My focus was on Ingrid. She wasn't going to like my news. "Thanks for calling the school about mystery meat," I whispered.

A naughty grin lifted Ingrid's lips. Then her eyes widened and her hand lifted to adjust the lapels of her robe. I turned to see what had caught her attention and groaned.

Torin was back. Rhys and Nara were with him.

CHAPTER 20. THE NORNS STRIKE AGAIN.

Lavania studied the new arrivals and switched to being a gracious hostess. "I'm Lavania Celestina Ravilla. I never forget a face, and you two look familiar."

Torin picked up the tray and started out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Lavania called out. "You didn't introduce them."

"Cora can do the honors," Torin said, starting upstairs. "Be back in a few."

Silence followed his departure. Blaine recognized Rhys and gave him a manly nod. He didn't seem to be holding a grudge from their last meeting. Men were cool like that. Rhys didn't bother to hide his interest this time either. His eyes stayed on Ingrid, whose cheeks were rosy. I'd bet she wished she'd dressed up and brushed her hair. Not that she didn't look beautiful.

I made the necessary introductions. Rhys and Nara didn't give out their second names and the others didn't seem to care.

"Coffee?" Blaine asked.

"No, thanks," Nara said.

"I'll have some," Rhys said at the same time.

Lavania offered them breakfast, which they declined. "I know where I've seen you two before," she added, still studying them. "You were in Tyr's Court with Echo during the sentencing."

Nara wore an expression that said "so what?"

"It isn't often we have mass sentencing, and you all wore such defiant expressions." Lavania frowned. "If my memory serves me right, your sentences were completed a couple of centuries ago."

What? That was news to me. I studied Nara and Rhys, but they didn't speak. Even Blaine paused in the process of pouring Rhys' coffee and studied them.

When it became obvious they had no intention of explaining, Blaine offered Rhys the cup of coffee. "Cream? Sugar?"

"Black is good. May I?" Rhys indicated a chair near Ingrid, waited until she nodded, and sat. He was more interested in her than conversation about their service to Goddess Hel, but Lavania could not be stopped.

"Why are you still Grimnirs?" she asked, using her teacher voice.

"Why are you a Valkyrie?" Nara shot back. Guess she wasn't ready to be schooled.

Annoyance flashed across Lavania's face. Then it disappeared quickly. She chuckled. "I get it."

I didn't. "Get what?"

"They're Grimnirs because that's what they want to be," Lavania said. She sounded impressed. "Even though their sentence is over, they've chosen to stay."

That was the dumbest thing I'd ever heard. "Why? Hel's Hall is cold and dangerous. The goddess is unpredictable and a nutcase."

"What's a little cold and danger?" Rhys said, clearly showing off. It was paying off, too, because Ingrid stared at him with awe. "We're the judge, jury, and executioners of those who've wronged humanity, and that includes those not held accountable while alive. We're proud of who we are." He glanced at me, and his violet eyes grew frosty. "Don't ever call her that. Our goddess is many things, but crazy is not one of them."

"Don't talk to her like that," Blaine snapped.

"Stay out of this, Immortal," Rhys snapped. "She's Echo's girl, so her loyalty lies with him." The tension in the room shot up as the two men sized each other up. "Unless he's changed since he met her," Rhys added.

"He hasn't," I said, not liking his tone. I wanted to ask him what Goddess Hel had ever done to inspire such loyalty in her reapers, but the fight went out of me. These were Echo's friends. Technically my guards. Antagonizing them was pointless. My beef was with Echo. He'd never said anything nice about Goddess Hel, yet he was completely devoted to her.

"You know, we have a few presidents, prime ministers, and CEOs of major corporations on Corpse Strand. Quite a number of them were Echo's," Nara chipped in with glee. I wasn't sure whether she was trying to diffuse the situation or make it worse. Knowing her, worse.

