I watch as both Theo and Toshi cast their eyes over to Clarissa. To see if she’s still sleeping. She doesn’t need to be hearing any of this, but Theo and Toshi need to know. If Kyle’s alive, we made her a promise. Which means everything we can possibly know about Kyle and what he’s going through will help us when we find him.
Like knowing he’s still alive since I haven’t heard from him recently.
“Speaking of Kyle, have you talked with him, Theo?” Vlad asks.
“No, I haven’t. I haven’t heard him in my mind for a couple of days now.”
“I have,” I say.
Everyone whips their heads over toward me, and I can see their eyes rolling with questions.
“A couple of days ago, I heard Kyle pleading for help inside my head. That’s why it isn’t a shock to me when Vlad says he’s still alive,” I say.
“What did he say? Why the hell didn’t you tell someone?” Toshi asks. “Does Clarissa know?”
“She doesn’t,” I say. “And she won’t. Got it?”
“Sebastian, we made her a promise,” Theo says.
“To go get Kyle if he turned up alive. But not to inform her of anything in between. She’s sick. If she knows she missed an opportunity to talk to him because I wasn’t willing to sever whatever connection I had with him, it’s going to make things worse.”
“What did he say?” Vlad asks.
“I know where he is,” I say.
“What?” Toshi asks.
“According to him, he is underneath the Council building. On level six. Though if they’re moving him from crate to crate like Vlad suggests, then it’s possible they’re moving him from level to level, too.”
“They said something about a dungeon master,” Vlad says.
“I know about that,” Theo says. “The dungeon master was Chief’s idea.”
“What?” I growl. “You know about these lower levels, and you didn’t tell us?”
“Not the lower levels. I thought they were all offshoots of the hallways. You know, like the hallways were numbered?” Theo says.
“Tell us what you know,” I say.
“The dungeon master was a suggestion made by Chief to guard the level or area or hallway or whatever that is completely lined with lead. They originally crafted it underneath the guidance of Chief in case one of the council meetings spun out of control. Because of their heated debates and arguments on a regular basis that guide the whole of the Primal population, it gave the building a neutral space to drain all of them of their energy so they could talk on even ground without slaughtering one another in anger.”
“So what does the dungeon master do?” Vlad asks.
“I’m shocked you don’t know,” Theo says.
“I know a lot, but even these secret chambers are news to me,” Vlad says.
“The dungeon master is a human. A weaponized human. When a Primal is drained of their energy in a lead room, human weapons can destroy them if timed right. The dungeon master serves as a final switch if things still get out of control.”
“So the dungeon master is there if Kyle spins out of control and they need to kill him,” I say.
Clarissa begins to stir on the couch, and we all fall silent. I watch as she sniffs the air, but instead of gravitating toward the food she crinkles her nose. Like she’s disgusted with it. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen her eat, and I’ve got half a mind to wake her ass up and shove bread down her throat.
We all stay silent until Clarissa settles back into a deep slumber, then Theo’s gaze turns to me.
“Exactly,” he says. “The dungeon master is there in case he has to kill Kyle.”
“Well, I made a deal with Kyle that might make the dungeon master null and void,” I say.