It was Selena’s moniker that she used while playing video games (when she should have been working), and her manga-esque profile picture had a little green dot next to it. In the sidebar, the name of the game Selena was playing was displayed, as was the length of her session: four hours twenty minutes so far.

Amanda sent a direct message to LittleMinx.

Pick up your cell phone. Now.

Selena responded with a smiley cat-face emoji that set Amanda’s blood to boiling.

To calm herself, Amanda brought her focus to her meridians and moved some mana through her channels, feeling immediately the calming effect of passive mana cultivation. When she thought she could speak calmly again, Amanda picked up her phone and re-dialed Selena’s cell.

One ring. Two. Three. Click.

“Yes, boss?” Selena’s muffled voice came over the receiver. The noise of explosions and the game’s dramatic soundtrack came over the line too.

“I haven’t heard from the team since they picked up the Keeper,” said Amanda without preamble. “Astrid and Belinda have no cell phone reception, so I assume they are in the dungeon now.”

“Uhh… yeah.” A pause, and a rattle of what sounded like small arms fire. “Yeah, they picked up Jeremy in the woods near the mansion. They ran into a few problems though.”

“Problems?”

“Yeah. PentaTech soldiers.”

PentaTech? What were they doing out there? Amanda didn’t like the sound of that one bit.

“Do they know about the presence of the dungeon?” Amanda asked.

“From what Belinda said, it didn’t sound like it. They just happened to be in the area and stumbled upon the girls.”

“That seems too convenient to be coincidental,” Amanda said. “We should keep an eye on it.”

“Will do.” Selena sounded distracted, her voice muffled as if she had her phone wedged between her shoulder and her jaw. Which, Amanda thought, was probably exactly what Selena was doing.

“What can you report on the Keeper?” she said. “Have you received any news from the others?”

“They haven’t spoken with me since Jeremy entered the dungeon. Kyrine locked the door, so I figure they’re, you know, having a good fuck. That’s what we’re hoping for, right?”

Amanda swallowed back her distaste at Selena’s coarseness. Amanda was no prude, she enjoyed sex as much as anyone else, but she’d always found the way the lesser races of Eosor spoke to be uncouth, particularly the beastkin.

“I need you to go there and confirm what’s happening for me,” she said to Selena. “Director Hornwell will be not be pleased with any of us if Kyrine consumes this Keeper.” Even though Amanda was beginning to have her doubts about that, she was hardly going to share that thought with Selena.

There was a furious tapping of keys on the other side of the cell phone.

“Selena,” Amanda growled. “Log off your stupid game right now.”