“I guess so.” He looked up at Tom. “Does that mean you’re not really here and that this is some kind of coma thing? Like I’m having one of those vision thingies they talk about in books?”

Tom gave an elaborate shrug. “How would I know, little brother? You’re the hero with the magic sword. I’m just a ghost—who is considerably better-looking than you.”

“Hey!”

“I’m just saying.”

They stood there, grinning at each other.

“I love you, Tom.”

“Love you too, Benny.”

Tom turned and walked away, and Benny let him go.

-2-

“WELCOME BACK TO THE WORLD,” SAID PHOENIX RILEY.

Benny cranked open one eyelid and saw her perched on a chair a few feet away. “Nix,” he said, his voice as weak as a whisper. He lay on a cot surrounded by a screen of sheets hung from metal poles.

“Benny!” Nix flew to him, but her hands were so gentle and tentative. She covered his face with a hundred quick kisses.

He tried to raise his head, to kiss her, but that was impossible. His head hurt too much, and his muscles felt like limp spaghetti. Nix looked worn thin, her face pale, her red hair hanging limp.

“How . . . bad is it . . . ?” he asked, not really wanting to know.

“You . . . almost slipped away from us,” she said, and her smile was a little too bright, her laugh a bit too forced. “God . . . this was the longest week of my life!”

“Week?”

“Benny, we’ve been here for eight days.”

He gaped at her.

“I thought I lost you, Benny,” she said, and she held his hand with all her strength. She bent and kissed his knuckles.

“Where are we?” he asked “This place . . . is this Sanctuary?”

She nodded, sniffed, and dabbed at her eyes, but she kept her smile bolted in place.

“It’s on an old military base,” she said as she helped him sit up. She was very careful with him, as if he were made of glass. “It’s run by the way-station monks. There are a couple hundred of them here.”

All Benny could see was the curtain. “Where is everybody?”

“They’re here,” she said, but her eyes darted away for a moment. “We’re all here.”

“I want to see Lilah and Chong.”

Nix hesitated. “Okay,” she said eventually. “Let me get your robe and mask.”

“Mask?”

“Everyone has to wear them in the houses. It’s confusing . . . it’s easier if you see it.”

Nix helped him stand and put on a robe made of heavy wool. Then she took a blue cotton mask and tied it around his mouth and nose. She put one on too.

“Sanctuary isn’t exactly what we thought it was,” she said, and her voice sounded ready to crack.

Nix slowly pushed back the curtains, and Benny stared wide-eyed.