“Okay.”

He took out the clip and handed it to me. “Unload like this. You try it.”

I did as he said.

“Now put them back in. Watch your fingers.”

I pinched my fingers on the first five bullets. At last the clip was loaded. I stuck it back into the gun. “Okay.”

“Now, aim for the twenty-meter target. Safety off. Finger on the trigger. There’s a little nub on the end of the muzzle. Line it up with the target. Fire when you’re ready. Try not to shoot Will. He’s grumpy enough already.”

It was difficult to steady my hands as I laughed, but I forced myself to get it together. Following his directions slowly and carefully, I steadied the gun with my arms out in front of me. I exhaled and fired. The bullet tore through the bull’s-eye.

“Well done!” Nathaniel said with a smile. “For you, a target this close should be no trouble. Let’s do some more difficult targets.”

I surprised myself with how much fun I had as Nathaniel taught me how to shoot, and after emptying a couple of clips, I was getting pretty good.

“So, Will,” I said, turning to face him. “What happens if I trade in my Khopesh swords for a shotgun?”

He stared at me, gauging how serious I was. “Then the world ends. Bullets don’t come with angelfire, sorry to say.”

“That’s too bad,” I said. “Guns are effective against zombies, but not reapers?”

I was rewarded with a little smile. “Real life is a lot different from movies and video games.”

“Hey, now,” Nathaniel said. “Guns can be very effective. Just not as effective as Ellie’s swords. But imagine what we could do with an angelfire flamethrower.”

At that moment, something prickled across my senses and I looked to the sky. Ava pulled out of the Grim midflight, her dark silver wings stretched out gloriously as she landed in the snow. Her hair was tousled from flight, but she still managed to be beautiful. She moved right past Nathaniel and me.

“Will,” she said. “I have a lead. I think I know what Bastian is looking for that might break the Enochian spell.”

Will snapped to attention and got to his feet, his expression serious. “Is he close to getting it?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Last night I caught a demonic reaper in Birmingham who I know deals in magical items. He told me, after some persuasion and a lot of his blood on the ground, that Bastian came to him looking for a necklace.”

“A necklace?” I asked. “How is a necklace going to break an angelic spell? Unless he just wants to wear it so he can look pretty…”

“It’s a relic,” she said, giving me a very unamused look.

That was a word I recognized. Relics were very powerful magical items that could be used to give the possessor massive power, as a key to unlock something, or to summon an angel or one of the Fallen. The possibilities were many and terrifying.

“He’s not looking for my necklace, right?” I asked Ava. I touched the pendant below my collarbone, and the carved wings felt warm and gave off an electrical hum against my fingertips. It was a strange piece, and I couldn’t remember where it had come from, but I felt naked and empty when I wasn’t wearing it—like the necklace was a part of me. There was something more to my winged necklace, but I just didn’t know what exactly.

Ava shook her head. “No, this is something different, a well-known relic of great power.”

“This could be what Bastian’s new vir are searching for,” I said. “They sound like your worst nightmare, from what Cadan told me. He said they were after a key of some sort to break the Enochian spell on the sarcophagus. This relic may be powerful enough to do it.”

“We have to find this relic before Bastian does,” Nathaniel said.

“Do you know where it is?” Will asked.

“I recognized the necklace the demonic reaper described,” Ava explained. “And I’m pretty sure I know exactly what he’s talking about. It’s protected by an angelic reaper I know.”

“A relic guardian?” Will asked.

She nodded curtly. “His name is Zane, and he may not be so willing to part with it, but it would be wise if we hid the relic in an even more secure place or perhaps destroyed it. Bastian is getting too close.”

“How well acquainted are you with this relic guardian?” Nathaniel asked.

She smiled darkly. “He won’t be pleased to see me.”

“Old enemies?” I asked.

“Old lovers.”

“Oh.” I shut my mouth after that.

“Do you need help convincing him to hand it over?” Will asked.

“Yes,” Ava said. “If the Preliator is with me, then he will have to forfeit the relic.”

I was not keen on going anywhere alone with Ava. I still wasn’t entirely convinced of her loyalties. “Do you mean we’re going tonight?”

She shook her head. “It’s too risky to go after dark. We’ll wait until the sun rises tomorrow and the demonic aren’t active.”

“I have school, though,” I said. “Which, unfortunately, takes precedence over me hanging out with you shiesty reapers.”

She shrugged. “That’s fine, then. I understand. Zane must recognize Will as the Preliator’s Guardian and accept that Will would be acting on your behalf.”

“Ava’s right,” Will said. “I’m as good as having Ellie there. He won’t be able to refuse me.”