Casting Runes Part 29

She did not know for how long she had slept, when a sudden noise made her wake in terror.

It was the tremendously loud clattering of a metal object that had been thrown against a wall. Neil was still beside her and jerked at this sound, as did she, but he immediately shoved her behind his back to protect her, as he had always done so in the few hours they knew each other.

“Are you completely bonkers?!”, Liam shouted at Colleen, as Jordis now quickly realised, “You can’t just throw a knife at me!”

“I can, obviously. If you haven’t noticed, I just did.”, was her answer and Liam growled low-pitched so Jordis was sure that he would rip her apart any second and already jumped to her feet, as Neil did too. But then all of a sudden, Liam backed off and mumbled: “I’m sorry, Colleen, I only wanted to give you a hand, not startle you.”

What?! By the runes, Jordis would never have thought to hear something like this out of Liam’s mouth, never ever, not in a thousand lifetimes. But he clearly had said that, since Neil was also looking at him as if he had just witnessed a wonder. And maybe they did, indeed.

Liam hung his head as if in shame and Jordis could not help it, she stared at him, completely baffled.

“Oh, you…!”, Colleen hissed and then just shooed him away with still angry words: “Just…fuck off!”

Jordis saw Neil squirm as he heard that and patted his shoulder with a smile before she had even thought about it. But when her mind grasped what her hand had just done, she looked into Neil’s eyes and was surprised of herself. For a moment she felt somewhat bad for having touched his shoulder without his permission and in front of everyone, as well as still letting her hand rest where it was, especially when she saw Liam’s angry glance at the two of them. But as soon as Neil returned the smile, hers only broadened and she did not care for Liam’s ever growing anger any more.

“Could you two lovebirds stop that, it’s making me sick!”, her childhood friend complained and pretended to gag on something, which only made Jordis giggle, Neil, in contrast, replied calmly: “Only when the lady tells me to.”

Astonished by these words, even if he had talked back at Liam before, Jordis simply stared at him. She could see how Neil instantly wondered if he had crossed a line and she already saw him blush a little, but his voice was determined when he said: “One word, mylady, and I…”

“Have I not told you to use my name?”, she grinned and Neil raised his eyebrows for a moment; she had taken him aback. But then he sighed smilingly and replied: “Yes, Jordis, indeed you have.”

To her surprise, he also raised his hand and put it on her shoulder. His touch was gentle, as she already knew, however, Jordis was sure that Neil attempted to do even more, that he tried to put his arm around her shoulders. But again Liam pretended to choke and Colleen shouted: “Stop it, ya all! And you Liam, take care, I still got a knife or two.”

Slowly Neil took a step to the side and ended their contact, but still watched her. Now, Jordis was angry, too. She already opened her mouth to say something, but Colleen interrupted her before she had even started: “Dinner’s ready. Take something or starve, I sure as hell don’t care.”

“Lovely as always, poppet.”, Liam grinned, but Colleen just silently shot him a glance and raised another knife, but thank the runes did not throw it. This was all such a mess…

But the meat and potatoes that her sister had cooked up had filled the kitchen with their smell and Jordis had to admit that it did not only smell enjoyable, but it also tasted very good. Her surprise was to be seen, obviously, as Colleen hissed: “I had to cook myself, you know? I wasn’t in a monastery where everything was done for me.”

At first, Jordis wanted to talk back, but then with a shrug decided that it would not be worth it, so why even try?

“What?”; Colleen insisted, “I thought you finally had grown some guts. Didn’t they teach you anything there?”

Silently, Jordis counted to ten, but as her anger had not disappeared by then, she simply decided not to reply. It would have only made things worse between them, worse than they already were.

“They teach you a lot of things.”, Liam grinningly mused about her words, “But, well, ya’know, most of it isn’t worth anything as long as you’re not accredited. Which Jordis happens to be. Just so you know.”

“So what?”, Colleen snorted, but Liam only shook his head and did not talk again, but instead enjoyed his meal in silence.

As he had finished it, along with Jordis and Neil, as well as Mika and Granny, he even thanked Colleen: “You’re a good cook, poppet. Thanks.”

“Fuck off.”, she simply said and slowly Jordis began to think, that those were her favourite words by now.

“Well, when I think about it…stay for a minute.”, Colleen told him and Liam was surprised, but then slowly began to smile at her when she coldly stated: “This is my house and I want you gone soon, all of you.”

Jordis gasped in shock and then gave her fury free rein: “This is my house; I am older than you, sister. And you will certainly not throw my friends out!”

Colleen snorted untouched by this burst of Jordis’ anger and simply replied: “They’re all you friends? Wow, you’re won easily. Anyway, the runes know I can’t throw you out by myself. And yeah, it may be our house and I won’t cast your prince charming out, of it’d make you oh so unhappy, but it’s no place for the boy, the old man and all the others. And it’s certainly no place for the girl who’s…pregnant.”

Jordis had grown more and more angry with every second, but now she narrowed her eyes in confusion. Colleen was cold-hearted to simply say that all the people they had brought here should leave, even more so in front of them all, but there had been something in her eyes when Colleen had mentioned Sunna’s child, a little spark, a flicker. But why had it been there when she had talked about an unborn child?