I nodded. "What do we do about the sarcophagus?"

He thought for a moment. "I can carry it a little ways from here. Give Nathaniel a cal . Tel him to bring a truck. We have to relocate, but I just don't know where to."

"Where do you want me to go?"

"Drive to the first stop sign and turn right. Fol ow it al the way to the dead end. I'l meet you there."

I gave him a perplexed look. "You sure know your way around here."

"I had to study the location and its surroundings, including al roads, intersections, and buildings in the area." He smiled when he noticed my quizzical expression. "Better safe than sorry."

"Right."

There was an awkward pause before either of us moved. I could stil feel his mouth on mine as I stood there with nothing to say. Final y, I got into my car and drove exactly where he told me to. I wasn't sure if I was surprised he was right about the dead end or not. I parked there and turned my car off and cal ed Nathaniel, tel ing him where to meet us. Not even a second after I hung up, Wil appeared out of nowhere, dropping the sarcophagus in the glare of my headlights. I got out to meet him as the wails of sirens echoed in the distance, most likely responding to cal s about the warehouse's recent demise.

"Nathaniel should be here shortly," I said.

"Good."

He didn't say anything else. It annoyed me a little that I couldn't tel what he was thinking. He seemed to be avoiding the topic of what had happened between us minutes before, but then again, I hadn't brought it up, either. I was torn over whether or not to bring it up at al . I wanted to ask him about it, since I felt so empty inside for some reason. I wanted--

scratch that, I needed--to know how he felt about me. Then I wondered, had we been together before? Had he kissed me before in my past lives?

"What are you thinking about?" he asked with a soft voice, interrupting my thoughts, for which I was thankful.

"Wouldn't you like to know," I said glumly.

He walked up to me and leaned back against my car, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yes, I would. You twist up your face funny when you're deep in thought."

"Thanks for the observation." I narrowed my eyes. "What do you think I'm thinking about?"

His jaw clenched for just a fraction of a second before the tension washed away. "I have a good idea."

"Are we just going to pretend it didn't happen?" I asked. He sucked in his top lip. "I don't think that would be wise."

"Wel , you're on a rol ." I studied his expression meticulously. He gave nothing away of his thoughts.

"I didn't plan on it, if that's what you're wondering." He seemed honest.

"Have you ever kissed me before?"

"Do you mean before you were El ie?"

Whatever that meant. "Yeah."

"No."

I wanted to ask him if he had ever wanted to, but I decided on a different question. "So what does this mean?"

"I don't understand."

I sighed. "What does it mean between you and me?"

He didn't answer right away. Neither of us spoke for a few moments, and the longer the silence lingered, the more nauseated I felt. My body tensed.

"I care about you very deeply," he said. "I just don't think

--"

At that moment a large white van pul ed up and stopped in front of us. Nathaniel and Lauren hopped out. I scowled. Wil had got lucky . . . for now. I had a lot more questions to ask him once we were in private again.

"Are you guys okay?" Nathaniel asked, his voice trembling.

"I'm really hungry," Wil said dramatical y. Nathaniel laughed. "I can imagine. El ie, are you unharmed?"

I shrugged. "I've healed. Ragnuk is dead. That's al that's important."

Lauren watched me with a strange mix of emotions flickering across her face. I couldn't decide what she was feeling. It was almost as if she understood exactly how shaken I was--by more than just Ragnuk. Briefly, I wondered how far her psychic talents extended.

"We'l take the sarcophagus to my house," Nathaniel offered. "I think it wil be safely hidden there until we can leave for Puerto Rico."

"They won't track you there?" I asked skeptical y. "Ragnuk tracked us to the warehouse."

"If Bastian's vir were around, we'd already be dead and they'd have the Enshi," he said. "They won't sit around in the shadows and stalk us. What they want is right here."

I felt that was the cue to get the hel out. "So, then, the sarcophagus shouldn't be right here."

Wil nodded. "Let's get going. It's suicide hanging around."

Wil and I fol owed the van in my car. He didn't say anything, and neither did I. The van pul ed onto a quiet street with houses spaced far apart. We fol owed it up a long wooded driveway to a beautiful house overlooking a lake. Nathaniel opened the doors of a three-car garage, and Wil jumped out of the van to help him unload the sarcophagus.

"Is this your house, Nathaniel?" I asked, admiring the view to the lake.

"Yes," Nathaniel said, and closed the garage door. I remembered Wil had said he lived here, and I imagined him sitting his room playing the guitar. I couldn't stop myself from glancing at him and feeling a rush of warmth at the memory of our kiss. For a moment it was hard to breathe.

"You'd better have food," Wil said with a grin.