“I don’t know. Not with only one book. Maybe with all four.”

Karas reached into a box on the seat beside her. She carefully lifted out the brown book Johnis had used and then the green one that had brought Silvie through.

“I have the black one,” Karas said, brushing her fingers over the covers as if they held the essence of her very life—which they might well.

“And Darsal?” Johnis asked.

She lifted her eyes. “I don’t know.”

“Then we have to find her.”

Once again, tears filled Karas’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be such a sap. So much has transpired in these last ten years. It’s so good to see you.”

It occurred to Silvie that, for her and Johnis, only two days had passed since they’d left their world to find themselves here, in the Histories. But Karas had survived here, in this hell, for more than ten years. She wouldn’t have guessed such a thing was possible, especially for a ten-year-old. The poor girl had suffered enormously.

“So much has happened.” Karas looked at the two Books of History on her lap. “I hardly know where to start.”

“Tell us everything,” Johnis said.

“In good time, my friend. In good time.” The car slowed, then stopped. “We’re here.”

They exited the car behind Karas and stood before a long, tubular vehicle with fixed wings. It was one of the birds they’d seen fly overhead. Two large mouths were attached to the body, and from these mouths came a high-pitched whine that made Silvie step back.

“Ever dreamed of flying?” Karas asked, beaming.

The idea startled Silvie. “In the sky?”

“Yes, in the sky. Like a bird.”

“In that thing?”

“In that thing.”

Johnis’s eyes were round. “Is it a Chevy?”

“No, it’s a Citation 20. And it’s faster than a Chevy.”

“Fantastic,” Johnis said.

FLYING OVER EARTH AT TWENTY THOUSAND FEET WAS AN experience that made Silvie forget all the disadvantages the Histories had presented up to this point. Neither she nor Johnis seemed to be able to hide their grins, peering out through the round windows.

“One of these contraptions would end the war with the Horde,” Johnis said.

“How so?”

“You could fly over them and drop boulders without any fear of being cut down.”

“Trust me, Johnis, you could drop more than rocks to end the war with the Horde,” Karas said. “But you wouldn’t want to kill so many others like me.”

She still has a soft spot in her heart for the Scabs, Silvie thought, returning her attention to the clouds beneath the airplane.

They talked about the short past they’d shared, beginning with the details of Karas’s rescue from the Horde City. She wanted to rehearse every detail from her memory, just to be sure she’d remembered it all as it really had happened.