Lexie barely slept a wink all night.

Between worrying about Theo, her melancholy about Uncle Max, and her worry about the growing tension between her and her friends, she couldn't relax. Not to mention her fight with her dad.

She tossed and turned for most of the night, and even searched for a spell or potion that would knock her out.

Eventually, she ended up sliding into sleep anyway, but she only got three hours of it before the morning alarm rang. Naem hadn't appeared in her dreams once again, but it was just as well. She didn't think she could take another pounding from Ganor today, especially since she probably already had a long day ahead of her. She needed to save her energy just in case she was confronted by more trolls and bats.

Lexie got up feeling groggy, but got dressed for the day regardless. As she was walking out, so was Dewie. They both paused in the common area.

"Hey," Lexie said to him. "You wanna hang out later today?"

"Sure," Dewie brightened up. "Doing what?"

"Um…I'm not sure. You pick something. I didn't hang out with the two of you much during the break, and I'm sorry about that. So, I'm trying to make up for it."

"Oh, ok, sure." He thought about it. "Xena and I played this new game all the time at her house. It's called mahjong. Luke taught us."

"Wait…as in my Uncle Luke?"

"Yeah. He was over at Emma's a lot during the summer. Xena thinks that he and Emma might start dating soon."

"Huh." Lexie thought about it. She hadn't seen that one coming. "I guess a lot of things have changed since I've been gone."

"Yeah. But we can talk about it later."

Lexie nodded and waved at them as she walked out.

She also texted Xena an apology for her outbursts yesterday. Xena might not be at breakfast, since she would restart training with Lionel this morning. They would likely see each other in the afternoon.

Lexie knew they needed to talk, but the conversation with Xena would definitely not be as easy as the one with Dewie was. Xena was dealing with Lexie's Eldritch side a lot worse than Dewie was, and her prejudice was making her jump to conclusions about Lexie.

She thought Lexie had changed, but Lexie didn't feel different. She felt fine. She had gotten good at controlling her Eldritch, and she hadn't even lost her temper lately, even though she'd been under attack plenty of times. Plus, she'd stopped hearing the voice of Eldritch-Lexie. That had to mean that her soul-scooping exercises were working somewhat, right?

Whatever. Even if it wasn't, there was nothing she could do about it now. There was nothing she could do about…being her.

They would discuss their differences later. And she would make up with her Dad later, too, after she got over the betrayal. For now, she needed to focus on finding Theo.

Lexie met Torin in the courtyard after breakfast, much to the annoyance of his six-person fan club, who were sitting on a bench close by, surreptitiously taking pictures of him with their PHORBs. Lexie once more ignored their sour looks.

"You ready?" she asked.

"Yes. Where are we going by the way?"

"I'll show you when we get there." There was a chance that if she told him right now, he would change his mind, and Lexie didn't want to risk that.

Torin hesitated but ultimately nodded.

He showed Biufur their exeat cards, and they both stepped out into the trolleys that would take them off the Island.

While they made their ascent on the ropes, Lexie once more recalled her last simulation and getting blown to smithereens.

For some reason, the thought made her glance behind her to check if there was a missile anywhere close by. She got her void card ready just in case.

Torin saw her materialize it. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she said. "Just trying to be prepared."

A question reflected in his eyes, but he didn't ask it. He remained silent for a few more minutes until they were in the sky. "You said you helped my brother look into Lucy Frank's disappearance. How exactly did you do that?"

"With one of my creature cards," Lexie said. "It gave him access to Vacek's office, and it allowed him to sneak around and find stuff."

"You…have a card that can do that?" Shock made his voice tentative.

"Yeah," she said.

"Why are your cards different from everyone else's? Why are they so powerful?"

Lexie shrugged. "It's because I'm a genius."

Torin didn't look convinced. "Journeyman said that you want to make cards that mundanes can use. How do you plan on doing that?"

"I haven't yet worked it out," she said. "I have a vague concept of what I call body cards, but I still need a magic source, or maybe a way to convert external mana to internal without further damaging the pathways of the mundanes. I don't know how to do it yet, but I'm trying."

He nodded and turned away again.

"I'm sorry," Lexie said, and Torin looked back at her.

"It's my fault Theo is in this mess," she finally voiced the bone-deep guilt she felt. "If I hadn't helped him, he wouldn't have found whatever he found that led him to his kidnapping. And I think another reason he got kidnapped was to get to me."

"I don't understand."

"Someone wants me dead," Lexie said. "Someone very dangerous. I think part of Theo's disappearance might have to do with what he knows about Lucy Frank, but the other part of it might have to do with me."

"Someone wants you dead."

Lexie nodded, definitively.

"Is that why you stayed with us over the break?"

"Yeah. Stella knows about it, and it's why I got assigned bodyguards."

"I thought that was just due to us being Firebringers."

"That too."

