"It was real y good. Where did you get the guitar?"
"I keep some of my things here. Most of my belongings are at Nathaniel's house."
I imagined what other things he might have kept over the years and longed to see them, just to know a little bit more about him. "Why don't you play more?" I asked.
He shrugged and set the guitar aside. "There are other things on my mind, I guess."
"Can you sing, too?"
He laughed and shook his head. "No. Singing is not one of my talents."
"That's too bad," I said, and chewed on my lip, mustering the bravery to tel him about my flashback. "Wil , as I was leaving the office, I remembered something. It was the night I met you, when I cut you down from those chains al those centuries ago. You were a smartass even then."
"I don't deny it."
"How did you get captured like that?" I asked.
His gaze lingered on my face for some time. "I was hunting demonic reapers with Nathaniel. We got separated and I was cornered. They tortured and interrogated me to find out what I knew about the other angelic reapers, but I didn't know anything. I was playing vigilante with Nathaniel. We didn't know what we were doing back then. And then you came."
His expression softened as he gazed at me, the look in his eyes distant and longing. "You were like a warrior angel I'd seen in the stained glass of a cathedral. I knew who you were the moment I saw you, because I'd heard of you. Everyone had. And you freed me."
"But I told you to leave me alone," I said. "What made you try again?"
"That very night, an angel came to me," he confessed. "I don't know his name or why he'd appeared to me of al people, but he told me that your fate and mine were tied together. He said that I needed to protect you, because you were the most sacred of al things. My destiny was to become your Guardian, in a long line of Guardians: I was chosen. He gave me my sword and the power to awaken you, so you could become the Preliator in each reincarnation. He gave me purpose, some sort of resolution in my immortality, a focus. You gave me purpose."
I smiled down at him, and he grinned right back. I was very thankful that he had became my Guardian. Remembering that flashback to ancient Egypt made me want never to know life without him ever again. I felt the losses of my previous Guardians, but I trusted no one more with my life than Wil . Without him, I didn't think I could fulfil my mission of destroying the demonic reapers.
My phone rang, shattering the silence between us. "It's Nathaniel." I held the phone up to my ear.
"El ie," Nathaniel said before I could speak. "Where are you guys?"
"The warehouse. What's up?"
"Don't leave. I'l meet you there." He hung up. The urgency in his voice got my pulse pounding. My eyes met Wil 's. UNCORRECTED E-PROOF--NOT FOR SALE
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WE WAITED, TENSE WITH ANTICIPATION, FOR Nathaniel to arrive. When he final y drove into the al ey and parked behind my car, he and Lauren, the psychic I had met the first time I'd met Nathaniel, climbed out and walked right past us and into the warehouse. Nathaniel waved a hand for us to fol ow him into the room where we kept the sarcophagus. As soon as I entered, I felt the frightening, familiar thrum emanating from the Enshi. Nathaniel and Lauren were standing by the sarcophagus.
"Nice to see you again, El ie," Lauren said.
"You, too," I replied with a smile. "What's up, Nathaniel?"
"I've figured out the language on the sarcophagus," he said.
Wil perked up. "And?"
"The script is indeed an archaic cuneiform," Nathaniel said excitedly. "But it's older than Old Assyrian, older than even the Akkadian style."
I stared at the box, my head fil ing with thick clouds, preventing me from thinking straight. "How old exactly?"
"Approximately five thousand years."
My eyes bulged. Wil shifted uncomfortably next to me. I looked at him and his eyes met mine. "Jesus," I murmured.
"Nope," Nathaniel chirped. "Jesus isn't in here."
I blinked. "I wasn't . . ."
He grinned and winked at me. I assumed it was supposed to be another of his amazing jokes, but they just weren't funny to me. I gave a soft, uneasy laugh to humor him. He beamed proudly. I glanced at Wil , who only shrugged and shook his head. He understood completely.
Nathaniel turned serious again. "What I mean is that the Enshi was locked up in this sarcophagus three thousand years before the birth of Christ."
"Does it say what the Enshi is?" Wil asked.
Nathaniel half nodded, half shrugged. "Yes, and no. It's al bad news, which is why I've brought Lauren here to help me determine what's inside."
