With that we were cutting back out of the Dead Offices and through the main transit room towards the train. In all honesty, it was a lot of walking, and my feet were legitimately sore by the time we got inside and on the move.

  “Do you think the Dead Offices would ever consider getting segways?” I asked, looking around at the people surrounding us. I was so wrapped up with the reaper stuff that I’d forgotten there were all sorts of other people who used the space in-between. Like the… what were they called… adjusters? And then there was whoever was in the fate offices where we’d met Aylala. And I was sure that there were even more I didn’t know yet and would only come up as I ran into them.

  Man, I kind of wished that I could just skip to knowing everything already. The learning by piecemeal and as needed helped me not get too overwhelmed, but also left me in a constant state of feeling like I was one fry short of a happy meal.

  “I’ve gotta say, I’m not sure I get you, Bridges.”

  “What was that?” I asked, looking back to Gildebrak. It was definitely a personal thing to say, but even more so considering we weren’t alone. And while it didn’t seem like anyone was listening directly to us, there was no way of knowing that for sure.

  “I said, I’m not sure I get you.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, you got dropped into our world without so much as a how do ya do. You have every right to be livid because we basically kidnapped you, but you aren’t. You also have every right to act all starry eyed and lost in wonder by having the curtain pulled back for you, but you aren’t. Considering the trio who you saw fighting when you were taken, and the fact that you’ve been attacked directly, you could easily hate lost spirits or even view them as things to conquer. But you don’t.”

  “How do you know I didn’t? Or don’t, rather.”

  “Because you got Yama.”

  “But Orson—”

  “I know what he said, but also, you gotta understand that he’s not a reaper. Orson has never received a gift or gone through initiation.”

  “Oh, I thought…”

  “That he was one of us? No. He’s a demigod, actually.”

  “A demigod?” Uh-oh, I was doing that parroting thing I did whenever my brain was trying to create time for me to process stuff. “That’s an actual thing? I thought all of the demi-gods from myths were just humans they chose to bless particularly.”

  “Oh yeah. The gods don’t really want it to get around they can breed with us because that will cause all sorts of complications. Especially with HR. You know harassment lawsuits and stuff.”

  I shook my head for what felt like the millionth time. “What kind of problems?”

  “Well, to be frank, gods are the worst parents when it comes to their mixed children. Back in the day, when he was known as Castellan of Fields, Orson discovered he was a demigod somewhere in his thirties and that he was the great grandson of the Irish god Lugh. And he found this out because while his children and wife were aging normally, he did not. Eventually he went digging, found out he came from a long line of demigods and had inherited a recessive immortality gene somehow. That’s its own story, but basically Orson hates Lugh and most of those other deities, but loves humanity, so he’s perfect for the position of Lord of the Dead.”

  I frowned, because what an awful story, but at the same time it made me admire the well-dressed man in a certain way. He was old, as in old-old, and had been separated from everyone he had loved by the passage of time. But instead of becoming bitter, he was doing what he could to help so many people.

  I liked that.

  “But circling back to Yama. They’re the god of death and justice. They’re a lot like Aylala, as they punish sinners, but that’s not their whole thing. Really, they’re known most for being a gatherer of people, being one of the first deities to give the dead a place to rest and rejoice.

  “New Reapers who view the dead more as conquests, or even enemies, often see Hades, Minos, Rhadamanthys, Aeacus, Binangewan, or even maybe Aring Sinukuan. Definitely not Yama.” Gildebrak shrugged like she wasn’t laying some heavy mythology on me. I knew maybe two of those names.

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  “And besides, how you acted with that girl, and what you said after….” When Gildebrak looked back to me, there was an intensity and seriousness in her eyes that I just hadn’t expected. “I knew in that moment that you were going to be an ally of the dead rather than a fighter.”

  “And that’s a good thing, right?”

  Gildebrak patted my arm in that easy-going way of hers. “It’s a very good thing. The dead have earned their peace or their punishment, one way or the other. Our job is just to get them where they’re going as best we can.”

  “I see.”

  It was a bit of a conflicting situation; that was for certain. Ever since I’d inhaled the essence of a dying Reaper, I’d felt like I was teetering on the edge of a full brain meltdown. It reminded me of how I felt studying before every AP test, trying to cram as much knowledge into my head that I didn’t already have. It wasn’t a very good feeling, and yet, I was constantly craving to know more, more, more and there was always more, more, more to learn.