"Hmm." Torin's pupils sharpened as his mind worked. "So what you're saying is that this person might be using Theo to lure you out?"

Lexie nodded. "Yes."

"So why on Earth are we playing into it?"

"Because if I don't go, Theo will die. Or worse." She breathed out. "Also, that's why I have you here, isn't it? For protection."

Torin cocked his eyebrow, and Lexie laced her hands in her lap.

She was banking on a few things with Torin here. One was that his proximity would impact her fate points and make it less likely that she would be attacked today. After all, Torin was the main character, and the main character couldn't die, right?

Also, he was the strongest student mage she knew. He was probably stronger than most adult mages who weren't Firebringers. If there was anyone at school who could help her, it would be Torin. He could probably protect her even better than the bodyguards.

Once they were past the forcefield, Lexie moved to sit next to Torin. "Can I have the teleportation orbs?"

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He nodded and handed them to her. Once her fingers wrapped around them, she closed her eyes and pictured the place where Vacek had taken her. The orb glowed and identified the coordinates of the place in her mind. Then it activated.

Lexie and Torin were thrust through space and appeared a few feet away from the swirling dungeon entrance.

"What the hell?" Torin immediately jumped back, alarmed, while looking at it. He frowned at Lexie. "Why are we here?"

"The dungeon is the only thing that can tell us where Theo is," Lexie said.

"Are you insane?"

"Torin, can you trust me? Please?"

The struggle appeared on his face, his need to find his brother warring with his sense of duty toward Lexie, and also apprehension about breaking the rules and being in front of a dungeon.

"Tell me what you're going to do first," he said harshly. "And don't mince words."

Lexie exhaled. "I'm going to talk to the dungeon."

"Talk?" Torin blinked. "You are insane, then." He sounded more concerned than insulting.

Lexie smiled wryly. "No. Well, maybe sometimes, but not right now. You see, when I touch the dungeon walls, I can communicate with them. Not through words but through visions." She paused, waiting for him to swallow that first before she continued, "Vacek brought me here because he wanted to figure out what was causing the rise in unstable dungeons on Earth. He thought that maybe I could speak to this dungeon first and figure out who was behind all of it."

"Why this dungeon in particular?" Torin asked.

"Because…" Lexie hesitated to reveal the secret because it wasn't common knowledge, but at the same time, she didn't owe any loyalty to Vacek, not after he'd tried to use her. "It's a secret, so you can't tell anyone else. But basically, this dungeon was the first stable dungeon that became unstable. Vacek thinks that whatever went wrong with the other UDs, it all started here."

His eyes glowed. "Wait, that's what's happening? Stable dungeons are becoming unstable?"

"I don't know," Lexie said. "All I know is that when I touched this dungeon, I got visions of your brother and how he was captured by this really bad guy and his gang. They said Theo almost wiped everyone out, but he got doused in water, I think, and knocked out. They hacked into his system with an SLO and used that to send me texts. In the vision, Theo was unconscious, and they implied they were going to hide him in a dungeon. I need to figure out which dungeon it is before it disappears."

Torin still looked confused, but he blew out a breath. "You have to enter the dungeon to do that? How are you going to go in if you don't have access or an unsealer?"

Ah, shit. She'd completely forgotten about that.

Well, that was just as well. She hadn't planned on entering the dungeon in the first place, because that would be stupid and risky.

Lexie figured that she didn't actually have to touch the dungeon's walls to communicate with it. At the very least, she hadn't had to do that in Hartville, even with the dungeon underground. So maybe it was just a proximity issue.

Her father hadn't let her get close enough to the other fake Uncle Max dungeon to sense it well, or maybe that dungeon had just been too dead to communicate. This dungeon was definitely not dead. Weakened, but not dead.

If she could get close, perhaps touch the sealed portal itself, then maybe she could communicate with it again.

"I'm not going into the dungeon," she said. "I just need to get close. So just please, watch my back."

Torin looked very uncomfortable with the request. He ran his hand through his perfectly combed hair about three times, shifted from one foot to the other, and chewed on his bottom lip. He didn't like this at all, but ultimately, he didn't stop her as she began to edge closer and closer to the dungeon.

That was until she got maybe a few feet away.

"Stop," he said.

Lexie paused.

"Try it from there. You may not need to go all the way."

Lexie nodded and closed her eyes. She put her hand out and reached for the dungeon, getting whispers of sensation over her skin. They weren't pleasant; it was a dark and cloying mist, like a warning.

But it wasn't enough. Lexie couldn't see what she needed to see.

"I think I need to get closer," she said.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

She took a step, and then another, moving forward at a glacial pace while sensing her way there.

"The dungeon is sealed," she spoke to Torin as she did. "So it should probably be fine for me to get close."

"You never know with dungeons."

"Yeah. You're right." But it also helped that this particular dungeon didn't want her inside of it. It had made it clear the last time, when it had screamed for her and Vacek to get out of there. That fact gave her more confidence to keep moving forward until her hand was touching the swirling portal.

