Shaking her head, Mildid turned back to Cecilia and Detrick. “I’ve been alive for more than 3,000 years, and I’ve never heard a tale as outrageous as this,” she said.

When the food had finished cooking, she had served each of them a steak smothered in buttered vegetables and an ear of corn. She gave them cups of water and even had forks and knives.

Cecilia watched Detrick slice through the meat, spear it, and put it in his mouth. His eyes had rolled in his ...