I could easily see a bunch of reapers taking one night a month to release steam, performing to underground groups. Maybe Echo knew them. Drew was near my locker when we entered the hallway.
“Are you two back together now?” Kicker asked.
One kiss didn’t an item make us. On the other hand, the one from Echo had made an impression and left me hungry for more. I didn’t answer Kicker, choosing to focus on Drew.
“Hey,” I said, slowing to a stop near him.
He grinned and dangled several Sharpies, including a pink one. I chose a pink and a black one, squatted, and wrote my name, making O a heart and coloring it with pink.
“Want to hang out after school?” Drew asked.
With his leg busted, he wasn’t playing football anymore, which meant he had more free time and no friends to pass it with. I glanced at him and smiled. He was so sweet, just not my type.
“I’d love to, but I can’t. I have swim practice. Then I promised to stop by Raine’s. Her father had massive stroke and is in a coma.” I stood and pushed the lids back on the Sharpies. “She’s not taking it well.”
“That sucks. I, uh, I’m thinking of throwing a party for Keith on Friday. It would have been his eighteenth birthday. Can you come?”
“Sure.” I put my stuff away and picked up my folder. “When and where?”
“At my place. Come on, I’ll walk you to class.”
I chuckled. “You do know my first class is English and it’s on the west wing of the school. Upstairs.”
“I know.” He flashed a boyish grin. “You’d be amazed at what I can do with three legs.”
“Okay.” But I slowed down to match his gait. I had no idea what he had in the first period, and I didn’t want to ask in case it was something I should already know. Somehow, I must find a way to let him know I wasn’t interested in him. Maybe during his party.
“Hey, dude, have you seen St. James?” a jock asked Drew as we left the locker area.
“No. Why?”
“Coach wants to see him.”
“That’s terrible about Raine’s father,” Kicker said. I’d completely forgotten her presence. “She must have cracked a mirror or something. First, her father’s plane crashed, then the accident at the pool, which people blamed her for. Then when she came back to school, everyone drew horrible things on her locker and yours, and now this.”
I stopped walking. “People did what?”
Kicker’s eyes widened, and even Drew stared at me with a weird expression. Then I realized what I’d said. Dang, another thing I should have known about. Seriously, I should just keep my mouth shut when people talked about what had happened the last several weeks.
“What? That’s messed up,” Drew said and I realized they were talking.
“I know,” Kicker said. “I was shocked when she told me.”
“You seriously can’t remember anything that happened?” Drew asked, staring at me and standing smack in the middle of the hallway. Students were forced to walk around him.
I shrugged. “The doctors said everything would come rushing back whenever.”
“It’s my fault,” Drew said.
“It’s no one’s fault. Things happen.” Especially when the supernatural are involved. “I have to go. I don’t want to be late for class.”
He grabbed my arm. “You don’t understand. We were, you know, kissing after we won, and I didn’t realize the crowd was surging toward us. One second you were in my arms. The next someone pulled you away while others pushed me down. I tried to find you. I should have tried harder or held you tighter or—”
“Don’t say that. I’m sure it was a crazy evening, and no one is to blame.”
“I agree,” Kicker added.
Drew smiled at her. He walked me to class and somehow ended up inviting Kicker to his party, too. The look on her face was comical. She’d never hung out with football players.
For the rest of the morning, I searched for the Valkyries and hoped Echo would do his appearing act. I was beginning to worry about him, even though I knew I shouldn’t. He could take care of himself.
Still, he’d better show up soon. I had enough crap to deal with without worrying about him. When I didn’t see Raine near our lockers, I sent her a text message.
During lunch, Kicker filled me in on everything I’d “missed” and it wasn’t pretty. My anger shot up as they talked and laughed about someone defacing Raine’s locker and people treating her like crap because she’d known something bad was about to happen during that disastrous meet. Apparently, Eirik and the other me were the only ones who’d stuck by her. That they found that amazing made me want to smack them.
“What’s wrong with you guys?” I asked, glaring at Sondra, then Naya, and finally Kicker. “This is Raine Cooper we are talking about. The nicest person you bitches know.”
