I heard a low rumble in front of me and I stopped walking. It didn’t sound mechanical like a car engine and I definitely didn’t see any headlights ahead, either. I strained my eyes to peer into the darkness. The streetlamp above me buzzed and went out. Past the sidewalk corner and deep into my neighbor’s wide lawn, I could see nothing.

“What are you looking at?”

I let out a small cry and spun around, as my heart leaped into my throat.

Will stood there as if he’d appeared out of nowhere. He looked worried and determined, but he was obviously trying to hide those feelings.

“What are you doing out here?” I hissed.

“What are you doing here?” he countered.

I threw my hand up. “I live here!”

“So, why are you out for a walk this late at night?” he asked, distracting me from my thoughts. “Even if you live here, it’s pretty late to be wandering around at night.”

“Well, you’re out here too. I like being outside at night. It’s relaxing.”

That smile widened. It was like he thought this was funny. “Most people would feel nervous.”

My hands rested on my hips. “Why? Should I be?”

“What?”

“Nervous.”

“Probably.”

“You don’t seem like you’re nervous.”

“I can take care of myself.” His smile turned dark, knowing.

“You’re the weirdest boy I’ve ever met—and believe me, every single one of them is weird, so that’s saying a lot.” Once I realized what I’d just said, I wanted to smack my face into a brick wall. My mouth sure liked to run when it should have been my feet running.

He laughed. “At least you’re honest about your feelings.”

“They say it’s a virtue.” I turned around to walk back to my house. It was time to leave. “Do me a favor and leave me alone. I just know you’re going to go all Ted Bundy on my ass any second.” I looked around me, hoping one of the neighbors would flick their porch lights on and burst out holding a shotgun. I felt pretty sure I wasn’t that lucky.

“Are you afraid of me?” Will asked, jogging to catch up to me.

“Are you passive-aggressively trying to tell me that I should be afraid of you, too? Not just ‘nervous’?” I was only four houses away from home now.

“No, but have you ever heard the saying, ‘The brave may not live forever, but the cautious never live at all’?”

“No, I haven’t heard that, but I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks for the proverbial insight, my stalker friend.”

He threw an arm across my chest to stop me and looked ahead, staring coldly into the dark. His body stiffened, but something in my gut told me that it wasn’t because of the chilly air.

I turned my head to follow his gaze, but I saw nothing in the street ahead. A breeze scattered a handful of already fallen leaves. I smelled something strange, like eggs and black smoke. “Do you smell that? What’s wrong?”

He stepped around me to put himself between me and wherever he was staring. “You can’t see into the Grim yet.”

“See what? The grim what?” I peeked over his shoulder. I thought I saw a shadow cross my path, but when I blinked, nothing was there. It was too dark.

His gaze was fixed at something in the blackness. “It’s not time! Stand down. I don’t care if it’s after midnight, she cannot be touched, unless you’re prepared for the consequences!”

He was clearly not talking to me. I was suddenly very aware that though I knew his name, I had no idea who he was. He could have been some drug addict. I had never seen anyone on anything other than pot or alcohol, not even shrooms or anything worse, so I had no idea what to expect. My body tensed with fear. “What are you on? I’ve had enough. I’m leaving now.”

I started to turn back to my house.

“No, wait,” Will said.

I heard the rumble again, only this time it was louder. That was not a car engine. Was it a growl? Was there a dog—a big dog—out there in the dark? My mind raced with thoughts of a rabid-dog attack. If the dog was close enough for me to hear it, then I should have been able to see it. It wasn’t that dark out.

Another growl came, and then very heavy footsteps—like T-rex-shaking-the-water-cup-Jurassic-Park-style heavy footsteps.

“What is that?” I asked, trembling, my eyes searching the dark. I felt like I’d fallen right into a real-life version of one of my nightmares. My head whirled dizzily and fear made my stomach churn.

Hot breath, reeking like road kill, blasted my face from an unseen source and I spun around, gagging. “Oh, my God!” I groaned, covering my mouth.

“Come here,” Will said slowly, reaching back for me without taking a step. The look of worry on his face that I’d noticed earlier had deepened. Now he looked afraid and that scared me a thousand times more.

“No way!” I cried, reeling away from him.

His fear spun into aggravation as I pulled away. “Don’t scream. You’ll make him attack.”

