"Well, the specifics depend on the specific skill sets of the teams I employ, and much of it is quite discreet, but the primary purpose of the teams will be to retrieve resources and remove threats to the Eighth Sector."
That was vague and only a little bit useful, but it did satisfy some of Kayden's curiosity. She couldn't really see a problem with saying yes to Abigor's offer right now. If it turned out he wasn't as moral as he seemed, she could always back out of the job by resigning.
Abigor continued to prattle on about benefits, retirement plans and such, Harper stopped listening about halfway through, deciding instead to indulge in the snack table until Abigor announced that the deadline to accept was midnight. Harper glanced at the clock above the refreshments table. They had two hours.
He plucked a small clutch of grapes from a bowl on the table and gently picked one of the vine, popping it into his mouth, humming softly at the taste while he waited for his friends to respond.
"I like being independent," Kayden said, taking another swig of her soda, "but I can see the benefits of working under someone else. I'll say yes and back out if it doesn't meet my standards."
"I'm not quite sure yet. I suppose I could always resign if need be." The job was certainly appealing. Though he wasn't sure he liked the idea of working directly under a demon lord. Vampires were also prone to the prejudice they experienced, it appeared.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kayden saw Abigor leave the stage and start interacting with the group that he had brought here. She could have gone over to him, but it was more entertaining talking with these two.
"What are your names, by the way?" she asked. "I'm Kayden. Kayden Avril Ramsey, but you can call me Kayden or Kay."
Kayden did a double-take and nearly choked on her soda.
"That's a question," she said. She wiped the soda from around her mouth with her suit's sleeve, swapped what hand was holding the cup, and then shook Harper's hand with her dry, free one. "It sounds like we have very different experiences with demons. We just have natural born ones—some that pop out without any kind of parents, and ones like that me that do have them. They're technically all natural, but."
Harper wished she had her Grimoire. This had to be written down.
She cocked her head to the side. "So, we're from different realities, like Abigor said. Where I'm from, most demons on the material plane are abominations, amalgamations of souls and human will. You're a deal more...human, than most I've met, so natural born was my guess anyway."
"That's interesting," Kayden said. "I've never heard of demons like that before, so it really must be a your reality thing. I wonder if there's anything like that back in my reality."
"I could help you find out," Harper said excitedly, "We could figure out how spells and rituals from my world work in yours!"
Theories spun wildly through her head. Would she be able to summon Annie? Why wouldn't she be able to, if not, and if so, did that mean that Annie could cross realities? Or would Harper be carrying the magic of her world with her, in which case her spells might only work when she did them in the other realities, and vice versa when it came to her reality.
She really wished she had her grimoire to write all this down.
