we cleared the next three floors. It took a good thirty minutes to make it to the fifth floor, but I didn’t consider it time wasted.
“Last floor, then we head up, yeah?” Raphael looked up the stairs at the roof door. It was rattling, thanks to the strong winds outside. That was why I wasn’t worried about Levi hearing us. The storm was getting so loud as we climbed the building, there was no way anyone outside could hear us.
“Yup. Let me take point when we get up there. Distract him or just hold on. I’m going in for the kill, but I need to not be worrying about you.”
“Kaliya.”
“Raphael.” I met his warm chocolate eyes. He looked so severe as we stared each other down. He was so worried about me, and I didn’t know how to stop that. “Trust me. Have I failed yet?”
“You had a hard time with the inmate. You didn’t even think to turn into a snake.”
“I know,” I mumbled, looking away. “He got the jump on me, and I was worried he would crush me if I shifted. I’d rather be choked out than die the way Tarak did. Even if I got a bite off, he could have killed me. It wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.” I rubbed my ribs. They didn’t hurt until I touched them. The ointment had done its job, numbing the pain for most of the bruising and muscles. I was still sore and aching and looked like hell, but I didn’t feel it so much. It was going to catch up to me, though. I put the ointment on several hours ago, and it was going to wear off soon, the way any painkiller did.
I walked out of the stairwell onto the fifth floor, aimlessly licking my lips and catching scents on the air. I wasn’t expecting anything, having caught nothing on any of the previous floors. A lot of humans, some magic, probably from Levi’s spell just like all the previous floors…and something else.
I stopped, frowning as I turned back to Raphael.
“Be careful, there's the scent of a werewolf. Hopefully, it was just some guy who worked here and isn’t around, but let’s not count on that.”
“Think it might be a prisoner?”
“There were only two werewolves in the northern cell block. Twins. I killed one right after the bomb went off.” I started opening doors and checking on the right side while Raphael went to the left.
“What did they do, and why were they kept alive?”
“Do you really want to know?” I sighed, wondering if he really wanted to keep torturing himself with this sort of stuff.
“Helps me not feel bad.”
“They used to work for the Tribunal, and they were in the prison because Hasan wants them there. They’re older than dirt. They worked for the Tribunal for a short time after it formed until it was discovered they were actively trying to destroy it before it gained too much power.”
“Hasan the werecat? The one who helped us out, and we’ve been talking to since this all started?”
“Yup. There’s no other supernatural Hasan I’ve ever heard of. After that, I have no idea, actually. I killed one fairly easily, so there must be something the old werecat and the werewolves want from them. I wish I knew what that one smelled like. His twin would be similar.” I was only mildly upset. I didn’t know scents that well.
I wasn’t a scent-driven creature in my human form because my sense of smell was pitifully weak compared to other supernaturals. What I did have that no one could claim was the ability to read thermal information, thanks to the special pit organs hidden in my sinuses. The problem with that was insulation in the walls. As humanity grew more advanced, their insulation in buildings was better, which was good and bad. Good for anyone looking to save on their energy bill. Bad for me because I couldn’t see hotspots on the other side of walls until I got to the doors, and sometimes those were a pain too.
“I don’t have a special sense of smell,” Raphael said with almost a touch of bitterness.
“Tell me how you really feel,” I said, looking into the next office.
“I mean…I’m really powerful, but I get weird with the black eyes and shit just to flip cars. All the trouble of being something no one has ever seen before, only for a somewhat mediocre ability.” He gave me a half-smile and