ran to the end of the row, and down the stairs to the pool deck. Andris yelled something behind me, but I wasn't listening. I ignored the stares and went straight to the coach. "Cancel the meet, Doc."

His brow rose. "Why?"

"Something bad is about to happen."

He beckoned frantically to someone, grabbed my arm, and led me away from the other students. Andris shook his head when our eyes met. The Norns watched the portal. The gray core was forming some kind of a tunnel.

"Raine—"

"No, listen to me, Doc. Get everyone out of here before it's too late."

He peered into my eyes. "No, you listen. You're recovering from a head trauma, and I think you should take things easy. You know, take more time to fully recover before coming back to the team."

"This has nothing to do with my accident or me being on the team," I snapped, my voice rising. "The whole swim team is in danger. Please. Tell them to leave."

Eirik appeared beside us. Coach nodded to him. "Get her out of here. Her behavior is scaring the other swimmers."

"Come, Raine," Eirik said.

"No! Go." I pushed him away and jumped into the shallow end of the pool fully clothed, boots and all. Walking slowly, I moved toward the middle, bumping into swimmers and forcing them to stop. "Get out of the pool. Now! You're in danger!"

Some kept swimming. Others stood and stared at me in shock before looking at the coach.

"Don't look at him. Move! Go!" The entire roof was now an endless black tunnel, just like the one that had sucked Torin away. Bolts of light zipped along its walls, and thunder rumbled eerily at its core. It was only a matter of minutes before one of the bolts changed trajectory and hit the pool. On the deck, the swimmers stared, whispered, and pointed at me. A few of their words reached me.

"What's she doing?"

"She's crazy—"

"I guess she never recovered from her accident."

"Raine! Get out of there," Cora demanded.

I glanced at her. She was cradling Eirik, who seemed to have passed out at the corner of the deck. The other students continued to stand around with towels around their shoulders, shock on their faces as they watched me, pointed, and continued to whisper. Chances were they saw the skylight above the pool instead of the hellish tunnel I could see.

Coach Fletcher yelled frantically at someone on the phone. Andris and Ingrid waited near the rail separating the bottom row of bleachers and the pool deck. He was smirking as though everything was pure entertainment. The Norns stood beside them, watching, waiting.

Tears filled my eyes. "I tried but—"

A bolt of white light shot through the portal and hit the wet pool deck with an ear-splitting crack, then fanned out along the floor like tentacles. Chaos broke out as students ran, or tried to, but they couldn't outrun electricity. Bodies twitched as high voltage shot through them. Screams filled the air.

"Help them," I yelled to Andris and Ingrid. They didn't move from the bleachers or look away from the screaming students. Marj and her friends had moved and now stood near Eirik and Cora, their eyes glowing, their gazes on me. "Please, stop this."

Marj walked to the edge of the pool and extended her hand toward me. "Come with us, Raine."

"No," I cried out, tears racing down my face. "Stop this first."

"We're not the ones doing this. They are." She pointed at the portal.

I looked up and tried to see who or what she meant, but I couldn't see anything beyond the dark tunnel and crackling lightning.

"I don't see anything. Make them stop." Even as the words left my mouth, more bolts zipped from the depth of the portal to the pool deck, catching students in mid-run. Bodies were knocked into the air before they fell on the deck or into the pool, the echoes of death horrifying. The lucky ones made it to the bleachers, but I couldn't see past the flashing lights to see how many survived.

Andris and Ingrid walked among the fallen, collecting souls of the dead. Two other Valkyries were with them. Grief squeezed my heart, knowing the two were Torin's replacement. At least I couldn't see the souls.

"Give me your hand, Raine," Marj urged. "I'll get you out of here alive."

The urge to ignore her was there, but I was tired. Defeated. I had tried and failed. My friends were either dead or dying. Wading through the water, I started for the edge of the pool.

"NO, RAINE. DON'T!"

"Mom?" I froze and looked around, frantically searching for her.

"Stay away from her," Mom screamed.

"Stay back," I yelled, searching for her at the entrance, where students were huddled together. I couldn't see her. I had to stop her from coming on the deck. I reached for Marj's hand.

"No, Raine. Don't touch her."

Then I saw Mom walking through the field of death, runes glowing on her face and hands. More were visible through her Bohemian skirt and top. She glared at Marj and snarled, "You have some nerve coming for my daughter behind my back. Leave her alone."

Marj took a step back. "You're not supposed to see us anymore."

"Think again, Norn," Mom snarled. "A mother's love and instinct to protect her child is stronger than all the magic and all the powers in the world. I heard her cry for help and came. And I'll always see your true form no matter what disguise you wear. Now go."

I didn't bother to check if Marj and the others left or not. I stared at Mom with wide eyes. "How?"

"We'll talk later. Give me your hand."

I blacked out before our fingers touched.

***

Voices filtered through the fog in my head. I was feeling toasty, which meant someone had removed my wet clothes and replaced them with dry, warm ones.

"How's she doing, Mrs. C?" Eirik asked.

"Good. She stopped shivering. Why don't you wait downstairs? I'll call you when she wakes up. If Tristan wakes up from his nap and wanders downstairs, keep him there. I don't want him to see her like this."

