Alex and Murphy drove down a road lined with near mansions before arriving at one that left no doubt as to its mansion-ness.

“You called it,” Alex muttered. “Where’d her money come from?”

“Inheritance,” said Murphy.

Alex huffed. “Typical.”

“Her dad was some little-known entrepreneur during the tech boom at the turn of the century.”

“Oh, what I wouldn’t give to have a little-known dad,” Alex said as they drove tentatively toward a wrought-iron gate, which barricaded a long cobblestone drive up a hill to the house.

“One of those guys who sold before the company went huge,” Murphy said.

“I don’t really care, Murph.” Alex got out of the car and approached the gate. There was a small keypad on the side, and something that looked like a speaker.

Just as she was about to press the call button a voice came through and made her jump.

“No solicitors! Can you not read?” The voice was female and snooty.

Alex glanced around in confusion, but did notice a sign beside the keypad that said as much.

“We’re not solicitors!”

“We have no expected visitors. So what else could you be?”

“We’re here to see Em.”

Though Em was not her given name, Alex went with her gut, trusting there was a reason she had been Em (Just Em) in the game.

“Ms. Marsden has no expected visitors. Her schedule has been cleared for… personal matters.”

“Like playing a beta for Pantheon Online?” Alex asked.

“Er, how could you…”

“This is a matter of great importance regarding a mutual friend. I promise you, Em will want to—”

The gate groaned a little as it began to open.

Murph shook his head with a grin as Alex hopped back in the car, and they made their way up the long driveway to the Marsden mansion. It gave Alex the impression of a new structure trying to look like it was from another time and place. The front entrance was flanked by large granite pillars, and there was a circular corner of the home built as though it were a castle tower. The entire mansion was made of stone, which stood out in contrast to the modern glass-dominated houses they’d passed further down the road.

A woman emerged from the front door, dressed in a well-tailored pant suit with short sleeves in the jacket. The sleeves of her white shirt were rolled up to the elbows.

“I thought you said she…”

“That’s not her,” said Murph, and put his beater in park.

“You think she’s a butler or something?” Alex asked. “Do rich people still have those?”

Murph shrugged.

Alex stepped out and walked up a short ramp from the drive to the front entrance.

“Come in,” was all the female butler said.

She motioned Alex through the door and they emerged in a vast room. It took open concept to a different level. It was like a vast interior courtyard, with a lush garden and fountain in the center. There was a foyer and a reading nook and a sort of bistro area—all part of the same massive hall. It looked less like a house, and more like something from a European resort, or at least what Alex imagined a European resort to look like.

Doors lined the edges of the courtyard, all of them much taller and wider than any doors Alex had ever had. A pair of French doors were thrown open to a library towering with books.

The butler motioned her to follow past the library and around the garden. They stopped outside a door on the far side of the mansion, and the butler paused.

“I should warn you,” the woman said, “Ms. Marsden just came out of the game, and that rarely means she’s in a good mood.”

“I’ll manage,” Alex said.

The butler opened the door, and light flooded into the dark room. Another house attendant—Alex hated the idea of a servant, but she supposed that was what the man was—was helping a woman out of a seat reminiscent of a dentist’s. The white chair was illuminated by a variety of glowing blue lights and long tubes protruded from a long robotic arm on the back.

Alex was surprised to find that Em did not have red hair, as she did in the game, or in the picture Murph had found online. The real Em had a short shock of nearly white blonde hair that she slicked back over her head, and her upper body was impressively muscular. Though she had strange disks embedded in her forearms and the back of her neck.

The attendant lowered Em into a sleek wheelchair, and she slumped in the seat for a moment, a look of frustration on her face.

A tall and very pale woman who’d been seated beside the Virtuality Core console strode over to Em and clasped her shoulder. “A short break is a good idea, anyway.”

“Er, your visitor is here,” the butler announced from the doorway.

Em scowled and spun her chair around to face Alex. “Let’s make this quick. Shit is currently going down in-game, and I need to get back pronto. Who are you? An associate of my father or something?”

Alex shook her head. “You’re… Emery Marsden?”

“Just Em, thank you very much.” She looked Alex over with a furrowed brow. “Do I… know you?”

“We’ve met before.”

“IRL?”

“No.”

Realization crossed her face. “You’re that elf. The one who died in the crypt. Damn, you look just like her.”

Alex nodded. “We need to talk. About Gunnar Ashwood.”

Em glanced over at the pale woman, who grimaced and shook her head.

“I’m sorry,” Em said. “I’m not supposed to talk about other players in the game. Part of the NDA.”

“Oh, give me a break,” Alex said. “We were both there.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated with another glance at the pale woman.

Alex’s stomach churned. Was she from Virtuality? Because that would really complicate things, considering they had just been hacking into Virtuality a few hours ago. Considering what Virtuality had done to her brother.

She feared all this was a huge mistake, but it left her with nothing more to lose.

“I just came from Gunnar’s funeral,” Alex said.

Em’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t speak.

“Jake’s funeral,” Alex continued. “That’s his real name.”

“I don’t understand,” Em said. “I saw him in-game a short while ago. He can’t be dead.”

“He’s not dead,” Alex said. “He was set up.”

Em glanced at the pale woman again.

“I’m sorry,” said Alex, “but who the hell is she?”

“A friend,” the woman said.

“And an investor in Pantheon Online,” Em added. “She’s the reason I was able to get ahold of one of these consoles while the game was still in beta.”

“You might know me in-game as Ariadne,” the woman said.

“The goddess?” Alex asked incredulously.

“I’m intrigued by this funeral business you speak of,” Ariadne said. “But first, I can’t help but wonder how someone like you also managed to enter the game before launch.”

Alex flinched, but there was no going back now. “My step-brother interned for Virtuality. Worked on the installation of the hardware for immersion. Hours before he died, he called me. Said the company was up to some nefarious shit. Hours later, he died. In a car wreck, supposedly.”

“Wait,” said Em, “so, he’s not a criminal like the others?”

“What are you talking about?” Alex asked.

“Most of the early players were convicted felons,” Ariadne said. “A low-risk way to test the technology.”

Alex clenched her fists so tight her nails dug into her palms. “He’s not a criminal, and he’s not dead, and I need your help to find him and figure out what the hell’s going on!”

Em whispered something to Ariadne, and the woman nodded.

“I think I can help you,” Em said. “I’ve got a second console in the next room. I reckon that’s the best shot you have at speaking with him. I’ve got a doc who can get the hardware installed, and once you’re in, I’m sure I can get you to him. But we’ve got a problem before any of that.”

“What?” Alex asked.