(The story begins here.)
(The last recap is here.)
“Hold your fire until the thing actually reaches the filaments,” Dr. Fleming warned Clio. “The whole point is to make sure our filament connects the thing with the power source above.”
“What if that just strengthens it?” Lassiter asked.
“It won’t. If it did, the thing wouldn’t bother with the globe. No, it needs the power to be converted into a more usable form.”
The Shiny One rose slowly with its load.
“Keep going,” the doctor muttered. “That’s a good monster.”
“Go toward the light,” Shafer said.
“Idiot—there’s no light up there.”
“There will be when she shoots that arrow.” Shafer spat again for good measure, and the doctor said, “Fire!”
The arrow’s trajectory brought it slightly through the Shiny One, and the damp filament left a strange and visible trail before it connected with another filament. Multicolored lightning blazed through the misty creature, which glowed brilliantly.
“The wall’s open!” Shafer called, and the others piled through just before a blast of incandescence filled the cavern.
Darren blinked as he tried to regain his vision. “Did that destroy it?”
“And the cave too, no doubt,” the doctor replied.
“Wall won’t open,” Shafer observed.
“Can’t blame it,” Lassiter said. “Is the thing really dead this time?”
“Yeah,” Shafer said. “Blew the whole thing that time. Besides, you can feel when a Dehros dies.”
“You’ve done this before?” Lassiter asked.
“Yeah. The Tehros use me as a decoy. I don’t mind—you get a better view that way.”
“So now what?” Dr. Fleming asked. “Can we go home?”
“Sure. And when we get back, you’ll have enough miles to come through yourself next time. Try it! It’s more fun to figure out for yourself.”
So saying, Shafer did something near the cart and directed them to get in. This time even he didn’t seem inclined to raise his arms and yell.
Next: Back on the Trail
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