Runes #03 - Grimnirs

by Ednah Walters

  I didn’t look back, even though I was dying to. Raine opened the door before I reached it, and we hugged. I dropped my gym bag by the door.

  “Where’s Echo?” she asked.

  “Gone,” I fibbed.

  She frowned. “Hmm. Okay. How was the meet?”

  “We got second place. The boys got third.” Sounds came from the den, her parent’s new bedroom. “We need more serious swimmers. Doc even asked if you’d come back to the team.”

  Raine laughed. “With all the stuff I do? I don’t think so.”

  I followed her to the kitchen. “I’m starving.”

  “We have leftover stir-fry from last night or a sandwich.”

  “Stir-fry. I want something hot.”

  I got myself bottled water while she warmed the stir-fry. “So what did you find out about our soul?”

  “A lot. His name is William ‘Bill’ Burgess. He had a heart attack last Sunday while on his way home from a business trip. He was driving, the poor bastard. He’s survived by three older sons from a previous marriage and a teenager daughter, Victoria, from his second wife, Clare.”

  “Clare Bear,” I whispered.

  “That’s right. Victoria Burgess is a sophomore at our school.” Raine placed a steaming bowl of yummy looking chicken stir-fry in front of me. “Want to know how I did it?”

  “Okay, Sherlock. How?” I got a fork and twirled the spaghetti.

  “I started with online obituaries for Bear. Checked Kayville then the county. There was no one by that name who’d died in the last week. I went back weeks. Nothing. Then going by your description, I studied the pictures instead and found photographs of a younger and older Burgess.” There was a pile of newspapers on the counter. She pulled out the one on top. “Dad reads papers from cover to cover. You know, out of boredom. Here’s William ‘Bill’ Burgess.” She tapped at an article.

  It showed a picture of the soul from school and the story about the accident. I skimmed through it as I ate. “It doesn’t say where they live?”

  “Newfort. I called Defoe Funeral Home and pretended to be a pharmaceutical salesman, a former associate of Mr. Burgess. I must have been convincing because the funeral director told me the wake was on Wednesday night and the funeral was two days ago.”

  “Dang! We could have mingled with guests at his wake and slipped the envelope with the safety deposit box info in among the condolence cards.”

  Raine pursed her lips in thought. “Actually, this might work better. The man was a salesman. We could say he dropped the piece of paper when he stopped at our house to sell his products and we just heard he’d died.”

  The perks of having a brilliant best friend. I grinned. “I like it. Did you get the address?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “Great! We can leave after I finish eating. This is really good.” The garlic sauce was creamy. “Torin’s?”

  “No. One of Lavania’s special dishes.”

  “What does she do when not working with you?”

  “She visits Asgard and prepares my lessons.” She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes, I wonder about this seer thing. All I want to be is a Valkyrie, but she keeps saying not yet. Not yet. Not yet. Not freaking yet. I have a feeling she’s getting orders from someone up there.”

  “Goddess Freya?” I asked. “She is in charge of that kind of magic, right?”

  Raine nodded, grinning. “I’m so happy I can discuss these things with you. I talked to Lavania about your possession issue, and she said I should be able to help when the guys are not around. They use their artavo, like Echo did, and command the souls by calling out their names, while I use incantations.”

  I paused in the process of putting a piece of chicken in my mouth. “Like Dean and Sam in Supernatural?”

  She laughed. “Yeah, except I’ll use the Old Language.”

  “Which is what?”

  “I don’t know. Old Norse, I guess. Lavania dishes out information like it is a rare element. Maybe Echo might know. You should contact him. We might need him when we go to the Burgesses’ home. Torin and Andris went reaping. Don’t know where or when they’ll be back. I can protect you if we are attacked, but I’m not as skilled as the guys, so you might get hurt. What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “I don’t know where Echo is either.”

  “Why not? How do you contact him whenever you need him?”

  “I don’t. Usually, he just, uh, appears.”

  Raine grinned. “Torin, too. He insists he can feel when I need him. Obviously it’s the same with you and Echo.”

