"I'm okay," he said, looking up at me. "Where is he?"

I spotted Ragnuk struggling to his feet, favoring his broken leg. The reaper gagged up a gobbet of blood and hissed at me. "I'l be back for you," he growled, out of breath. His form blurred for a moment, and then he was gone. I blinked. "He vanished!"

Wil sat forward, rubbing his abdomen. "Reapers have the ability to move at ultrahigh speeds through the Grim when they need to make a quick getaway, or when they're in pursuit. He needs some time to heal his leg. Broken bones of that size don't heal instantly, like breaks in smal er bones and cuts."

"I'm so sorry, Wil ," I cried. "I froze."

He looked up at me, his eyes warm and forgiving. "My job is to protect you, no matter what happens."

"You got hurt because of me," I said sadly.

"Hey, I'm fine," he assured me, pul ing the shredded pieces of his shirt apart to show me his healed wounds. "I can take a lot of damage. That's what I'm here for."

I looked down at my dress and at the damage Ragnuk had done to it. "Oh, my dress . . ."

Wil laughed. "You are such a girl."

I scowled. "And you're a jerk."

"It's just that--" He cut himself off.

"What?"

"Every time you come back, you're a little more human."

The laughter in his voice had faded.

"I don't understand."

"I don't know," he confessed. "It's strange. You act very human sometimes, much more so than you did when we first met. You aren't as dark, I guess, and you consider yourself one of them."

I almost laughed. "I am one of them. Just with weird powers now."

There was no amusement on his face. "You didn't always think that."

What did that mean? Had I once thought I was better than humans, been as dark as the reapers? Had I once been as cruel?

Nausea crept over me. "Wil , Ragnuk scared the hel out of me. He's kil ed me before. I remembered it as soon as he said it."

"You can defeat him," he said earnestly. "We'l destroy him and you can move past it."

"Wil , I died!" I cried, more angry than scared. "I remember dying! I remember him tearing me apart!"

He touched my arm, but I pul ed away. "It's okay--"

"No, it's not okay," I said. "You can't imagine what that's like."

"You're right," he said. "I can't."

I stepped away from him. I hated myself for throwing a tantrum. Making excuses for my freezing in the middle of the fight wasn't going to help me. So I wiped at my eyes and took a deep breath. Being afraid would get me kil ed. "Why is Ragnuk so much bigger than the others?" I asked, my voice shaking just a little.

"He's an ursid reaper," Wil explained. "They're bigger and more powerful, but slower than the wolflike Lupines. Ursids rely on brute strength in battle."

"He was a monster," I whispered, unable to get his face out of my mind.

"But you defeated him this time," he said. "You injured him badly enough for him to took off. You made him retreat. That makes up for the moment you were afraid. El ie, you need to understand that once you overcome your fear, you can defeat anything."

"But I didn't kil him, and now he'l be back for me with whatever that Enshi is. And I got you hurt and I feel like crap."

"Don't worry about me, El ie. I'm supposed to take the hits for you. Trust me."

I studied his face, unable to understand why someone would devote himself to me so strongly. I wasn't worth his pain or his blood.

He forced a smile. "We need to get you back to your house. I'm sure your parents aren't going to be too happy about the broken window."

My heart sank. I had forgotten that Ragnuk had thrown me through the glass. How was I going to explain that? "I don't think I want to go back."

He frowned at me. "Yeah, you need to go back."

I nodded and took a deep breath. "You'd better take off. I don't think it would be a good idea to walk back with rippedup clothes and you with me. It might look bad."

"Good thinking," he said. "I'l be close."

"Thanks, Wil ."

He touched my shoulder. "You stil look beautiful in your dress."

When I turned to face him, he was gone. Again.

13

I EMERGED FROM THE WOODS AND THE GRIM TO see Kate and Landon standing on the patio cal ing my name. I was dead. I was sure of it. Kate spotted me first, and of course made an enormous deal of it.

"Ellie!" she shrieked, taking off at a sudden run. "Oh my God, are you al right?" She grabbed me and pul ed me into a strong hug. "We had no idea where you ran away to! Where were you? Are you hurt? I can't believe you fel through the glass!"

"I--"

"What happened to your dress? What is this on you?

You're filthy. Is that blood? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Kate was shooting off her mouth. I only pul ed away hospital?" Kate was shooting off her mouth. I only pul ed away from her with great effort.

"I'm fine," I said, smoothing out my dress, suddenly feeling very self-conscious about the naked skin showing through the rips.

Landon scooped up me into a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay! What happened? We were talking and you just said to watch out and then--I don't even know."