“I’ll be careful,” I promised, “and now I think we’d better get going. There’s no time like the present.”

Astrid went upstairs to get Belinda, and at my request, Kyrine provided me with a copy of the MP5 submachine gun I had lost in the lava during our initial test. She had absorbed its essence and could now reproduce multiple copies of them at will. She made me two, and I slung one over my shoulder while I carried the other in my hand.

Belinda came down the stairs carrying what looked like a stick with a spiked ball and chain on the end. Astrid came behind her, snapping a magazine into an AR-15 assault rifle, which she handled expertly, looking very comfortable with it. Selena had a pair of 9mm Glock pistols in holsters at her belt, and replacement magazines lined up on the belt as well.

Kyrine hugged me and kissed me firmly on the mouth. “Be careful, Jeremy, and bring me back a new core,” she said breathily into my ear.

“Don’t worry about it,” I reassured her. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

“I’ll lock up while you’re away,” she said, coming out into the hallway to see us off.

“Lock up?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

Kyrine seemed to be struggling to put it into words. “I just mean… lock up,” she said unhelpfully.

“It’s kind of a stasis the dungeon can put herself into,” Astrid said. “The dungeon becomes, not invisible, but… hard to notice. Like a glamour cast over the whole site. Anyone passing will just not notice it. Even if someone does see it, they would be unable to get in. It keeps the dungeon safe from intruders while we’re gone, but it means that she can’t cultivate or do anything else until she unlocks.”

“Could be useful if we ever need to get some rest,” I commented, but Astrid shook her head. “It only works if there’s nobody else in the mansion or the grounds. It’s a kind of hibernation, and it will only begin when we’ve left.”

“That’s right,” said Kyrine. “Thank you for explaining it so clearly. I spent a long, long time locked up after I lost my last Keeper. All the dungeons did. Only recently have we learned to awake again…” She was beginning to look sleepy, moving toward the hibernatory state even as we spoke. It was another reminder that Kyrine was something very far from human, a strange, mysterious being with many unknown abilities.

Chapter 24