I staggered back breathlessly until I hit a wall. Part of me wanted to drop my weapons and relax against it, but I was afraid of something else bursting through. The building was destroyed. The floor groaned and walls creaked. More stuff fell from the ceiling. Will’s voice called my name again. I wasn’t sure if it was adrenaline that made me feel like a zombie or if it was shock.

He appeared out of nowhere, grabbing me and pulling me into him. His hands cupped my face, fingers threading into my hair. “Are you okay? Ellie, are you all right? I couldn’t follow you. Are you hurt?”

I shook my head, forcing my gaze away from the empty space the reaper had filled only moments ago, and looked up into Will’s emerald eyes. In the failing light and billowing dust, they were like bright jewels guiding me home. He was out of breath, and I realized how much I must have terrified him by following the reaper into the building alone.

“The last—Orek—is outside,” he said, his voice rushed. “I think Ava and Marcus will take care of him. You did amazing.”

He led me through the rubble and down a steep decline of concrete chunks. My boots slipped, and he caught me before I fell. My body was still shaky, but Will had gotten hold of himself enough to guide me safely from the building. The world slowly became real to me again as I heard the reapers battling outside. Furious voices and roars filled my head, and I felt myself wanting to retreat and run away from the horror. But I had to keep going.

As soon as we emerged from the collapsing apartment building, I saw Ava fall and smack the pavement. Marcus ran to her side and shielded her, staring up past us at something high above. I twisted around and looked up to see Orek perched on the roof, his wings spread as wide as they could, his tail lashing. His long neck arched and his head swiveled toward me. His pallid eyes blinked, and he hissed, snapping his jaws in warning. His tail beat the pediment, tearing up chunks, and they fell. Will yanked me out of their path and they crashed to the ground.

Orek raised his head toward the sky and roared, his voice quaking with rage. The howl was shrill and mournful, sending strips of jagged ice down my spine. “Eki!”

I stepped away from the building and lit up my blades. Instead of diving to attack, Orek clamped the talons of his hind legs deeper into the pediment. If he planned on continuing the fight, he’d be an idiot. He was one demonic reaper against three angelic ones and myself. No matter how huge he was, he was at a disadvantage.

Orek beat his wings, roaring as he lifted himself into the air and disappeared into the night.

I let out a long breath of relief and let my angelfire die. I was covered in dust and the dead reaper’s blood. My sweater was torn across my collarbone, and I had the dried remains of a gash on my cheek, but the healed wound didn’t even ache anymore. Will’s hand cupped my chin, and he guided my face around, his touch without fear this time. He inspected quietly, and when he was satisfied, his hand swept along my chin and down my neck.

“I’m in one piece, I promise you,” I said.

He forced a little smile. “Just making sure. You scared me. She thrashed you around in there.”

“Well, I’m the one who made it out alive,” I said. “Not her.”

“Preliator,” Ava called. “You destroyed the nycterid by yourself. I’ve never seen anyone take on a nycterid alone. That was very impressive.”

She didn’t elaborate, but I recognized right away that I’d just been given an extreme compliment. Beside me, Will beamed in his subtle way that only I noticed. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as I’d thought. “Thank you, Ava.”

“Phenomenal,” Marcus bellowed. “Two down, one to go.”

“I’m ready for Orek,” I said. “And for whatever’s lined up after him.”

“What happened up there?” Will asked, glancing over his shoulder at the destroyed building.

I shuddered at the fresh, terrifying memory. “She was trapped. Eki. She fought her way through the building, but I don’t think she could see me or anything else. They’re blind, aren’t they? The nycterids.”

“Yes. They use echolocation and the supernatural sense that we reapers have to navigate their surroundings and locate prey.”

“Like bats,” I added.

His expression was distant and hard with thought. “Sort of. This combination in the nycterids is even more effective than eyesight, but Eki was disoriented in the building.”

“Yeah, like she couldn’t find me and started tearing the building down,” I said. “Everything happened so fast.”

“Maybe that’s what you need to do,” Ava suggested. “Stay fast. If and when Orek attacks again, keep moving. He may not be able to sense you, and you can gain an advantage over him.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Will said.

That was if he didn’t come back with reinforcements. I knew that somewhere out there, Orek was pitching a rage over the loss of Eki. I wasn’t sure if his kind was capable of love the way humans and the vir were, but I wondered if the two nycterids had been mates. The thought made me feel regret for tearing them apart, but I had to defend myself. I also knew that if Orek cared for Eki, felt any sort of affection for her at all, then his next attack would be personal. It might be more difficult for him to take me alive when he would probably ache to just tear me into pieces.

9

SCOURING THE MALL WITH KATE THE NEXT MORNING, I still felt shell-shocked. These days it wasn’t common for me to feel so exhausted the day after a hunt, but last night had taken its toll on my body—not to mention my mind. The nycterid reapers … they were just too out of this world, like some kind of demon dragon. Kate and I roamed far ahead of our moms, who chitchatted while strolling behind us, taking their sweet time. Kate and I, on the other hand, were on a mission. But I was tired of missions, and Kate was tiring me out even more.