The call didn’t even connect. Thinking about it, he knew why.

  “Can’t talk to her,” he said.

  “Why not?” Penny asked.

  Luke put the phone away. “She’s in that other dungeon on behalf of the DIA.”

  “Your sister is working for the government?” Lucy asked.

  “Seems that way.”

  “You must be proud! Mateo declared. “Now we make haste!”

  “This one is correct. The more time we give her, the more difficult it will be to uproot the queen,” Ilya said.

  Luke nodded. “Let’s go.”

  As they made it past the first line of security guards and into the building without getting stopped or questioned, Luke’s phone buzzed again.

  “Feel like shit. Think I got a fever or something. Going back to sleep,” Ray texted.

  That message was way less whiny than what Ray usually sent when he was sick, and not even a request for ordering him takeout? Unusual. Luke would have to go check up on him later and maybe heal him, if possible, then rub that in Ray’s face. For now, there were more important things to keep his mind on.

  Ilya walked straight-backed and focused past the second group of security guards, like she was on an important task for someone and didn’t have time to stop and answer stupid questions. It worked. A little confidence can go a long way. Luke and the others followed, heading for a set of stairs off to the right, and began the climb.

  “So what’s the plan?” Penny asked, taking the steps two at a time.

  “My spear shall pierce her evil heart!”

  “No, Mateo,” Luke said. “Let’s hear what Ilya has to say first.”

  Ilya kept walking a couple of steps above everyone else and didn’t turn around to speak. “Striking her heart is a good option.”

  Mateo squeezed his fist in victory.

  “But,” Ilya continued. “The important part is dealing with her eggs before her spawn breaks free and takes over the building.” She looked back down at them then, focusing on Penny. “Magic would be best for that.”

  “Will she have the eggs with her?” Luke asked.

  “At this stage?” Ilya said. “That is likely. She’ll want to protect them.”

  Luke considered what they’d learned as they continued moving up the stairs, formulating the idea of a plan. “We throw open the door and let Penny blast the room with lightning, then Mateo and Lucy can go in and let the queen have it.”

  They all nodded.

  “What about you, Ilya? It says your class is Chanter. What can you do?”

  “After spending time among you humans, I can take on the true identity of one of you, given time, if that is what you mean by ‘class’. Unfortunately, I had to move fast when assuming this woman’s form, and I didn’t want to harm her, which is an unfortunate side effect of the process, so I do not possess her identity, not fully.”

  “No skills?” Mateo asked.

  “No skills,” Ilya confirmed. Then she stopped and turned around, her fingers growing into long claws. “Though I still possess the weapons of my kind.”

  Steps sounded from above, and Ilya returned to human form just as a group of men and women in suits walked past, heading down.

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  “Is the real Ilya dead?” Luke asked.

  “She is,” Ilya said. “Though not by my hand.”

  By then, they’d made it to the fourth floor.

  “Soon, my friends!” Mateo said, a little out of breath.

  Walking past each floor, they’d heard voices, doors closing and opening, and the tapping of shoes. Upon reaching the fifth floor, though, it was dead quiet. A pair of security guards stood at the top of the stairs, with a third standing near the elevator.

  On instinct, Luke attempted to inspect them before remembering that it was impossible outside of dungeons.

  “This floor is off limits,” the security guard on the left said, a tall and muscular man with the sleeves of his uniform rolled up to show forearms covered in tattoos.

  “We have a most urgent appointment with the mayor,” Mateo said.

  The other security guard, younger and skinnier with a nervous air about him, made a rude gesture and spoke with volume, rather than authority. “We told you it’s closed. Get the hell out of here!”

  “We’ll go. Thank you,” Luke said, holding out his hand to the loudmouth. “Thank you for the good work you do here protecting the mayor.”

  As if on reflex, the security guard took Luke’s hand and shook it.

  “Not a Hollow,” Luke said.

  “That is most unfortunate,” Mateo said, stepping up to the top of the stairs, trading places with Luke. “I do not wish to cause harm, my friends. Please step aside.”