Sondra’s jaw dropped. “You didn’t just call us the B word.”
“Shut up, Sondra,” I snapped. A few students at the neighboring table looked at us. I glared at them until they looked away. Focusing on the three girls at my table, I added in a lower voice, “You know and I know that Raine would never knowingly hurt anyone. How could you not stand by her?”
“Come on, Cora. It was kind of spooky the way she knew things,” Kicker said defensively.
“I saw her too, Kicker. I thought she’d lost it, but I would never think she’s a witch,” I retorted, seriously thinking of bitch-slapping them into next week. “Or are you guys forgetting she had an accident and almost died, and maybe, just maybe, the accident messed with her head.”
“She levitated, Cora,” Naya piped in. “Jocelyn saw her float above the water.”
“And the disappearing thing,” Kicker added. “One second she was there, the next gone.”
I must have missed that while I was busy staring at the Valkyries and the souls. When I hadn’t seen her, I’d just assumed she’d run out into the changing rooms like the other students.
“Jocelyn lied,” I said, enunciating my words. “With the chaos, people running and screaming, the lightning, anyone would have imagined anything. Or lightning shooting through her caused her to appear to levitate.” I stood and glared down at them, daring them to contradict me. When they didn’t speak, I turned and walked out of the cafeteria.
Of course, they’d seen Raine appear to levitate, or carried by beings no one could see. I blew out a breath, feeling terrible. School must have been a nightmare for Raine.
After her father’s crisis was over, she and I were going to have a long talk. There must be a reason why she’d known about the pool accident before it happened. Maybe she was a witch. If I could be in two places at the same time and Valkyries existed, my best friend could definitely have premonitions. And she had to know Torin was a Valkyrie. One second in Echo’s presence and I’d known he was different.
Where was that reaper? I was going to make him sorry for making me worry about him.
***
I didn’t hear from Raine until after lunch. She hadn’t come to school. And from the looks of things, neither had Torin, Andris, or the blonde.
At the pool, I basically ignored Kicker, Sondra, and Naya. They were on my dislike list until I felt they’d done their penance. I wasn’t sure what that was, but I could be creative.
After practice, I headed straight to Raine’s. Her text said she was at home. A tall woman with a porcelain complexion and pitch-black hair answered her door. Except for the black hair, I didn’t see any resemblance to Raine’s mother.
“Cora, how nice to finally meet you,” she said, planting a kiss on my cheeks then giving me a hug.
I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I returned the hug. She leaned back and studied my face as though searching for something. I gave her a tiny smile.
“I’m Lavania, Raine’s aunt.” She squeezed my arms and stepped back. “Come inside. Everyone is in the kitchen.”
Everyone? She led the way, her walk graceful, her dress a free-flowing piece that
reached her ankles and was cinched at the waist by a bejeweled belt. I tried to see over her shoulder, but she was tall.
“I’ve heard so much about you, of course,” she said.
“Oh.” Finally, I could see “everyone”. Torin was chopping something on the kitchen counter. A fallen angel in an apron. Looks and talented with his hands, lucky Raine. Andris and the blonde sat in their kitchen nook, sipping soda. Raine was missing.
“Eirik talks about you all the time,” Lavania said.
My feet faltered. “I didn’t know you knew Eirik.”
She turned and faced me. “Oh, dear. Raine didn’t tell you? His new home is just a block from mine.”
The blonde choked on whatever she was drinking. Andris slapped her back, but his eyes were on us. Torin had stopped chopping. They were all staring at Lavania in utter shock. What? She wasn’t supposed to tell me about being neighbors with Eirik?
She faced them and waved toward the kitchen table. “Sit, Cora. Torin and I are cooking tonight, so I insist you join us for dinner.”
“Sorry, I can’t. My parents are expecting me. Is Raine home?”
“Upstairs sleeping,” Torin said, pointing up with the knife.
“Thanks.” I waved to Andris and the blonde.
