"Thanks for the ride!" I called out to Geira as she dropped me off at Valhalla the next day. It had been quite late when we’d finished training and Zane had indeed come hunting for her.
Thankfully, they allowed me the use of their cabin for the night, seeing as the two of them would be sleeping under the stars after they finished their, uh, festivities.
Somewhere around four a.m., I was able to block out the noises surrounding the cabin and get a few hours of sleep. When Geira and Zane finally surfaced, they both insisted on me staying a few hours and visiting with them. Geira had tons of stories to tell me about my mother, and despite the night before, I ended up having a great time. Geira seemed to be the most down to earth of all the Valkyries, although don't let that deceive you; she was as lethal as they come.
The sun was setting as I reached the front door to find a panic-stricken Demetri on the other side of it. He was easily excitable so his current state didn't alarm me at first.
"What's going on Demetri? You and Mase have a fight or something?" I asked, closing the door.
Demetri opened his mouth and began speed talking, something I had recently learned that he did when nervous. "I'm so sorry. Please don't kill me! I didn’t have any idea that he would seriously take anything I said seriously, and if it hadn't been daylight I would have gone after him the moment I realized that he had." Demetri was nervously wringing his hands as he shifted from foot to foot.
Placing my hands on his shoulders, I peered into his face. "Calm down. I'm sure it’s not as bad as all that. Take a deep breath and tell me what transpired while I was gone, slowly." I used Rune's choice of wording. It always got the desired response from all the young ones.
He took a deep breath as instructed, but couldn't seem to slow his speech as he began rambling on. "Mason's gone. I showed him on the map where the tear in the realm took place and that it would be possible for him to get back on the other side by sliding through it. He was so angry at you. I thought I was being a good friend by helping him, but I never thought he would actually go. I told him about the dangers to someone like him, a human. He wouldn't listen. When I woke for the night, he was gone. I was just about to take off after him when you came in! I swear, Kylie! I swear!"
Not believing my ears, I stood, staring at Demetri while gripping his shoulders so hard he was wincing. I immediately released my grip and took off up the stairs to Mason's room that he shared with Demetri. His bunk was a mess, giving the appearance that he'd slept in it, but it was always a mess, so there was no way to tell if he had or not.
I began tearing through the room looking for Mason's backpack. Gone. And if his pack was gone, Mason was gone. My heart sank.