Grim Business

Chapter Fourteen

Phoebe came to and Hel’s face was the first thing that she saw hovering above her. Phoebe shouted and shot up into a sitting position, nearly bumping heads with the slightly older woman, who moved just in time to avoid what would have been a painful collision.

“Watch it!” she complained.

It took a moment for Phoebe to remember what had happened, but when she did, she felt urgency enter her bloodstream.  “We have to find my father!”

“I agree, but do you have any suggestions about where to start?” Hel responded wryly, quirking an eyebrow.

“No,” Phoebe sighed. “But it was a spirit that found him. Isn’t that your division?”

Hel paused. “And how do you know that’s what happened for sure, and that it wasn’t a human enemy that took your father?”

“Because I can taste it. Like metal or blood in my mouth. I thought it was just leftover from last night, but when I saw you rummaging around in here, I just knew. Is that unusual?”

Phoebe stood, using one of the cushy armchairs in the study as leverage. She still felt a bit light-headed and terrified, but that was tempered with determination to find her dad and save him herself if need be.

“It’s not entirely unheard of,” Hel responded, eyeing her weirdly. “There are a few from the old families that have similar abilities to sense spirit activity, but it is extremely rare for one as young as you.”

“So, what does that mean, exactly? And how can that help me find my father?” Phoebe knew that she was being somewhat rude, but she couldn’t help it. Her father was in danger, and the only leads they had were that it was a spirit that took him and that the spirit was somehow able to break centuries of enchantments on the house in order to take Christopher.

“It means that we are short a Grim from the Thanatos family and you show a great deal of promise. I think it may be time to start your training.”

“I don’t have time for that!” Phoebe snapped. “My dad needs help!”

“Yes, and you may be the only one who can help him. But untrained as you are, how do you propose to do anything for him?”

Phoebe didn’t have the proper response to that. Hel did have a point, but wasn’t time of the essence here?

As if sensing her misgivings, Hel cut in. “Phoebe, our best people will be hot on the trail. If we find anything that could lead to your father, we will let you know. But without training, there is little and less that you could do, even if you did somehow find him.”

Phoebe chewed on her lip, considering the offer. If she got training, she would be of more use, but it was hard, not rushing right out to find him. He could be hurt, dying…or already dead. The thought made her feel weak again, but Phoebe shook it off this time, pushing through it with all her strength. “Where do I start?”

Hel smiled, a surprisingly kind expression on such a seemingly cold face. “Grim Inc. Headquarters.”

Phoebe had been to Portland a couple of times; once on a school field trip in middle school, and once on a small family vacation to the city. Portland was only about thirty miles from Portland, so it wasn’t far, but when one is raised in a small suburb, the city becomes an exotic and strange place full of excitement and intrigue and fear. It had been overwhelming those times, but this time, she wanted to take it all in. The high rise buildings, the big river flowing through it, the mountains rising in the distance…it was a beautiful city, in all honesty.

She had grown up hearing a lot of stories about it, about how it was supposed to be extremely haunted. If any of that was even remotely true, it made sense why the Grim Inc. Headquarters would be there. So caught up in the sights was she that Phoebe didn’t even notice when the taxi that Hel had called (because rookies couldn’t handle ‘Shadow Travel,’ as she’d called it) to take them there came to a stop in front of a tiny nondescript building in a fairly old-looking part of town.