“Got it,” I said. “If I get close enough to the relic itself, I’ll be able to sense it.”

“It shouldn’t take long to locate Berengar,” Will said with confidence. “I believe we will have the Pentalpha by nightfall.”

Marcus stood from his chair. “Ava and I will head out, then. The sooner we find this thing, the sooner this will all be over.”

“Let’s rock and roll, boys,” I said to Will and Cadan.

We gathered our belongings and headed out, but I caught Ava’s arm and she turned back to me.

“Something wrong?” she asked.

“You know so much about the guardians,” I said to her. “How come you’ve never become one?”

“I don’t like hiding,” she replied. “I’ve spent too much time by myself in the dark. Being out in the field on the front lines is more like it.”

I smiled at her. “Yeah, it is.”

“Be careful out there.”

“You too,” I said. “We’ll be in contact as soon as we find Berengar. one giant, delicious waffle says we find the Pentalpha first.”

She returned my smile. “You have a deal.”

“I spy with my reaper eye…,” Cadan grumbled, “something spotted.”

I glanced over my shoulder at him from the front seat. “You’re cheating. And it’s probably a cow that’s too far away for my human eyes to see. Pick something close to the road.”

“Fine. I spy something green.”

“Grass, trees, clouds, and sky don’t count. You are terrible at this game.”

He huffed. “It’s a stupid game.”

“Pick something or I’m making Will play.”

Will gave him a reproachful look in the rearview mirror. “Please pick something.”

Cadan sighed and scanned the landscape. “I spy something brown.”

I stared out the window, unable to see much more than green hills and blue sky. “The fence?” I asked, pointing at it.

“You win,” he announced dismally. “I concede defeat. You are far too powerful for one so feeble as I.”

“Don’t give up so easily. I’m bored.”

“Count the fence posts.”

“How about I count your face?” I grumbled.

“Ooh, burn.”

I turned to glare at him over my shoulder, but as soon as I saw him, I burst out laughing. He shook his head and laughed with me—or at me. Could’ve been either.

Will pulled off A602 and headed toward the center of Liege proper. We didn’t really have a plan once we got into the city, and this felt just as unorganized as our trip to Arizona. I suggested we park the car and grab something to eat while we wandered, waiting to sense something. Navigating the seemingly randomly plotted streets of Liege was difficult, but the incredible architecture and magnificent art made for a fun adventure. Night began to fall and we found a small restaurant that I made sure served waffles. I scarfed down two of them piled with chocolate syrup and whipped cream and was feeling pretty sick to my stomach by the time we left. I didn’t really care that I ate more than the reapers, though I had the feeling that Will regretted not ordering a second.

We left the restaurant and traveled the stony streets well into the night, listening to the vibrant mix of French and Flemish conversations and music. When I picked up the sense of unsuppressed reaper energy nearby, I moved into the Grim with Will and Cadan on my heels. We hadn’t spotted the reaper yet, but Will took my shoulder to slow me down.

“Be careful,” he warned. “If we can sense him, then he can probably sense us. We aren’t hiding our power and he might be alarmed by Cadan’s demonic energy.”

It was easy for me to forget that Cadan wasn’t angelic. We had to be cautious when approaching other reapers—especially reapers who knew Cadan by sight. Though Will’s paternal side might have been unknown to anyone but us, many reapers were aware that Cadan was Bastian’s son.

“Let me go alone,” Will offered. “The reaper won’t feel so threatened.”

“No,” I said. “It’s my responsibility. Stay with Cadan.”

“Ell,” Cadan said in a low voice.

I turned to him and froze when I saw a reaper standing not a dozen feet from us, the very one we’d followed. The reaper was tall, drenched in black that made him melt into the shadows. I wondered if he’d been within sight the entire time we’d sensed him, but was still able to elude us. He stepped forward, his boots clicking on the cobblestone, and I could see that beneath shaggy black hair was a hard face with strong features and a thick beard. His brown eyes enflamed to red as his power churned around him, flashing shadows and smoke.

“We’re not here to fight,” I called to him.

His head tilted in a curious gesture and he kept walking toward us. Will held out his arm to call his sword, but I put a hand to his chest. The reaper gave Cadan a vicious glare, baring his teeth and hissing like an animal. Instead of drawing a weapon and attacking right away, he circled our group, studying us.

“Do you speak English?” I asked carefully, certain not to show any fear.

“Yes,” he replied in a thick, gruff accent that I didn’t recognize but could guess it was very, very old.

“Are you the relic guardian called Berengar?”

After a few seconds, he gave me a single nod.

“I’m the Preliator,” I told him. “I’m looking for a relic known as the Pentalpha, the Ring of Solomon.”