  “That’s it,” the loudmouth said, opening a button-shut pocket on the side of his pants and taking out a foldable baton. With a snap of his wrist, it extended, and he raised his arm. “This is your last chance!”

  Mateo took another step up.

  Loudmouth swung, and the metal baton met Mateo’s raised arm, the force of the blow bending the weapon. The attack didn’t even leave a mark on Mateo.

  “You must protect the mayor, and I’m sure you’ve attempted to perform that duty with the utmost vigor and determination,” Mateo said, his voice soft. “Unfortunately, we believe you have failed. This is why we must barge in. Again, I am sorry.”

  The bigger of the two security guards made a fist, twisted at the hip, and threw a punch right at Mateo’s face, but the Lancer raised his hand and caught the blow like it was nothing. The difference in strength between an Integrated and a regular human was clear. They didn’t stand a chance.

  That was when the third guard drew a gun. Luke didn’t know why he carried one when the other two did not, but Penny reacted with lightning speed.

  Zap-zap, drop the gun!

  Flash, flash, fight is done!

  At the last word, she snapped her fingers, and a spark leapt out of thin air above her hand. The spell brought the third security guard down, and he dropped the weapon.

  “What the hell is going on here?” The loudmouth had time to say, before he, too, was zapped. He crumpled to the floor, and Ilya gave Penny a nod of appreciation.

  The one guard still standing gave a shout of fright and reached for a radio on his shoulder, but Mateo grabbed his arm and pushed him to the ground with a gentle firmness. A rope appeared out of thin air, and Mateo set to tying the guard up.

  “Just punch him unconscious,” Lucy said.

  Mateo looked up at her and shook his head. “A punch to the head can be enough to end a man’s life. The risk is too great.”

  “The other two were just electrocuted.”

  Penny moved over to the third guard and picked up the gun, handing it to Luke. “It was just a little zap. That spell stuns the target. It’s harmless.”

  “Why are you giving the gun to me?” Luke asked. “I don’t want a gun.”

  She shrugged. “We don’t know how strong the boss is. In the Tutorial Dungeon, we were over fifty people fighting against a slime thing, and we still almost lost. I just figure it can’t hurt with a little more firepower.”

  Luke looked at the weapon in his hand. Apparently, the weapon restriction he’d experienced in the Tutorial Dungeon didn’t apply to Earth weapons. He hadn’t dropped the gun the moment Penny handed it over. Still, this thing wouldn’t work.

  “Back at the orb, the cops tried shooting at the undead, remember? It doesn’t damage monsters,” he said.

  “Oh, right,” Penny said. “Now I remember. Just take the magazine out and toss it into a toilet, then.”

  He looked it over. “How?”

  “Men!” Penny said with a sigh, taking it back. The magazine slid out, and she pulled back the top of the gun, which made a bullet pop out. Penny grabbed it in the air, then dropped the gun on the still unconscious guard.

  “How long until they wake up?” Lucy asked.

  “Don’t know. On monsters and the like, it’s supposed to be two minutes. I think it’s longer on humans.”

  She turned to Mateo. “Got any more rope?”

  “Yes,” he said, his expression somber and thoughtful.

  “What’s wrong?” Luke asked.

  “I just hope we won’t see nefarious types take advantage of Integrate powers and use them for evil.”

  Lucy snorted. “I’m surprised that hasn’t happened already. That’ll be coming soon.”

  “I will pray it does not,” Mateo said.

  “Can we focus on the queen for now, please?” Luke said. “There’s nothing we can do about societal change right this minute.”

  Sounds of people on the stairs made Ilya head down, and Luke heard her explain how there was nothing to worry about to a woman who asked if everything was alright. With the still unconscious guards trussed up and gagged, they moved the three of them into the men’s bathroom, leaving them there after Luke made sure the other two weren’t Hollows.

  With that out of the way, it was time to kill a queen.