Chapter Thirty #2
It took me only a minute of rummaging through HR’s medical supplies to find a scalpel handle and a size 20 blade in a foil packet.
I studied them both for a long moment, then unwrapped the blade and slotted it onto the handle before carefully sliding it into my other pocket, the one with the business card.
Insurance, I thought as I closed the door behind me. Just in case.
I was skirting the edge of the darkened cubicle farm when I realized I wasn’t alone on the sixth floor after all.
Sunil approached from the other direction, hair flopping untidily across his forehead and his dress shirt deeply wrinkled.
In his arms he clutched several clay vessels, used by the company for thousands of years to store human resources.
When he saw me, he jumped and fumbled with the containers held to his chest. “Christ,” he breathed, the corner of one eye ticcing spasmodically.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Harris?”
“None of your business. What are you doing here?”
His mouth twisted as if he’d bitten into a lemon. “The board has me fetching resources for whatever they’re doing up on the roof.”
That made me pause. “They’re conducting their ritual on the roof?”
“Yeah. I’ve spent the whole morning schlepping crap up there, and they keep asking for more.
” His eye twitched repeatedly. “They’re trying to draw that fucking monster back here.
Crenshaw’s got balls of steel, but the rest are shitting themselves.
And I’m going to have to be there, ‘managing resources,’ whatever the fuck that means.
” His voice grew louder as he spoke, the words coming faster and faster.
“I didn’t sign on for this, Harris. That thing is going to show up and murder everyone on that roof!
You know what? Fuck that. Fuck Dark Enterprises.
At the first whiff of trouble, I’m out. This job isn’t worth dying for!
” He finally ran out of breath and stared at me with wide, frightened eyes, chest rising and falling rapidly.
I shook my head in disgust. “You know what your problem is, Sunil? You’re not committed to this company or its mission.
Even when you were making my life miserable in HR, I never stopped believing in Dark Enterprises and what it represents—the idea that anything is possible, if you’re willing to reach for it.
That alone makes this job worth dying for.
” Pausing, I studied him as if for the first time.
“You never had the ambition to be truly great. That’s why, whatever happens tonight, this is as high as you’ll ever go. ”
I left him there in the murky half-light and walked back to the elevators, departing the sixth floor for the last time.
Back in the Repository, I found Amira pacing circles around our little corner of the Obsolete section, a book open in her hands. “Where’s Lex?” I asked as I joined her.
“They had an idea and ran off a while ago.” She closed the book with a puff of dust. “I found this collection of letters written by some of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project. They wanted to use atomic weapons to rip open spacetime and access other realms. Can you believe how insane that sounds?”
“I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t work. But hey, you’re not the first scientist to dabble in the arcane. That’s something, right?”
Before she could reply, Lex jogged up, breathing hard. “Hey,” they wheezed, holding up a golden chain made of flat links. “I found something that might help.”
“Way too gaudy,” I decided. “Who wears giant gold chains anymore?”
Lex gave me an irritated look before turning to Amira. “I remembered cataloging this months ago. It allows two people to share minds, and I think it’s exactly what we need.”
Her brow furrowed. “Share minds? How?”
“I have no idea, but if it works, I’ll have access to your mathematical understanding and you’ll be able to follow the ritual design. It’ll be way more efficient than trying to coordinate things separately.”
Amira glanced at me, then studied the chain dangling from Lex’s hand. “I’m not sure,” she said slowly. “The idea of sharing my mind with someone else is…” She trailed off, her expression troubled.
Lex paused before asking quietly, “Do you trust me?”
After a moment, Amira’s expression cleared. “Yes,” she said simply.
“Okay, then,” Lex said, their face reddening a little. They looked at me. “Did you find everything you needed?”
I patted my pockets—Sunfire sphere and Eric’s golden disc in one, scalpel and business card in the other.
I’d shoved the Black Blade behind my belt and it rested now in the small of my back, waiting to be drawn.
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” I said, forcing myself to smile.
“Oh. I also learned where the board is conducting their ritual: the roof.”
“Huh.” Lex frowned thoughtfully. “Makes sense, I guess. Plenty of open space. Probably still protected by whatever defenses the building has left. The lobby would be another good option.”
“Then let’s take the lobby.”
Lex nodded. “I’m not certain, but I think we’ll attract that thing’s attention as soon as the ritual begins. Assuming the board lasts that long.”
I touched my pocket again. “It’ll come to us. I’m sure of it.”
Amira pulled out her phone. “We have a little less than two hours.” Her gaze rose to us. “No cell service, though.”
The end of days truly was nigh if the cell providers had failed us. At least the building still had power, probably thanks to a generator in the basement into which someone was feeding interns. “Do you have the supplies you need for the ritual?” I asked Lex.
“I thought we’d grab them from the third floor on our way.”
We all looked at one another. Deliberately, I held out my hand, palm down. “Who’s ready to save the world?” I demanded.
They both stared blankly at me.
I sighed. “Fine. Let’s just go.”
We felt the first tremors as we hurried through the empty corridors of Supplies and Procurement, little more than faint vibrations under our feet.
By the time we found the last component we needed, after almost an hour of pilfering one storeroom after another, the entire building was shaking around us.
“The board must have started,” I said as we backtracked to the elevators.
“But the planetary alignment isn’t due for another thirty minutes,” Amira protested.
“Something tells me The-One-Who-Hungers isn’t waiting for the alignment.” Lex stabbed the Down button next to the elevators. “If we’re really going to trust those Conclave jerks, you’d better get them here right now.”
Reaching into my pocket, I closed my hand around the golden disc and said aloud, “Eric—it’s time.”