Seth wanted to pretend that Jack Coyote had called the wrong number. Then he realized there was no way that would work because they'd already exchanged several texts. It would be more believable if the connection accidentally (on purpose) cut off due to bad cell service.

But in the end, Seth did neither of those things. It was better not to make things worse.

"I'm sorry," he finally said into the phone.

He caught Mrs Beakor's gaze for a second, then looked away. In the tiny cramped space of the car, he realized both Chadley and Mrs Beakor would be able to hear his half of the conversation. How awkward.

There was nothing but silence on the other side of the phone.

Feeling somewhat pressured, Seth reluctantly continued. "I told you I had a good reason for it."

"Oh? Do tell."

The icy sarcasm on the words nearly froze Seth's ear. Yep, Jack was definitely angry.

Seth took a moment to consider carefully what he was about to say. Jack knew a frightening amount about Eliona, but Seth had never revealed to him anything about the Keepers and the Towers.

"Look, it's like this," he cautiously began. "The dungeon we're doing in the mines... Well, as it turns out, there's a few others like it. The Fang have found one, and so I kind of ah, made a trade with them."

There was a long, slow exhale of breath on the phone. It sounded very ominous. Sensing a rising danger, Seth hastily continued.

"The Fang agreed to help protect me from the Knights and the other clans. In return, I just have to heal for them a few times. It's no big deal."

"Is that so."

"Yes," Seth nodded, forgetting that Jack couldn't see him.

"What is this other dungeon like?" The voice on the other side was deceptively calm. It sounded more mature than the tone that Jack's character used in Eliona, and gave the impression that it came from an older man.

Seth gazed out the window, frowning a little.

"It's nothing like the Mines. It's more of a mental challenge than anything. We all give it one try, then go home. It takes less than an hour. It's really nothing, Jack."

"So you stay online for five hours at a time," came the cold response. "Or longer. How did you circumnavigate the System's imposed limit?"

A chill skittered down Seth's spine. How could he answer that? He remained silent, inwardly trying to figure out what to say.

"It's the Veiled," Jack stated. "Isn't it? Everything leads to them."

Seth found himself wishing for a regular scolding, not whatever this was. This was too frightening.

"Jack..." he began hesitantly.

"What's in those dungeons, Severance? What's pushing the Veiled, the Fang, and now the other clans towards them?"

Seth pressed a clammy palm against his eyes. He'd made a mistake. He should never have mentioned the Fang were attempting a similar dungeon. It was just a small little detail, but it seemed to have revealed far too much to Jack.

"Seth?" From the front seat, Mrs Beakor quietly called his name.

He lowered his hand, and shook his head at her. It's fine, he mouthed at her.

"I can't tell you that," Seth said into the phone. He knew it was good as admitting that he knew what was going on, but what difference would it make? Jack already had all kinds of suspicions.

"No?" The ice in the other man's tone was palpable.

"It's not that I don't want to. It's that I promised not to talk about it." Even as he spoke, Seth felt rather guilty. Hadn't he already told four people? Two of them were even in the car with him right now! He awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I see."

Seth scrambled for a lifeline. "I would if I could! But hey, anyway, you said you knew Eusebius, right? How did you meet him?"

Silence stretched out between them. Just as Seth thought Jack wouldn't reply, the other man answered in clipped words.

"I ran across him once before in the mountains. He was torturing two Vigilant civilians."

Seth felt a little bewildered. "Torturing?"

"Yes," Jack answered coldly. "He cut off their fingers and toes one by one. Then, while they begged for mercy, he went on to cut off their ears. Slice by slice, he—"

"Stop!" Seth blurted, his face a little pale.

"What's the matter? Don't you want to know more about the person you are helping?"

"I... no! Maybe he had a reason to-"

Jack chuckled softly. The sound of it raised the hairs on the back of Seth's neck.

"Does a rabid dog need a reason to bite?"

Seth couldn't respond. He already felt terribly ashamed of what he'd just said. A reason! Would reason could there be for such cruel torture? How could he even think to defend such a thing?

He felt sick.

"Severance, this is the kind of people the Fang are. They have no regard for others. You can't trust them."

"I know that," Seth returned. "I'm not a complete idiot."

"Just mostly an idiot," came the rebuttal. "You would trust a mob of killers over your own teammate."

Seth stayed quiet. He couldn't say anything to that because it was true. Even worse, he was starting to think like them.

An uncomfortable silence settled between them.

