I sat in the waiting room, trying to project an air of calm confidence, and certain I was failing miserably. I was sitting with my back straight as a rail and couldn’t stop moving my hands. I kept shifting them from the arms of the chair, onto my legs, and back again. I wanted to look at my phone, but I was worried that the secretary would see me and it would make me look unprofessional. Unfortunately that meant I had no idea what to do with my hands.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I needed to ace this interview. I’d been out of college for three years and so far the only office work I’d been able to find was as a temp. I was sick of bouncing around from job to job hearing promises that if I just worked hard enough the job would be mine permanently only to have it filled by someone’s brother in law or kid fresh out of college. I just wanted a simple 9 to 5 that paid me enough that every once in a while I could make an impulse buy when something wasn’t on sale. I'd had bigger ambitions once, but I'd found them getting smaller and smaller since college. I'd went from wanting to be an executive or start my own business to being happy with scraps.

I was grateful to have this interview, though I didn’t remember applying for this particular position. That wasn’t too unusual, I applied to dozens of jobs a week. What was stranger was that I couldn’t remember scheduling the interview or even driving to the building. Before I could think too hard on it the secretary spoke.

“Mr. Smith will see you now.”

I nodded at her and stood. Brushing the creases out of my suit pants, I took another look around the room. The chair I’d been sitting in was made of a leather I assumed came from an endangered species and the desk the secretary was sitting at was covered in intricate carvings and likely made of a type of wood that required government bribes to secure. I wasn’t sure what this business actually did, but it was clear that they had some serious money to throw around.

I smiled as I passed the secretary and she gestured toward the door. She was another reason I’d been nervous. She had sat still and just stared into the distance since I’d been waiting. There wasn’t a computer at her desk, or even a phone. She had sharp features, a strong nose, and generously filled out the suit she was wearing. I suspected she may be employed here more for her looks than anything else, but immediately chastised myself for the thought. The combination of her odd behavior and good looks had made maintaining my calm all the more difficult.

I opened one of the two massive doors leading to the next room and walked inside. If the waiting room could be described as grand, the office was opulent. The floor was covered by a thick hand-woven rug covered in bold reds and golds, the walls were lined in tapestries depicting wars and struggles as well as farces, and there were several books in glass cases spread throughout the room. The furniture could only be described as ‘eclectic’ with individual pieces that looked beautiful on their own, but when combined made absolutely no aesthetic sense.

In the center of the room was a desk that looked to be made of black glass and behind it sat a man wearing attire that matched the chaos of his office. He was handsome, with dark hair and a masculine jaw. He was wearing a pinstripe suit over a Hawaiian shirt, and had his feet on the desk in birkenstock sandals. His eyes were obscured behind thick circular black glasses.The man stood and held out a hand to shake.

I was dressed more formally, in a medium blue suit, light blue shirt, and silver tie dotted in small flowers. I’d bought the suit for my mother’s funeral, her will insisted I not buy anything black with the money she set aside for me. Seeing my potential boss dressed so informally/formally bothered me, but I pushed those feelings down, gave him what I thought was a winning smile, and shook his hand.

He returned the shake with both hands, shaking them vigorously.

“Cormac right? I’m Ren, damned pleased to meet you. You go by Cormac, Mac, or Cor?”

“Uh, Cormac or Cor, but I’m not picky with what people interviewing me call me.” That was a joke I always had ready when I was asked that question, it tended to work well in office environments and nowhere else.

Ren smiled and sat, gesturing for me to do the same. “Alright Mac, here’s how it’s going to go. I’ll ask a few questions and I want you to answer them honestly. Depending on how you answer I may offer you a job here and now, you can even start today.”

I felt myself shiver a little with anticipation, but managed to calm myself down enough to say. “Got it.”

“Alright, first question. Why do you want this job?”

I opened my mouth, ready to give the usual canned response. “Money, stability and not having to lie to people about what I do in order to not feel ashamed.” My eyes widened as I spoke, and I could feel the blood draining from my face. Why had I said that?

Ren just smiled and kept going. “Why haven’t you been able to secure full time employment until now? I only see temp jobs on your resume.”

I tried to let out another phrase I’d prepared, but instead said, “Nepotism and bad luck.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Ren tilted his head to the side and an eyebrow lifted above his sunglasses. “Yes, you do have rather low luck. We should be able to work around that though.”

