The tunnel exit is littered with bodies when we reach it—on both ends. I see guns laying on the ground, dropped by the dead soldiers. From the way sickly yellowish smoke curls from the corpses, I can hazard a guess as to who killed them. In the distance, I can still hear Ehtab and the unnamed angel battling it out. The sounds of their swords clashing echo throughout the City of Dust.

High above, a massive dust cloud emerges. Whatever magic Ehtab was using to conceal the truth from the residents has been broken. A hot wind blows down through the city and I jerk up my scarves to protect my face.

The pony mare squeals and bucks, shaking her head as the dust stings her eyes. I've nothing to put over her face. Everything I had was with Winston—or the angel that was trapped in Winston's body.

We bolt through the tunnel and out of the other side, ignoring the sounds of bones snapping as the stallion and pony ride over the corpses. There, the wind is calm and no dust flies around us. The mare calms somewhat, but her neck is caked with mud.

Glaris doesn't stop. He urges us onward, running for at least another mile before he pulls his stallion to a stop. The giant black horse immediately drops his head between his knees as Glaris slides down, carrying a limp Kayleigh.

Leaving the kid on the side of the road, he instructs Egon to watch over her, which of course the enfield does. His sides heave with exertion, jaws agape and panting.

I dismount and take the pony mare by the reins and begin leading her in a slow circle to cool her down. I've already lost one mount, I can't afford to lose another.

Winston.

A sob catches in my throat as I think back on what I saw. An angel. Living in my battle-elk.

Was he always there? Or did he somehow possess Winston accidentally?

It's not like I'll ever know the answer.

Still. A tear slides down my cheek. It's soon followed by another. Before I know it, I'm full-on sobbing, something that I haven't done since before the Turning.

"Are you all right?" Glaris asks softly, slightly out of breath as he continues to walk his horse.

I laugh, but it comes out as a wheeze. "No."

"Did you know that an angel was in ... ?"

"No!" It's so ludicrous, but it does explain a lot. I'd been told that battle-elk had the intelligence of a toddler, but even then, Winston seemed a lot smarter that the rest of his species.

The pony mare whickers and I idly stroke her nose. It's not the same as Winston's muzzle, but it's something and I need what small comfort it brings. But that doesn't mean I won't trade her for a proper horse the minute we get into a town. I need to be up higher; this feels like I'm scooting my butt over the highway. And I definitely don't like being lower than Glaris on his massive stallion.

"So," the demon-hunter says in the silence that follows, "she's a nephilim."

"As I said, half-angel," I say with a shrug, too drained physically and mentally to discuss the finer points.

"I heard you," he replies, tugging down his mask so I can see the stark white scars on his cheeks. "Who knows what else she's capable of?"

Adrenaline surges through me; I drop the mare's reins and lunge at the demon-hunter, grabbing his cowl with trembling fingers. "Don't you dare," I hiss, shoving a shim close to his jugular. "Don't you even think about selling us out!"

Glaris bats my hand away, the skin around his eyes creasing in a wince as he does so. Good, I hope he's bruised all over.

"You're insane, you know that?" he retorts hotly, glaring at me. "Do you think that everyone is out to get you or has an alternative agenda?"

"Yes," I snap. "It's how I survive."

"Well, that's a shitty way to live."

"It's the only way that I know," I tell him, baring my teeth.

Behind us, in the City of Dust, lightning crackles in the clouds that swirl above the jagged wall.

I step back from the demon-hunter and take up the pony's reins; we start walking again.

"So, where are you planning on going?" Glaris calls out to me. "If Ehtab wins, there will be a bounty on your head." He pauses. "And even if he doesn't, something tells me that the Institute will send people after you."

I snort and wince as I pull something along my hip. Now that's going to be a massive bruise. "Like I'm going to tell you," I reply. But deep inside, I know he's right. I've gone from being the Hunter to being the Hunted.

I can tell you truthfully, that I don't like that idea. Not at all.

"You need to trust him," a small voice whispers.

I stop walking the mare and turn to the ditch. Kayleigh is sitting up, one arm looped over Egon's feathered shoulders.

"Why?" I demand of the child.

She sighs and runs a hand through her dust-covered hair. "I told you that I can read people a little. Trust him."

I blink. So she did.

I look over at the demon-hunter, who merely shrugs at me as he continues to walk his stallion. The black horse is breathing easier and he's not so sweaty. I quickly run my eyes over the mare; her sides aren't pumping in and out like bellows anymore. But that doesn't mean we can hop back on and take off. If we do, we'll break them and then we'll all be without rides.

I might be insane, but I'm not stupid.

God. My eyes flick up to the hazy moonlit night. Well, I ask, where are You? I've seen an angel, but what about You?

There's no answer, of course.

"We're going to have to camp here tonight," I say into the silence that stretches across the road.

"Obviously," Glaris agrees. "But perhaps farther up the highway. We're too easy to find right now."

I sigh. "I don't know what's out there. And I've nothing left to make a ward."

Glaris shrugs. "Leave that to me."

I raise an eyebrow. "You can make wards?"

"Yes."

"Then why weren't you doing that before?" I exclaim, arms thrown wide. Of all the stupid ...

He cocks his head at me. "You didn't happen to notice the yellow flames coming off my sword, did you?"

"Yeah. So?"

He frowns. "So. That requires a lot of concentration. Which I could not expend on strengthening your ward." He looks at me. "Which looked very strong. Are you certain of your parentage?"

What is he implying? That my father was actually an angel? I snort, affronted that Glaris would imply I had heavenly blood. "No. I don't have the marking." It would have been noticeable a long time ago if that were the case.

"Fine, fine." Glaris looks around the highway. "Do you trust me?"

We're back on that again? I roll my eyes. "The kid trusts you. I suppose ... I suppose that's good enough for me." I hate admitting it because it means that I have to revise my opinion of him and I don't do that. I like to keep things simple and this just complicates it all.

He grins, which make two dimples pop in his cheeks. Ah, shit. Not this.

"So, does that mean you'll tell me where you're going?"

God! God! God! I look over at the kid and she has the balls to give me a thumb's up. I hate this so much, but if it wasn't for Glaris, we probably would be dead. Throwing up my hands in defeat, I spit, "Fine! We're going to Alaska."

"Alaska? Why?"

"Because my parents are being held there and being forced create a new portal to Hell."

Glaris blinks. "Your parents ... work for the Institute?"

"They did until they discovered what was actually going on. They tried to flee, but agents from the Institute caught us. They took my parents and left me to die on the road."

"Oh." Glaris takes a deep breath and stares down the highway. "That explains a lot."

"About what?" I frown, suspicious.

"About your personality. About your refusal to let anyone in."

"I do not!"

"Yes, you do," he replies calmly, shaking a finger at me.

"Oh ... shut up!"

But the demon-hunter smiles.

I hate it when men smile like that. It makes me like them.