Foretold by Rinda Elliott

line, you have to tell them! Why do you feel this need to protect her? I don’t get it! Look at how we grew up! All I ever wanted was a normal life and she made sure that didn’t happen. You should have just told them the truth last night. She’s killed someone, Raven.”
    “We don’t know that for sure. And I have to be absolutely sure. Have to give her that. Anyway, have you been paying attention on your trip? On mine, nuts were coming out of the woodwork. It’s snowing at the equator, Kat! People are scared! We don’t know the situation here. What if this was something else?”
    “You sounded pretty certain a minute ago, Raven.”
    I clutched the phone tight. A part of me agreed with her. Wanted to turn Mom in and not be the host for this massive guilt. But I couldn’t. Not just yet. “My rune tempus hit last night and the runes said ‘in violence conceived.’ What do you think that means?”
    Again, there was silence on her end of the phone. From her, anyway. In the background I heard several engines.
    “I think my norn is trying to tell me something about our birth,” I added.
    “No,” she said, voice low. “No. Dru doesn’t hold back. Innocent childhood isn’t a sacred thing in her world. It’s not her style. Gory bedtime stories are my first memories. She would have told us.”
    “Maybe not.” I stared out of the window, wishing I could whitewash the horrible thoughts buzzing around in my head.
    “What if it isn’t?” She growled so loudly, I could almost feel the rumble of it through the phone. “What if it’s something stupid from the past that has absolutely nothing to do with this? You could get in big trouble, Raven.”
    I closed my eyes. “I know.”
    “Sounds like you’ve found the right guy. I’m calling Coral and we’re coming to help. In the meantime, you know where to look.”
    “Not really. Campgrounds are out in this weather. She has to be in a hotel, but I can’t figure out how. She didn’t have much cash.” I picked at a loose thread on the blanket. “How long do you think it’ll take you to get here? I have no car and I can’t waste the money to rent one. I still have to find a hotel and I’m worried about the cost on that. Have you had trouble finding rooms? I did every single night. Spent a fortune to get here.”
    “Yeah, I’ve had trouble, but it got easier up here. People are used to driving in snow, so they didn’t all stop immediately. Since Coral’s guy lived closer, she’s been driving around, trying to find him, but she told me last night every hotel in the area is packed. Our neighbors are taking people in.”
    “Coral’s not, right?”
    “Don’t think so.”
    My tears had stopped, but my chest felt heavy. “Kat? I can’t let Mom hurt Vanir. He’s...well, he’s really cool.”
    “I thought I detected heat. So, I guess you won’t end up in Gefjon’s hall, after all?”
    I frowned, tugged the covers over my shoulders, recognizing Kat’s need to tease to diffuse the situation. In Norse myth, women who die virgins end up in Gefjon’s hall. We’d grown up teasing one another about ending up there if Mom was right. The air in the room felt chillier as my cheeks heated up. I squirmed under my tent. “Probably not.”
    “Really? Holy crap! I’m coming down there now. Get off this phone, call Coral and tell her you’re okay.”
    “Bossy much?”
    “I told you. She’s freaking. ”
    This was a bad thing. Our middle sister was as interested in magic as our Mom and she didn’t have control of hers. Besides, seidr worked a lot off human emotion.
    “Raven?” Kat’s voice was so low I hardly heard her.
    “What?”
    “Do you have the feeling one of us isn’t making it through this? All the other stuff Dru told us is coming true.”
    “We are. All three of us are going to make it. We’re going to fight. And think about it. Mom changed things so maybe she’s altered all of it and fate is now in our hands.”
    “I’m not sure that