shrugged. “Think about it. You have all sorts of cool shit going on. I’m just a strong guy.”
“You’re a very strong guy, though.” I patted his thick arm teasingly. I could see his point, but there was something he was missing. “You’ve never pushed yourself all the way, I bet. What if there are more powers?”
“But at what cost?” he countered, pointing at me. “What would I have to pay to be more powerful? I don’t even know if I want the power I have now, God forbid more. Not knowing the cost…”
“I get it.”
He’s still afraid of himself, of what he might be and what it could mean. It must be hard, not knowing. I’ve never had to deal with it. I was born a naga, and I’ll die a naga. He’s in uncharted waters in a little lifeboat with only three people helping him stay afloat.
I wasn’t one for sympathy, but for a minute, it pained me. I really wished I could help him more. That sympathy turned to anger as I considered what we were doing in the building.
I would still be helping him if it weren’t for some fucking assholes, trying to kill me and cause general mayhem and disorder in my fucking city.
I shoved the next door open, letting it bang against a wall. The room was clear. Raphael gave me a strange look when I continued walking.
Once the fifth floor was done, we went back to the stairwell, and I tasted the air again. Werewolf?
No.
Werewolves.
20
Chapter Twenty
“We’ve got a problem. There might be more than one werewolf. You ready for that?” I asked Raphael, listening to the wind howl on the other side. My paranoia was skyrocketing at the scent of now two wolves. I didn’t know who they were or if they were just innocent bystanders who had been in the building before Code Black was called.
“Tell me when,” he replied, his hand on the door handle. He was going through first, the best bet for neither of us getting killed the moment it opened.
“Go.”
He had to push hard to get the door open, his scent changing from human to other in a second. Pressed against his back, it was hard to miss. I stayed right behind him as he stepped out.
Once we were out, the wind caught the door and slammed it shut. Ice hit my face and arms, and rain quickly soaked me to the bone with a chill I would need to fight through.
“Look who’s here!” someone called out, the voice seeming to travel on the winds. “I was wondering when you would finally take the bait! Boys, kill her!”
I looked around Raphael to see Levi through the rain, and ice. His arms were outstretched, and visible magic made them glow. He was channeling the power up into the storm. My best guess was whatever incantation of spell he used was already complete. He was just feeding it raw power now for shits and giggles.
Now I knew why the storm was so cold. I was frozen as another trap closed in on Raphael and me. The prison, the inmate, this. Just trying to do my job was getting me into more trouble than I really considered, and that wasn’t good. An Executioner was never supposed to be the target. We were the hand of death. People were supposed to be scared of us, running for their lives. For the decades I’d had the job, that had always been the case.
Now, I was the prey, and something about that was throwing me off my game.
“Kaliya, get inside!” Raphael roared.
That shook me out of my paralyzed state, but I didn’t move in time. I was knocked aside by Raphael, who met an enemy head-on. One snarled, one roared. Fur flew.
I lifted my sword and turned, looking for another attacker. Levi had said boys. I could hear the witch’s laughter on the winds, blending with the storm.
When there was no evidence of anyone around me, I looked up to see a werewolf sitting on top of the roof access. With a toothy grin, the partially changed wolf jumped. I rolled out of the way, my eyes wide when I stopped in a defensive crouch to see my attacker. This wasn’t Wesley, who was in his Last Change. This wolf was purposefully partially changed. It looked painful to me, but it didn’t slow the werewolf. His body was covered in fur, his muzzle and ears were halfway formed, and long fangs hung down. This wasn’t