Ahmad blinked at her. They were kids. They didn’t have driver’s licenses. Why would it be meant for them?

Then again, they were currently plummeting down through space and time toward a city that had previously resided only in his dreams. There was no other time to think or question. They had to act now.

“Winnie, I think you’re right! The car! It’s on that ledge we’re headed toward!” he shouted. “I think our best bet is to try and land there!”

They batted their arms and flailed their legs against the thick city air. Ahmad flung out one hand. If he could only reach. There!

He caught the ledge and heard Winnie yelp as she narrowly grasped it beside him. They dragged themselves up and stared at the car. It wasn’t entirely a car so much as a hybrid with one of the rickshaws that had flown past them, an awning over the body and futuristic lightning bolts on its doors. Inside, a console covered with flickering buttons mushroomed over the dashboard and seemed to grow around the steering wheel.

Ahmad and Winnie exchanged glances.

“Do you know how to drive?” Ahmad asked.

Winnie shrugged. “How hard can it be?” Looking at Ahmad’s panicked face, she sighed. “Get in the car. Let’s at least look for clues.”

“That girl said to enjoy every drop of Paheli. I don’t think that was an accident,” Ahmad said, reaching for the driver’s door.

Winnie climbed in on the passenger side. “What we need is a map,” she declared. She felt along the console for a glove compartment. Ahmad reached out to join her and winced as his fingers made contact with a big black button.

Uh-oh.

“Ahmad!” Winnie looked up, eyes wide, but before she could scold him, the car whirred to life beneath them. With a flash and a hum, it careened off the ledge where it had been parked and into the open air.

“We’re falling!” Ahmad shouted.

Ahmad and Winnie reached for each other. Ahmad clenched his eyes shut, ready for the free fall. But it didn’t come.

“Ahmad! Ahmad!” Winnie said. “Open your eyes and move so I can steer, or else we’ll really be in trouble!”

Ahmad opened his eyes and gasped.

The car was flying. Well, it was jerking up and down, narrowly scraping against building sides and being honked at by angry rickshaw drivers teetering back and forth on their jet-powered bicycles, but it was flying.

“Ahmad. I’m not joking. Move.”

Winnie sighed, exasperated. She clambered forward, taking hold of the wheel. Ahmad quickly pressed himself against the window.

“My cousin’s got a go-kart,” she said. “I think it’s more or less the same.”

“You just rolled your eyes at me when I asked you if you knew how to drive!”