“You can do no more to me than the Leash-holder permits. And even if he permitted you to kill me, my death would be the doorway to joy unimaginable. You will not win, Pretender. You cannot win.”

Flies buzzed around him, crawling again across his lidless eyes. Like a decrepit old field bull with a rope tied around its neck, tethered to the fence, he didn’t have the energy to swat them off.

I walked away, an exhausted soldier, finding a stretch of grass on which to rest my head. The beast did not follow me. I saw Marcus nowhere. I lay quietly, speaking to the King. There was much I needed to say to him. After I spoke to him at length, I sat up and read the TravelGuide and listened to him. He too had much to say. I listened harder than I ever had before.

I smelled something on my right hand, like the residue of a snake. Hearing the chatter of water falling on stones, I walked to the stream, bent down, and washed my hand, rubbing it against mossy rocks, finally ridding it of the stench.

I walked back toward the red road as the darkness surrendered to daylight. Soon I saw my comrades sitting by the road, as if they were waiting. When they saw me, they stood, looking uncertain.

I walked toward them, then broke into a run. I heard something at my feet and looked down to see Frodo’s puckered lips and white teeth—a warm welcome home.

“I’m so sorry for the way I’ve acted,” I said to all of them. “Forgive me, please.”

Shad embraced me. Gordy did too, insisting I hadn’t done anything wrong. I knew better. Malaiki hugged me. I looked at Victoria.

“Never again will I speak like that,” I whispered to her. “Please forgive me, sister.”

She looked at me, an odd expression on her face. She nodded.

“Please,” I said to Shad, “lead us.”

“I’m returning the clothes you got me,” I said to Gordy. “They’re rightfully yours. And please, let me carry some of your things.”

He refused, but I insisted. I hoisted my own half-sack of rocks and his two sacks, one full, determined not to complain about their weight. Surprisingly, the whole load seemed lighter than what I’d carried before.

“Wait,” Shad said, after we’d traveled just a few minutes. “Even though it’s midafternoon, in honor of your return, let’s set up camp now and throw a party!”

“Are you all right, Shad?” Victoria asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say the word ‘party.’ ”

“Perhaps I should say it more often,” he said, smiling.