Angelfire

  "Well, that is quite fortunate for me."

  He launched, jaws and claws spread wide. I bolted and he landed to the side of me, sliding through the snow and spraying glittery white powder. He leaped for me again, and I dived behind a tree. He collided with it, shaking half the tree free of snow and gouging a massive hole in the bark with his body. He roared in fury, and every tree near him shook with the force of his energy. His power exploded and he bashed a tree trunk with his paw, his talons ripping the trunk nearly in half. The tree groaned, and I stared up as it came crashing down; but I fell back before it pinned me to the ground. Though it missed me, the log had trapped one of my swords beneath it and the flames went out. I grabbed the handle and tugged, but the blade didn't slide free. Holger climbed over the trunk, and then his snarling muzzle was inches from my face. He snapped his jaws, lashed his thick tail in anger, and lunged at me, but a powerful blow to his skull knocked him off the tree. My heart leaped when I saw Will. He pounded the reaper's head again, crushing Holger to the ground. Will snapped back around to face me and bellowed, "Your sword!"

  I nodded and gave the Khopesh another strong tug, grinding my boot into the trunk for leverage, and finally the blade slipped out. Angelfire burst from it. I turned my head just in time to see Holger charge at me where I lay. His jaws snapped at me, but I twisted away, and his teeth clamped down on earth and snow instead of flesh. With a desperate cry, I swung my sword as hard as I could. The blade cut deep through his neck, and his body burst into flames. Holger's head toppled off his body and onto my face. I cried out and my chair slipped out from under me. The racket echoed through the classroom as my butt hit the tile floor and the chair crashed.

  Everyone around me was silent, too shocked to laugh, but I didn't dare look up. My entire body flushed with heat. Oh God, oh God . . . Both my hands covered my face as I sat on the floor, absolutely mortified.

  "Holy crap, El ie, are you okay?" asked my table partner. I looked up to see his face peering down at me. "The chair . . . it slipped."

  UNCORRECTED E-PROOF--NOT FOR SALE

  HarperCollins Children's Books

  ..................................................................... 5

  THE REST OF THE DAY WENT BY WITHOUT ANY MORE incidents. No more daydreams, I told myself firmly. My nightmares were scary enough and I had no desire to have them while awake. The memory of what I had experienced during history was fresh in my mind and stung like a paper cut; the episode fluttered around school, so by last period I was already known as that chick who fel on her ass during class. I'd have to move away. Probably to Alaska.

  At last, school ended and I hurried to my locker. My interlude there with Kate and Landon was brief--I had other things on my mind. Like getting my car. And my nightmares coming to life.

  I halfheartedly agreed to meet Kate at the mal on Saturday to get our outfits for my party, as we had discussed during math earlier. After saying a hasty good-bye and thanking Landon once again for the roses, I headed outside with the vase in my arms to meet my mom.

  She seemed as excited as I was. "Honey, who are the flowers from?"

  "Landon," I said, smel ing them again.

  "Wel , that was very sweet of him," she offered, eying the vase.

  "I suppose he's making up for al the snowbal s he's thrown in my face and shoved down my shirt over the years."

  She nodded slowly and her brow flickered. "If you say so."

  We drove to the dealership a few miles from school and inspected nearly every single car there. I was set on a sedan, so we decided to test drive a couple of different cars, with the busty saleswoman tagging gleeful y along. I fel in love with a little white Audi with a black interior. It was sportier than the others and definitely felt perfect to me.

  After my mom had organized the purchase and we were ready to head home, I hopped into the driver's seat of my birthday present. The interior was wrapped in smooth, cool leather and I let myself sink into it.

  Mom dipped her head to smile at me through the driver'sside window.

  "I'm going to name him Marshmal ow," I announced. My mom raised an eyebrow. "Marshmal ow?"

  "Yes, and he loves it." I tenderly ran my fingers along the leather-covered steering wheel.

  "So what do you say to driving home in your new car?"

  "Yes!" I almost shouted.

  "Be sure to tel your dad thank you when you get home."

