Dumbee and the others climbed the mountain as they had the day before. ‘This time,’ Dumbee thought in frustration and despair as he held The Light under one arm, and ran the other hand along the mountain-side, ‘all hope…is lost.’
When they reached the top, the sun was setting. Dumbee sat down with The Light in his arms and watched the sun until it had disappeared somewhere below Cacklewitch.
“So,” Cilious said. “How do we get that strange girl to come back so that we can give her…er…that thing?”
“We don’t,” Idior said, grinning, “because I threw the book down the mountain. I thought we probably didn’t need it anymore. I wanted to see it drop.”
Dumbee jumped up and kicked Idior in the shin. Idior hopped about on one leg, clutching the other and howling in pain.
Dumbee stared down on The Light, glowing in her safe little bubble, nestled in the dark grass. ‘Your anger is your end,’ he heard her say inside of his mind.
