The giant insect lay sprawled on the sand, its once-blazing red eyes now dull and ashen, its body still and broken. A faint heat still radiated from it, but the fight was over.
The Hellbounds gathered around it in a loose half-circle, the quiet settling heavy on the blood-streaked dunes. Joseph stood at the front, sword resting across his shoulder, his blond curls disheveled, yet his confidence intact. To his right, James loitered lazily with his hands in his pockets, his breathing heavy. Damien and Jenna stood a few paces back to Joseph's left, side by side, still catching their breath.
Farther behind them, Blythe knelt over the two dead Hellbound girls, her white sundress streaked with blue ichor. The Grey Monk stood beside her silently, his spear planted in the sand, while the bubble girl crouched nearby, quiet and pale.
James broke the silence first, his raspy voice carrying across the group."Who gets to absorb it?" He gestured vaguely at the carcass.