"What kind of bad news?" I asked.
"Wel , if you look closely at the sarcophagus," Nathaniel began, stroking the box tenderly, "you'l notice that it's beautiful y decorated. The ancient Mesopotamians only ever buried very important people this way, so the body within is at the very least of great importance. That's the first bad news. The second is--if you'd kindly look at this symbol here--the inscriptions tel me that our friend inside is a true soul reaper."
"In English, please?" I asked dul y.
Nathaniel gave me a strange look. "That was English."
" In American, then," I said. "Nothing of what you say makes a lick of sense to me."
Wil 's shoulder brushed mine. "He means a being that can do whatever it wants with the souls instead of just sending them to Hel ."
"No way," I said. "Like the Grim Reaper? Death himself?"
"That's what humans like to cal it," Wil said. "Is it possible that the Enshi is an angel, then? Of an archangel rank, perhaps?"
Nathaniel nodded. "Yes. Best-case scenario is that this is some kind of extrapowerful reaper who can send souls to Hel or Heaven. That's probably how the Grim Reaper legend began. The worst-case scenario is that our sleeping friend here actual y eats the souls, meaning the soul is gone for good. No Hel . No Heaven."
"That's terrible," I said.
Wil 's expression grew dark. "And El ie? Does that mean
--?"
Nathaniel nodded. "Yeah, it does."
Wil let out a long, painful breath edged with fear. My heart sank. I searched both their faces. "What do you mean? What does that mean for me? Wil ?"
He closed his eyes. "It means the Enshi can destroy your soul. If it does that, you're done. You won't pass on and you won't ever come back. You're gone."
I tried to keep my racing heart calm. "I won't come back?"
He gave a single shal ow nod. "That's got to be why Bastian wants it so badly."
My mouth dried instantly. I would be gone? That would mean I'd never be reincarnated again. I'd never go to Heaven. I'd never see Wil or Nathaniel or my mom and nana again. There was no way I could al ow myself to just end like that. There was too much at stake, too much left for me to do, for me to just die and be gone. I didn't want to end.
"Then we need to kil this thing before it wakes up," I said breathlessly.
"We don't know how," Wil urged. "I don't want to do anything that might make it wake up."
"Can't we just nuke it?" I asked. "Not like popcorn in a microwave, I mean like a bomb." I spread my hands wide and made a pathetic exploding sound. "A big one. You two seem like resourceful guys. I'm sure you could get one."
Nathaniel shook his head. "I don't have access to nuclear weapons, unfortunately."
"Oh, idea!" I chirped. "What if we chained it up good and tight and dropped it off in the middle of the ocean? Al that pressure would crush the box, wouldn't it?"
Nathaniel shrugged and blinked. "That's actual y not a bad idea And I don't believe any non-magical force could resurrect the Enshi."
"Where would we get a boat to do this?" Wil asked.
"I can try to arrange that," Nathaniel said. "Now El ie, there's something I need you to do. You can feel what's inside, right?"
I nodded, not sure I liked wher
e this was heading.
"Lauren can feel it too. She is a clairsentient, meaning she's able to know things by touching objects and would be able to tel if there's a connection between you and the Enshi."
I looked at her and she nodded. "What good wil that do?"
"I need to know what you're feeling," she said, "not just what I sense from the sarcophagus." Lauren stepped toward me and took my hand. She pul ed me toward the box and motioned for me to lay my fingers on the lid. I jerked back, afraid.
"I thought I wasn't supposed to touch it," I said, looking anxiously at Wil . His expression was calm but serious.
"Touching is okay," Lauren assured me. "I need to ignite a reaction, and whatever is inside likes you . . . a lot. So please, just touch it. It won't bite, I promise."
Her smile didn't help me feel better. Tentatively, I brushed the lid with my fingers and felt the instant response. The voice in my head grew louder for a moment, and I could have sworn I heard it gasp on contact. Electricity pumped through the stone into my skin, and I wanted to pul away, but Lauren grabbed my hand and held it stil .
"What are you doing?" I asked when she didn't let me go.
