Amanda figured that, in another timeline, Director Hornwell would have been the head of a criminal enterprise. The big satyr certainly possessed the ruthlessness and desire for power, but he also had the intelligence to cloak his ambition behind a veneer of understanding and empathy. He was also more-than-willing to have his subordinates to do his dirty work. Most people, including Amanda, assumed that Hornwell had his eyes on a political role, and maybe even one at the very top.

As the silence continued, Amanda stared past the Director’s desk and looked out through the window. The steeple of Trinity Church was just visible between the two nearest buildings. She focused on it and took a breath, and that helped her center herself a little. She inhaled and exhaled, drawing on her chi, and channeled a bit through her meridians. The chi transformed into mana, which she let course through her internal pathways until it died out. Her heart slowed, and her breathing became deeper.

Finally, Director Hornwell sighed. “Look, Amanda, you know that we have teams assigned to all the known dungeons. All but yours have succeeded in getting a Keeper their dungeon will accept. They’re now in the process of settling the Keepers in and working out the best placement for the dungeons in the longer term. I’m not prepared to move teams—or any part of the teams—around in the middle of an operation. So no, reassigning you is not possible in the slightest. Not unless you can pull another dungeon out of your ass. If Kyrine proves too difficult for you, I’m afraid you’ll just have to take the hit.”

He sat back in his chair, and a small knowing smile played around his lips for a moment. It was almost as if...

Like a slap of cold water to the face, the realization hit her. With a terrible inevitability, it all fell into place. Hornwell had known Kyrine was going to be a nightmare to work with. He had ordered three of the most off-the-wall agents in the EDI to form Amanda’s team, and then assigned the single most difficult dungeon on the agency’s list. She had been set up to fail. Why? The only possibility was that Hornwell wanted her to fail, and then wanted to blame his agents for the failure when it all went wrong. It made no sense to her that he would want the job to fail, but there wasn’t any other explanation that fitted the facts.

Why would the Director want this dungeon to remain without a Keeper? Perhaps, like her, Hornwell was also working with someone else on the side?

Amanda was glad she was sitting down.

The Director snapped his folder shut and put it away.