Andris got up, a mocking grin curling his lips. “Nice to see you again, Cora.”
Remembering my gaffe this morning, I decided to play it safe. “Again? I don’t think we’ve met. You are?”
“Andris.” His eyes narrowed as he closed the gap between us. “We met months ago.”
I shook my head. “Sorry, I don’t remember.”
“And last night at the hospital.”
Had the blonde told him my secret? Our eyes met, but I couldn’t read her expression. “Yes, I remember that. You and Torin came to the ICU just before we left.”
Andris chuckled. “You are good, sweetheart, but I’ve been playing games for centuries.”
“Leave her alone, you naughty boy,” Lavania warned, but there was no censure in her voice.
“Aye, aye, Mother,” Andris said. “Have you met Ingrid?”
Mother? I shook my head.
“Cora, Ingrid.” He waved toward the blonde. “Ingrid, Cora.”
“Nice to meet you, Ingrid. I’ll just head,” I pointed up, “upstairs.”
Andris pointed at his eyes with two fingers than at me. Yeah, whatever, Valkyrie. I imitated his gesture.
Lavania chuckled. “Don’t mind him. He likes to act outrageous when bored. I keep hoping someone will keep him preoccupied.” She shot the blonde a pointed look.
The girl blushed and looked down. Then I remembered something. “Uh, your coach was looking for you at school today, Torin. I don’t know if your teammates texted you.”
Torin frowned then shrugged. “No, but that’s okay. Thanks.” He didn’t sound bothered about it.
“Dude, you missed practice and semi-finals are in two weeks,” Andris said.
“Screw football,” Torin retorted.
“Watch your mouth, sonny.” Lavania smacked Torin on the back of his head. “You know better than to use that kind of language around me.”
Okay, the dynamics of relationships in this house was weird. She was so at home in Raine’s house. Red flag number one. She and the Valkyries talked like they’d known each other forever. Red flag number two. She called Torin “sonny” and Andris called her “mother”. Flaming red flag number three. On the other hand, Raine’s mother was just like that. Outgoing. A knack for treating people like they were lifelong friends and making them feel at home. So maybe my lie-radar was off.
I headed upstairs, knocked slightly on Raine’s door, and opened it when I didn’t get a response. I peeked inside. She was curled on top of her bed, fast asleep, a crunched tissue in her hand. There were several used ones in the basket by her bed. Poor Raine.
I decided not to wake her, turned to leave, and saw the blown-glass ornaments. They were beautiful. I picked them up one at a time and studied the designs. One was of a rainbow. Giving Raine one last glance, I put it down and let myself out of the room.
Downstairs, Lavania saw me and frowned. “Leaving already?”
“She was still asleep, and I didn’t want to wake her. I’ll text her later.”
“See you at school, gorgeous?” Andris called out.
“You too, handsome.” Laughter from Lavania and Torin followed me.
Outside, I turned the corner and almost bumped into Ingrid. “I looked for you at school today.”
Ingrid shrugged. “We were at the hospital with Raine and her family.”
Didn’t they realize their behavior was odd and would draw attention? People didn’t skip school to hold their friend’s hands at the hospital. Or was Mr. Cooper’s soul that important?
“Why?”
“Because Raine is special and important, and when Torin needs our help, we give it. What I said last night about my sister—”
“Maliina,” I interjected.
She nodded. “She marked you with runes. Because of that, you can see us and souls.”
“Why did she mark me? What did I ever do to her?”
Ingrid grimaced. “Maliina was Andris’ first mate, but she was never completely sure about his feelings for her. You know, not like Raine is with Torin. When we first came here, Andris had shown interest in Raine. He was just playing around, but Maliina didn’t think so. She went after Raine.” Indris shook her head. “When Torin told her to stop, she did. Instead, she marked you to hurt Raine.”
I laughed. “Are you saying my entire life is messed up because some stupid girl—”
“Immortal,” Ingrid corrected.