  That would be cool. If we were a couple. “I don’t know about that.”

  “Did you see him after the meet?”

  “Yeah.” I ate another forkful. “He came here with me.”

  “And?”

  “I left him in the car.”

  Raine’s jaw dropped. “Cora! You should have invited him inside.”

  “I didn’t know Torin and Andris were gone. I didn’t think we needed him, and he understood. Kind of.”

  “You two fought?”

  “No. We are in perfect agreement about everything. He’s here to protect me. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

  Raine’s eyes narrowed. “What? So you are not going to be, you know, together?”

  “Nope. He’s a Grimnir and I’m Mortal. The two don’t mix.”

  Raine sighed. “Torin played that card, too. I’ll be right back.” Raine disappeared toward the front entrance, and I went back to my food. I knew she went outside, and I waited to see whether she’d come back with Echo or not.

  The door opened and Echo’s laughter drifted inside.

  “Hungry?” Raine asked, entering the house.

  He followed her inside. “Famished.”

  Our eyes met. I looked away, feeling a little guilty for leaving him outside. Okay, not a little.

  “I make a mean sandwich,” Raine said, opening the fridge door. “We have bologna, chicken breast, or beef.”

  “Just throw everything in. I’m not picky.” He paused by my stool. “Hey, doll-face.”

  “Don’t call me that.” He took the stool beside mine, facing Raine with his back to the counter. He was so close his thigh brushed my hip.

  “I forgive you,” he whispered.

  “For what?”

  “Leaving me.”

  I made a face.

  “Feeling guilty yet?” he asked.

  I was and he knew it. “No.”

  He moved closer, close enough I could count his ridiculously lush lashes. I moved back and dropped my arm onto my lap. He chuckled. “So, what’s the plan?”

  Refusing to play his childish games, I stood. Raine was watching us with a knowing grin. “I’m going upstairs to change.”

  “Why? You look perfect the way you are,” Echo said.

  I ignored him, even though the compliment was nice. “Call me when it’s time to go.”

  “We are going to the Burgess after this,” Raine told him as I walked away. “Remember the soul that possessed Cora?”

  “He’s wishing he hadn’t,” Echo said in a harsh voice.

  “What do you mean?” I heard Raine ask.

  “There’s this island in Hel called Corpse Strand, where souls are subjected to the most excruciating pain…”

  I didn’t hear the rest of Echo’s answer. I grabbed my bag and disappeared upstairs. Echo was angry with that soul for nothing. Burgess had asked if it was okay to possess me, and I’d agreed. Of course, I had no idea what I was agreeing to at the time. Echo and I were going to have a little chat about the guy.

  Upstairs, I replaced my sweatpants with skinny jeans, loafers with boots, and my sweatshirt with a long-sleeved flannel top. Mascara and lip-gloss came next. I studied my reflection and sighed. My hair was a mess. Weeks at PMI meant I had serious split ends. Sighing, I brushed my hair then slipped my bag of toiletries back into my gym bag.

  Raine walked in just as I finished. “Ready?”

  “Y
ep.”

  She picked up her lip-gloss and applied it, but she studied me through the mirror.

  “What?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “Nothing.”

  “I hate when you stare at me like you’re dying to say something but you don’t because you don’t want to hurt my feelings.” I rubbed the moisturizer on my hands and waited. She didn’t speak. “Seriously, Raine. Say it or—”

  “Fine.” She finished with the gloss and put it down. “Echo is not exactly what I expected.”

  I braced myself to defend him if she said something mean. “What do you mean?”

  “He’s charming.”

  I relaxed. “He’s not that charming.”

  Raine laughed. “He is and you know it. You just hate it ‘cause he gets to you. He does the same with Andris and Torin. Do you know where he was last week?”

  “I really don’t care.”

  “He was searching for Maliina.”

  “Why?”

  “I asked, and he just smirked. You should ask him.”

  Yeah. Right. We started downstairs. “Where is he?”

