Page 14 of Dead End

“I thought the board’s identity is confidential, even to you.”

Anger sizzled in her eyes. “Oh, it was, but I’m a determined siren. I started digging.”

“Right after my first meeting here, I bet.”

She nodded. “I admit, your comments got under my skin. Why shouldn’t I have access to that information? Whyshouldn’t I be given the promotion I earned?” Bitterness and resentment puckered her pink lips.

Once those questions started rolling, I had no doubt Posy was unable to stem the tide.

“They let me believe I could climb that corporate ladder so that I would continue to do their bidding, but they never had any intention of letting me get past a certain rung.”

“What will you do without The Corporation?”

The predatory gleam of her smile looked misplaced on an angelic face like hers. “No idea, but I’m more than willing to find out.”

The upside of joining forces with the most ambitious member of the organization was that she made a point of knowing where all the bodies were buried.

“I never planned to use any of this information against them,” she explained.

“They always say to plan for the job you want, not the one you have.”

“Exactly. See? You get it.” She fished a key from her pocket.

“I’m surprised they use old-fashioned keys for this,” I said. “Wouldn’t it be more secure if they used fingerprints or magic?”

“Not every deity likes magic. Fingerprints were standard for a while, until one god cut off another god’s finger so that he could access one of the storage units.”

“What was in the storage unit that was so important?”

“His wife. The Corporation stashed her there as a punishment. He wasn’t having it, though. After that little debacle, they reverted to physical keys until they could agree on a new system.”

“And how long ago was that?”

Posy tossed me a look over her shoulder. “Don’t know. Itwas before my time.” She unlocked the door and nudged it open. “Let’s see if those records I found are up to date.”

I followed her inside and released a flurry of amazed sounds. This was no ordinary warehouse. There were rows of shelves running the length of the walls, as far as the eye could see. The shelves were stacked with identical urns.

“Are these antiques?”

“No, silly. They’re gods.”

I took a moment to collect myself. “All of these contain gods?”

“I don’t know about all of them, but those that are here are on the naughty list for one reason or another.”

“What did they do to piss off The Corporation?”

“Let’s find out, shall we?” She reached for the nearest container, an unmarked urn no larger than a lamp. She lifted it over her head and smashed it on the concrete floor with the gleeful smile of a toddler testing boundaries. Ribbons of purple streamed from the broken pieces and wound through the air until they took the shape of a six-armed god.

“You’re free,” Posy told him. “Don’t let the deified door hit you in the ass.”

He gaped at us, either unsure or unwilling to believe her. “My punishment has reached an end?”

“Sure. Whatever. Consider this a corporate takeover.” Posy had already moved on to the next container, leaving the god with me.

“Go in peace,” I said.

Relief seeped into his features. “Thank you. Where is Gabil?”

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