"I didn't sleep with him," she said. "Nothing happened. We just kissed, that's al . I was too drunk to know what I was doing."

"Do you like him?" I tried not to sound too curious, in case she got the impression I hoped she'd say no.

"I'm not real y sure," she confessed. "Kind of. Maybe. I don't know. I'm real y happy nothing happened on Hal oween, though. If I'm glad nothing happened, then it has to mean I'm not into him, right?"

I smiled even if she couldn't see me. "If you admitted it, I think you'd feel better."

She laughed. "There's nothing to admit, trust me."

I took a step back and bumped into a warm body and yelped. I turned to see Wil standing there, frowning down at me.

"El ?" Kate asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I thought I saw a spider." I shook my fist at Wil and scowled. "A big, really ugly one. Sorry."

"Understandable," she said. "I'l see you in school tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, bye!" I glared up at Wil , fearing what he might have heard of my phone conversation. "Why the ninja stealth?

Is it real y necessary?"

"I thought you knew I was in here," he said. The apologetic, defensive look in his green eyes made me forget how irritated I was.

"It's okay. Just try to be a little more noisy next time."

He laughed softly. "I don't think I could make a lot of noise if I tried. You should be a little more perceptive."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're a boy. You're al noisy when it gets down to it. You'l figure it out. What are you doing in here, anyway?"

"I wanted to see how you're doing."

"Ha!" I shouted, immediately clamping my hand over my mouth, embarrassed by how loud I had just been. I lowered my voice to a harsh whisper. "You're a liar. You got bored sitting up there on my roof al alone. Admit it."

He frowned. He looked shockingly vulnerable at that moment. "I've never lied to you."

Regret grew in my throat. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Don't worry about it." He gave me a sideways look. "Are you going to take a shower?"

I flushed scarlet and gave a nervous laugh. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just reading your mind."

I narrowed my eyes. "Don't scare me and say that. I just might believe you."

He laughed. "I know you wel enough to know that a shower is your highest priority right now."

I huffed at him for being right as usual, and I grabbed my robe off its hook and walked to the bathroom, where I took an obscenely long shower. The hot water ran over me, washing away the dirt, dust, and dried blood. I wished the water would wash away the ache in my heart, but it only soothed my aching muscles. For now, that would have to do. I leaned my head against the glass shower door and closed my eyes, lost in thought. Ragnuk's half-burned-away face haunted me in the darkness behind my eyelids, flashing gnarled flesh and white bone. I tried to wil the image away, but that was useless.

I knew I had to get past him. There were scarier things to worry about now, like losing my soul forever. And the Apocalypse.

I finished, dried off, dressed in my robe, and blow-dried my hair before heading back to my room. Wil was sitting on the end of my bed, leaning forward with his hands folded together. I self-consciously pul ed my robe a little tighter and flashed a smal smile. "You okay?"

His gaze met mine. "Isn't that my line?" he asked, his voice weak and tired.

"Usual y." I plopped down next to him. "I guess it's my turn now."

He didn't immediately respond. We sat in silence for some time. I didn't feel confident enough to say anything at al . So I waited.

"What's ahead is going to be difficult," he said gently. "Not simply this week but in the coming weeks. If we don't destroy the Enshi off Puerto Rico, then I'm not sure what wil happen. We can't fail."

I made a slow nod. "It's our only option, unless we blow it up."

He shrugged. "I don't know how effective that would be. If it's an angel, then I have no idea how to kil it. If it's at the bottom of the ocean, at least nothing else can get to it to wake it up. Nothing can survive thirty thousand feet below the ocean's surface. Nothing is absolutely indestructible."

"What if Bastian intercepts?" I asked.

His voice grew dark. "Then we'l have to fight him. I want to avoid him until the Enshi is at the bottom of that trench. We can't risk running into him or Geir and the others before then. We can't." The desperation in that last word sent a spark of fear through me.

I didn't want to think of the possible results of something like that happening. We had to get it out of the city--out of the state--as soon as possible. Wil wasn't the only one who didn't want to fight Bastian's vir. I knew I wasn't ready. They'd mop the floor with me, and I only knew the half of it. I'd seen none of what Ivar could do and only a little bit of Geir's power. We'd been lucky when we'd gotten away. I couldn't even fathom what the rest of them were truly capable of. I grabbed my pajamas from a wad of clothing on the floor and went into my closet to change. When I came back out, Wil hadn't moved. The furious concentration in his expression had furrowed his brow and tightened his lips. He stared at the floor.

"Did you eat enough at Nathaniel's?" I asked him, lifting his hair away from his eyes.