  “In the car. He insisted. Go and keep him company before Prune Face Rutledge decides to call the police. She was peering at him from the safety of her curtain like he was about to pillage our cul de sac.”

  I’d so love to rune Mrs. Rutledge. She had a thing against teens. Or was it younger women? I had a feeling she’d never liked Raine’s mother either. “Okay, I’ll be in the car.”

  “No fighting with him,” Raine warned.

  I stuck my tongue out at her before closing the door. Mrs. Rutledge watched me from behind her curtain. I waved and gave her a big smile. The curtains fell back. A blast of cold hit me when I opened the car door, and I expected to see a portal to Hel’s Hall in the back of my car again. Instead, Echo sat in the back as though he hadn’t left, the front seat folded to give his long legs more room. Memories of the last time we’d folded that seat had my pulse leaping. His uneaten sandwich and bottled water was on the seat beside him.

  I slid behind the wheel, and our eyes met in the rearview mirror.

  “Not going to join me back here?” he asked naughtily, the timbre of his voice sinfully sexy.

  “No.”

  “But I need your warmth and sweetness.”

  Sweetness? I cringed. “I’m not sweet.”

  He pretended to think about it. “No, you’re not. I’ve watched your vlog entries and social network updates. You are a little spitfire.” He gave me a slow smile. “It makes your sweetness, when you choose to show it, even more special. Please, come back here, Cora.” He patted the seat beside him. “I just came back from Hel’s Hall and need you.”

  “Last night, we agreed we’d keep our distance,” I reminded him.

  “We did? You said a lot of things last night and didn’t give me a chance to respond. I want us to be friends, doll-face.”

  Friends? Was he crazy? I couldn’t be friends with a guy I wanted to deck one minute and kiss the next. “Sure, Echo. We can be friends. Start by not calling me doll-face.”

  “Maliina hated that name, too.”

  “Oh. Then I like it.”

  I didn’t realize I’d spoken until he chuckled. “So will you come back here and warm me, a cold, miserable friend?” He gave me a fake lost puppy look. “Please?”

  Part of me wanted to ignore him. I should, but I had questions. It was a little cooler inside the car, so he might really need me. I touched his duster. It was cold. “Who used to warm you before me?”

  He grinned. “You don’t want me to answer that question.”

  Probably Mortal women. “Why did you go to Hel’s Hall anyway?”

  “To check if they knew two more Grimnirs were missing. I checked earlier during your meet, but they didn’t know anything then. Now they do.” He extended his hand toward me. “Please.”

  I started the car and hiked the temperature. “There you go. So what did Torin and Andris do with the Grimnirs’ bodies? I mean, they didn’t just leave them out there in the vineyard.”

  Echo shrugged. “I’m sure they took care of them. As for you, you are developing quite a reputation.”

  “Me? Why?”

  “Everyone thinks you are the one taking them out.”

  I cocked my eyebrows. “Don’t you mean Maliina?”

  He rubbed his hands and blew into them. Sighing, I stepped out of the car, ignored the peeping hag across the cul-de-sac, and slipped beside him. He scooted to create more room for me, wrapped his arms around me, and dropped his cheek on my neck. He was really cold.

  I rubbed his hands. I’m an idiot. “Why do they still think I’m Maliina? Didn’t you tell them the truth?”

  “No.” His breath teased my ear, and my body responded.

  I fidgeted. “Why not?”

  “I have a plan,” he said. “Remember I told you yesterday that there’s a reason I came to your place that first night. If you are ready to hear that story, let me know. But you should know that, to the Grimnirs, you are a means to an end, namely giving the goddess what she wants. As soon as I find Maliina, I’ll fix up this mess and you’ll be safe.”

  I still didn’t want to discuss Maliina. “So no one knows about you, Torin, and Andris hurting Grimnirs?”

  “No. I’ve made sure the Grimnirs who came for you didn’t report back to the goddess. Otherwise we’d be on the hit list, too.”

  Instead, I was the target. I shivered. At least he and the others were safe.

