Selena drew in a breath, and her eyes shone.
I had just determined that I would step up and kiss her when Kyrine’s voice rang through the chamber.
“Selena, Jeremy, come back! Something’s happening!”
All thought of romance left us when we heard the urgency in Kyrine’s voice.
We both glanced up. Selena was suddenly all business. I couldn’t help regretting the fact that we weren’t going to get a chance to explore our feelings for each other right away. At the same time, I was filled with admiration for Selena’s readiness to drop everything to help the dungeon. That was commitment, and commitment was what we needed.
We both moved back to the enchantment table. I reached out and took her hands, ready to travel back, but before I transported us I looked Selena in the eye.
She blushed. “I’m…sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t…”
I silenced her with my mouth.
We didn’t have time to go any further, but we held that warm, firm kiss for a long, long moment. It felt like we were coming home to something we’d both been missing for a long time.
When we broke the kiss, Selena gasped in a little disbelieving breath. “But… Kyrine?” she said, “and Astrid? I thought you were… I don’t know… taken?”
“The Dungeon Keeper? Taken?” I laughed. “Not me, no. It’s true that Astrid, Kyrine, and I are all sleeping together, but there’s room for more if you don’t mind sharing.”
She laughed with pleasure now, blushing prettily as she leaned back to look up into my face. “I don’t mind at all, Jeremy. The truth is I’ve always wanted you, but I never could before, because I was an agent set to watch you back then.”
“But not anymore,” I assured her. “You’re one of the mansion team now, and you can do whatever you want.”
“Oh, gods, Jeremy, I can hardly wait, but I guess I’ll have to…”
“Just a little longer,” I promised her.
Together, we slammed our hands on the Return rune on the enchantment table and were whirled back to the workroom.
Kyrine was hopping from foot to foot in her excitement. Belinda and Amanda hurried into the room as we reappeared.
“What is it?” asked Selena, looking around at their concerned faces.
“It’s the adventurers,” said Kyrine. “They’re back!”
Chapter 19
“Back already?” I said, feeling pleased but surprised. “I wasn’t expecting them so soon.” Sudden suspicion plucked at me. “Wait a moment, you’re sure it’s them? You’re sure it’s not the Technomancer? Or some kind of trick?”
“Certain,” said Kyrine. “Astrid called in from the watchtower that she saw them coming. They’ve parked up close to the mansion and they’re coming up the hill right now.”
“What do you want to do, Jeremy?” asked Selena.
I thought fast.
The adventurers had said they wanted the chance to hunt cores, but the wild area was not yet fully established, and I didn’t want to release the creatures out into the grounds to fight adventurers just yet. I didn’t have any control over what happened out there, and anyway there was no dungeon loot to be had in the grounds.
No, I wanted the adventurers in one of the pocket dungeons. But how to disguise the fact that there were creatures in the grounds? Surely the adventurers would go hunting if they realized that there were cores to be had?
“Kyrine,” I said, “the glamors that you cast over the mansion. Can you apply them to the rest of the grounds?”
“You mean to hide the watchtowers and the wilds? Yes, yes, I think so.”
“Do it then. When the adventurers come into the grounds, I want them channeled up the main drive to the door and straight into the dungeon I place on the door, you understand?”
She nodded and closed her eyes to begin working the magic.
“Selena, Amanda,” I ordered, “when the adventurers are in the pocket dungeon, Kyrine and I will be occupied with them, and the mansion will be vulnerable. Go to the watchtowers and keep guard with Astrid. Take guns with you from the weapons store in the training area. Belinda, get a gun as well and wait in the main hallway behind the door. If anything suspicious happens, call the mansion phone. I’ll be alerted on my Personal Cultivation System.”
“It works like that?” Amanda asked, her eyes goggling in amazement.
“It sure does. The mansion’s internal communications networks are hard-linked into my PCS. Now let’s go!”
Grabbing my newly created Castle Hall dungeon, and the Granite Cave dungeon from where they lay on the enchantment table, I ran out of the door, followed by Kyrine, Amanda, Belinda, and Selena. Kyrine’s dungeon avatar form rippled and wavered, bright light shining from her eyes and hands as she tapped into the powerful magic that allowed her to disguise the outside of the mansion. Her eyes were a blank, shining light, and I was reminded again that she was not human, but an ancient and powerful magical entity.
Amanda looked determined, her face set grimly as she ran to carry out my orders. Selena looked happy and excited, and she stole a swift glance at me as she passed me on her way to the armory to get a weapon.
Belinda’s long, purple dreadlocked tentacle hair bounced against her back as she followed Selena to get herself a gun. Always serious, she gave me a curt nod and then dashed off to arm herself.
Kyrine and I stood in the hallway behind the door.
“The glamor is applied, and the adventurers are at the gate,” said Kyrine as Belinda, Amanda, and Selena dashed out of the training area, magitech assault rifles in hand. Belinda took up her position on the stairs, while Selena and Amanda sprinted out to take up their places on the watchtowers.
“The adventurers won’t see the