"I--"
I shut up when I saw Lauren's face. Her mouth gaped open and her eyes had rol ed into the back of her head until only bright white orbs were visible. At that moment I tried to yank away, but her grip was as strong as a reaper's. Power leaked from the sarcophagus, oozed from it, and the energy crawled up my fingers through my arm and into Lauren. Her body jerked once and she released me. She staggered back, and I jumped away.
"What was that?" I demanded, putting a hand to my chest to quiet my racing heartbeat. Wil protectively pul ed me close to him and took my hand to make sure I was unharmed. Lauren backed away, resting against a bent steel column, breathing heavily. Her eyes had returned to normal, but I could tel she was petrified. "This is bad," she whispered. Wil stepped forward and let my hand go. "How bad?
What did you feel?"
"The Enshi," Lauren breathed. "I could hear it screaming in there, fil ing my head with these horrid shrieks. The Preliator's presence is driving it mad. Just that little touch sent it in a frenzy."
"A good frenzy?" I asked, hoping that it was perhaps afraid of me.
"No," she said, shaking her head slowly. "That wasn't fear. It wants you. It needs you. It's screaming your name, and its power is huge--like a black void, a bottomless pit of death and despair. It's so dark in there, so dark and hungry. Nathaniel, I've never felt anything like this. You have to destroy it. You can't let the Enshi wake. You can't let Bastian get ahold of it."
My body shook with fear. Lauren's terror was plain to al of us. I could feel the Enshi in there, but not the way Lauren did.
"Do you know what we're dealing with?" Wil asked, his voice dark.
"It's old," she said, her eyes frozen on the sarcophagus.
"Older than Bastian, older than the Preliator, older than the sarcophagus it's trapped in. It's so old, it just feels empty. Like a black hole."
"Is it a real soul reaper?" I asked. "Is that true? Can it destroy my soul?"
"That's possible," she said. "Don't touch it anymore. I think El ie's presence might be enough to wake it if she were around the sarcophagus for too long. Perhaps even a touch in the wrong place might do it."
Confusion spread over me. "But I thought you said touching was harmless?"
Her eyes snapped to mine, her voice sharp and cold.
"Don't touch it."
I nodded. No way was I going to argue with her.
"We need to get to the Caribbean," Nathaniel announced.
"I think if we ship out from Puerto Rico, we'l be able to sail pretty far out over the Puerto Rico Trench to the Milwaukee Deep. It's the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean--almost as deep as Mount Everest is tal --and if dropping the sarcophagus overboard there doesn't crush it to oblivion, then at least there's no way anyone could dive in to retrieve it."
"Sounds like a good plan," Wil agreed.
I raised my hand. "Uh, guys, I can't leave for a week in the Caribbean during school. How would I explain that to my parents?"
Wil frowned. "You can't tel them it's a school trip or something?"
I laughed. "Yeah, and not give them any other information? There is a lot that goes into field trips. I don't think I could get away with them just signing a permission slip."
"Isn't Thanksgiving break coming up?" he offered. Light bulb. "Right. That would be perfect."
"Can we fly?" Nathaniel asked. "Fly down on Wednesday night and be back by Friday at the very latest? Shipping the sarcophagus wil be expensive, but we don't have a choice otherwise. I'l have to get El ie a fake ID, since she's underage. I'l make one for you too, Wil . I think you'l need a seat on the plane to protect El ie instead of traveling through the Grim. Fakes won't be that much trouble."
"I like this plan more," I said. "I can tel my parents I'm going up north to Kate's lake house for Thanksgiving."
"I won't be going," Lauren said. "I can't defend myself and I don't want to be a liability."
"That is probably for the best," Nathaniel agreed. Wil nodded firmly. "Nathaniel, can you arrange it?"
Nathaniel nodded. "Yeah. I'l look into it immediately. We should get going, Lauren."
"I'm sorry I freaked you out, El ie," Lauren said. "I needed to feel what you were feeling. You're a fearless girl."
"I don't know so much about that," I assured her with an uneasy laugh.
"Braver than I am." She smiled.
Nathaniel and Lauren left, and I listened to the car drive away.
"Are you okay?" Wil asked, laying a gentle hand on my shoulder.
I nodded. "I'l live."
