-----“He did what?” _”I didn’t stutter. You heard me well and clear.”_ -----“What in the name of He almighty, are we supposed to do with that?” _”My guess is….set it free.”_ -----“Hmmm. Why does that sound a lot easier to do than it actually will be? _”You’re right there. It took me forever, but I finally figured out what those Egyptian priests meant. The symbols trap it there, but it can leave if it wants to…get it?”_ -----“Uh, no.” _”Simply…Death thinks those symbols can hold him there…but they really can’t. Nothing can hold Death…it’s really old magik.”_ -----“So…you’re telling me, somebody tricked Death…into thinking it could be caught?” _”Yep”_ -----“And setting him free…” _”Means that he’ll know for a fact that the symbols are useless.”_ -----“He’s gonna be mad, ain’t he?” _”Death doesn’t understand emotions as that…but yeah, mad is a good word for it.”_ -----“Exactly how mad are we talking? Not end of the world stuff…right?” _”Christ, do you ever read anything in the basement?”_ -----“Nah, never could get past the shadow things…scares the hell out of me.” _”It would be against the laws of nature…the laws that govern everything. Nothing could cause the end of the world…not by Deaths hand anyway.”_ -----“There’s a ‘but’…there’s always a ‘but’….Come on, what’s gonna happen? We’re both gonna die aren’t we? “ _”No…but…”_ -----“I knew it…DAMNIT…there’s always a ‘but’.” _”We gotta destroy the room…preferably the house.”_ -----“………We live in a duplex…we have neighbors…they might notice.” _”I know. I know. But it has to be done. If we destroy it, then it might not realize about the symbols.”_ -----“But you said….” _”I said that he would be mad.”_ -----“So, what’s the plan?” _”First, we find out when the neighbors are going to be gone for a while. Once the place is clear, I got a couple of spells up my sleeve that should do the trick.”_ -----“Well, there’s a rugby game next week…a couple of local teams. That should get everyone out of the place.” _”Good, then in a week…it’s set. Provided they actually go to the game.”_ -----“I recognized the car when we got back, same people live there as when me and Charlie left…they won’t miss it. But, uh….where are we gonna live after the deed is done?” _”Here, of course.”_ -----“You know how easily I get lost in these talks when you don’t explain anything.” _”The spell will completely destroy the house…for about five minutes.”_ Perry just look dumbfounded. _”THEN…the house reforms. As long as Death realizes that the symbols are gone, he will leave…”_ -----“You know…some of these spells you’ve got…REALLY scare the hell out of me.” _’It wouldn’t bother you if you were to actually go in the basement and read sometimes.”_ NEXT WEEK….