up further.”
I didn’t roll my eyes at Levi spitting out the obvious. There was no experience in him, and he was getting a crash course. “How did you figure out the water?” It was my turn for a question or two. “And what happened that you two split up?”
“The ogres followed us, and we got off at the next bus stop because Mai said she had a place we could hide for a bit. From what she told me, she’s been hiding out from them for longer than just a few days. A few months at least. They caught her and her son a few weeks ago. He wasn’t very old, Liam.”
I pushed away the sympathetic grief that came from those words. No time for feelings, no time for emotions.
I nodded, and he went on. “The thing was, there was an ogre waiting for us at the hiding place. He didn’t seem all that mean, though, seeing as Mai kissed him. And he told her to get to her apartment. He said he had been able to convince the council that she wasn’t in the city, but he was sure Pic knew he was lying. And then he told her that she needed to get out of town, to get as far away as she could.”
“So she has one person on her side.”
He nodded. “I think so. He gave her a set of keys and we took his truck here. But there were already ogres on the front door so we slipped in the back. They hadn’t covered it yet.”
That made sense. Cops were always late to the game when it wasn’t urgent. “And then?”
“We went to her apartment and she got her amulet, she said she had her son’s ashes put into the amber, and she grabbed a small bag of things. That’s when we heard the other ogres. Or she did, to be fair.” He shrugged his thin shoulders and I gestured for him to get behind me. We were at the door to the stairwell. I pressed my ear against it, and nothing came back, no echo of feet or heartbeats. I put a finger to my lips and eased the door open. The smell of ogre was thick like smoke, but there weren’t any actually in the stairwell. Though, it hadn’t been long since they’d been there. I slid in and Levi followed.
The door slammed behind him and I whipped around, glaring at him. He mouthed “sorry,” and I had to restrain myself from shaking him. A good shake might have sent him to his knees, and we didn’t have time for me to try and make right any impulsive behavior.
Time to hurry, not time to discipline.
I ran up the stairs, light on my feet, not a sound from the steps. Levi clomped up behind me, breathing hard. I struggled not to growl at him. That bothered my wolf more than me asking for a shift in form. The wolf in me wanted me to show patience to a pup, to show him how to hunt and lead. Again, this was not the time for that. Later, if we made it out of this alive.
Because I wasn’t so sure that was going to be a possibility with the way things were going so far.
I opened the door on the eighth floor. No scent of Mai. I shook my head, knowing we were wasting time. Where would I go if I were being driven through the building? High, I’d go for high ground.
“We’re going to the roof,” I said.
“How do you know she’s there?” Levi asked, and at least this time he kept his voice down.
“I don’t. But it’s where I would go. She might be able to scale down a side they aren’t watching, or if the buildings are close enough, she might be able to jump between them.”
“The buildings are way too far apart,” Levi said. “There’s no way she could jump them.”
I shook my head and kept my mouth shut. Levi was about to be fully inducted into the world of the supernatural. It was better he saw things rather than only be told. Most of what our world offered was hard to believe on a good day, never mind on a day when you’d been shot at, chased, and learned you could shoot water out of the palms of your hands.
Not normal, not easy to take in, but life just the same.
I raced up the stairs, letting Levi come at his own pace, leaving him behind.
Which was a mistake.
He was a floor below me
I didn’t roll my eyes at Levi spitting out the obvious. There was no experience in him, and he was getting a crash course. “How did you figure out the water?” It was my turn for a question or two. “And what happened that you two split up?”
“The ogres followed us, and we got off at the next bus stop because Mai said she had a place we could hide for a bit. From what she told me, she’s been hiding out from them for longer than just a few days. A few months at least. They caught her and her son a few weeks ago. He wasn’t very old, Liam.”
I pushed away the sympathetic grief that came from those words. No time for feelings, no time for emotions.
I nodded, and he went on. “The thing was, there was an ogre waiting for us at the hiding place. He didn’t seem all that mean, though, seeing as Mai kissed him. And he told her to get to her apartment. He said he had been able to convince the council that she wasn’t in the city, but he was sure Pic knew he was lying. And then he told her that she needed to get out of town, to get as far away as she could.”
“So she has one person on her side.”
He nodded. “I think so. He gave her a set of keys and we took his truck here. But there were already ogres on the front door so we slipped in the back. They hadn’t covered it yet.”
That made sense. Cops were always late to the game when it wasn’t urgent. “And then?”
“We went to her apartment and she got her amulet, she said she had her son’s ashes put into the amber, and she grabbed a small bag of things. That’s when we heard the other ogres. Or she did, to be fair.” He shrugged his thin shoulders and I gestured for him to get behind me. We were at the door to the stairwell. I pressed my ear against it, and nothing came back, no echo of feet or heartbeats. I put a finger to my lips and eased the door open. The smell of ogre was thick like smoke, but there weren’t any actually in the stairwell. Though, it hadn’t been long since they’d been there. I slid in and Levi followed.
The door slammed behind him and I whipped around, glaring at him. He mouthed “sorry,” and I had to restrain myself from shaking him. A good shake might have sent him to his knees, and we didn’t have time for me to try and make right any impulsive behavior.
Time to hurry, not time to discipline.
I ran up the stairs, light on my feet, not a sound from the steps. Levi clomped up behind me, breathing hard. I struggled not to growl at him. That bothered my wolf more than me asking for a shift in form. The wolf in me wanted me to show patience to a pup, to show him how to hunt and lead. Again, this was not the time for that. Later, if we made it out of this alive.
Because I wasn’t so sure that was going to be a possibility with the way things were going so far.
I opened the door on the eighth floor. No scent of Mai. I shook my head, knowing we were wasting time. Where would I go if I were being driven through the building? High, I’d go for high ground.
“We’re going to the roof,” I said.
“How do you know she’s there?” Levi asked, and at least this time he kept his voice down.
“I don’t. But it’s where I would go. She might be able to scale down a side they aren’t watching, or if the buildings are close enough, she might be able to jump between them.”
“The buildings are way too far apart,” Levi said. “There’s no way she could jump them.”
I shook my head and kept my mouth shut. Levi was about to be fully inducted into the world of the supernatural. It was better he saw things rather than only be told. Most of what our world offered was hard to believe on a good day, never mind on a day when you’d been shot at, chased, and learned you could shoot water out of the palms of your hands.
Not normal, not easy to take in, but life just the same.
I raced up the stairs, letting Levi come at his own pace, leaving him behind.
Which was a mistake.
He was a floor below me
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