In truth, I was terrified. I didn't know how this was al going to work out, or if it was going to work out. I was pretty sure I could lie to my parents about the trip to Puerto Rico, so long as they didn't talk to Kate's parents. Kate would cover for me in case they questioned her. The lying part--that bothered me. It felt like everything that came out of my mouth was another lie to my parents.
"Yeah, but are you okay?" he repeated.
I looked up at him and met his gaze. "I'm scared out of my mind. That thing freaks me the hel out. Wil , I don't want to just end like that. I don't want to never come back. I was just getting used to the idea that there real y is a Heaven and angels. I don't want to lose my soul!"
"That thing wil be gone soon," he assured me. "We'l dump it out in the middle of the ocean and it'l al be over."
"Not exactly," I said. "Even if we destroy the Enshi, we stil have Bastian and his lackeys to deal with, including Ragnuk. I don't think I'm going to make it out of this alive."
He touched my cheek sweetly. "Hey, remember what I said? I promised I'd protect you from them. I'm not about to break a promise to you."
I smiled. "I know."
Suddenly the front door blasted open, and I spun around as it crashed to the ground. Something invisible slammed into the doorway, crushing the frame and the wal s on either side.
My shock made me leap into the Grim, where I could see the dark, enormous form of Ragnuk widening the entrance with his body so that he could lumber through, as chunks of brick crumbled at his feet. He stared at me with his ravenous black eyes, and his tongue sagged over his jaws and dripped gobs of saliva onto the floor. He looked half insane with hatred and hunger.
Instinctively, I grabbed my winged necklace for comfort and stepped back toward Wil , but I couldn't take my eyes off of Ragnuk.
"I have you now, Preliator!" the reaper roared, spitting the curse at me as if the word itself were something disgusting. "I fol owed your filthy stench al the way here. This time you aren't getting away from me and we won't be interrupted. This is the end for you, and I'm taking the Enshi with me. It ends here tonight!"
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A TREMOR OF FEAR RUSHED THROUGH ME, BUT I stood my ground. He launched forward abruptly, but Wil was right there, ducking in front of me. As Ragnuk leaped up, Wil ducked and slammed his shoulder into the ursid's chest with al his might and flipped him high over our heads. Ragnuk crashed into the wal behind us, shattering more bricks. He spun suddenly and drove his power straight into Wil 's chest, propel ing him back until he hit the far wal . Wil screamed and pul ed weakly at his bel y. My heart sank. An iron pipe protruded from Wil 's abdomen, brutal y impaling him.
"Wil !" I shrieked, and rushed to him.
Ragnuk turned toward me, slow as a serpent, with wicked triumph on his blocky face. He vanished for a moment, and I felt something powerful slam into my body and knock me back into a column, cracking my back.
"Ellie!" Wil roared from the other side of the room. My eyes misted over and I slumped dazedly, but when I looked up, the reaper's dark face was inches from mine.
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Ragnuk sneered, his hot breath blasting me.
I smashed my fist into his nose as hard as I could, and he flew from me, thrashing wildly. He scrambled back to his feet, shaking his head and thundering with rage. I ran to Wil and slid to a stop as I reached him. He pul ed his body forward along the pipe, desperate to free himself. I cupped his face with both my hands and pressed my forehead despairingly against his cheek. "I'l get you off this," I promised, breathless, my hands running the length of the reddened iron. "I'l help you!"
"Cal your swords," he groaned. "Hurry."
I nodded and wil ed them into my surprisingly steady hands.
Wil 's eyes shot wide open. "Behind you!"
I spun around. Ragnuk bounded across the room, leaving me no time to react. He swiped at me and hooked a talon around my leg, pul ing me off balance. I hit the floor, landing flat on my back. Ragnuk's teeth clamped down on my leg, and he threw me across the warehouse, knocking my swords from my grip. I crashed into a large wooden crate piled high with scrap metal and cardboard, cracking my wrist. I groaned as I lifted my broken wrist and looked for my weapons.
"Leave her alone!" Wil thundered.
I looked up to see that he stil struggling to free himself from the pipe that impaled him. His hands were clamped around the end of it and he pul ed himself forward with what little strength was left, one inch at a time.
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