I closed my eyes and willed the medium runes to appear on my skin. I rarely used them, so I wasn't sure what they looked like. I only recalled one bind rune. It appeared, inking my skin as though it was being etched in real time.

"I can feel their power," I whispered.

Something weird started to happen. More runes appeared even though I didn't will them. It was as though the first one was pulling the others to the surface. The same runes repeated themselves until my arms were covered with them.

I waited for them to glow like my other runes. They didn't. Majority of them continued to coil under my skin like tiny snakes. A surge of power shot through me, the effect stronger than anything I'd ever felt with other runes. Panic followed. Maybe I wasn't supposed to engage these runes.

"I can feel them, yet I'm inside your phone," Dev said. "I don't know if I can... if I can resist their pull." He sounded weird, breathless and weak.

"No, you stay in there," I yelled.

"But I feel their glow, their pull... I could feel again." His head slithered out of the power outlet on my phone.

"Go back inside, Dev, or I swear I'll tell Echo to reap you."

The door swung open, and Femi entered the room. "Cora? I heard a... What's going on? What have you done to yourself?"

Her questions registered, but I was busy trying to understand what Dev had said. What did he mean by their glow? The runes were like tats on my skin. The few that were glowing were pain and strength runes, which I must have automatically engaged without thinking. Maybe only souls could see the medium runes glow. They already did even when I didn't have them on the surface.

"They're medium runes," I said.

Femi had moved closer and was studying me as though I was an alien. Ignoring her, I extended my hands toward Raine's father, who was frowning.

"It's okay, Mr. Cooper. We can bond now."

I could see the concern on his face, but he couldn't resist the pull of the runes. I braced myself as he drew closer. A cold draft accompanied him, but it wasn't as chilly as before. The effect of bonding wasn't as nauseating. The need to push him out of me was still there, but it didn't overwhelm my senses.

I was aware of my surrounding, and my vision and my hearing weren't unimpaired. Raine burst through the doors. Her eyes darting around, tears racing down her face. She saw me and stopped, her eyes widening.

"It's okay," I reassured her, then my eyes met Echo's. He wore a bewildered expression. It turned furious fast.

"Who did this to you?" he asked, closing the gap between us.

"No one did." I stuck out my arms, the runes now covering every inch of my body. I was sure I looked like Lady Gaga's bestie, Zombie Boy. Not pretty. "These are the same medium runes Maliina etched on me. I just learned how to use them. Kinda," I added with a shrug.

"They don't glow," Echo said, studying my arms. "That can't be good."

"Where's my father?" Raine asked.

I opened my mouth to answer, but Dev said, "He's inside her."

Everyone's attention shifted to the phone clenched in my hand, and I sighed.

"Who's that?" Ingrid asked.

"Dev, the dark soul, who will be in trouble if he doesn't shut up!" I focused on Raine. She stood in Torin's arms, but she was no longer crying. I moved closer to her and expected her to cringe. The runes on my skin couldn't be pretty. She didn't cringe, a testament of our tightness.

"Your father bonded with me, Raine," I said. "He wants to talk to you, Torin, and your mother."

"Mother," Raine whispered. "I have to tell her."

"Lavania went to get her," Femi said. She looked at the others and indicated the door. They filed out, except Echo.

"You can talk when possessed?" Echo asked.

"Yeah. Weird, huh?" It was strange hearing my voice when I had a soul inside me. Usually I just listened to their thoughts while shivering and trying not to barf.

"We don't know anything about these medium runes," he said. "They could have side-effects. They don't even glow."

That was the second time he'd brought that up. "To us they don't, but to souls-"

"They're like a thousand stars," Dev said. "Don't let him stay for too long, Cora. You need to let him take over, finish his business, and kick him out. Even the most loving souls get addicted to possession."

This time, I couldn't tell Dev to shut up. "How do I let him take over?"

"Talk to him. Don't fight him when he wants control," Dev explained.

I gave Echo my cell phone. "Go. I'll be out as soon as we're done." His expression said he didn't want to leave. "I'll be fine," I reassured him. "The medium runes make a big difference. I'm in control. I'm talking in my normal voice. I'm not dizzy or nauseous. I can see and hear and feel, yet he's inside me."

