"I'm your soldier, your protector. And I don't fol ow you around al the time."

"So I'm not human, am I?"

"Not entirely."

"Am I a psychic, like the ones who can see the reapers?"

"No."

"Then, how can I see them?"

"I don't know. You're the Preliator."

I remembered my torn arm. "How was I able to heal so quickly?"

"Your power regenerates your body when you're injured,"

he explained.

"Then how do I die, if my body just fixes itself right away?"

"Some injuries are too traumatic for your body to heal. I am the same way, and so were your previous Guardians."

"Are you human? Or a psychic?"

He paused before he answered me. "No."

"Then what are you?"

"Your Guardian."

"That's not a straight answer," I said, frowning. "Is Wil your real name?"

"Of course."

"So, what are you?"

"Your Guardian."

I frowned. I had a mil ion more questions, and I had a feeling he'd dodge as many of the good ones as possible. It should al come in time, right? There were flashes of images, of terrible things, battles and blood, scattered across my memory in distorted fragments. I looked down at the reaper's blood on my hands and I felt very sad. How could I adapt to this? I wasn't dreaming anymore. My skin felt raw from when I had hit the ground. My arm ached where it was cut. Dreams never hurt you. This was real. My nightmares had become real. I was frightened, and I didn't want to have to deal with this. Wasn't it enough worrying about getting into col ege?

"Why can't I remember?" I asked. "This isn't normal, is it?"

Wil shook his head. "No, this has never happened before, but it's been a very long time since you were last alive. Usual y your reincarnation is almost immediate and you are reborn somewhere in the world, but this time you took four decades to become the Preliator again. I don't know why."

"My memory should return in time, right?"

"It wil ."

"When you touched my face, everything became so clear. My strength, my purpose . . . How did you do that?"

Wil leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees.

"Because I'm your Guardian, I have the ability to awaken your power. You were a normal girl until the moment you turned seventeen, and it's my duty to restore your power and memories and defend you in battle from that moment on."

I suddenly remembered my lit paper and scrambled to my feet, looking around for my purse. I spotted it lying beside my backpack, right where I'd dropped them. My car had been moved two parking spots away from where I had left it. I paused, realizing the impossibility of what I had done.

"I did that, didn't I?"

"You can do a lot more than that with your power."

"Is it telekinesis?"

"No, your power can only push things, not pul them. It's like an immensely strong gust of wind made of pure energy, of life force."

"That is insane," I mumbled, retrieving my lost items. I dug my cel out and checked the time, then shoved my phone back into my bag. It was after ten. Fantastic. I'd never be able to get anything written on my paper and wake up with a working brain in the morning. Strangely, my homework seemed quite insignificant.

"I need to get home. My parents are going to flip when they see what that thing did to my car. What do I tel them?" I stroked the deep claw marks in the Audi's fender. It would have to be repainted, probably replaced. How would I explain it, though?

"Tel them someone hit your car and drove off. Your insurance should cover the damages."

"They'l never buy that."

"You don't have another option."

I made an ugly noise and scowled. My dad was going to slaughter me no matter what. Distracting my thoughts from my likely fate, I remembered something the first reaper had said. "Did you hear the reaper say something about an Enshi?"

He stared at me. "Enshi? What exactly did she say?"

"She said, 'We don't need the Enshi,' because she'd just kil me herself. Do you know what that word means? And who are 'we'?"

"It's Sumerian," he said thoughtful y. "Lord of . . . something. I'l need to check exactly what - shi means."

"You speak Sumerian? Who speaks that? Seriously."

"Can you meet me at the library after school? We should look into it."

"I have too much homework," I said. "How about Saturday afternoon? Three o'clock?"

"That wil work. Tomorrow night we need to train. Your skil s need to come back to you faster than they are."

"But it's Friday night. That's our Movie Night."

"Otherwise you won't last."

"You mean I'l die." It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

I shrugged. "Wel , we don't want that, but my friends and I always go to the movies Friday night, so it'l have to be later."

"I can wait. The night is long."

"I'l give you a cal when we're done. What's your number?" I started to get my phone back out to punch in his information.

"I don't have a phone. You won't need to cal me."

I looked at him quizzical y. "No one can survive without a cel phone. Are you going to be stalking me at the movies, too?"