  I nodded, smiling widely. I was almost ecstatic enough to forget my frightening daydream from earlier. Almost. I fol owed my mom home. The Audi glided along the hil y roads like a dream. Up and down, left and right, the vehicle handled effortlessly and I felt in complete control, otherworldly. I didn't know what had come over me, whether it was the thril of having my first car or my party coming up, but I felt energized. Different. I felt good. None of the soreness I had woken up with that morning remained.

  As I pul ed into the driveway behind my mom's car, I happened to glance at my neighbor's mailbox, which lay in a pile of splinters. My neighbor, Mr. Ashton, was picking up the wooden fragments and chunks of brick scattered across his lawn. A very clear memory from the night before crept into my head, and the blood drained from my face. A cold rush flooded through me as I stepped out of my car, dizzying me so much that I had to lean against the door for support. I noticed a jagged crater in the street not too far off.

  "That happened last night," my mom said with a frown on her face. "It appears a sinkhole may have caused a driver to hit the curb and then Mr. Ashton's mailbox. The neighborhood association is having someone come by to fil the hole in tomorrow. It's strange, since these things don't usual y happen until spring."

  I leaned back against my car for support, my breaths long but dizzyingly shal ow.

  "Maybe that's what you heard last night?" Mom offered.

  "The loud noise you mentioned."

  I watched Mr. Ashton dump the remains of his mailbox into a wheelbarrow and haul it into his backyard. "Maybe."

  I ran up to my bedroom and dumped the contents of my wastebasket onto the carpet. Wil had to be wrong. My missing hoodie couldn't be in there. But right in front of me, in the midst of crumpled notebook paper, wadded tissues, and a candy wrapper, was my hoodie. I lifted it, gingerly plucking the hood up with two fingers. The cotton was shredded, stiff from something wet and thick that had dried al over it, and splattered across the sleeves and chest was dark dried droplets. The whole thing had a sour dog-drool smel laced with the faint tang of old blood.

  Scrambling into the bathroom, I threw up into the toilet. Kate cal ed me that evening at seven to meet her at Starbucks. Any reason was good enough to get me out of the house and driving. As I left, I took a whiff of the roses on my dresser and tried not to think about the shredded discovery in my wastebasket. I let my mom know where I was going and she gave her permission without much resistance. When I arrived, Kate was standing by her car in the parking lot with Landon and Chris. She let out a high-pitched squeal when she saw my new car.

  "Ah!" she shrieked. "It is so cute! I approve."

  "Thank you!" I said, beaming. "I named him Marshmal ow. Isn't it perfect?"

  "Oh my God, yes," Kate said, peeking in the driver's-side window. "Ruby wants him to be her boyfriend." She was referring to the name of her red BMW.

  "You rich girls and your stupid names for your cars," Chris said, sighing as he checked it out. "A4, nice. I'l race you with my 370Z."

  I laughed. "No way. I'm not going to kil myself, thanks, and why would you even bother? I'm pretty sure you'd destroy me in that thing anyway."

  "Fine," he said, and turned to Kate. "Let me take on the E90."

  She eyed him, grinning. "Keep dreaming."

  "You ladies are wasting your cars," Landon said, examining my tires.

  "It's real y going to suck when we're freshmen at Michigan State and have to leave our cars at home," Kate said, pouting.

  "Did you send your application in?" I asked.

  She nodded. "Yeah. Haven't
you?"

  I grimaced. My grades hadn't exactly been awesome, but I was stil treading water. "Not yet."

  "Wel , do it quick," she said. "Spots fil up fast."

  I made a mental note to start my application next week. Neither of us wanted to go anywhere else. Wel , of course I had wanted to go to Harvard when I was six, but my goals had gotten more realistic since then.

  After the boys inspected the Audi from gril e to tailpipe, we went into Starbucks to order. Kate bought me a cappuccino for my birthday, and I sipped on it while we talked and laughed. I was happy not to have to worry about the strange events of the past couple of days. At the moment, al I had to worry about was not spil ing my coffee on myself and not letting Landon get too close. He seemed to shift himself closer and closer to me as I watched him out the corner of my eye. I wasn't claustrophobic by any means--but I soon would be if he got any closer.

  "So what are we seeing tomorrow?" Chris asked, licking the whipped cream topping his cup.

  Friday night was Movie Night for our group of friends. It was pretty much a religious event for us. I shrugged. "I don't know. What's out?"

