Another explosion ripped through the building. Above, the ceiling cracked and plaster began to fall, the pieces small at first, then getting gradually larger as the cracks grew and joined.
I swore and called to the Aedh, changing form just as the remainder of the ceiling crashed down. It would have crushed me if I'd still been standing there. As it was, dust and debris plumed through my particles, making me feel as if every inch was coated in grime.
I headed back into the hellhole that the main storage area had become, quickly winding my way through the remnants of the corridor until I found Genevieve's storage locker. Or rather, where it once had been, because this area was definitely ground zero. There was very little left here, nothing but a few blackened, twisted metal remains. I turned around, trying to find the middle of the unit where the stones had stood. What I found instead was the remnant of a leg—though it was little more than crisped strips of skin and meat hanging from a cracked and blackened femur. I looked around for the rest of the body, but couldn't see anything. Why just that section of whoever's body it was had survived was anyone's guess.
There was little evidence left of the stones, which no doubt had been the intention of the blast. Genevieve Sands obviously didn't want to risk me investigating this locker. It's just too bad for her that I already had—something she would have known if she'd accessed the site's security system. For once it seemed that fate had played us a better hand than the bad guys.
I checked the rest of the storage units in the hope that someone else might have survived, but the effort was futile. All I found were bodies. There was nothing else I could do, so I turned around and headed home. Once there, I stripped off and showered, although the dust was so ingrained, I had a sneaking suspicion I'd be rubbing it out of my skin for the next week.
Once I'd finger combed my hair, I headed out to find Azriel. He was back in his usual spot.
"What is it about you and windows?" I grabbed some socks out of the nearby dresser and plopped down on the bed to pull them on.
He shrugged. "It is, quite literally, a window to a small section of your world. It is endlessly interesting watching what goes on."
"Meaning your world is boring?"
"My world is one of rules and duty. It is not so much boring as that nothing ever changes."
"I can't imagine the life of a Mijai would be too boring."
"The life of a hunter-killer is exciting for only the first couple of millennia."
I stared at him for a moment, not quite sure I'd heard him right. "Millennia?"
He glanced at me, amusement briefly touching his eyes. "I am young in Mijai terms."
"But ancient in mine."