I turned a sad look back at the skoolie as we left with nothing but the clothes on our backs, Rowan's sword, and his knapsack of snacks.
He followed my gaze, then slowly nodded like he understood. “She'll still be there when we come back. Or, when I come back. I'll bring her back to us."
“The Land wouldn't bury her?" I remembered the day we first met, how he said the Land would bury the dead stranger faster than we could.
Rowan smiled proudly at his mechanical steed. “She wasn't buried when I found her. She never buries."
I didn't understand how this worked, but I didn't need to.
He double-checked the compass on his wristwatch, then led the way through the loose white sand.
“What sort of drunk would you say you are?" he asked, pulling a flask from a knapsack pocket.
“It depends on