  "There's that ghost movie that opened last week," Kate offered.

  "Eh," I said. I had had enough of scary situations in the last twenty-four hours.

  "Action movie, then?" Landon asked.

  We settled on a movie about an existential hit man. Movie Night wasn't about seeing Oscar-worthy films. It was about spending a sweet night out. Cliches be damned.

  Suddenly, I remembered my lit paper. I snarled at the ground. "I real y need to get started on my paper."

  Kate frowned. "Already?"

  "Real y, El ," Landon said, flashing a stupid grin. "What's the point of drinking coffee at night if you're just going to go fal asleep?"

  I shoved his shoulder playful y. "While your logic is flawless, it doesn't help me get my paper done. This cappuccino wil , on the other hand."

  "Fine, fine," Kate said, waving her hand in a shooing motion. "You suck. Leave."

  "You shouldn't tel me I suck on my birthday," I said with a grin.

  "Happy birthday!" She beamed.

  "Thanks, lover." I gathered my purse and cup. I said goodbye and headed back out to my car. When I got home, I went up to my room and immediately realized I had left my lit book and notes in my locker that afternoon. I swore loudly and plopped heavily down on my bed.

  "Damn it, what am I going to do?" I said aloud to no one. I stared at my backpack, angry at it for not containing the things I needed. If I didn't start my paper tonight, I would never get it done. I'd be too busy with my party. I had to go back to school to get it.

  I glanced at my clock. It was almost nine, but the school should definitely stil be open for the adult-education night classes. If it wasn't open, then at least I had a pretty good excuse to drive again. I could be optimistic when needed. I grabbed my backpack, purse, cappuccino, and cel phone and headed back to school to retrieve my forgotten homework. The was weakly lit, and I found only two other cars parked in the student lot behind the building. The only il umination was provided by the orangeish blotches beneath the parking lot lights, so I parked under one of them instead of in a dark patch. I figured I was less likely to get jumped there.

  I found that the doors I usual y entered through every morning were locked, so I rounded the building until I found an unlocked one. Inside, I nodded to a janitor I recognized, who smiled kindly to me as he swept the floor, listening to the MP3 player plugged into his ears. The hal s were dimly lit, and my footsteps echoed solemnly. It was amazing how creepy this school got at night. I raced to my locker, yanked out what I needed, and stuffed it into my bag before jogging back out of the building. For some reason, outside it now seemed darker to me.

  The light on the pole beside my car flickered and hummed. Something tugged on my body, and a hazy veil covered my vision. I had trouble stepping forward, and I looked down at my arms to see what was holding me back. The world, not just the air, but everything solid, stretched and melted away as if I were moving through a gelatinous wal . One more step, and I was suddenly free as a burst of black smoke wound around my limbs and cleared away, leaving the world normal again.

  Halfway across the lot, I heard a distinct--and al too familiar--rumble.

  "Oh God," I whispered, halting in fear. After two excruciatingly long seconds I heard another growl rol ing through the darkness.

  I bolted, digging my hands frantical y into my pockets for my keys. Something heavy pounded the pavement behind me, but I was too terrified to look back. I pressed Unlock fifty times before I crashed into my car door. A giant, dark shape flashed in the corner of my vision, and I screamed and ducked just as an enormous paw raked its talons across the front fender of my brand-new car.

  I hit the ground, spil ed my coffee and my bags, and looked up to face my attacker: a reaper, as big as the Audi, loomed over me with one paw on the hood of my car. It looked down on me, covering me completely in its shadow, blocking out the streetlight, its chest heaving with every breath. Its shaggy, dark fur gleamed an ugly charcoal color in the yel ow light. The reaper was wolf shaped, just like the ones from my daydream and my nightmare the night before.

  "I have found you, Preliator," the reaper said in a deep, husky, but oddly feminine voice. "And now you are mine."

  She grinned a mouthful of fangs and snapped at me. I screamed and threw my arms over my head. The reaper laughed, her hot breath strangling me.

  A shadow zipped behind the reaper and suddenly she was sent flying over the Audi. She landed and skidded across the pavement, digging her claws into the pavement and leaving white streaks behind.

  I lowered my arms and looked up to find Wil standing over me. His skin beneath the tattoos on his right arm glowed brightly in the streetlight.