He only scowled harder.

"Dev will explain. Please, go." I pushed my cell phone into his hand.

He nodded, still not looking happy. "Okay. If you need me, I'll be outside the door." I waited until the door closed behind him then turned and faced Raine and Torin. "Do you want to wait for your mom?"

Raine shook her head. Then she moved away from Torin and took my hands. "I want to talk to him first."

"Okay." I listened to her father's thoughts and smiled. "He doesn't want to wait either."

I didn't know how to give him control when he asked if he could speak. Part of me was scared of what I might feel. I focused on what I knew about him, that I trusted him and he would never hurt me. Then I took a leap of faith.

My mouth opened and words poured out, but it wasn't my voice I heard. It was Mr. Cooper's. He sounded weak. Tears filled my eyes as he talked to Raine. Raine was crying so hard, and I was an empathic crier. Or maybe it was his words.

He loved her and was proud of the woman she was becoming. He reminded her of little things they'd done together, and how she'd reacted. He wanted her to hold on to those memories and not worry about him.

His voice grew stronger. Raine cried harder. I cried even harder. Our arms were around each other. I knew she was really hugging her father, but I was in there, too, giving my best friend the comfort she needed.

Then I realized something. I was fading, growing weaker as Mr. Cooper's voice grew stronger. He was taking over my senses. His voice ebbed as he talked to Torin. One minute strong, the next so faint I strained to hear him.

I started to panic. He was in the middle of telling Torin what he expected from him as Raine's future husband and father to his grandchildren when my hearing disappeared.

I tried to tell Raine that I couldn't hear anything, but the words coming from my mouth were directed at Torin. Mr. Cooper was in control. I tried to push Raine away and signal help, but I couldn't control my arms. Medium runes weren't all they were cracked up to be was my last thought before I blacked out.

I opened my eyes slowly and the first face I saw was Echo's. Was I dead?

"No, you're not dead, but you're going to give me a heart attack, something I've never worried about."

I glanced around and frowned. Once again, I was on Raine's bed. "What happened?"

"Mr. Cooper finished talking to his wife, but as soon as he left your body, you dropped like a Raggedy Ann doll."

I narrowed my eyes. He sounded too dang pleased with himself. "I guess you plan to tell me 'I told you so.'"

He caressed my cheek. "No. I made it just in time to catch you."

"You did?"

"Yep. I told you I always know when you need me. Felt it right here." He pressed his hand to his left breast right where his heart was. "You were growing weaker the longer he stayed inside you. You're lucky Mr. Cooper was not interested in taking over your body. If he had been a different soul..."

I would be a suit. The thought that a soul could kick me out of the way and take over my body was scary.

"No more medium runes," I swore.

"Finally, we agree on something."

"Until I learn everything about them," I added.

He made a face. "Somehow I knew you'd add that. Why don't you ever listen to me? I'm older and wiser-"

I laughed. "Yeah, I've seen your wisest moves."

"That's insulting. I have wicked moves." He wiggled his eyebrows.

A knock and Raine stepped into the room with a bag of Twizzlers. I sat up and caught it when she threw it my way. Switching to supersonic speed, I ripped open the bag and pulled out several of the surgery treats. For a moment, all I thought about was replenishing my energy, everything else forgotten.

When I slowed down, Raine, Torin, and Echo were talking in low tones by the door while staring at me. She looked like crap now that I had a chance to study her. Her eyes were red from crying, and her hair was mussed.

I slipped to the edge of the bed and stood, but a wave of dizziness washed over me and I plopped back on the bed. Echo appeared by my side, his hands steadying me.

"Take it easy, doll-face. You've been out for nearly two hours."

"Two... I have to go home." I jumped up, or tried to, but Echo pinned me down. Raine had left the room before I could ask her about her father. "Did I help?"

He cupped my cheeks and peered at me. "You're not making sense, sweetheart. You must still be loopy from the possession."

I pouted. "I'm not."

