Secret of the Giants' Staircase (Amarias Series). Amy Lynn Green

      There it was again. Talk of his parents always made Jesse pull back. But if Parvel noticed, he didn’t say anything. Jesse was glad. Even though Parvel was usually right, he didn’t want a philosophical answer for why suffering and separation existed. He wanted his parents.

      “What is the other squad doing in the swamps, anyway?” Jesse asked, to change the subject.

      Parvel frowned in concentration. “You ought to ask Silas to be sure, but I’m fairly certain they are hunting for the fabled city of the giants, a fortress that would put even the proud city of ancient Lidia to shame.”

      Now Jesse remembered. He had read the entry too. All of them had, though only Silas had memorized all the entries. “In case something happens to the book,” he always said.

      “The stairs,” Jesse said. “There’s a staircase in the center of the giants’ city that holds the secret to their power. They’re looking for the staircase to the sky.”

      “Imagine it,” Parvel said, sweeping his hand toward the stormy sky. “Steps that wind past the tallest of the swamp trees and into the clouds. Perhaps that’s how the giants can leap over to District One to steal disobedient children.”

      “I take it, then, that you don’t believe in the Giants’ Staircase?”

      Parvel shook his head. “No, Jesse. I do not even believe in the giants themselves. Perhaps the Westlunders existed once, but they died out, as many people groups do. They do not live in the swamps.”

      “How can you be sure?”