Page 44 of Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World
“I didn’t! I swear!” Sweat beaded on my forehead as she watched me.
The moment stretched, tension building until I wanted to scream, before she said, “I believe you.”
I slumped in my chair as if someone had cut the strings holding me up. Lowering my head, I took several deep, shaky breaths while my terror slowly ebbed away.
“What I want to know,” Ms.Crenshaw added a moment later, “is why the Conclave targeted you in particular.”
I had to swallow a couple of times before I could speak. “Is this what they do?” I asked hoarsely. “Stalk our employees?”
“The Conclave has been a thorn in our side for a very long time. Centuries, in fact. They were established during one of the early Crusades to hunt down practitioners of dark magicks among the so-called infidels occupying the Holy Land. But unbeknownst to the medieval Church, they became practitioners themselves after one of our own people gave them the secrets of the Oldest Ones.” Ms.Crenshaw’s jaw tightened. “They tell themselves that their righteous ends justify a reliance on the black arts, but they’re hypocrites, as are all supposed do-gooders.”
I listened in growing dismay. Eric and I had been attacked bymodern-day Crusaders? “So they’re evangelical Christians? The kind that burn books?”
“Not anymore. They’ve become more inclusive, welcoming people from all faiths and none. One big, happy family dedicated to eradicating evil. But like a youth pastor at a church sleepover, behind the big smiles and the kumbayas there’s a worldview as hostile to difference as it is limited in imagination.” Ms.Crenshaw shook her head irritably. “The Conclave doesn’t usually bother with our rank-and-file employees. They know that we’re accustomed to a certain level of attrition here and that we can always find more warm bodies to meet our quotas. So the question remains—” Her gaze sharpened on me. “Why you, Colin?”
I didn’t reply. I couldn’t think of a reason. Unless…did they know about my connection to the Thing? A shiver went through me. Had freeing it put me on their radar somehow? Did they think killing me would make these disappearances stop? Or was this simply an attempt to punish the person who’d ended the world? As these thoughts tumbled over one another, I realized belatedly that I’d been silent too long. “I don’t know,” I mumbled.
I had no idea if she believed me—as usual, her expression gave nothing away. All she said was “You’re free to go. I’ll see you up on thirteen.” Stepping to the door, she pulled it open and then paused to give me one last look. “Oh, and my coffee has gotten cold. Fetch me another.” Then she was gone.
My day improved from there,but only because it couldn’t get much worse.
Ms.Crenshaw acted like nothing had happened, but her seeming indifference to the fact that I was being pursued by a bloodthirstymedieval organization was disheartening. The Conclave knew where I lived. What if they hurt Amira? It was clear now that the people around me were in danger from more than the Thing I’d loosed, and I had no idea how to protect them.
During the long elevator ride up to thirteen, Ms.Crenshaw’s fresh coffee in hand, I’d realized that confessing to her would accomplish nothing beyond my own demise. If the Firing Squad wasn’t coming after me, falling on my sword wouldn’t protect Amira or Eric after all. That meant saving the world still rested squarely on my shoulders.
I worried and fretted for the rest of the morning, interrupted only by a visit from Mr.Samuels. He breezed into the waiting room, gave me an affable wink, and then rapped on the open door to Ms.Crenshaw’s office. “Do you have a moment, Margaret?” he inquired in his plummy accent as he hovered in the doorway.
My boss’s soft voice floated out to my desk. “Of course, Barney.”
“You’ve been following the latest reports from the city, I take it?”
“I have, yes. These disappearances are becoming a genuine concern.”
“Sachiko is ready to bite someone. We’ve lost nearly ten percent of our workforce, and a significant number of those people are calling in sick. They’ve started to realize that something is wrong.”
There was a brief pause before Ms.Crenshaw said, “Let’s send our remediation teams after a few of the malingerers. That should send a message to the rest.”
“I agree,” Mr.Samuels murmured, “though perhaps we should ship them off to a corporate retreat rather than opting for termination. Our employment numbers are low enough as it is.”
“That’s fine. Just make sure the rest of the building knows where they are, and why.”
“Good, good.” Mr.Samuels patted his belly absently. Had I notknown him to be a near-immortal being with the blood of countless innocents on his hands, I would have thought he was nervous about something. “These disappearances are affecting our bottom line, Margaret. Certain…inefficiencies in Human Resources have put R&D behind schedule, and as a result, Investor Relations won’t have the deliverables we’ve promised in time for our meeting this afternoon.”
Ms.Crenshaw’s voice cooled. “Have our people been sufficiently motivated?”
“Oh, yes. Sachiko is handling it personally. There’s a line of acolytes trembling outside her office. But there’s only so much we can do.” He fiddled with a gleaming copper button on his waistcoat. “Management is going to hear about this, one way or another.”
“Then we’ll have to try to get ahead of things,” my boss replied briskly. “I’ll request a communion with Them tomorrow morning. That gives us twenty-four hours to get our ducks in a row.”
“Excellent. Thank you. I’ll notify the rest of the board.” Mr.Samuels had started to turn away when Ms.Crenshaw’s voice stopped him.
“By the way, Barney, you should know that agents of the Seraphic Conclave attacked my assistant, there.”
Peering intently at my computer screen, I tried to pretend that I hadn’t been listening to every word.
“Did they? That’s concerning.” Mr.Samuels approached my desk and studied me closely through his monocle. “Are you quite all right, my boy?”
“Oh, yes, sir,” I hastened to assure him. “Perfectly fine, thank you.”