"There's a rather well-known player in Russia," Jack finally said. "He went by the name of Trigger Five. You may not have heard of him, as he plays in a different time frame than you, but he's one of the Vigilant's top Shades. He hit level cap nearly three weeks ago, and he's got a team that has yet to be matched."

Seth listened, a crease digging into his brow. Why was Jack telling him this out of the blue?

"There's rumors going around that he and his team have found a dungeon... one that they've been trying to beat for the past two weeks."

Jack paused, yet Seth still didn't speak. He merely stared out the window with narrowed eyes. His thoughts churned. A dungeon that took weeks to beat could only really be one thing. And this time, it was the Vigilant behind it. Out of all the clans, the Vigilant was the largest of the "good" clans, so if this rumor were true, then perhaps it wasn't a bad thing at all if they ended up with a Tower.

"But that's not important right now," Jack went on. "What is is the fact that Trigger Five has gone missing. He hasn't logged into Eliona in four days. His teammates have been asking around about him, and their attempts to contact him have all failed. He has never missed a day."

"So?" Seth finally spoke. "Missing days aren't so strange. Life happens."

"Yes, but there's a couple of interesting details." Jack stated coldly. "One, Trigger Five is well known to have three high-level Gifts. And two, his actual identity on Earth has been revealed. He's the heir of a Russian mogul, and guess what? He's officially gone missing there as well. His father is raising quite a stink, but nothing's been found out."

As he listened, Seth began to grow uneasy. "Do you think—?"

"Yes, I do think it's related. Severance, I'm warning you now. Do not reveal your identity to anyone. Make some back up plans. We'll talk more in Eliona, but starting thinking about an escape plan, and a hideout or two."

Seth exhaled softly. What was Jack even saying? "Isn't that a bit extreme?"

"Is it? You're the only healer in endgame content that has been known to tangle with the Fallen Knights in melee combat. Not only that, but your agility is on par with Shades. Severance, anyone with a brain is going to realize you're highly Gifted. Tell me, when word gets out of a healer on Earth capable of healing practically anything with just a wave of the hand, do you think you'll be safe?"

"Ah." Well, that was one way to put it. "Crap."

"Exactly."

"It's not like I can do that, though. Using those skills on Earth will suck anyone dry. Literally. You'll die within weeks if you use them too much."

Jack chuckled softly. "Do you think they'll care?"

Seth didn't need to ask who 'they' were. Anyone with enough power and money, from governments to rich tycoons would probably jump at the chance to access unlimited healing.

"Yeah, I get it. I'll start thinking of some ideas," he said.

"Good. And Severance?"

"What?"

"I truly do want to help you. So even if you are unwilling to talk to me, please take what I've said to heart. Prepare for the worst and be ready."

Seth watched the outside world fly past the window, not really seeing it. Instead, he tried to picture Jack Coyote on the other side of the phone. The other person sounded older than his in-game persona. Older and more tired, though with the same coldness that Seth was used to.

"I will," he finally said, then blurted out, "How old are you, anyway?"

A pause. Then, that frigid voice said, "Good-bye, Severance."

The call ended.

Seth dropped his phone on the seat beside him and sighed. "Crap."

"Who was that?" Mrs Beakor asked, glancing back at him again.

"That was Jack." Seth scooted over and leaned forward into the little space between the two front seats. "He told me about a high-ranking player who went missing, both in Eliona and on Earth. He had three high level Gifts, and Jack was thinking he probably exhibited some abilities and caught some attention for it."

Chadley grunted, his eyes remaining firmly on the road. He drove with both hands on the wheel. "Name?"

"Trigger Five was his in-game name. He was the son of some Russian mogul."

"Hn."

Even though Chadley said nothing further, Seth knew the other man would be digging into it later tonight.

"What else did he say?" Mrs Beakor nudged him with her bony elbow. Her tone was light, yet her dark eyes were incomparably sharp.

Seth made a face. "Not too much apart from scolding me. But he did tell me to start making plans to go into hiding. No one knows who I am in Eliona, but Jack thinks they might try to find me because I'll probably be able to heal in real life."

"You can heal in real life, kiddo. But you're not going to, right?"

Seth immediately nodded. "Right."

He didn't want to waste away like Ervante.

"Good." Bony fingers patted his head. "But that Jack had good advice. I was already thinking about this."

He gave her a long look. Was there anything this old woman didn't think of? He wondered what it would be like if she and Jack ever met. Who would win the stand-off?

Ha. He'd put his bet on Mrs Beakor.