  So, on one hand, I was utterly exhausted as I realized there were factions within the Reapers just like there were factions in any social clique in real life. And on the other hand, it was utterly fascinating to me and my mind wanted to fling itself in a dozen different directions to chase two dozen different rabbits until I was three dozen types of crazy.

  “I’ve stressed you out, haven’t I?”

  “I don’t know if it’s you specifically,” I answered as honestly as you could. “But I’m not sure what reaction you expected by saying you don’t get ‘me’, like I’m an object or theory.” I knew I should have left it at that, but I supposed I was a bit raw around the edges, because my tone grew sharper as I kept speaking. “How do you think you’d feel if I made a remark about the nonchalant fa?ade you put on as a defense mechanism and to lure other people into a false sense of security so they underestimate you?”

  Defying my expectations yet again, Gildebrak let out a sharp laugh. “Is that what I’m doing?”

  “It is. You choose your form, right? You could have chosen a six foot six woman with muscles for days. Or a model. Or an average person. You chose to look very small and very young on purpose.”

  Gildebrak just chuckled while shaking her head. “You figured that our really quickly.” For a moment I thought she was going to get self-righteous, but she stayed just as chill as ever. “I get the feeling that you know exactly how advantageous it is to have people underestimate you.”

  I raised my eyebrows and nodded. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

  “Good.” Gildebrak looped her arm through mine just like the last time we were on the train. “Look, I apologize for putting you on the spot. It wasn’t my intent. I just wanted to let you know that you were, uh, seen, I guess. I get the feeling that doesn’t always happen for you.”

  That got a smile from me, and I let myself relax into her contact. “Correct again.”

  “I figured. So, no tensions between us, ‘kay?”

  “Okay.”

  We were quiet for much of the rest of the ride, not uncomfortably, but I got the impression we were both deep in thought. It was good to have another short period to digest the many, many things spinning through my head, and I wasn’t quite ready for it to stop when Gildebrak gave my arm a gentle tug.

  “Come on! This is our stop!”

  She unlooped her arm from mine so I could walk of my own volition, and we exited the train into a smaller version of the main terminal room. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting once we exited those doors, but it wasn’t for us to end up on a non-descript city street with dozens and dozens of apartment buildings stretching out all in a row.

  “What is this? The world’s most depressing version of the Truman show?”

  “Hah! Not quite. These are temp quarters for every worker in all of the Dead Offices.”

  “I… you mean that everyone we’ve seen just lives in one of these buildings?”

  “No. A lot have homes on earth, or even in an afterlife. These dwellings are for those of us who prefer to stay close—or need to rest here to save time.”

  “Because of the dilation?”

  “Yes, because of the time dilation! See, you already know what’s going on, at least the important stuff. You’re a natural. Now come on, my place is in that third building there.” She pointed, taking my hand again, and for a moment I was going to tell her that I could walk there fine on my own, but we were suddenly inside before I could so much as blink.

  “Wait, if you could teleport us into your apartment, why ride the train?” I asked as I waited for my vision to clear.

  “Because I couldn’t. Most of us Reapers have to learn to travel between realms and where we end up can sometimes be a guessing game. We can’t just teleport willy-nilly all over the Dead Offices. That’s why there’s the whole train system, after all.”

  “Then how—”

  “It’s a spell specifically for this housing sector. You just have to think of your apartment and then you’re in it rather than having to lug a half mile down the road. Plus, no keys needed!”

  Huh.I nodded. That was certainly convenient. I wouldn’t mind being able to do the same when the elevator was out getting to my fourth-floor studio.

  “Alright, so you need a nap. You wanna eat something first?”

  “Oh gods yes,” I practically shouted. I hadn't paid too much mind to it before considering everything that was going on, but I was starving. The only thing I'd eaten since my small break between shifts was a side of fries that one of the cooks had given me at the beginning of my time at the diner. While I had been grateful for it then, it wasn't exactly a big meal, especially when I spent the following hours running for my life, then calming an enraged spirit, then going through an entire mystical initiation that gave me special powers and a wicked weapon. So, yeah. I was hungry!

  “What have you got?”

  “Here? Nothing. You see a fridge anywhere?” Looking around, I realized there was indeed no fridge. Or oven. In fact, the only kitchen appliances I saw was a coffee maker, and the microwave.

  “Then what are we going to eat?”

  “You don't have delivery where you live?