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leading his newly reinforced ranks into the battle again.
    â€œHow long do you think we can hold them?” Thomas demanded.
    â€œAnother hour. Maybe two.”
    Thomas paced and muttered under his breath. “That may not be enough!”
    â€œSir, please. You have to tell me what’s going on. There’s a reason I’m your second in command. If you can’t, I am needed back on the battlefield.”
    â€œThere was once a way to bring a cliff like this down. It was a long time ago, written about in the Books of Histories. Very few remember, but I do.”
    â€œAnd?”
    Exactly. And what?
    â€œI think it was called an explosion. A large ball of fire with tremendous strength. What if we could figure out how to cause an explosion?”
    She looked at him with a wrinkled brow.
    â€œThere was a time when I could get specific information about the histories. What if I could retrieve specific information on how to cause an explosion?”
    â€œThat’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard! We’re in the middle of a battle here. You expect to go on some kind of expedition to find information on the histories? You have battle fatigue!”
    â€œNo, not an expedition. I’m not sure it would even work. I’ve taken the fruit so long.” The idea swelled in his mind and with it an excitement. “It would be the first time in fifteen years I haven’t eaten the fruit. What if I can still dream?”
    She stared at him as if he’d gone mad. Below them the battle still raged.
    â€œI would need to sleep; that’s the only problem.” He paced, eager for this idea now. “What if I can’t sleep?”
    â€œSleep? You want to sleep? Now?”
    â€œDream!” he said, fist clenched. “I need to dream. I could dream as I used to and learn how to blow this cliff down!”
    Mikil had been struck dumb.
    â€œDo you have a better idea?” he asked forcefully.
    â€œNot yet,” she managed.
    What if he couldn’t dream? What if the rhambutan required several days to wear off?
    Thomas faced the canyon. He glanced at the far cliff, its fault line clear where the milky white rock turned red. In two hours all of his men would be dead.
    But if he did have an explosive . . .
    Thomas bounded for his horse and swung into the saddle.
    â€œThomas!”
    â€œFollow me!”
    She followed at a gallop up the path to the cliff ’s lip. He swept past the first post and yelled at a full run.
    â€œDelay them! Do whatever you must, but hold them until dark. I have a way.”
    â€œThomas! What way?” came the cry.
    â€œJust hold them!” And then he was past.
    Do you have a way, Thomas?
    He ran all the way down the line of archers and catapult teams, passing encouragement to each battery. “Hold them! Hold them till dark! Slow the pace. We have a way. If you hold them until dark, we have a way!”
    Mikil said nothing.
    When they passed the last catapult, Thomas pulled up.
    â€œI’m with you only because you’ve saved my life a dozen times and I’ve sworn my own to you,” Mikil said. “I hope you know that.”
    â€œFollow me.”
    He led her behind an outcropping of boulders and looked around. Good enough. He dismounted.
    â€œWhat are we doing here?” she asked.
    â€œWe’re dismounting.” He found a rock the size of his fist and weighed it in one hand. As much as he disliked the thought of being hit in the head, he saw no alternative. There was no way he could fall asleep on his own. Not with so much adrenaline coursing through his veins.
    â€œHere you go. I want you to knock me on the head. I need to sleep, but that’s not going to happen, so you have to knock me unconscious.”
    She looked around uncomfortably. “Sir—”
    â€œKnock me out! That’s an order. And hit me hard enough to do the job on the first try. Once I’m out, wake me up in ten