I was, however, a little excited about Josie Newport’s Blackout Graffiti Party after commencement. Kate had bought a giant bag of highlighters to doodle all over ourselves and our clothes. The white tank top I would wear would inevitably be covered in vulgar sayings and genitalia by the end of the night. I wasn’t sure I’d ever understand boys’ obsession with drawing penises all over everything, including other people.

In the morning I rode to school with Kate to prepare for commencement. The grounds were packed with my rowdy classmates and most of the faculty—who were either beaming with pride or grinning with relief to see us go. We filed into lines to head out onto the football field and take our seats. Cheers roared through the stadium and everyone looked up into the bleachers to spot their families. Kate’s mom whistled at her from where she sat with Kate’s dad, grandparents, and other family members. Sitting close to the Green family was my own. There was Nana, and beside her sat Will, Lauren, and Marcus. They were here partly as my bodyguards and backup while Ava and Sabina lurked within the Grim, watching the perimeter of the school. Kate grabbed my arm giddily as she blew a kiss to Marcus, who playfully stuck out his tongue in disgust, to which Kate flipped him off, much to my Nana’s shock. If she had pearls, she’d be clutching them.

Commencement was hellishly boring. I picked at my nail polish while we sat through a bunch of faculty and student speeches. Kate was busy dirty texting with Marcus, having somehow snuck her cell phone in by tucking it into her bra. I kept myself occupied by looking around at the equally bored faces of my classmates. After tonight, I’d probably never see 95 percent of them again. After tonight, things would stay about the same for me: hunt, kill, and fight for my life. If I was lucky enough to survive and defeat Sammael, then maybe I could move into a dorm with Kate in the fall.

When I was called to get my diploma, I shook the hands of my teachers, got my photo taken, flipped my little cap tassel, and went back to my seat. I looked up to grin at my family. Will, Lauren, and Marcus weren’t just my friends. They were honest-to-God real family. Even Kate’s mom, practically my second mom, was on her feet roaring with cheers for me. She would never know what I’d been through to get here, but she clapped and whistled like she did. It was a while before everyone finished receiving their diplomas, but when it was over, the principal congratulated our class on graduating and then hundreds of caps were tossed high and flying through the air. I might have used a little bit of my Preliator power to throw my own cap the highest.

That night at Josie’s Blackout Graffiti Party, I’d managed to avoid having any highlighter boy parts scribbled onto my white tank top—so far. Landon and Chris had managed to draw genitalia on most of the partygoers, targeting the cuter girls the most. I felt like I’d need to bust out my Khopesh swords to deter them. To my dismay, my angelic reaper backup team were here to protect me against the demonic, not pesky human boys. When I caught them sneaking up on me for a third time, Kate grabbed me and dragged me into the bathroom. I should have ditched the stupid tank top like she had. She’d also made it clear to everyone that if anyone scribbled on her glittery purple leopard dress, she’d stab their eyes out with her stilettos.

“Let’s do my hair!” she squeaked in rabid excitement. She was a little drunk already, which made me feel even more sober than I actually was.

“Are you serious?” I hesitantly accepted the handful of highlighters she stuffed into my palm.

“Let’s make rainbows.” She plucked the cap off a blue marker and began tracing streaks through her blond hair. She skewed her Egyptian-style highlighter-outlined eyes in the mirror. This was clearly a daunting task for her.

“I don’t think this is what the magazines mean when they talk about ‘highlights.’”

“You’re funny, bitch.” She handed the blue marker to me. “Do the back.”

I sighed and did as she’d asked. I highlighted her hair in blue, purple, green, yellow, orange, and pink. Her rainbow hair clashed with her purple disco leopard dress and monster stilettos. She looked like a hooker Rainbow Brite about to be sent to rehab.

“We should wash it out,” I suggested dismally, picking at the mutilated strands of rainbow hair.

Kate gasped and swatted my hand away. “Oh, hell no. Let’s go marvel at my amazing hair!”

She dragged me out of the bathroom and back out into the cavernous room Josie’s parties took place in. The black lights made the neon graffiti splashed over everyone glow in the dark as they twisted and jumped to the music. I had to admit, Kate’s hair looked ridiculous and awesome at the same time. We took a break from dancing over by the hors d’oeuvres and were immediately descended on by Landon and Chris like marker-happy vultures.

Landon squeezed between Kate and me and threw his arms around our shoulders. “The two hottest chicks at the party!”

“You’re like girl-next-door hot,” Chris said to me. “Kate is like supermodel-hot. You’re like the two hottest options in a porn buffet.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Thanks a lot.”

Landon wiggled away from us and began to compulsively scribble dirty images on Chris’s cheek like he’d missed a spot. “You guys should think about a webcam. You’d make so much money. You could get a Ferrari or something.”

Kate gave them a sugary sweet smile. “How did either of you graduate high school?”

Chris’s expression exploded as a lightbulb seemed to click on in his head. “Landon, dude. Don’t you think it would be hot if Ellie and Kate had a baby?”