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elvin sat in the cavern, his hands holding his knees. Mike was on one side of him, smoking a weird reddish brown cigar he got from the nasrans. Jason sat on the other side, looking at the last bit of grains fall in his hourglass.
Just a few feet away from the gray statue of Druze, the Death Null stood quietly. It acted peaceful, even if it didn’t look it. If anything, it still looked ominous, powerfully evil, and dangerous.
Melvin hoped they had done the right thing.
Nothing happened after the last grains fell to the bottom of the hourglass. Either Jason’s calculations were off or the Death Null’s countdown was a lackluster affair.
Suddenly, a brilliant white light filled the roof of the cavern over the Death Null. Black streams descended from the light over the creature. The Death Null reached up towards the light. Then the light flashed, too bright for eyes.
When darkness returned to the cavern, the Death Null was gone.
“I’ve got a strong feeling all Death Null wanted was to go home,” Melvin said.
“Of all the things to peg that creature,” Jason said, “wayward traveler stuck in this world wasn’t one of them.”
“Does everything in the universe get stuck on this rock?” Mike asked, smoke following his words as spoke. “Bet if we look hard enough we’ll find all the socks ever lost in the dryer.”
Melvin’s eyes went to the kneeling marble statue of Rich. His face was serene in the torchlight. He looked noble, like something Michelangelo would’ve carved.
“I was kind of hoping Izal’s cult was onto something,” Melvin said as he looked at the statue. “Rich could use some of that grace about now.”
“Yeah,” Jason said, “but grace would’ve brought back that evil immortal prick too,” he finished nodding at Druze, forever frozen reaching out with horror on his face.
“I should’ve hit that fool harder,” Mike said, puffing on his cigar.
Jason flexed the hand of his bone arm. “At least this still works,” he said. “There’s grace in that.”
Melvin stood up. The others followed suit. Melvin gave his brother a helping hand; Mike looked beat to hell after the night he had.
“What do we do now?” Jason asked.
“What else would we do in a fantasy world of magic?” Melvin asked, letting a smile play across his lips.
“We get Rich back.”