He licked his lips and his gaze passed around the room nervously. “Wait. First, you have to understand that where we’re going will be crawling with demonic vir. They’ll be everywhere. We can get in and out, nice and clean, if we’re careful. We can’t let anyone know who you are.”

“Fine,” I agreed. “Anything. Let’s just go.”

“Do you really understand what I’m saying?” he asked. “Not even you could take on a hundred vir at once.”

I stared at him, my glare fierce. “I understand, but we’ve got to hurry.”

“Do you have a change of clothes?”

“What?”

“You need to wear something other than that dress,” he said very seriously.

“I don’t care what I look like!”

“Where we’re going, you don’t want to be drenched with the blood of an angelic reaper. That might draw some unwanted attention.”

My heart kicked in my chest. Looking down at my dress was a cruel reminder of the horrifying events of the night that had begun so wonderfully. “This is all I have,” I said in a small voice.

“Then we have to get you a change of clothes from your house. Come on.”

“Okay,” I agreed, and followed him without another argument.

Cadan and I drove back to my grandmother’s house, where Cadan followed me up the porch steps and Nana burst through the front door, her hand over her mouth.

“It can’t be,” she breathed, her eyes wide and staring at Cadan and then at my blood-soaked dress. “Ellie!”

“Don’t freak out,” I said carefully. “He’s my friend.”

“What happened?” she gasped, pulling me close and examining me for injury. “I thought I sensed demonic energy—”

“He didn’t do this.” I pulled away and walked by her into the house. “This is Cadan. He’s here to help me.”

“Why?” she cried, staggering against the wall. “What are you doing with a demonic reaper? What’s going on?”

“Will is hurt,” I said, surprised at the coldness in my voice. I was so emotionally exhausted that now I felt barely anything at all. “We’re going to find someone who can save him.”

I touched the railing of the stairs and turned back to Cadan. “I’m going to change and be right back. Don’t go anywhere.”

Then I left the demonic reaper with my grandmother and went into my bedroom. I rummaged through the dresser and pulled out jeans and a T-shirt. The once-beautiful dress was now a pile of bloodied rags at my feet. I resisted the urge to pick it up, smooth out the fabric, and lay it across my bed. I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to save Will.

I rushed back downstairs to find that Cadan and my grandmother hadn’t moved. She relaxed when she saw me, and Cadan’s expression was pleasant, but he seemed a little uncomfortable.

“Cadan was just telling me that he is Will’s brother,” Nana offered politely.

“Half brother,” he corrected.

I brushed past him. “Let’s go.”

Cadan said nothing and followed me.

“I’ll be back,” I told my grandmother. “But I don’t know when. Don’t worry about me. I have to do this.”

I looked back at her once to see her nod and smile faintly.

Then we left.

Cadan drove us deep into the city. Detroit was alive as it always was at night, and even inside the car, I could hear cheerful, laughing voices and jazz music pouring from unseen speakers above the sidewalks. Cadan pulled into a parking garage and found an empty spot on the second level. I didn’t wait for him and dragged myself out of his car. I stomped toward the stairwell and he caught up to me within a few strides. The heavy steel door slammed shut behind us and echoed off the white, scuffed-up walls. He grabbed my arm and I stared into his face.

“I need your head in the game,” he said in a low voice.

“Let go of me,” I ordered icily and yanked my arm back.

“Do you remember what I said?”

“Yes,” I hissed.

His jaw set. “Keep your eyes down and that snark on a leash. Just go with what I say, okay? And suppress your power to a level dimmer than sleep. Do not attract attention or you will get yourself killed. Even if you don’t care about yourself, at least stop and remember we’re here to save your Guardian’s life.”

I narrowed my gaze and turned away from him. He was right. I needed to cool off so we could do this successfully. I dimmed my energy as low as I could make it, hoping I could walk among the reapers undetected—as long as none of them recognized my face. The likelihood of that had to be slim. Not many demonic reapers had seen my face and lived another day.

We walked two blocks, venturing farther and farther away from the busy bars and restaurants, onto darker and quieter streets. We passed by a small empty lot with a perimeter of a rusting chain-link fence, and the supernatural pressure hit me. Demonic power oozed from the dark building like fog, tickling across my skin like spider legs, with claws that tore at my lips, trying to shove itself down my throat. I coughed from discomfort and Cadan glanced at me.

“Are you okay?” he asked under his breath.

“Peachy.”

“Keep close,” he said. “It only gets more dangerous from here.”

I patted his shoulder. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”

He flashed a little smile. “Remember what I said.”