The power pulled at her, trying to suck her in, but the seal was like a wall shielding it. While she touched it, the whispers now became sounds that she could almost hear.

Leave.

Get out.

I hate you.

GET OUT.

Please just show me where Theo is, Lexie tried to communicate, flashing a picture of Theo in her mind. Show me where my friend is, and I'll leave, I swear it.

But though Lexie could understand the dungeon, it didn't seem like the dungeon could understand her. It kept yelling and clamoring for her to leave, the menace growing until even Torin could probably sense it because he said, "Alright, Lexie, maybe we should–"

"One second," Lexie barked because she sensed she was on the verge of getting…something. Some connection. Mentally, she dove deeper, pleaded with the dungeon, meditating until she just about sensed the mana field moving through the dungeons, a cloud of it that just swirled and swirled.

Just then, the seal attached to her hand.

Lexie's eye popped open. "Something's wrong."

"What is it?" Torin immediately ran up to her.

She sent him a panicked look over her shoulder. "I think I'm stuck."

Torin's eyes flared. He grabbed her arm that was still touching the SEAL and tried to pull her away, but he couldn't.

Lexie's heart started to race, but she didn't even have time to panic.

She instead pulled with all her might, hard enough that it felt like she was ripping out her palm. Torin pulled hard enough that she felt like her elbow would dislocate.

Still, no release.

Suddenly, without warning, the seal dropped.

The mouth of the dungeon roared, the force too overwhelming to resist. Lexie screamed as she was swept off her feet.

"Lexie!" She heard Torin scream her name and hold onto her hand as she was dragged in.

The darkness swallowed both of them, and then they were dropped unceremoniously on the cool, cave ground.

For a second, there was only the sound of their ragged breathing.

"What the hell?" Lexie said as she pushed herself to her knees, glancing around. "How did that happen?"

"It doesn't matter." Torin was already on his feet. "Let's get out of here now."

But as they both spun around, they realized something terrible.

There was no exit that they could see in the darkness.

Before Lexie could wonder about it, there was a chorus of roars from the sides.

It was even worse than the one that had faced her and Vacek. That had been three trolls.

This one sounded like at least a dozen of them.

***

Aiden was having a terrible fight with Lexie. He hoped it was just a nightmare.

"I hate you!" she was yelling across the dinner table. "I wish I'd never been your daughter! You ruin everything! Everyone around you dies!"

The words hit his chest like perfectly aimed arrows, and he could do nothing but stand there and take it.

Because she was right.

She'd always been right, even when she accused him of letting Max die with that look of hatred in her eyes.

Aiden had sat for hours after he left Lexie and tried to convince himself that it wasn't true.

His daughter didn't hate him.

But he knew what hatred looked like. He'd seen it in his own eyes when Lara had disappeared.

He'd never seen it on his daughter before, not even when she'd first appeared in this world and didn't know who he was, not even when they'd had that terrible fight months ago.

But it had been there today.

The glint of hatred hadn't lasted for more than a second, but in that second, Lexie had looked like she genuinely wanted to kill him. The murderous intent exuded from her eyes, and it had scared him.

That simply wasn't his daughter. Lexie didn't have those violent urges naturally.

It was the Eldritch part doing this to her. It was turning her into something else, using her justified righteous anger to empower a sinister power that would continue to grow inside her until it exploded.

And the worst part of it was that if Lexie turned into an Eldritch, her human body would not be enough to contain it. She would turn into chaos, and no human body could contain chaos for very long; that was why possessed invidiuls rarely lived long, as eventually, the human would rupture, allowing her Eldritch soul free to roam.

Lexie would die and become a creature of the dark.

The image of his daughter across from him stopped screaming. Instead, she began splintering before his eyes.

"No!" Aiden gasped.

The scene finally changed with everything turning into dark mist.

"Why do you insist on torturing yourself?" Naem said, appearing. "You could have simply told me that you were here."

"I know," he sighed. "Lexie's condition. How advanced has it gotten?"

Naem stared at him. He never liked to answer that question, because it revealed too much about certain Eldritch secrets.

"What can I do to stop it?" Aiden said. "Right now. I don't care about the cost."

"Would you like me to go to Neqal?" he said. "Of course, you know he'll ask for something in return."

Aiden shook his head. Neqal was too unpredictable, too wicked, and too nuclear.

"What if I could extract the essence from Neqal's specimen, the Alchemist. Would you be able to reverse engineer that to figure out how to help my daughter ?"

"Not likely," he said. "As you know, Eldritch research is unorthodox, and Neqal keeps his methods hidden."

Aiden sighed.

It seemed the only person who could help him was the man with direct access to his head.

Naem knew what he was thinking because he suggested hesitantly:

"Perhaps, you can simply offer him a good deal."

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