Runes #03 - Grimnirs (11 page)

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 Valkyries. 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.”

It was brilliant, the kind thing I would have suggested if my life wasn’t so effed up. “That sounds good.”

“So can we hitch a ride to Drew’s party?”

“We?”

“Naya, Sondra, and me. Naya’s brother was going to give us his Jeep, but he and his friends went to Portland after school and won’t be back until later tonight. He’ll give us a ride home afterwards. We just need a ride there.”

I shrugged. “Okay. Where do I pick you up?”

She laughed. “My house.”

“The address, Kicker?” I asked when she started to walk away. She always forgot I couldn’t “remember” some of these mundane things.

After practice, the entire swim team piled up in their cars and drove to Kayville Medical Center. Even Doc, our coach, came with us. The nurses didn’t seem surprised to see us. Our team had a reputation for keeping vigils at the hospital.

Raine’s expression made my calling the three girls bitches worthwhile. She fought tears and mouthed, “Thank you.”

Her mother was more vocal. While she voiced her thanks and told us how wonderful and supportive we were, I pulled Raine aside.

“Did you do this?” she whispered as we hugged.

“No. Kicker, Naya, and Sondra came up with it. It’s their way of apologizing for the way they treated you after the accident. Dubbing you a witch was stupid. Defacing your locker was unforgiveable.”

“You know about that?” Raine asked, eyes wary.

“Yep. Kicker told me.”

“Then she called us bitches for not sticking by you,” Kicker said, having moved closer to us without me being aware.

Raine laughed, glanced at me, and cocked her eyebrows. “You did not.”

I shrugged.

“I’ve missed your craziness, Cora.” She hugged me again.

“Me too. Missed my crazy side, that is. How’s your dad doing?”

“Didn’t you hear what her mother said?” Kicker said, butting in again. “He came out of the coma this afternoon.”

It was another hour before we left the hospital. I noticed a few more ghosts than usual. Once again, I found myself going over what had happened the last time I saw Echo as I drove along Orchard Grove. As if I couldn’t help myself, I tried to remove the runes on my parents’ truck again, even used my nails. Why had Echo drawn them? Assuming he was the one who had done it.

“You’re still trying to find a dent on that old thing?” Mom called out. She was walking toward me from the barn.

I smiled and waited for her.

“Your father has come up with a new theory. It was an air pocket shot by a high-velocity air shooter that caused the accident. The air flattened the vines and yanked the trees from the ground. He plans to test his theory with a modified leaf blower.”

“So who created the high-velocity air thingamajigger?” I asked.

“The military of course.” She shook her head. “That imagination of his never ceases to amaze me.”

“Or his fans,” I said.

Mom chuckled and looped an arm through mine. She was carrying a basket of eggs on her other arm. “How was practice?”

“Good. The team decided to stop by the hospital after practice to visit Raine’s dad and be there for her. We found out her father came out of the coma this afternoon.”

“That’s wonderful. I know Svana will be relieved.”

“Will she?” I asked before I could stop myself and cringed when Mom stopped and studied me with narrowed eyes.

“You don’t think she’s grieving?” she asked.

I shrugged. “She’s always so upbeat, and that didn’t change when he was missing or when we saw her at the hospital.”

“Oh, honey.” She palmed my face. “There are so many faces of grief. Svana Cooper is the most amazing woman I know. She knows she must stay strong for Raine. That’s what parents do. If she cried or doubted he was alive when his plane crashed, she did it privately. Anyway, I’m happy the team went to support Raine. That’s one thing I’ve always liked about your swim team.”

“Good, because a bunch of us have been invited to a party tonight. Can I go?”

She pushed open the door and walked ahead of me. “I guess if you’re going to parties things are back to normal.”

“So I can go?”

She pressed her lips to my temple in a gentle kiss. “When does it start?”

“Seven, but I’m picking up a bunch of girls who are driverless.”

“Who is driverless?” Dad asked, coming downstairs.

“Swim friends going to a party,” Mom said. “Be home by twelve.”

“Mom,” I protested.

“Ease back into your social life, muffin,” Dad said. “We don’t want you doing too much too soon. Twelve is reasonable. Unless you prefer eleven-fifty-nine… forty-five…”

“Hardy har har,” I said and punched his arm as I passed him at the foot of the stairs.

