had noticed or was thinking about.
“How much further?” he asked after a short silence.
“It’s that one,” I said, leaning around him to point at the one from the GPS satellite image texted to us before we parked. It was one of the tallest buildings around, about five stories tall, much taller than the warehouses surrounding it. Seeing it, I felt a sudden wave of repulsion, like I needed to look away, go back to my car, and pretend I was never there. Recognizing the spell, I tapped Raphael on his stomach.
“Just keep walking to it. Don’t stop looking at it, and the feeling will pass. It’s a standard repelling defense that keeps parties from being interested in an object or location. Since Levi is strong, he’s done it to the entire building. It won’t hurt us. We just need to work past it.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, but yes ma’am,” he said, his pace not faltering.
“You don’t feel it?”
“Nope, but if you say there’s magic, then there’s magic.”
We jogged across the last street, and I was immensely grateful not to have seen Levi yet. Hopefully, he was at the top, distracted by his storm. I wanted to dry off for just a minute.
“Let’s get in and get warm,” Raphael said, yanking the door open. I knew it wasn’t unlocked by the sound it made when he pulled. He broke the lock, and when he let go of the door, it looked like it was having a hard time staying on its hinges.
I walked in behind him, glaring.
“Good job,” I whispered. “If anyone is here, they’ll have heard that.”
“Sorry. I just figured it was easier than trying to fit my big ass through a window.” He shrugged innocently.
“I could have turned into a snake and come to unlock the door,” I snapped. “Do you know what an Executioner is? An assassin. I’m an assassin. I don’t normally make big loud noises when I enter a building.”
“Good point. Sorry.” He lifted his hands in defeat, but I didn’t see a lot of guilt.
Walking past him, I started opening doors quietly and peeking inside—no humans, which was a damn good thing. Cubicles and offices were deserted. Tomorrow, all the humans who worked here would be very confused why they didn’t get into work and do their jobs. I had a suspicion their bosses would be wondering the same thing. A day off from the rat race humans ran was a day wasted in their minds.
Sad way to live. Everyone needs a couple of years off every now and then. Shit, I’m due for a fucking vacation. I might put in for it once this is done.
“Like I would let you go into the building alone,” I heard him mutter.
“You don’t need to worry about my safety,” I said softly, turning back to him. “This is not new to me.”
“Someone needs to. Even the best can get beaten.” He walked past, looking into the next office. “Might as well be me. It’s not a problem. And before you ask, no, it’s not because you’re a pretty woman or the last nagini or whatever else, so let’s not have that argument. You’ve been through hell since last night, and I’m not sure how you’re still on your feet. If you weren’t beaten up so badly, I’d be less worried. I’ve seen you kick ass, so it’s not like I can really doubt your skill.”
I turned away and smiled as I looked into the next office. Why was I smiling? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I never liked people to hover, from my brothers and dad to Adhar to Cassius. Even Hisao had hovered a little. Some people tried to treat me like I was made of glass.
But Raphael was watching my back, and damn, for some reason, that made me happy.
We finished the first floor, and I was pleasantly surprised to have found no one. I knew Levi was going to be on the roof, so not finding him inside wasn’t surprising.
“Do we need to clear every floor?” Raphael asked as we went up the stairs. I stopped at the second-floor door and considered it.
“Yes,” I finally answered. “Who knows if a human got into the building and might be a hostage. We could find them hiding inside or dead, in which case, I’ll need someone to come out and clean up. They’ll probably burn the building down, but we do what we’ve got to do.”
He followed me dutifully as