surgery.”
He cursed. “Do you want me to come over?”
“No, I, uh, I’ve tons of things to do. Maybe later.” My eyes went to the box of assorted chocolates and the photograph. “I love my birthday presents. Thank you.”
Despite saying I had things to do, we talked for a while. As soon as I hung up, I curled on the window seat with my laptop and went online to investigate runes.
The amount of information was staggering. Runes had meanings and stories behind them. They were alphabets used in ancient times for writing, divination, and magic by people from northern Europe, Scandinavia, British Isles, and Iceland. Andris, Ingrid, and Maliina were from Norway, which made sense. Did that mean Torin was from Europe, too? It might explain the British accent. Were they witches and wizards? It might explain their use of runes. It didn’t explain why they called us Mortals.
I looked out the window at Torin’s place. The slats were still closed. Maybe I should warn him that the police chief was investigating the blackout in case Maliina was behind it. No, I wasn’t helping her. If she’d messed with the switches, she deserved to pay for whatever happened to Kate and the others. There’d be no journey to Land of Mist, which Torin had threatened Andris with, just good old Oregon prison and an orange jumpsuit.
I researched Land of Mist. There was no connection to runes, just books and online games. Wherever Land of Mist was, it was a horrible place to Torin’s people.
Sighing, I put the laptop down and crawled out the window to the patio. Sometimes I wished I had a door like Mom and Dad. I’d begged them to add one when I turned thirteen, but they’d said no. It was better this way. No boys sneaking up into my room at night, Dad had said. Yeah, like that had ever stopped Eirik.
I leaned on the rail and inhaled. It was warm for fall, but knowing Oregon, the weather could turn chilly any minute. Most of our neighbors were indoors watching Sunday football. I could see inside the Rutledge’s house through the open windows. Mr. Rutledge and Mr. Ross were watching football in the living room while their wives did something at the kitchen counter.
I glanced down and frowned. Had someone vandalized my car? Against the dark-red color, it was hard to tell. I crawled back inside my room and ran downstairs. Mom yelled something, but I didn’t stop. I ran outside and gawked, my anger shooting up at the squiggles.
Who had done this to my poor car? Why?
I walked around and tried to wipe off the graffiti with the sleeve of my sweatshirt, but it didn’t come off. Against the car body and the roof, the colors almost blended. Almost. On the windows and the tires, they looked garish. Maybe a carwash would get rid of them.
I started for the house, paused, and turned. No, they couldn’t be. No freakin’ way. I walked back to the car, but I was too close. I walked backwards to the middle of the cul-de-sac and squinted as I studied the graffiti again.
They weren’t random drawings. They were runes, written in groups of threes, some across, others vertical. Who could have done this? Maliina, of course. But how had she found where I lived? What was her problem? Just because she hadn’t hurt me last night didn’t mean she had to put a whammy on my car. What were the runes supposed to do? Make my car flip, burst into flame while I was inside it? Torin needed to control that girl. It was obvious Andris couldn’t.
I marched up to Torin’s porch and rang the doorbell. No answer. He could still be sleeping or in the shower again. I banged on the door. Not a sound came from inside. Instead, I caught the reflection of Mrs. Rutledge and Mrs. Ross as they watched me from the porch. They gave me a look that screamed stalker. Bet they knew the number of times I’d talked to Torin since he moved in.
“He’s gone,” Mrs. Rutledge called out.
My stomach dropped. “Gone where?”
“Portland. He said he had a weekend job.” Mrs.
He cursed. “Do you want me to come over?”
“No, I, uh, I’ve tons of things to do. Maybe later.” My eyes went to the box of assorted chocolates and the photograph. “I love my birthday presents. Thank you.”
Despite saying I had things to do, we talked for a while. As soon as I hung up, I curled on the window seat with my laptop and went online to investigate runes.
The amount of information was staggering. Runes had meanings and stories behind them. They were alphabets used in ancient times for writing, divination, and magic by people from northern Europe, Scandinavia, British Isles, and Iceland. Andris, Ingrid, and Maliina were from Norway, which made sense. Did that mean Torin was from Europe, too? It might explain the British accent. Were they witches and wizards? It might explain their use of runes. It didn’t explain why they called us Mortals.
I looked out the window at Torin’s place. The slats were still closed. Maybe I should warn him that the police chief was investigating the blackout in case Maliina was behind it. No, I wasn’t helping her. If she’d messed with the switches, she deserved to pay for whatever happened to Kate and the others. There’d be no journey to Land of Mist, which Torin had threatened Andris with, just good old Oregon prison and an orange jumpsuit.
I researched Land of Mist. There was no connection to runes, just books and online games. Wherever Land of Mist was, it was a horrible place to Torin’s people.
Sighing, I put the laptop down and crawled out the window to the patio. Sometimes I wished I had a door like Mom and Dad. I’d begged them to add one when I turned thirteen, but they’d said no. It was better this way. No boys sneaking up into my room at night, Dad had said. Yeah, like that had ever stopped Eirik.
I leaned on the rail and inhaled. It was warm for fall, but knowing Oregon, the weather could turn chilly any minute. Most of our neighbors were indoors watching Sunday football. I could see inside the Rutledge’s house through the open windows. Mr. Rutledge and Mr. Ross were watching football in the living room while their wives did something at the kitchen counter.
I glanced down and frowned. Had someone vandalized my car? Against the dark-red color, it was hard to tell. I crawled back inside my room and ran downstairs. Mom yelled something, but I didn’t stop. I ran outside and gawked, my anger shooting up at the squiggles.
Who had done this to my poor car? Why?
I walked around and tried to wipe off the graffiti with the sleeve of my sweatshirt, but it didn’t come off. Against the car body and the roof, the colors almost blended. Almost. On the windows and the tires, they looked garish. Maybe a carwash would get rid of them.
I started for the house, paused, and turned. No, they couldn’t be. No freakin’ way. I walked back to the car, but I was too close. I walked backwards to the middle of the cul-de-sac and squinted as I studied the graffiti again.
They weren’t random drawings. They were runes, written in groups of threes, some across, others vertical. Who could have done this? Maliina, of course. But how had she found where I lived? What was her problem? Just because she hadn’t hurt me last night didn’t mean she had to put a whammy on my car. What were the runes supposed to do? Make my car flip, burst into flame while I was inside it? Torin needed to control that girl. It was obvious Andris couldn’t.
I marched up to Torin’s porch and rang the doorbell. No answer. He could still be sleeping or in the shower again. I banged on the door. Not a sound came from inside. Instead, I caught the reflection of Mrs. Rutledge and Mrs. Ross as they watched me from the porch. They gave me a look that screamed stalker. Bet they knew the number of times I’d talked to Torin since he moved in.
“He’s gone,” Mrs. Rutledge called out.
My stomach dropped. “Gone where?”
“Portland. He said he had a weekend job.” Mrs.
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