“Make sure you eat something before you leave,” Mom called after me.

She said the same thing every time before I left for a party, even though I never ate anything. Excitement and nervous energy tended to mess my appetite. I hoped Raine would be there. I hadn’t dared to ask her anything when we were at the hospital, but Torin was the QB. No team party happened without the quarterback.

I didn’t expect Echo to be in my room, yet I felt his presence the moment I opened the door. His intoxicating, masculine scent was unmistakable. My heart pounding, I looked around.

The room was empty.

Damn it. I missed him.

My dresser was exactly the way I’d left it this morning, a total mess, but my bed looked rumpled and there was an indentation on my pillow. He’d lain on my bed. Then I saw the glove. Right there in the middle of the bed. Had he left it behind or forgotten it?

Anger surged through me. “Stay in Hel, Echo.”

I marched to the bed, grabbed his glove, plumped my pillow, and straightened my bed. I was not playing his stupid games anymore, and I had a party to go to, where there were going to be normal guys.

In the bathroom, I threw the glove in garbage, stripped, and got in the shower.

An hour later, my nails and my hair were done. I stepped from under the hair dryer and removed the curlers. I had lost weight while at PMI, so most of my favorite pants were a little loose. I decided on a mid-thigh stretchy skirt. The top was just the right length and displayed my cleavage to the max. I studied my reflection then sat in front of my dresser to apply makeup and brush my hair.

Happy with the results, I slipped on ankle boots, grabbed a jacket, and left the room. Two steps and I whipped around, went back to the bathroom, and fished Echo’s glove from the garbage. On a whim, I slipped it on.

It was made of soft leather and hugged my hand. Smiling, I headed downstairs.

***

I drove slower than usual on Orchard Grove, but nothing weird happened. Kicker lived on the other end of the town. I noticed a few souls wandering around. As usual, they stopped whatever they were doing and stared after me. Seriously, I didn’t understand their attraction to me. I now carried a fire poker in my car, just in case I had to disperse a few.

Naya and Sondra were at Kicker’s when I arrived. They must not have gone to their homes after swim practice. Worse, they weren’t ready. Their level of excitement surprised me. Being invited to Drew’s party was a shortcut up the social ladder, where jocks and cheerleaders reigned supreme.

“You look amazing,” Kicker said. She pointed at Echo’s glove. “I love that. Where did you get it?”

I didn’t get a chance to respond.

“How do you make your hair look like that?” Naya asked.

“Curlers.” I just wanted us to leave, but they needed help with their makeup. And their hair. Naya’s hair was naturally curly, but she’d blow-dried it. I knew the kind of girls who attended Drew’s parties. Catty with each other, but downright cruel to girls they believed were socially beneath them.

“I like your makeup,” Kicker said.

“I can finish applying yours if you like,” I offered, picking up the makeup case on the dresser.

Kicker glanced at the other two and giggled. “I was done, but if you can make me look like her,” she grabbed a magazine and showed me a picture of an actress with her coloring and hair color, “I will love you forever.”

Forever. Echo had jokingly asked me to be his forever. Annoyed that I was thinking of him I again, I ground my teeth and answered Kicker. “Okay.”

She sat and tilted her head back. I studied her face.

“FYI, you are more beautiful than Jen,” I said, inclining my head toward the magazine.

Kicker grinned. I gave her pointers as I applied the makeup. When I finished, Naya and Sondra wanted theirs redone, too. I ended up curling their hair with a hot iron. I hated hot irons and the damage they did to hair. I mentioned that and explained how I always used curlers and a hooded dryer. From their expressions, I might have just converted them.

While they dressed, I texted Raine. “Are you going to Drew’s party?”

“Wanted to, but don’t feel up to it,” Raine texted back. “Torin will stop by. Have fun.”

“When is your dad coming home?”

“Tomorrow. We’re turning the den into his bedroom.”

“Need help? I might need a place to go if the party blows.”

“Drew’s parties never do, but feel free to stop by. I’ll be home. Got Torin and Andris doing the heavy lifting right now. I heard you and Andris hit it off.”