Page 25 of Corvus and the Broken God

“What are you talking about?”

“I talked to Jessica, and she says Matthew and Cassandra spent the day locked in her office yesterday, but this morning, Cassandra was so worked up, half the office heard her.”

“What?” I asked, stymied by how she had gotten good enough cell service to make a call.

“Yeah, apparently the firm that won the bid had a major disagreement with the client, and now they’re opening up the bidding process again. They’re calling for all hands on deck. I bet you could get your job back.”

A pit formed in my stomach. This was my project, and they had no intention of including me. But the thought of marching in there and forcing them to do so sounded dreadful.

“We have to go back.”

“Yeah.” I tried to keep the fear out of my voice.

“You need to ask him to finish turning you back to your old self.”

“Right.” We smiled at each other, although hers was brighter. “Have you seen Benjamin today?”

She shook her head. “You go find him while I pack up. We have to thank him for welcoming us so warmly before we go.”

“Yeah.” My mind raced as I followed Mindy down the long left wing. The second chance at the bid had me rattled; there were so many ways it could go wrong. The memory of being kicked out, of losing my badge, plagued me as my steps slowed. There was a good chance they might not take me back. Now they had the updated plans and no longer needed me. My salary alone was reason enough since the work was completed, so why would they want to keep paying me? And I had been responsible for the original mistake, which could be reason enough to let me go. Someone else could handle the small problem-solving and client requests moving forward. That was something to consider before rushing back. Cassandra could outmaneuver me in her sleep. And besides, I had just arrived. I wasn’t ready to leave the mountain. Or my Monster.

I hadn’t been looking for him earlier, but now I focused on the inner tie between us. It pointed back to his room. Mindy turned into her appointed room, and I kept walking. Did he sense me coming?

I stopped in front of his door. It was larger than the others, and all the doors in his house were large enough to accommodate him. The ceilings were higher than any I’d been used to, fifteen feet by my best guess. I lifted my hand, made a fist, and knocked. The sound was soft, lost in the muffled acoustics of the place.

Come in, Corvus.

I reached for the doorknob. It turned easily, and I stepped inside. His room was large and airy. The walls were lined with bookcases, but he had many windows, some leaded and some newer, including a set of French doors that opened onto the central courtyard. A lush jungle on the other side drew my eyes. He sat at a large desk that would’ve made a grown adult look like a child. His huge frame made it seem normal-sized, a desk built for a god. An old desk lamp sat to the side, plugged in somewhere I couldn’t see. He ignored me, hunched over a thick book with yellowed pages and strange print.

“Sorry to bother you, but did you listen to my thoughts on the way over here?”

He looked up. “Should I have?”

“Oh, no, of course not. You look busy. It’s just Mindy got a call from our work, and we need to go back.”

He watched me for a minute, otherworldly eyes seeing into my core. “You don’t want to leave?”

“No, it’s not that. This may be an opportunity to get my job back. Or it could get me into a lot of trouble. It’s too early to say which way it will go, but I should go back.”

“You want me to change you back to your former self?”

Did I? If I showed back up with my old face, then they could outright fire me for my initial screw-up. While they kept up the charade of not knowing who I was, my job status was technically still in limbo. Maybe I needed to slow down and think through my options.

“How about a compromise?” he asked, sounding almost sneaky.

It figured he was listening to my thoughts. But in this case, it didn’t matter. “What are you thinking?”

“How about I give you the ability to change yourself in exchange for you helping me prepare for the meeting six weeks from now?”

“Change myself? Into anything?” Was that even possible?

He chuckled. “Yes, Corvus, you can look however you want. You can even turn back into a crow and fly again.”

I stared at him in surprise. What an offer to throw out so casually. Both parts of his bargain appealed to me. Being able to change my physical body into anything, especially creatures that flew, sounded amazing. Just as appealing was the chance to help him. To stand by an ancient being while he took on others like him. To match my wits against those other demigods or to even watch such a thing happen. To spend more time with him. The thrill ran down my spine. But then reality sunk in. What could I possibly have to contribute? Then I wouldn’t have to leave him. I shut that thought down before it could lead anywhere embarrassing.

“I need to figure out why they want to hold this conclave in this specific location. The last time we all met there, deep in the heart of the Yucatán jungle, well, things didn’t end well.”

“And you think I can help you?” In the jungle?