bed and held my head. My mind raced and buzzed while my emotions clashed as I sought to rid myself of the remnants of the sensations. Was that how the monster feels? Can it feel?
I had no idea. But I did understand I needed to figure out what it was before something worse happened. Not to mention the plethora of other issues that I had to work through.
Grace had to leave, so I could study the books we'd stolen from the Royal Depository. The Guards took one, but they'd never found the other three. And after how they'd treated us, I didn't plan on ever returning them. Besides, we still had plenty to go through.
But first, dealing with the fucking Office shit. I threw off the covers and rolled out of bed, cursing when my cloak got twisted around my legs. When I could walk normally, I marched into the gathering room. There I found three Reapers withdrawn into themselves and one Angel that tracked my movements. I cleared my throat, and the pensive and angry looks disappeared from the trio's faces as their eyes searched for the source of the sound.
Once all eyes were on me, I said, “Let's get this Office mess outlined.”
I dropped onto the couch beside Grace and pulled the book towards me.
As I flipped open the first page, I looked up and asked, “Any suggestions? And don't start arguing over details. Just give me ideas. I'll work around things. Now, on my end, I've already decided I need to see Corin.” Grace jolted at Corin's name, and my eyes narrowed on her deepening hue. “I'm also lining something else up, just in case. And because the rules don't restrict us to one sector, I'm using that leeway to pull six Reapers from each sector along with the operation of their portals. Oh, and we'll be running during every shift, so that means more Reapers.”
“Are you okay?” Axton leaned forward, placing his hand over the top of the page and stopping my progress.
“I'm fine. Now, suggestions?”
“I noticed the same stuff you did. It also mentions nothing about Masters or other ranks. Just that they must be official. We can use Technicians if we have to. I think the real obstacle is going to be persuading them to accept work without benefit.” He leaned back into the couch, seeking to appear relaxed, but the tense line of his jaw gave confirmation of his lie.
“If we can do the same with the Angels, that might help. Our section is a little more loosely phrased, so I can attempt to maneuver them, but I'll likely have to petition for aid. I don't have enough influence, I'm afraid,” Grace added, her voice dropping to a whisper at her confession.
As one who couldn't change forms, I doubted she had any influence at all. Still, someone she knew must have a lot because she lived. I felt terrible for her, and every time she reminded me of how meek and different she seemed, I sensed myself being pulled to her. Those sympathies had to be corralled before they became the root of our downfall. We had no hint to her background or if anything she claimed was factual. I made a mental note to ask Corin about her. The reaction she had to merely his name left me with suspicions that, if true, would provide me with a lot of fun.
Trace glowered at Axton while he revisited his earlier theory. “I've got something. It states six Grims from each shift, right? Well, when Groupings are composed, we have a whole long ass speech about how four or three or however many become one. A Grouping is one Grim, or at least that's what we agreed to when we signed our contracts.”
“But that doesn't mean—” Axton's exasperated voice chimed in.
“I can work with it,” I interjected, blocking the fight before it began. “I'll run it by Master Akai to make sure, but that would bump our numbers up a lot. Every one of them will need to bring multiple souls back. Same with the Angels.” I turned to Grace, lightly touching her arm before asking her, “Can Angels carry more than one soul on a trip?”
She nodded. “Sure. They do it all the time with multiple births. Some species have eight, ten insertions per pregnancy, and some have even more. It would take far too long to do them one at a time, and traveling back and forth to bring new souls increases