“This… asset… that you’re involved in protecting and developing, will it benefit the country? Help keep us safe?”

I thought about what Kyrine and the agents had said about the Fateweaver, the ultra-powerful entity who had all but destroyed Eosor. If what they had said was right, the Fateweaver was on his way to earth, and the development of the dungeons would be critical in defending earth from his clutches.

“Will it help to keep us safe?” I said. “Yeah, it will.”

More than you could possibly imagine, I thought.

“Well there’s your answer, kiddo!” Uncle Phil boomed, sounding pleased with himself. “If that’s what you’re doing, then I’m proud of you, and you should be proud too! That’s service, Jeremy. You go for it!”

“Thanks, Uncle Phil,” I said, smiling, and feeling the pressure ease from my shoulders. “I just needed to talk it through with someone who wasn’t involved, you know?”

“I know. Hey, by the way, I bet those government jobs have got some good perks too, am I right?”

The thought of Astrid in the shower flashed into my mind, and the image of Kyrine giving herself to me with lustful abandon. I laughed out loud. “You’re damn right they do!”

“All right. Well, you look after yourself now, and I’ll tell your Aunt you called.”

The line clicked off and I sighed, feeling relieved. Phil was right. This was an awesome position to be in. Sure, killing bad guys was not something I relished the idea of, but I knew I could do it, even if I never quite acquired Kyrine’s taste for it. And I was in charge of Kyrine, I reminded myself. I could make sure that no innocents died in the dungeon. As for evil dudes like the Technomancer, well, sometimes that was the kind of dirty work a guy had to do for the good of his country.

No, I decided, I wouldn’t be losing any sleep over it.

Feeling encouraged by having my doubts put to rest, I looked up Selena’s number under ‘Sis’ in Astrid’s phone. I hit ‘call’ and this time the phone rang nine times before Selena picked up. She was sounding flustered.

“Astrid!” she said. “Sorry, I’m just about to leave. I got tied up doing a few things back in the apartment and I…”

“Selena,” I cut in. “It’s not Astrid.”

“Jeremy? Oh, it is you! You won’t believe how happy I am to hear your voice. When I heard you’d survived, it was like this massive weight off my chest. I felt so bad about… well, about…”

“About sending me on what I thought was a blind date, when the night actually could have ended with my death.”