Page 102 of World's Okayest Oracle (Reluctantly) Seeks Demon

“I’ll explain everything. I promise.” She cast a quick, pained glance toward the other oracles, who’d already raided the room’s tiny pantry and were now sitting at desks and the room’s small, round kitchenette table, observing the drama-in-progress while munching on actual popcorn. “Once we figure out what to do next and how long we can safely stay here.”

“There’s a shift calendar on the wall by the sink,” Harry volunteered, rising to his feet with a slight groan. “Would that tell us anything?”

Gwen considered that. “Does it list when everyone’s weekly reports are due?”

“Let’s see.” Harry walked to the sink and squinted at the calendar. “Yes, it does. The next deadline is apparently…this upcoming evening. At eight.”

Gwen nodded, heartened. “Thank you, Harry.”

As long as the guardian demons didn’t return to their Realm dormitorytoofar ahead of their filing hour, that should give her ragtag group plenty of time to rest.

“This chart indicates that the maintenance staff did their nightly cleaning an hour ago.” Jing-Jing was peering at the door, where a plastic sleeve covered a sheet of printed paper. “They won’t be back for roughly twenty-three hours.”

The group might remain undisturbed in their hiding place, then. Assuming that they hadn’t already been spotted, that the Realm’s personal Cerberus clone didn’t track their scent and indicate the continuing threat to a handler, and that this room didn’t contain a hidden security camera whose footage would reveal their intrusion.

Also that Josiah didn’t find them. Which he could if any of the oracles had a prophecy that included him.

“Okay. Okay. Let me think a moment.” Hugh scrubbed his free hand over his face and valiantly attempted to set aside the issue of his sister. “What doyouthink we should do next, Gwen?”

She straightened, proud that he valued her input. Proud that she had actual opinions to offer him, ones she considered reasonable. Proud that her pragmatic survival and community-building knowledge had, surprisingly enough, made her a sort of leader to their band of captive oracles—which meant that whatever she said next would probably become their new plan.

Yes, she still found that kind of responsibility frightening. She probably always would. But it felt undeniably, indescribablygoodto trust herself and her own judgment for maybe the first time in her entire damn life and to know that other beings she respected did the same.

She turned to Hugh. “First, can you tell us about your rescue plans?”

“I’ve arranged for teleportation assistance to appear at dawn in the afterlife courtroom.” Under his breath, he added, “Hopefully.”

Jing-Jing glanced at the analog clock on the wall, which indicated a few minutes after midnight. “Why dawn?”

“I wanted to give us enough time to find the courtroom.” Hugh’s calm voice belied the worry Gwen could read in his tired eyes. “We can’t arrive too far in advance, though, since the cameras there might be continuously monitored. Hopefully they aren’t.”

Matilda’s forefinger fretfully tapped her can of Diet Coke. “If we already know there’s video surveillance in the courtroom, why meet there?”

“It’s the only publicly accessible site in the Realm Below, so intrusion there may be forgiven more easily,” Hugh told her. “It’s also the only spot in the Realm Below widely familiar to demons, and the teleporters needed to know where to go.”

“Based on what we overheard, Death and the Fates are still on holiday break.” Gwen flashed the group a strained smile. “So maybe their security staff will be less vigilant.”

Timon swallowed his last slice of a mandarin orange. “Besides, we don’t have any other good rescue options, so the courtroom meeting location will have to stand. We just need to get there in time.”

As a group, they all looked once more at the clock on the wall.

“We can’t be far now.” Poor Hugh was obviously doing his best to project confidence, with limited success. “Shall we give ourselves…an hour to find it?”

The oracles murmured in agreement, uncertainty clear in their expressions.

“In that case, we should be able to rest for roughly six hours.” His gaze strayed back to Gwen. “Assuming you think we can stay here safely?”

She took a deep breath and issued her verdict.

“Under the circumstances, I think this is as good a hiding place as we’re likely to find. We have food and water. We have a bathroom. I even spotted a few capsules without nameplates toward the back of the room, so I’m guessing they’re empty and probably have beds inside.”

Her next point would require some finesse, since she didn’t yet know whether Dottie had informed Hugh about the central role Josiah and Marlee had played in the oracles’ imprisonment.

“Finally, I don’t think…anyone…is likely to teleport inside here,” she said carefully.

“By ‘anyone,’ you mean my mother, correct?” His voice was as flat as a bicycle tire with a nail puncture. “You’re concerned that she might transport Josiah, your captor?”

Welp. Apparently Hugh did know.