"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Ragnuk sneered, his hot breath blasting me.

I smashed my fist into his nose as hard as I could, and he flew from me, thrashing wildly. He scrambled back to his feet, shaking his head and thundering with rage. I ran to Wil and slid to a stop as I reached him. He pul ed his body forward along the pipe, desperate to free himself. I cupped his face with both my hands and pressed my forehead despairingly against his cheek. "I'l get you off this," I promised, breathless, my hands running the length of the reddened iron. "I'l help you!"

"Cal your swords," he groaned. "Hurry."

I nodded and wil ed them into my surprisingly steady hands.

Wil 's eyes shot wide open. "Behind you!"

I spun around. Ragnuk bounded across the room, leaving me no time to react. He swiped at me and hooked a talon around my leg, pul ing me off balance. I hit the floor, landing flat on my back. Ragnuk's teeth clamped down on my leg, and he threw me across the warehouse, knocking my swords from my grip. I crashed into a large wooden crate piled high with scrap metal and cardboard, cracking my wrist. I groaned as I lifted my broken wrist and looked for my weapons.

"Leave her alone!" Wil thundered.

I looked up to see that he stil struggling to free himself from the pipe that impaled him. His hands were clamped around the end of it and he pul ed himself forward with what little strength was left, one inch at a time.

The reaper stepped toward me, his head low, his black eyes fixed on me with a hungry stare. "Get up, girl!"

I struggled to my feet in the debris, cradling my broken wrist, stumbling from the pain that rocketed up my arm. I could feel the tiny bones clicking and moving beneath my skin, snapping themselves back into place.

"So, here we are," he sneered. "Bastian doesn't even care whether you die now. 'Your death is no longer necessary,' he says. Wel , his orders mean nothing to me now. I'm stil going to eat you alive."

"El ie, don't listen to him!" Wil shouted.

Ragnuk tossed his head at Wil . "Your Guardian doesn't know when he has lost. Typical of a vir." The reaper thudded over to Wil and looked him up and down. "You al think you're gods, storming around, barking orders. You're no better than the humans. You look just like them." He spat on the ground at Wil 's feet. "For the most part."

Ragnuk drew a talon down Wil 's cheek with, drawing a red line of blood. The cut healed instantly. The claw was large enough to punch right through Wil 's skul , but the ursid reaper's movement was shockingly gentle. "You do a good job, Guardian. Looks like you've got her fooled into thinking you're human. She doesn't even remember what you're capable of, does she?"

Wil didn't answer him. Why Ragnuk didn't just kil Wil , I didn't understand. He had us both at his mercy at that moment, but he chose to taunt us instead of just finishing us off. It was like he was getting a high off his momentary power over us.

"You haven't told her anything, have you?" Ragnuk laughed. "You arrogant vir bastard. No attempt to jog her memory? Should I do the honors? Shal we remind her of the monster you truly are?" He smiled with his bear face and licked his fangs.

Wil jerked away from him and swung a fist, but the reaper moved his head fluidly to the side, avoiding the strike effortlessly. Ragnuk grabbed the end of the pipe with his jaws and bent it upward. The metal creaked and groaned until it pointed at the ceiling at a ninety-degree angle. Wil gasped for breath.

"Get out of that, Guardian," Ragnuk sneered, his voice dark and cruel.

"Wil !" I cried in horror. I squeezed my fist and whimpered in pain.

Ragnuk smiled and stepped away from Wil heavily, his talons clicking on the floor. He lumbered toward me, but stopped halfway and turned to pace back and forth. He seemed conflicted somehow, probably deciding whether to kil me or to chew on me for a bit before I died.

"Why don't you show her your true self?" Ragnuk growled to Wil . "You could escape that trap easily. I've seen you escape from worse. You're holding back Guardian!"

I stared at Wil in confusion. What was Ragnuk talking about? Wil had told me he didn't shape-shift like Geir. My gut trembled. Had he lied to me? Was he about to transform right in front of me?

Wil 's arms strained with the excruciating effort of trying to free himself from the pipe. He didn't look up to Ragnuk when he spoke. He stared down at the pipe, his hair fal ing over his eyes. "I am not like you."

The ursid laughed, bel owing. "You are a reaper! I don't care if you're angelic or demonic or idiotic. You're not human, so stop pretending to be!" Spittle flecked his mouth as he yel ed. "You have a hunger that can never be sated."

"I'm better than that," Wil groaned.

"You are not!" Ragnuk roared. "You think you're not a monster, but you are. Show her, Guardian. Show the girl!"

"I'm not a monster!" As Wil dragged his body toward the end of the pipe, his power detonated, slamming the ground and wal behind him. He grabbed the pipe with both hands and bent it until the metal was straight. I watched in horror as Wil slid forward and he dropped to the ground, leaving the pipe stained dark and a gaping hole in his abdomen. He col apsed to the ground on al fours, spil ing red. He coughed and moaned as he struggled weakly to his feet and faced Ragnuk. "But I am not human either."

Wil staggered to the side, leaning against the gorecovered pipe as the hole in his gut closed over. When he turned back to me with anguished eyes, his bel y was smooth, but his shirt was shredded. He ripped the pipe clean out of the wal , yanking a chunk of the wal with it. Ragnuk snarled, curling his lips back and exposing his massive fangs. The ursid pounded Wil 's back to the wal , his jaws gaping wide, ready to snap. Wil swung the pipe up with both hands, striking Ragnuk in the mouth. The ursid chomped savagely, lashing his head back and forth, gagging and snarling. Wil yanked the bar out of Ragnuk's mouth and jammed it through the ursid's neck. Ragnuk roared and thrashed, ramming his skul into Wil 's temple with a sickening crack. Wil hit the ground hard and didn't move. I tested my grip again and found my hand now ful y healed, and I bolted forward, grabbing one of my swords on the way as I ran to help Wil . Ragnuk's paw struck my chest and slammed me to the floor, knocking the breath right out of me. As I lay there gasping, his other front paw stomped on my arm holding the sword, pinning my blade. I yanked, but the lack of oxygen had weakened me. I stared up into the reaper's inky black eyes.