Book Three: Chapter 101

Mike blinked. It was dark again, or he had actually gone blind this time. He tried to snap his fingers, but he had something lodged in between them.

“Ratu?” He asked. A little ball of fire burst into existence in front of him, slowly expanding to light the room. They were inside the ice cavern, and Mike was holding the silver tongs in his hands. They had melted almost to his fingers. Surveying the room, there was no trace of the box or the dangerous artifact within it.

“Did... did we win?”

“Yes.” Ratu lay on the other side of the chamber, her body limp against the wall. “We escaped. You grabbed the artifact and held it into the candle’s flame, and it was consumed, blasting us apart.”

“I don’t remember any of that,” he said.

“And you might not. Even through the goggles, viewing a part of an Ancient One is dangerous.” Ratu closed her eyes. “We have been unconscious for some time. The tunnel has collapsed. I think I hear the others coming for us, but they