Runes #03 - Grimnirs by Ednah Walters Page B

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