TWILIGHT ARRIVED, and the storm departed. The winds died away into breezes and then into stillness, the dust and grit settled, and the air freshened. Three of the four horizons returned for a short time in the form of stark outlines against the deep blue of the sky—mountains east, hills north, and plains south. Then darkness descended and swallowed everything but the moon and the stars. The weary members of the caravan dug themselves out, brushed themselves off, ate a much-needed dinner, and settled in for the night. Groups formed and dispersed, one after the other, exchanging stories and encouragements, rehashing what had happened and speculating on what lay ahead. In the distance, west of where they were encamped, visible until the darkness cloaked it and audible even after that, the dust storm raged undiminished, a blinding wall of swirling debris and raging winds. Somewhere in that haze was the army of the demons and once-men. Somewhere, too, was a missing Knight of the Word.

Owl sat with Sparrow, River, and Candle, and all four spoke of him in hushed, worried tones.

“I think he’s done what we’ve done,” Owl said, steadfast in her optimism, the one who always adopted the most positive outlook. “He’s found shelter to wait out the storm. It’s just taking him longer to get free of it.”

Sparrow frowned. “I don’t know. He should have been here by now. He has that big AV to drive. He could drive through a dust storm.”

“I don’t know . . .,” River said, trailing off.

“I hope the demons didn’t find him,” Candle said quietly. “I don’t want anybody else to get hurt.”

No one spoke for a moment, thinking as one of Fixit. The survivors of the bridge defenders had arrived just as the storm was closing in, but their news of what had happened two days earlier in the battle with the demon army had only just begun to circulate. It was Cat, come back with the defenders, who had told Owl of the death of Fixit and the disappearance of Logan Tom. Then she’d gone off by herself, and they hadn’t seen her since.

“Fixit was so brave,” River said. “I couldn’t have done what he did.”

“It won’t seem like a family without him and Chalk,” Sparrow added. “Not like we’re a whole family anymore.”

“We’re a whole family,” Owl insisted. “We just have to start over. We just have to go on with our lives. This has been very hard and very sad. None of us thought we wouldn’t all get to where we are going. But three of us are gone, and we can’t change that. If we want to make losing them matter, we must tell ourselves that giving up is not the answer. Going on is how we can heal.”