Torin appeared through an air portal, and I sighed with relief. If he felt the tension in the room, he didn't show it, but he'd taken time to pull on a T-shirt. What surprised me even more was the fact that Raine hadn't followed him. She must have had quite a night.

"Cora has fifteen minutes before first period, so let's make this quick. You there, Dev?"

"Yes, sir," Dev's voice floated from the side of my backpack. I fished my cell phone out.

"Good. You continue staying with Cora." He glanced at Ingrid. "Maliina is back."

Ingrid sucked in a breath. "Wha...? How?"

"From what Cora told me, she managed to escape from Hel." He brought everyone up to speed on everything. I was surprised when Blaine moved closer to Ingrid and squeezed her shoulder. Rhys scowled, obviously not liking their closeness. There were no romantic vibes between Ingrid and Blaine, or Raine would have told me. Ingrid, Maliina, and Andris lived with Blaine's family when they first arrived in Kayville, so they must be pretty close.

"Cora, leave your car here and use a portal to and from school. Raine swears the north bathroom on the second floor is usually empty."

I nodded. "It is."

"Second, see if your parents can let you stay here over the weekend. Tell them Raine needs you. Having you here should make things easier for all of us. There are three empty bedrooms here, which brings us to Rhys and Nara. I'm sure you have your own places, but until Echo comes back, you stay here."

"All twelve of us?" Rhys asked.

"There are rooms at the mansion, too," Ingrid said, and I could hear fear in her voice. "Let's all stay there."

Torin nodded. "Okay, Ingrid. We'll find a way to accommodate everyone at the mansion."

The rest of the meeting went smoothly. Torin outlined what he expected from everyone and how to get in touch with each other.

"I'm not reaping until after the funeral, but I might be otherwise engaged. If you can't get a hold of me, find Blaine or Ingrid, and Lavania is always at the mansion. Raine and her mother are not to be disturbed with this unless absolutely necessary. I'll talk to Hawk and Femi." He made eye contact with Rhys and Nara. "You can meet them later."

"And you should all come to the mansion for lunch," Lavania said and smiled at Nara and Rhys. "All of you. I want to meet the remaining ten."

The upstairs bathroom was empty. As soon as the portal closed, Nara rounded on her cousin. "You and the Immortal will never work."

I stole a glance at Rhys. He didn't seem bothered by her dire prediction. In fact, he wore such a smug smile I doubted anything Nara said would stop him from pursuing Ingrid. Andris was going to hate it.

"See you guys, later," I threw over my shoulder and took off toward my locker. I ignored the stares. So I dressed differently for one day? Big freaking deal.

"Congrats, Cora," a girl from my P.E. class said when I got downstairs.

For what? Dressing like a slob? "Um, thanks."

"You have my vote," another added when I got downstairs.

Vote for what? Near my locker, Kicker's jaw dropped when she saw me.

"One word from you and I'll bitch-slap you into next week," I warned.

She pressed her lips tight and nodded, but she gave me a onceover. "You actually rock that look."

I shot her a mean look. Of course, I did. My top was gorgeous and compensated for the ugly pants.

"Okay, enough about your wardrobe change. Did you see the list for the Junior Prom Court?" she asked, eyes sparkling with excitement. "You made it! I'm already rallying the troops."

I smothered a groan. I had no intention of attending the junior prom and didn't want to discuss it either. "Don't bother. I'm not going."

"What? Why not? You're the most popular girl in school. Everyone reads your blog. You'll definitely be crowned Junior Prom Queen."

I highly doubted it. Students voted for the prom king and queen, and the most popular junior right now was Raine. I slammed my locker shut.

"I'll stop by the office and tell them I'm out, so they can select someone else. Oh, and the funeral is eleven o'clock tomorrow morning at Grandview Cemetery."

Kicker frowned. "Funeral? Whose?"

Seriously? Proms made people stupid. "Raine's father."

"Oh."

"Well, I thought you'd want to go." I brushed past her. "She should be crowned Junior Prom Queen."

