“And your way of repaying them is to steal?” I asked quietly, after I swallowed all the other arguments.
“No, Scott. I’m devoted to them. If they asked, I would obey. That’s why I took up this post when Gareth found me. They wanted a project done, and I agreed.”
That would describe half the facility. The other half were just too curious for their own good.
“I’m not following,” I said.
James huffed a laugh and stood up from his chair. “You’re one of them and you need me to do something, so I’ll do whatever I can to help. I am devoted to you.”
The blood rushed to my cheeks, and I swallowed hard. “Don’t let Gray hear you say that.”
“It’s not like that.”
“I know.” Awkward silence stretched between us until I couldn’t stand it. “If we get caught, I’m putting all the blame on you.”
I turned on my heel, grabbing my bag and leaving the room. There were no pit stops as I walked to the lift and jabbed the button. James stumbled down the hallway after me, slipping inside before the doors closed.
“I don’t want to be treated any differently,” I said, staring ahead.
“But you are different.”
“James, I’m just Scott. I work in a lab and I have an unhealthy addiction to coffee. Please. Or I might lose my mind.”
“I’ll try.”
We stepped onto the fifth floor and I crept along the corridor with James at my heels.
“I doubt he’s still here,” he whispered from behind me. “Only complete psychopaths work this late.”
I flung my elbow backwards but didn’t connect with anything. The lights in the lab were off, and through the glass, I couldn’t see anyone in the space. “How are we meant to get inside?”
“No clue.”
“How did you float the idea of a heist without a true plan?”
“I really expected you to say no because you might have an unwavering moral compass now.”
I ran my hands down my face. “Have you seen the God I spend most of my time with? I can try something, but I need you to look away.”
He looked at me like I was crazy.
“I’m going to see if my aura can help but—"
“You have performance anxiety? You didn’t seem to have an issue the other day in the patient room.”
“It starts with theft but it’s going to end in murder,” I gritted out, but he did as I asked.
My body trembled as I called to my aura, the gentle hum of warmth filling me until there were gold wisps surrounding my body. I placed my hand on the door and jiggled the handle, but it didn’t move. I concentrated, moving the tendrils of aura towards the handle and the electronic access pad, but nothing.
“I think this plan is dead in the water. We’re going to need to swipe an access card if we want to succeed,” I explained. Sighing, I leaned against the door and let out a yelp as it swung open and I landed on the floor.
“She is beauty. She is grace,” James chanted as he stepped over the threshold and helped me to my feet, avoiding touching my skin.
“Find his lab book,” I said, rubbing my ass to soothe the pain. It wouldn’t last long.
James went ahead as I dusted myself off. I glanced around the lab and was unsurprisingly uninspired. It was identical to ours, although the benches were a little tidier. A thought blossomed in my mind, making me wonder how different my life would be now if they had assigned me to any other God. I probably would never have found out my heritage and lived a quiet life in some university lab until it was time to shuffle off the mortal coil. It sounded so dull compared to the promises of eternity that divinity brought with it. It sounded unbearable without Gray.
As I walked down the aisle, towards the freezers at the back of the room, a window box with a small light caught my attention, and I changed my course, navigating between the benches towards it.
