They went at it, sword against nails, and now Annis could see something new in Tanith’s eyes. The panic was gone, the desperation was gone, and Annis suddenly realised it had never been there in the first place. She knew, instinctively, that this had all been planned. But why? What could Tanith possibly have to gain by simply defending, and dodging attacks?

Tanith ducked under another swipe and dropped to the ground. She swung her foot out, hitting Annis in the back of the leg. Annis fell, tried to get up, but Tanith smashed a boot heel into her jaw.

Dazed, Annis swiped at where Tanith had just been, and her nails found nothing but air. She felt something tighten around her ankle, and looked up.

“What’re you doing?” she asked dully.

Tanith had tied the thick rope to Annis’s leg, and for the first time Annis realised that the other end of the rope trailed out of the cave. Tanith gave the rope a little tug, then stood up and stepped back.

“It’s morning,” Tanith said. “See outside? That’s sunlight, that is.”

Annis shook her head to clear it. “So?”

“So,” Tanith continued, “there’s a farmer out there on a tractor, and the other end of this rope is tied to that tractor, and his instructions are, when he feels a tug on this rope, he is to start driving, very slowly, away.”

Annis frowned. The rope was beginning to tighten. After a moment, it was taut, and Annis felt herself begin to move towards the cave mouth.

“You’ll turn to stone,” Tanith said, “for all eternity. You don’t want that, do you?”

Annis, her odd-coloured eyes wide, sat up and slashed at the thick rope with her nails.

“You’ve gone a bit blunt, I’m afraid,” Tanith said. “Striking my sword was bad enough, but that cave wall? That’s what did it.”

Annis squealed as she was slowly dragged towards the sunlight. She slashed again and again at the rope.

“There’s no way you’re going to cut through that in time,” Tanith said. She took a pair of wrist irons from her coat, and tossed them on the ground. “Put those on.”

“Never!” Annis screamed.

“OK.”

Annis attacked the rope with renewed vigour. She cut through one strand. By the looks of it, only another two hundred to go. She twisted around.

“Scrannel! Scrannel wake up!” Scrannel didn’t move. He snored gently.

Annis glared at Tanith. “You can’t do this! You can’t!”

“You eat people,” Tanith said. “I pretty much can, unless you put those shackles on and let me take you in.”

The sunlight was mere inches away.