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‘Gave me quite the scare, too, when he suddenly popped back up, even angrier than before! Thrashed me somethin’ fierce! So look forward to that, buddy!’

A part of him was. He wasn’t about to admit that to this fool, though. ‘I cannot sense Kallmakk’s presence clearly any longer. If he is not dead, then where has he gone?’

‘Everywhere. All around us. I think he’s melting into the shadows as we speak. Then, when he’s ready, he’ll spring out again and smack you upside the head. Probably via some kind of sucker punch, too. Real sneaky jerk, this fella. So don’t say I didn’t warn ya.’

Hmph. Morgunov was being oddly helpful. And Dozer had an idea as to why. Before potentially burning that bridge, however, he decided that he should get a bit more use out of it. ‘You’ve been studying these creatures extensively, have you not?’

‘Sure have.’

‘And you have discovered no common weaknesses? Nothing we can exploit here?’

‘Nope. Every feldeath is unique, just as the old masters claimed they were. I really hate it when old wisdom turns out to have been right all along, but I also gotta give credit where credit is due, I guess.’

‘Hmph.’

‘But for Kallmakk here, I’m thinking maybe we need more light. If it’s escaping into the shadows when it’s wounded, then perhaps the solution would be to remove all shadows from the area, eh?’

‘Interesting.’

‘Easier said than done, though, since the bugger can generate its own new shadows. Doesn’t have to rely on the environment.’

‘What do you mean it can “generate” them? Surely, it is merely the suppression of light, not the generation of anything new.’

‘Oh, yeah, if feldeaths were bound by the laws of physics, then sure, you’d be right. But from what I’ve observed, Kallmakk’s shadows have actual mass to them. Which, frankly, is making me slightly worried that it’s going to start slinging black holes at us one of these days, but that hasn’t happened yet. Thankfully.’

Wonderful. ‘So we will be needing a truly overwhelming source of light, then.’

‘That’s what I’m thinkin’. Not quite sure how to pull it off, though.’

Dozer paused. He supposed he’d gotten enough. He could push now. ‘Is that the truth? Or have you simply not been trying hard enough?’

‘Excuse me? You callin’ me lazy? I am offended, sir!’

‘Perhaps because you have been too preoccupied with trying to kill Germal, instead.’

‘Ah...’

‘Explain yourself.’