“That’s no excuse.”

“No excuse? I may look like a mansion, but I am, at heart, a dungeon. Eating is what we do.”

“And it’s my job to ensure you eat the right things?” I hadn’t exactly been briefed on what my role would be—at all—so I was kinda playing things by ear. I just hoped Kyrine thought I knew what I was talking about.

“What in your feeble mind would lead you to believe that you can ensure anything, particularly of a being as powerful as I am? I am a dungeon core! I traveled through dimensions to arrive in your world!”

The lava bubbled threateningly at the edge of the platform. Instinct told me that there was a last test to pass here. I had to put my own feelings aside and establish my relationship with this crazy dungeon. Quickly, I was piecing together everything Astrid and Belinda had told me with everything I’d ever watched or read about dungeons.

“You need a Keeper,” I said firmly, hoping I was right. “You cannot grow in power without one. A powerful dungeon like you should have far more levels, deadlier traps, and more powerful monsters. You’re weak. And I’m the one who can make you stronger.”

“How observant of you,” Kyrine said, sounding a little impressed. “Your conclusion is accurate. I am weakened. Without sustenance, I have grown frail. I seek someone to elevate me to my prior status. As much as I despise the thought of becoming subservient once more, I am in need of a Keeper. But are you up to the task? Will you be capable of harnessing and wielding my power?”

“You aren’t going to possess me, are you?” I’d seen The Exorcist, and if this was going to be anything like that, it wouldn’t end well for me.

The entity laughed mirthlessly.

”Oh no, Jeremy,” she said. “It is you who will possess me. You will be my master, and soon you will take all my power.”

How did she know my name? Had she acquired that knowledge through her telepathic powers? Did that mean she could access my thoughts, my memories? Those questions sent a shiver down my spine. What else could she glean from entering my mind? I left the thought aside and turned my attention toward Kyrine’s offer.

“I guess becoming your master and taking your power sounds like a pretty good deal,” I said, in the understatement of the century.

Kyrine continued. “Everything I am, all of my potency, will be yours in actuality. I do not wish for all my millenia-long efforts to go to waste.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” I said.