Runes (Paranormal Romance, YA,) by Ednah Walters Read Free Book Online

to let him get to me.”
    “Good.” I turned and cocked my brow at Eirik.
    “Fine. She starts it, you know,” he added, then took a large bite of his apple and chomped on it. Cora huffed and moved to the window.
    I shot Eirik a warning look and mouthed, “Be nice.” He rolled his eyes. “Now that we have an understanding, can I open my present?”
    He pushed the box out of my reach on the counter. “Not yet. What do you have to eat around here other than apples? I smell eggs.”
    “Mom cooked some this morning. Birthday breakfast.”
    Eirik shuddered and made a face.
    At the same time, Cora said, “Was it edible?”
    The two had slept over at my place often enough over the years and tried Mom’s cooking. I wagged my finger. “No wisecracks about her cooking either. She tried and that’s what counts. Let’s head downtown to the Creperie for lunch, then the video store to pick up a movie for tonight, and then the mall.”
    “What is it this time? Another Vampire Diaries marathon?” Eirik asked with a pained look.
    I frowned. “I thought you liked Vampire Diaries .”
    “Yeah, you said Elena was hot,” Cora added with a bite, but she was still staring outside.
    “She is,” Eirik said. “But the way she moons over the brothers? Not so hot.”
    I rolled my eyes. “I was planning on Supernatural .”
    The cheer I’d expected when I mentioned the hit series about two brothers who hunted demons was missing. Instead, Cora turned and exchanged a look with Eirik, who shook his head. My gaze volleyed between them. “Okay, what’s going on?”
    “Nothing,” Eirik said quickly and selected another apple from the bowl. “The Winchester boys and pizza sound great.”
    “You can’t lie if your life depended on it, Eirik. What is it?” I narrowed my eyes and shot him the same look Mom often gave me when she wanted me to confess.
    He pointed at his mouth, which was full, then at Cora.
    Cora glared at him. “Coward. Okay, Raine. This is the problem. For the last two years, we’ve celebrated your birthday in front of the TV eating pizza and cake.”
    “Three years,” Eirik corrected and took another lusty bite of the apple.
    Cora nodded. “Yeah, three. This year we’re doing something different.”
    I blinked. “We are?”
    “Yes. We’re going to L.A. Connection,” Cora said.
    “Dad would never allow…” I remembered he wasn’t around to say no. “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask my mother.”
    “Call her and see what she says,” Cora urged.
    I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to a club. “Can I at least think about this?”
    “No,” Cora and Eirik said at the same time.
    Okay, they were serious about this. I knew a lot of teens hung out at L.A. Connection on weekends. Even Cora often went with Keith. Eirik wasn’t big on the club scene, but maybe he didn’t go because of me.
    “Okay.” I picked up the phone in the kitchen, which was near the window and glanced outside. Torin was raking leaves. No wonder Cora kept staring outside.
    “Yummy, isn’t he?” Cora whispered.
    He was, but I couldn’t say anything with Eirik close by. I speed dialed Mom’s number. “Mom?”
    “What is it, sweetheart?”
    “Can I go to L.A. Connection with Cora and Eirik tonight? Just for a couple of hours,” I added.
    There was silence then, “Just a second, hun.”
    The others watched me eagerly. I made a face and turned toward the window as I waited. Torin had stopped raking and was shoving leaves into large garbage bags. He paused to wipe his brow, then lifted the bags and carried them to the curb like they weighed nothing, his walk graceful. As though aware he was being watched, he pivoted on his heel and looked toward my house. I turned my head before he could catch me watching him.
    There was still silence on the line. “Mom?”
    “Okay, Raine. We’ll give this a try and see how it goes. You don’t leave until I get home, and you must be back by eleven. No going anywhere else but the club and no