"I'll save the finer details for when you've rested, but the gist of it all is this..." Carefully, she moved them across the lobby toward the elevator which would take them up a floor to the clinic. "Paradisa - the castle, itself - is the living entity. I've no explanation for it, though I've seen evidence in the last few months since my arrival to confirm quite confidently that it is. It gathers the energy it needs from us by changing things - both in ways large and small. The first way it does this is by taking something from every resident: an ability, a memory, an important possession ... it varies, but whatever has been taken from you can't be regained."

She pressed the call button for the elevator and studied Lara's face. As exhausted as she was, there was intelligence in her bearing, and she knew she didn't have to mince words or pussyfoot around with the girl. "Do you follow so far?"