Panic set in. “Get away!” I shrieked and tried to run, but Will grabbed my arm. I twisted and pulled, but his grip was amazingly strong. It was like trying to drag an eighteen-wheeler; I couldn’t get him to give even an inch. How could anyone be that strong? I started to pry at his fingers, but they were like solid rock.

“It’s time to end this game,” he said, sending stabs of ice down my spine. He yanked me to his chest effortlessly and pressed his palm to my forehead.

Bright white light flashed, blinding me. Every inch of my skull felt as if it would explode from the pressure. The ground felt as if it were rocking and rolling at my feet and a cruel wind—I didn’t even know where it came from—punished me violently, beating at me from all directions. My knees began to sway, unable to hold my weight, but Will held me up so I wouldn’t fall. The light vanished just as abruptly as it had appeared as he took his hand away from my forehead and released me. I staggered back and fell on my tailbone, my vision blurring—but, through the haze I could have sworn I saw shadowy wings towering over me, spreading wide and blocking out the moonlight. I blinked and saw only Will’s blurry form where I thought wings had just been. Every muscle in my body ached as if I’d just run a mile, but I was energized. There was a rushing sensation through the air, through the ground, and every inch of my body tingled with tiny prickles of electricity, as if I were moving a hundred miles an hour, even though I hadn’t moved an inch. The air around me was sticky for a moment, sticky and smoky, and I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again to clear my vision. After a heartbeat, the haziness faded. I stared confusedly at the pavement, rubbing my forehead.

“Ellie!”

My eyes suddenly focused and I saw Will again. My vision was crisp and the world had brightened. I looked past Will, marveling at how easily I could see through the darkness, distinguishing every leaf on my neighbors’ bushes, every groove in every shingle on their roofs.

And then I saw the monster: something vaguely resembling a huge dog covered in thick, black fur loomed over us, standing easily five feet tall at the shoulder. It lumbered over on all fours with a snout full of gnarled, vicious-looking teeth in the jaws of an heavy, oversize head. Its paws were the size of an elephant’s foot and covered in talons that looked like they could tear a man in half.

But I wasn’t afraid. A calmness washed over me and my mind analyzed at a lightning pace. Strange memories and thoughts that didn’t belong to me flooded into my mind: faces and violence I’d seen long ago in different times. I looked up at Will, whose face sparked the clearest and fondest memory. I knew I had to fight now, but I needed my weapons.

The beast leapt toward me, claws outstretched, and took a swipe with one of its front paws, but Will appeared between us. He grabbed the beast’s forelimb and kicked full force into its chest, sending it flying back, shattering my neighbor’s mailbox into countless little chunks of wood and brick.It happened so fast that I knew I shouldn’t have been able to see it, but I did. I stepped forward, watching the creature climb to its feet as it loosed a low, dangerous-sounding growl.

I held both of my arms out and willed weapons into my open palms. The twin Khopesh swords appeared out of nothing in a flash of shimmering light. The curving silver blades glinted brightly. I glanced over at Will. In the moonlight, I could now see intricate black tattoos twisting out from beneath his shirt all the way down his right arm to his knuckles. I remembered the beautiful symbols woven into the spiraling design, because I’d seen them before with different eyes, in another time.

My thoughts were calm and unnervingly clear. The blades exploded into flames at my command. Blinding light devoured the silver, and the power coursed through me. My fingers squeezed the cool, familiar helves as the scents of silver and old blood flooded my heightened senses. The swords felt right in my grasp, like hugging an old friend.

The monster began to circle me, growling low and releasing an unearthly hiss. Its eyes were bottomless pits of blackness set deep into its deformed, terrible skull. I stared right back into those eyes without fear or hesitation.

I moved with the creature so that it was never at my back and in a voice that did not seem my own I challenged the beast, “Come for me.”

The wolf-monster charged, front paws and talons outstretched, massive jaws gaping. I spun out of the way just as teeth clamped down on the hood of my sweatshirt instead of my throat. The beast yanked the cotton flap, wrenching me around awkwardly, twisting, growling. Its paws clawed at my body, pulling me closer to its mouth so it could take a bite out of my face. I smashed my elbow into its nose and it slumped back onto its haunches with a groan. Then my elbow slammed down on top of its skull and something crunched, but the monster only bit harder on my hoodie, shredding the fabric. Abruptly, it threw me to the ground and I looked up. Will had it by the throat, his arm buried elbow-deep in its thick fur, pulling the beast backward.

“Now!” he roared.

It thrashed like a giant pit bull and broke free.

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