“I don’t care,” I snarled. “She did this to me over that self-absorbed…” I pointed toward the house and barely stopped myself from saying Valkyrie. The curtain at Mrs. Rutledge’s house fell into place as she stopped spying on us. Taking a deep breath, I asked in a low voice, “Where is she now?”
Ingrid shook her head. “We don’t know.”
Stupid Immortal. “When did she do this to me?”
“About two months ago?”
“Why don’t I remember you or meeting her?”
Indris shrugged. “Your memories were probably erased by Norns.” She searched my face. “You know who Norns are?”
“Yes.” Echo had been right. I wanted to see him. Needed to see him and listen to everything he had to say with an open mind. “Thanks, Ingrid. I have to go.”
6. The Party
As I drove home, I noticed the trees near the accident site were gone, but the vines weren’t salvageable. The farmers would have to do some serious replanting. I parked outside my house and hurried inside. As usual, the scent of fresh baking greeted me.
Mom looked up from the stove. “Hi, honey. How was swim practice?”
“Good.”
“Did you hear the news?” Dad asked. “The police are looking for vandals who uprooted trees and destroyed vines from the Tolbert and Melbeck farms.”
My heart dropped. “Did they talk to you guys?”
“Oh yes,” Mom said, switching off the stove. “We told them about the accident and how there was not a scratch on our truck.”
“Aliens did it,” Dad said, grinning. “I’ve never seen vines flattened like that.”
“Don’t start with that, Jeff,” Mom said.
“Think about it, Penny. We get hit, but there’s no dent. Huge fissures appear on the ground, yet there are no tire tracks. Trees are uprooted, and no one can explain how it was done. Vines are flattened like crop circles…”
I grabbed two nectarines and headed upstairs. Dad was enjoying this too much. I could see him starting a series based on what happened last night.
Echo wasn’t upstairs.
The next day, I worried and waited. I needed answers and Echo went and pulled a freaking disappearing act? Raine came to school, but she might as well not be there. I couldn’t talk to her because she was always surrounded by the Val
kyries. Torin acted like he’d kick anyone’s ass who dared to bother her. I hated waiting for answers, but I had no choice.
Andris kept his distance, but I could tell he was dying to screw with my head. I couldn’t figure him out yet. He hanged out with the dope heads and skater dudes, and the next he was with the hipsters. Rumor had it that he was dating some guy, while another rumor linked him with Ingrid. It didn’t take a genius to see that the Valkyrie liked him. During lunch, she sat with her fellow cheerleaders at a table, but her eyes kept straying to his table.
By Friday, I was cursing Echo. I didn’t even enjoy the pep rally they had at the end of the school day. If he made an appearance, I was going to rip him a new one. Not only did I need answers only he could provide, but the souls were starting to come to the farm again. I had to disperse a few. I’d actually hoped doing so would draw Echo’s attention and bring him back.
I rolled down the window and waved to Drew. He was one of the few students who drove a brand new car, an SUV. The parking lot was packed with clunkers and students yelling out weekend plans. Most were going to watch our boys play in the quarterfinals.
“See you at seven,” I called out to Drew.
He grinned. “We are playing the Shithawks tomorrow afternoon, so the guys need to blow off steam tonight,” he said, and the two jocks beside him back-thumped him.
Blowing off steam meant booze and hookups, a coach’s worst nightmare. The Shithawks were actually the Skyhawks, Southridge High School in Beaverton. Somehow, I had a feeling the party was going to be about football, not Keith’s posthumous birthday. We’d never made it this far in football. In fact, I couldn’t remember if we ever made it to the quarterfinals, yet we were going against one of the top schools in the state.
Kicker was waiting for me by the lockers when I arrived at the pool. I wanted to ignore her, but she had the lost puppy look and was wearing the Reapers T-shirt again. Seeing it reminded me of Echo and how much his disappearance bugged me. I hated admitting it, but I kind of missed him.
“Okay, don’t bite my head off until I finish,” Kicker said. “Naya talked to the team, and after practice, we are heading to the hospital to show our support and prove to Raine that, despite not being on the team, she’s still one of us.”
Runes #03 - Grimnirs Page 9