but every single Angel I'd ever met treated us as though we weren't worthy of cleaning their boots, as though we dirtied them with our presence alone.
Yet, she wouldn't even look up and didn't appear to have a drop of confidence within her. Either she lived terribly broken, or she played the part well. Time would tell which side of the line she fell on.
I sent a series of images layered with words to Shadow, requesting a small favor. She pushed the pleasant feeling of assent into me. We'd been working on trying to get her to understand language easier, mostly the one we used as the official language of Enyre.
She had learned quite a bit from her excursions into my memories while I slept, but my mind held far too many lifetimes for her to find a precise, direct path. Apparently, she'd grown tired of understanding only part of the conversations that went on around her and decided to do something about it. That resulted in a few experiments until we settled on me narrating the pictures I sent. The words allowed her to associate the sounds with the objects. She still struggled with a lot of it, but since I didn't think the living version of her could even consider the concept of words, it amazed me that her soul was much more free than she had ever been. It wasn't overly surprising though, since the capacity of the body didn't limit the soul. After all, an aye-aye in one life could well become the most intelligent being in the next.
Our group tried to stay together as we entered the section of our path that grew more crowded with each step. Because of the games the King played, we were running into a lot of others that wanted to grab a bite to eat before or after work. When I spotted the clumps of Reapers blocking the way, I edged over to Grace and held out my hand. She glanced up at me and quickly dropped her gaze back down.
“So you don't become lost,” I told her.
She had no idea of how to get to our unit, and I doubted she had much familiarity with our side of the city. Sometimes, Angels worked in buildings with other Reapers, but mostly, they remained on the opposite end. When she reached over and barely laid her palm on mine, I squeezed her hand tight and received another glimpse.
Sighing, I said, “So we're not pulled apart. Just try to stay behind me, and I'll cut us a path.”
For my part, I maneuvered us behind Trace to take advantage of his size. We weaved and danced through the eatery section before it began to thin somewhat. When it felt clear, I released Grace and nodded at her before turning towards the area where we'd moved recently.
Our walk took longer than going to Master Akai's unit, but I didn't mind. It gave me a chance to think of things other than the massive task that I'd been burdened with. I seized the moment to just worry over simple concepts such as what we would have to eat later, where Axton and I would go on our 'date', and if my second cloak had been delivered yet.
Overall, anyone else might have described it as a pleasant stroll. At least, until we turned the corner to our street, and I spotted Master Akai already waiting for us. My outer appearance hardened even as my insides quivered. He hated it when anyone arrived late, and he had subjected me to too many punishments for not being exactly what he wanted.
I took one last moment to be real and sucked in a deep breath before blowing it out hard. Grace must have heard me because she glanced up quickly and averted her eyes even faster. Hopefully, with her present, he would behave, so I didn't bother to explain anything. It wasn't the Angels' business anyway, and I had no way of knowing how much Grace intended to feed back to her superiors.
The pressure in my chest grew with each step until I stood before the Master. Pausing in front of him, I bent forward slightly and waited until he acknowledged me.
“Master Healani, I would like to formally present my congratulations on your promotion and appointment,” he said, his words stiff and formal.
I straightened at the wave of his hand. “Master Akai, thank you for the kind remark. May I offer you a drink?”