“Wha-”

“What would you consider your strengths?”

“I’m good at appearing to be a hard worker, but actually just finding easier ways to do things, I’m a good liar, and I’m great at multitasking.” I’d managed to give a third of that response correctly at least.

Ren paused, placed a hand on his chin and spun slowly in his chair muttering to himself as he did. “Anthropology degree, that could be helpful. Stats should be fine once class bonus is factored in. Hmm…” When he was facing me again he dropped the hand from his face and held it out to me.

“It’ll be an uphill battle, but I don’t have much of a choice. You’re hired!”

I smiled and went to grab his hand, but hesitated. This was weird. This was really weird. I still didn’t remember how I’d gotten there, I didn’t know what the job I was interviewing for even was, and I had no idea why I hadn’t been able to lie earlier. I thought harder about it, but no matter how hard I tried, I felt like I was trying to break through a wall blocking off the answers to my questions. I pulled my hand down.

“Do you mind if I ask a few questions about the job?”

Ren’s smile dipped almost imperceptibly, but he recovered quickly.

“Sure, I can answer a few. I just remembered another question I want to ask you, but you go ahead first.”

“What exactly is the job?”

“Well, you’ll be my… representative within a…” he looked upward as if thinking. “Very special kind of company.”

“Doing what exactly?”

“Completing tasks assigned from both myself and the company as a whole as well as occasionally other employees. “

The vague answers made me nervous so I pushed more. “In this building?”

“No, this is more of a branch office. The main office is just a couple steps away though.”

I could feel a kind of panic welling up in me. I slowly stood. “I don’t know if this job is for me. Thank you for the interview. I'll definitely think about it.” I stepped around my chair and started walking quickly toward the door.

“Do you remember how you got here?” asked Ren as I grabbed the door handle.

Even though I’d already been considering the question, his words hit me like a freight train. I felt as if a part of my mind was opening up and suddenly images flooded my mind. A dashboard, lights, rain, a cliff, a tree, a sense of weightlessness. I turned around slowly to face him.

“This isn’t an interview is it?”

“Oh, it still very much is, and you can still walk out that door if you want to. It may be a bit harder to do so now, since you know the stakes.”

I took a deep breath and let it out. I didn’t like this situation, but I liked the alternative less. I turned around, walked back to the desk, and sat down.

“So. I’m dead?” I oddly felt a lot calmer with that knowledge than I was about the job interview.

“No, you’re very much alive. At least for now.”

“And you’re what? Death? An angel?”

“No, no, my sister goddess already has her champion, and I’m a bit beyond an angel unless we’re adding an arch to the start of it.”

I let his words tumble around in my head for a few moments. “So, you’re a god then? And this is an interview for someone to be your champion?”

“Good insight, exactly.”

“Why me?”

“You just happen to be my best choice at the moment.”

“If I don’t accept the job I’ll die?”

Ren just smiled without answering, which I took as a yes.

“Will I be like, reincarnated or do I stay the same as who I was on Earth?”

“You won’t have to start back as a baby or anything, but reincarnation isn’t the worst term for it. You’ll have a variety of race options. And you won’t be going back to Earth at all.”

“Where then?”

“A new world, a young one. It’s got different rules than what you’re used to, but you should be at least moderately familiar with them.”

“Any chance you could elaborate a bit?”

“All I have time to say is, think of high fantasy. Dwarves, elves, the whole lot of it. I would like to explain more, but my time is limited. I’m a lot more constrained than my siblings, at least for now.”

“Dragons?” I asked.

“No, I couldn't convince anyone else they’d be a good addition.” He let out a long sigh, then put his smile back on, and held out his hand. “I’ll need a yes or a no right now.”

I considered my options and found my choice to be relatively clear. Honestly, even without the threat of death I'd be interested. Another world full of new and exciting things to see an experience. Not like I had much to live for here even if I could go on living. I took his hand and shook it.

His smile widened as I did so and I felt a mixture of warmth, mania, and menace emanate from the expression. I swallowed and tried to withdraw my hand, but he held firm.

He took his other hand and removed his glasses revealing eyes made of swirling colors and patterns like a kaleidoscope. He then pulled my hand into his desk, it felt ice cold and I found myself pulled into the glassy darkness of it until I was falling headfirst, into nothingness.