Summary

Although the monster is gone, Oscar knows it isn’t the root of the problem. He tells Callie how he dumped all the magic he could on the ground to sate the hunger, but that it needed much more. He tells her that the hole is still there, and monsters will continue to come as long as there is enough magic left to create one and admits that he doesn’t think there should be any more magic. Callie agrees and they spend the evening going through the library, but find no precedent for getting rid of magic. They realize that it is like any other system and they have to introduce something that will affect the entire circulatory system.

Eventually Callie heads home. Oscar looks out at the deserted marketplace. The shuttered bakery reminds him of how things used to be...