Grim Business

Chapter Fifteen

Somehow, Mr. Death was not what Phoebe expected; not at all. In fact, as she took in his giant chair, which was facing opposite her behind a polished black desk, she imagined the worst. That he was a big, ugly monster of a man, draped all in black with hideous scars covering his face. When he swiveled around to face her, she nearly did a double-take.

He was a slightly older man, perhaps in his sixties. His pale white hair was done up in spikes and he was wearing eyeliner and a black skull vest…with nothing underneath. Staring at him, she could almost imagine him as a has-been rock star down on his luck. Was this really the boss? The man they called Mr. Death himself?

Perhaps it was the alcohol she had ingested with Georgia, but Phoebe couldn’t contain her surprise. “You’re Mr.  Death?”

“Well, obviously,” said the man in an accent that she couldn’t quite identify. “And you’re Phoebe Thanatos, yes?”

Phoebe nodded. “I didn’t expect someone like you,” she said.

“Like me?” he responded, and Phoebe didn’t really pick up on the warning in his voice. She barreled on.

“Well, yeah. You look like you ought to be on stage, singing rock songs to middle-aged men and women struggling to come to grips with their lost youth.”

Hel snorted, then tried to cover it with a cough behind her hand.

Mr. Odin stared at her for a moment, then, finally, he barked out a laugh. “I like her, Hel. I think she’ll be an excellent addition to Grim Inc. But tell me, Miss Thanatos. Is this what you want? Truly?”

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly, shrugging her shoulders helplessly. “I always thought my future would be wide open, that I could be anything I wanted. Instead, I’m told that I have to do this. But it doesn’t matter—I have to save my dad, so I’ll do whatever it takes. Besides, I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“You always have a choice, child. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Have a seat.” Mr. Odin motioned at a seat across from him at his desk. Phoebe slowly sank down into it—she felt a little dizzy, but it was a much different dizziness from earlier, when she had had the panic attack. It was obviously from the slight buzz she had gotten. She understood now why people drank; it made you feel lighter, like you didn’t have the weight of the world on your shoulders. It made all of this just a little bit more bearable. But she meant what she said—she’d never drink underage again. It was time that she learned to face things head-on, the way her parents would have wanted it. They didn’t need an alcoholic daughter.

“But there always has to be a Thanatos family Grim,” Phoebe said. “Right?”

“There have been instances when one of the smaller branches of a family had to step in and take the place of the main family. They are not as strong, their bloodlines not quite as ancient, but they will do just  fine. I would never force someone as young as you to do this; it must be your own choice.”

Phoebe took this in, thought about it  for a moment. What did she really want? She’d given her future a lot of thought, had gotten the best grades so she could go to the best school, but she’d never really decided what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. She had always assumed that she would figure it out in college, after she’d gotten comfortable with who she was and what she enjoyed most of all. But with her father in trouble, and the only way to help him being to commit to this job, what choice did she have? And would it really be so bad? She could help people, could send spirits to their eternal rest…wasn’t that a cause worth committing to? “I’ll do it,” she said with conviction.

Both Mr. Odin and Hel smiled. “In that case,” Mr. Death himself said, “Hel will be your supervising officer. She will teach you all that you need to know about being part of the team here at Grim Inc. Oh, and one last thing—you’ll have to sign this paper.” He reached into his desk and set a paper down on the desk between them.