  “Hey,” Echo lifted my chin, “they won’t get you as long as I’m around.”

  Looking into his gorgeous eyes reminded me why I’d agreed to warm him. He was irresistible when he turned on the charm. And no matter how much I wanted to pretend things were over between us, they weren’t. I saw it in his heavy-lidded eyes. Felt it in the heavy pounding of his heart and the change in his breathing. My hands tightened around his.

  “Cora,” he whispered. His head started a slow descent, and my breath caught. I wanted to kiss him so badly it hurt. But I couldn’t. I didn’t want to invite more heartache. Maybe it was time to talk about the Immortal who screwed me over.

  I turned my head. “Do you know where Maliina is hiding?”

  There was silence. I stole a glance at him and caught the heated look in his eyes before he shielded it with his lashes.

  “No. I’ve checked most of the realms, except Muspell and Asgard. I’m persona non grata in Asgard, so Torin and Andris are checking there now. If she’s not there, she’s with the Norns in Muspell.”

  I frowned. “Don’t the Norns live in Asgard?”

  “The good ones do. The evil ones are in Muspell, the land of the demons and fire giants. No one has ever gone there and made it back to talk about it.”

  “Then what are we going to do? I can’t be hunted by Grimnirs forever.”

  “You won’t. She’ll soon hear about how she’s being blamed for the disappearance of Grimnirs and come out of hiding. No one wants to piss off Hel. Maliina already did that by failing to deliver Eirik. Killing Grimnirs will make her the most wanted woman in history.”

  “In the meantime, your people will continue to think I’m Maliina and keep coming after me.” I sighed. “There must be a way to force her out of hiding.”

  “She could help.” He glanced outside, and I followed his gaze. Raine was walking toward us.

  I frowned. “Raine?”

  “She’s a powerful seeress, and her powers are tied to the Norns. She can summon them, hear them, and when possible, see what they see.”

  “Yikes. No wonder they want her.”

  Raine opened the front passenger door and peered at us, grinning. “Cozy?”

  “No,” I said.

  “Yes,” Echo said at the same time.

  “Do you think you guys can go without me? Mom needs my help with something.”

  I wiggled out of Echo’s arms and got out of the car. “Is your dad okay?”

  Raine sighed. “
Today has been rough on him, so we need to sit with him.” She glanced at Echo, who’d gotten out of the car and was walking toward the front passenger door. “Are we still going to your place later?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then pick me up when you finish with the Burgesses. Good luck.” She waved at Echo. “Take good care of her.”

  He flashed a smile. “I plan to.”

  The exchange between them had weird undertones that didn’t surprise me. Raine had just lied to me, her face turning red. Raine Cooper couldn’t lie if a life depended on it.

  “How long do you think Mr. C has?” I asked as I pulled out.

  Echo paused in the process of biting his sandwich and frowned. “Mr. C?”

  “Raine’s father.”

  “I don’t know. I’m actually surprised he’s still alive. Something is stopping him from dying.” He didn’t sound concerned.

  “Love.”

  Echo chuckled. “Norns.”

  “What would they gain by preventing his death?”

  “That’s the question, isn’t it? Norns are twisted. That’s why I don’t like dealing with them.” He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed with gusto. “So, what are you going to tell the Burgess family?”

  “I don’t know yet.” The closer I got to Newfort, the more nervous I became. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.

  12. Answers

  Newfort was half-an-hour’s drive from Kayville. It was considered a town, though it had one streetlight and one elementary school. Most of their children attended junior high and high school in Kayville. Defoe Funeral Home served several towns, so it wasn’t surprising the family had used it for the wake.

  “Turn left at the next stop sign,” Echo said. His arm rested on the back of my seat and a slight tug of my hair told me he was playing with a lock of it. How long had he been doing that?

  “Eyes on the road, sweetheart. Left turn coming up.”

  I followed his directions. By the time I pulled up in front of a yellow bungalow with a wraparound porch and a white picket fence, he was stroking my hair.