The click of the closing door followed. I didn't want to deal with what I knew was coming—more of Mom's revelations, how many friends I'd lost tonight.

"You'll have to open your eyes sometime, sweetie," Mom said.

Sighing, I slowly lifted my eyelids and stared at her. Her hazel eyes twinkled. Only she could still smile in the face of a catastrophe. That was how I saw my life. A huge disaster. I sat up, the covers slipping to my waist. "Why didn't you tell me you were a Valkyrie?"

"I wanted you to have a normal life for as long as possible. I didn't know Norns would try to recruit you this early," Mom said. "You're not even eighteen."

"Is that what you call it? Recruit? Mom, they killed my friends and tried to kill me, too."

"No, no, sweetie. It was your friends' time to go, not yours. I would have known. Like I told you before, no one can escape death when their time's up. The Norns just used the opportunity to attempt to lure you to their side. The fact that they didn't wait until you were a Valkyrie tells me you're very special, but then again, I always knew you were." She smiled. I didn't feel like smiling.

"Is Cora okay?" I spoke slowly, scared to know the answer yet I had to.

Mom nodded. "Eirik said you saved him and Cora."

I blinked. "I did?"

"You pushed him hard, and he slipped on the wet deck, banged his head, and blacked out. He landed on the dry part of the deck, and Cora stayed with him. The lightning didn't come anywhere near them."

I remembered pushing him and seeing Cora cradling him near a wall. I focused on my mother. "Is Dad a Valkyrie, too?"

Sadness tinged her smile this time. "No, sweetie. It was one of the stipulations from the Norns. If I couldn't follow my destiny and become one of them, I couldn't turn the man I fell in love with."

I thoroughly hated Norns. "Stipulations?"

Mom sighed. "There's no time to give you details of our history. You'll learn all that in the coming year, but here's the shorter version. We come from a line of powerful Valkyries. Or maybe I should say powerful spiritual Mortals, who become Valkyries. We even have a few Norns in our family tree. I had started training as a Norn when I realized I was in love with your father and couldn't imagine a life without him. Norns or would-be Norns are not supposed to fall in love. They're maidens dedicated to shaping destinies and nothing else. Their duties leave no room for romance, husbands, or kids. So when I chose your father, they stripped me of my powers and bound me to earth. That means I can never go to the Realm of the gods." She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I don't care. I've been very happy with your father."

I could only stare at her. I still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that my mother was a Valkyrie. I had so many questions. How old was she? How did one become a Valkyrie? "So I wasn't supposed to die?"

"No, or I would have known." She leaned forward and added, "I still have friends back in Valhalla, and they would have told me. Come on, your friends are waiting downstairs."

"But I have so many questions," I protested, but stood anyway. "Can you explain the mirrors at your store? Are some of them portals? Because I swear I noticed runes on some of their frames." Another thought occurred to me. "The mirror downstairs is a portal too, isn't it?"

She chuckled. "Yes, I use it to communicate with my friends. And it's true. Some of the mirrors at the store are portals. Your father owned the store when we met twenty years ago. In fact, I was his regular customer for a while." She blushed. "Now I use the business to create portals, which we ship all over the world. With the runes already sketched on frames, Valkyries can use them wherever they are without sketching runes on them."

Eirik's parents knew Torin before he arrived in our town, and they had a mirror portal in their old bedroom. "Are Eirik's parents Valkyries, too?"

Mom chuckled. "Yes, but they don't reap souls. They have special duties here on earth."

"So when they told Eirik they were going home, they meant," I pointed up, "the Realm of the, uh, gods?"

She nodded. "Yes, and that's why I was surprised."

Eirik was adopted, so he was obviously human. They must be using him to blend in. "Does Eirik know about them?"

Mom chuckled and looped her arm around mine. "Oh, sweetie, I know you have questions, but there's just so much I can tell you because of rules and whatnot. When your trainer gets here, all your questions will be answered."

Trainer? Everything was happening fast, and I wasn't sure I was ready to start training. "You should've told me, Mom, especially when I saw the runes on my car and freaked out."

She sighed. "I'm so sorry, baby. But like I said, there's a limit to how much I can tell you. I'd hoped you'd learn the truth about us and your legacy from your trainer when you turned eighteen. As for the runes on your car, I had to protect you somehow when you started driving. You know me. I don't trust Mortal machines."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Her aversion to computers now made sense. Then what she'd said registered. "If you sketched the runes last year, how come I didn't see them until now?"

"Something happened to open your eyes and mind to magic. It might have been a physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual link with something or someone from our world."

Torin. I'd started seeing the runes after I met him.

"Actually, you started seeing them earlier than normal. You're not supposed to have the sight until you're eighteen."

I frowned. "The sight?"

"The ability to see past the rune veil. It was probably the Norns' presence," Mom continued. "They should be ashamed of themselves, trying to lure you to their side when you're so young and vulnerable." She chuckled. "But you showed them, didn't you? Just as I chose your Dad over joining them, you chose your friends and Torin."

My eyes widened. "You know about Torin?"

"Oh, sweetie. There's still runic magic left in these old bones for me to know when a Valkyrie moves next door."

My throat closed, images of Torin