"What?" Kicker asked like I'd lost my mind.

I wanted to say something scathing, but... this was Kicker. Clueless. Sweet. Sometimes annoying because she didn't know when to shut up.

"She lost her father, Kicker," I threw over my shoulder. "It might make her feel a little better."

"That's ridiculous," Kicker said, hurrying to keep up with me. "I mean, she doesn't go to school here anymore, so she can't be crowned. I didn't even know the two of you were still in touch."

What in Hel's Mist...? I stopped and whipped around, my stomach dropping somewhere near the arch of my feet. Kicker bumped into me and apologized. I raised my hand and cut her off. "What did you say about Raine?"

She blinked and took a step back. "Uh, she doesn't go to school here anymore and can't be Junior Prom Queen. I mean, she and Eirik moved away right after the accident at the swim meet."

No, no, no! This couldn't be happening. I shook my head.

Kicker misunderstood. "What? You don't believe me?"

"Who's the QB?" I asked.

"Blaine Chapman. Cora, what's-?"

"The one who led us to the championship," I snapped. A few students walking by turned to stare at us. I glared back.

Kicker looked around uneasily then whispered, "Okay, Cora. You look totally wigged out. You're not forgetting stuff again, are you?"

I blinked at her like the village idiot. I'd used that as an excuse when I couldn't remember stuff Maliina did in my name and body while I was in the psyche ward. Finally, I found my voice. "No-ooo."

"Uh, you forgot stuff before after you were hurt at the game."

This wasn't time to explain my confusion. I needed distance from her and the questions in her eyes. I took a deep breath, then another. "Yeah, I did, but I'm okay now. Let's talk later."

I took off and pushed past people. A few yelled congratulations while others stared at me strangely. I was beyond caring what anyone thought. The Norns were erasing memories, which meant the Valkyries were about to disappear. Did that include Grimnirs?

I careened around the corner, almost bumping into students. My first destination was the football wall of fame. My heart squeezed when I saw the photograph of Blaine and the football team. His name and face had replaced Torin's. Obviously, Photoshop had nothing on the Norns.

"Cora," Kicker whispered from behind me.

I took a deep breath and turned to face her. "Don't ask. You mentioned Junior Prom Queen and I had dej vu. Remember, Blaine and Casey were crowned Junior Prom King and Queen last year, and everyone said they'd probably take the senior crowns this year too?"

I must have convinced her I wasn't completely looney because she smiled. "He will. The teachers haven't selected the court for the seniors, but everyone knows he's the most popular guy at school. Too bad he's not really dating anyone right now." She gave me a pointed look I didn't understand.

I scowled as I fell in step with her, my mind racing. Why were the Norns doing this now?

"Aw, come on, Cora." Kicker turned and walked backwards, her expression annoying me. "You keep denying there's anything between the two of you, but I don't believe it. You two hang out a lot."

"I'm dating..." What if she didn't remember Echo?

"Who?"

My throat seized up. "No one."

Kicker rolled her eyes. "I know. You're still pining for Eirik," she said.

A crazed laugh escaped my lips. This was totally effed up. It was as though the last several months hadn't happened. Why now? Was it time for the Valkyries and Grimnirs to move on? Was that why the Norns had paired me with Blaine? He once told me Immortals stuck together. Maybe this was what he'd meant.

I didn't want to be paired with Blaine. I wanted Echo. My stomach heaved. I was so going to throw up right there in the hallway.

I pointed at the bathroom door. "I gotta go."

I didn't wait to see if she left or not. The first bell went off, but being late was the least of my problems. I pulled out my cell phone and called Torin. The phone kept ringing. Was he gone? I engaged my runes and reached for my artavus.

Please, let Raine and Lavania be at home. I wasn't ready to deal with dark souls and Immortal stuff without them or Echo.

"Cora?" Torin asked just before I started etching runes on the mirror, and relief washed over me.