Five days left. She stared at the face of the watch, willing the second hand to run slower. And it’ll take at least a couple of days to get back to the portal-book from here. I’m running out of time. She shook her head wearily.

“Someone should stand guard,” she said. “If there are dangerous creatures around here, I don’t want one of them sneaking up on us while we’re all snoring.”

“I’ll keep an eye out,” Flicker said. “Get some rest.”

“Don’t you need to sleep?”

“I don’t think we sleep the same way you do,” he said. “We rest, but we’re not . . . you know.” He frowned. “Unconscious.”

Now that she thought about it, Alice couldn’t recall seeing Flicker close his glowing red eyes. “You’re sure?”

“Trust me.” He shrugged. “You actually scared me the first time you went to sleep and woke up again. For us, it’s a bit like dying and coming back to life.”

Alice laughed. “Good enough for me. What about you, Erdrodr? Do your people sleep standing on their heads or something?”

“What?” The ice giant had been staring into the fire. “No. Why? It seems like that wouldn’t be very comfortable.”

“Never mind,” Alice said. “I’m going to bed.”

She crawled in through the tent flap, dragging her pack behind her. Erdrodr had brought three sleeping rolls along—it wasn’t much more than a strip of shaggy hide, but Alice collapsed onto it as though it were the softest featherbed. She felt ready to drop off instantly, and was deciding whether to bother removing her boots, when the flap rustled.

“Reader?” said Erdrodr.

Alice opened her eyes reluctantly. It didn’t help much. Only a few scraps of illumination from the fire outside snuck in through gaps in the fabric. Erdrodr was a shadow in the deeper darkness.

“What is it?” Alice said.

“I just realized I never thanked you, for what you did. I was so caught up in finally being here—”

“It’s all right,” Alice said. “We had a deal, didn’t we?”

“I said I would get you to the curtain, and I didn’t do it. You didn’t have to go so far for my sake.”

“Maybe not.” Alice shook her head, invisible in the darkness. “It seemed like the right thing to do.”

“It probably seems stupid to you, my wanting to come here so badly just to draw things. You’ve got something big and important to do, and I . . .”

“I understand,” Alice said. “And I’m glad you decided to stay with us.”

There was a pause. Alice let her eyes slide closed again.