  "Are you hurt?" he asked, offering his free hand. I took it, staring at him dazedly, and he helped me up.

  "The cappuccino . . . It must be the caffeine. . . ."

  Wil grabbed my shoulder suddenly, threw me back against my car, and looked fiercely into my face. "Snap out of it, El ie! Denial isn't going to make the reaper go away!"

  "I can't! I--"

  "Stop saying you can't! You can! You must fight!"

  I wheeled around, bumping into Wil as I searched for the reaper, who had vanished. I grabbed at Wil 's shirt in terror, shuddering closer to him, my head whipping around wildly, desperate to find the reaper.

  "Release her, Guardian!" Her voice rang out from somewhere unseen.

  Letting out a hoarse cry, I snapped my gaze up to see the reaper crouched on the roof of the Audi. Thick saliva dripped from her jaws, hitting the roof and sliding down the driver'sside window.

  "Oh, poor child," the thing half cooed, half snarled. "She's shaking. What's the matter, girl? You were supposed to be a nightmare, but al I see is a whimpering little lamb. We don't even need the Enshi. I'l kil you myself."

  Horrified, I scrambled away, but Wil caught my arm.

  "Again!" he cried out, slamming his palm into my forehead for the second time in as many days. The blast hit me, stronger this time, and the white light blinded me once more. The world shook and rol ed, and I felt like I was trapped in the center of a tornado again. An eerie gust of wind spiraled around me, pul ing my hair and body toward the sky. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself. Wil released me and I fel back, but his arm wound around my waist and pul ed me to his chest. After a woozy moment I had the strength to stand on my own, and he let me go.

  When I opened my eyes, I cal ed my blades and they appeared in my hands, growing magical y from the pommel at the bottom of each of the helves to the tips of the blades. The simplest tug in my chest sent flames bursting from the swords, as if they came alight by my wil alone. My power surged through me, and the creepy, spiderlike energy of the reaper heated my face like crackling fire. I could feel--and see--Wil 's power as he stood beside me. He looked dark and beautiful.

  "I'm ready now," I said.

&n
bsp; The reaper snarled and leaped off the car, landing with an earthshaking thud. I didn't wait for her to charge. I crouched to the pavement, tightened my grip on each sword, and let out a terrible cry. My power erupted, deafening me momentarily, bursting forth from my body as an explosion of inky, wispy white smoke, its strength rocking the ground like an earthquake. The pressure slammed into the reaper and my car with enough force to shove it several feet to one side. My ears rang as I watched the reaper brace herself and hold her ground. Her empty eyes stared back at me like pieces of twisted volcanic glass.

  I shot at the reaper, swords high over my head. I summoned my power and leaped up, spinning through the air and crushing my foot into the reaper's jaw. As I came down, I slashed my flaming blades across her body, slicing both her shoulders. She ducked her head and chomped at me as I landed, her fangs nicking my arm and tearing the skin. She swung her neck and her head into my body, smashing me into a light pole. The light went dark as the glass rained down, shattering al around me.

  I lay there, my eyes fogging over for a moment, and looked down at my arm. Cuts lined my skin from the lamp's glass and the reaper's teeth. I wiped away the blood and watched my skin heal right before my eyes. The torn flesh wove in and out as though it were being sewn back together with invisible needle and thread until my skin was smooth and flawless except for smears of blood. My gaze snapped back up to see the reaper stomping toward me. Her jaw clicked and contorted grotesquely as the bones I'd smashed with my foot healed back into place.

  "You taste good, Preliator," she snarled, giving her jaws a stretch. "I think I'l have another bite."

  I grabbed one of my swords and charged. The reaper saw me coming and threw her paw into my face, snapping my head to the side. I ground my teeth bitterly, reeled my arm back, and pounded my fist into her jaw as hard as I could. Instead of just breaking again, her jaw flung free from her skul and skidded across the pavement in a spray of blood. Another reaper came out of nowhere. It sprang from the shadows at my left, its fangs a flash of white in the dark, but Wil swept his own sword through the air between us, stopping my breath. His giant blade sliced through the reaper's neck, sending its head spiraling high over me as it hardened to stone. The head and body hit the pavement and smashed into a thousand stony pieces.