"You ought to be used to that by now," Wil said. I looked up to see him watching me, his own scrapes disappearing from his skin. "I just never noticed my body healing like this before," I said. "It's weird that it doesn't hurt. In the fourth grade, Kate fel off the monkey bars and broke her arm. She cried so much. I break my bones and it just feels a little tingly after a moment or two. And now I realize . . . I never real y got hurt as a little girl."

"I'm sure you got hurt," he noted. "You just didn't pay a lot of attention to your wounds because they healed almost instantly."

I huffed, a nostalgic little smile forming on my face. "My mom always thought I was just lucky."

"No normal kid is that lucky." He crouched and reached out to touch my hand. He lifted it up and examined it. "Good as new."

"Does it hurt you?" I asked, watching him.

"Does what hurt?"

"When something breaks," I said, and took my hand back.

"Every time." His green eyes held mine for a moment longer, irresistibly, before he stood up.

"Do you think the Enshi could be one of the Fal en?" I asked, getting up also.

"I hope not."

"Have you ever seen one of them?"

"No," he said. "And I never, ever want to. They're the incarnation of everything terrible in this world," he explained.

"The manifestation of hate, sickness, greed . . . everything evil you can imagine."

"If they're so strong, then why don't they come and do their own dirty work? Why do they need demonic reapers?"

"The angels and the Fal en can't ful y come into the mortal plane in their corporeal forms. They can wander and influence events, but they can't physical y interfere. It takes an incredible amount of energy and strength for their kind to survive long here. A powerful magical relic can help, but they're nearly impossible to find."

"What is a relic?" I asked.

"Relics are powerful objects with a connection to either the divine or the damned," he explained. "They are usual y cursed or blessed with angelic magic, an Enochian spel . They have a variety of uses during spel s, and some have the ability to give corporeal form to an angel or a Fal en in the mortal realm. The most they can do on their own is show up briefly, perhaps to deliver a message, before slipping back into their own realms. If you came up against a Fal en in his corporeal form, then God help us al . I don't know what would happen."

"Then I'l make a mental note to avoid them," I said with a nervous laugh. "You're coming with me to Josie's party, right?"

He sighed. Loudly. "You're not real y going, are you?"

"I wouldn't miss it, even if I was ambushed by reapers and kil ed. I'd be reincarnated and stil go. This wil be the last one, since I graduate in the spring--if I survive to see myself graduate."

"Don't joke about that."

I frowned. "Wel , I'm going and I want you to come with me."

"You should be concentrating on training and on finding the Enshi, not partying."

"You said yourself that I should relax from time to time. This is a perfect opportunity."

"It's a perfect opportunity to get ambushed, and even if nothing happens at the party, you blathering on about preparing for it is distracting you."

"I don't blather," I said, scowling. "What the hel does that even mean?"

"There are far more important things to worry about than finding the perfect Hal oween costume."

"I already found it, for your information."

"El ie, seriously. You can't get distracted like this. You need a clear head. It's my job to--"

"Blah, blah, blah, El ie this, El ie that." I reached forward and playful y ruffled his hair with my hand. "Yes, sensei, I hear you."

He shooed my hand away and stifled a laugh. "See?

Distractions."

"I think you need a distraction more than anyone," I said.

"If you were human, you would so be that guy who randomly brings an Uzi to work one day and just shoots everybody up. You take yourself way too seriously. Lighten up."

"That's an exaggeration."

"Admitting that you have a problem is the first step."

"I don't have a problem."

"Now you're in the negative steps. Not a good start, Wil ."

He sighed. "You drive me crazy sometimes."

"Ooh, I think that happened long before I came along."

"No, no, I'm quite sure it was you who drove me over the edge."

"You're so sweet, you're going to give me a cavity, real y."

"Then afterward, I'd be doing you a favor by knocking your teeth out."

"Ha!" I laughed. "You knocking my teeth out would never happen."

"Don't be so presumptuous. You seem to have other priorities coming before your training. You can be lazy."

I wanted to knock his teeth out for saying that. "I can stil kick your ass."

He flashed a dark, delicious smile. "Then let's make a wager. We spar again before we're done for tonight. If you land a hit first and score, then I'l go to that party with you. If I score first, then you spend Hal oween night training."

"That's a little brutal, making me train on Hal oween," I grumbled.