"Those medium runes are a game changer. Next time you want to give a soul a voice, I'm staying. I don't care who the person is. About going home, your parents were fast asleep when I last checked on them. And no, don't lecture me about runing them. I had to. Your mother wanted to talk to you about your prom dresses." He rolled his eyes. "What's with women and prom?"

"It's a rite of passage." Prom wasn't even important anymore. "Is Torin taking Raine's father to Valhalla?"

Echo's expression changed. He stood and I thought I heard him swear, but I could have been mistaken. Now, he was worrying me.

"What is it?"

"Mr. Cooper's soul is not going to Valhalla."

"Why not?"

"Because he's bound for Hel."

I scoffed at the idea. "No, he's not."

"Yes, he is, doll-face. I've always been meant to reap him. It doesn't matter that I gave him a pass last year. He's going to Hel."

I shook my head as though the simple act would make him take back his words. "You can't take him. He has to go to Asgard. Raine and her mother are a big deal there."

"It doesn't matter. I've gone through this with Raine and her mother. They were blindsided, but rules are rules, and no one breaks them. When Odin's son didn't die in battle, where did he go? Hel's realm. Goddess Freya's husband? Hel. I could name a few more gods and goddesses who are there. Their parents and spouses couldn't stop the reapers. It's the one time we have power over the gods." He reached down and ran his knuckles down my cheek. "Sorry, doll-face, but Mr. Cooper's soul is mine."

I jumped up and paced, imagining Raine's reaction to this. She'd hate Echo. "What if you refused to reap him?"

"Then some other Grimnir will come for him."

"Tell them he's under our protection."

He grabbed my wrist and stopped me mid-stride. "What do you think will happen if I don't reap him? He'll hang around doing nothing and slowly fading like Torin's mother. Then he'll start longing for what he had with his wife and start possessing electronics just so he can talk to her. Next, he'll upgrade to animals so he can feel and feed. By then he'd lose whatever little humanity he still had left and go after Mortals. Before you know it, he'd become a dark mass of nothing we despise. Do you think Raine and her mother would like that?"

The fight left me, and I rested my forehead on his chest. A tear escaped. Then another. Poor Raine. She had to lose her father twice. Echo pulled me into his arms and tucked my head under his chin.

"Shh, don't. I can't stand it when you hurt."

"He was like a father to me. He'd challenge us to think deeper about things and current issues. Stupid rules! Someone as kind and smart as him deserves to go to Asgard."

"I know."

I clung to Echo until the tears stopped. "When do you leave?"

"Soon." He stroked my hair. "I gave her my word that I'd find him a comfortable, solitary room in case she wants to pay him a visit." He rubbed my back and pressed a kiss on my temple. "Hel is not a bad place. It is the perfect resting place for sick and weary souls."

"It's freezing," I countered.

"So are souls. The temperature is perfect for them. Most souls never want to leave once they settle into their rooms. They say most spend eternity reliving their happiest memories over and over."

I wasn't sure whether he was serious or not, but I knew Raine. If she wanted her father in Asgard, nothing was going to stop her from finding a way to make it happen. She was stubborn like that. Maybe she'd find a way around this stupid rule.

I saw the time on her dresser. It was almost ten. "Is everyone downstairs?"

"Yes. Mrs. Cooper wanted time alone with her husband, but we'll have to leave soon. I should be back by tomorrow sometime."

"Tomorrow? It takes that long to go to Hel and back?"

Echo chuckled. "No. Seconds, but I need to find him a resting place closer to the deities. I'll have to move through their wing and prepare one of the unused rooms undetected."

Finally, he was talking about Hel. "Unused rooms? Is Hel's Hall like a hotel with many rooms?"

"More like dorms with rows and columns of bunk beds. The gods and goddesses are pampered and have private rooms. Goddess Hel will never dream of looking for him there. The gods, especially dead ones, hate to be bothered from their resting places or they turn all nasty and vengeful." He shuddered. "Hateful bastards. You'd think it's everyone's fault they ended up in Hel and not Asgard. Yet when they're up, they want to be entertained. They're lucky Goddess Hel accommodates them."