‘Should we go and see the Circle before we settle down?’ Kate asked, but everyone was too tired. So we drew our own circle in the dirt like we usually did, as if the real Circle was still far away across the Dark, and sang ‘Come Tree Row’. And then we settled the little kids down – they were all so tired that it didn’t take long – and most of us curled up to sleep.

I couldn’t sleep, though. There was just too much going through my head. Coming back to the Valley had stirred up all kinds of restless and painful feelings, on top of the grief and worry of losing our home and leaving behind so many people we knew. Dave was snoring away as usual, so I checked Candy and the boys were sleeping peacefully, spoke for a little while to Flame who was standing and rocking her poor sick baby, then got up and walked back over to the gate, thinking I’d talk to the guards there for a little while. But when I got there, they were busy with three new guards who’d just come in on buckback from over the Dark.

‘They’ve gone crazy,’ I heard one of these new guys saying. ‘They’re doing for everyone they get their hands on. And—’

He stopped and looked across at me.

‘Can we help you?’ asked one of the gate guards.

‘Who’s gone crazy?’ I asked.

‘This news isn’t for you,’ said the guard who’d been speaking. ‘This is guard business.’

‘Do you mean the Johnfolk?’ I pressed him. ‘Have they got Davidstand now?’

‘I can’t tell you,’ the guard said. The three bucks were in quite a state, their eyes rippling constantly, their mouth feelers wriggling and blowing out green foam. They’d obviously been ridden hard hard. But the guard and his friends jumped back onto them and drove them forwards through the trees so as to give their news to the high men further inside the cluster. ‘You’ll hear soon enough, and you’ve got nothing to worry about here.’

The Johnfolk in Davidstand, stabbing and burning people we’d only lately been with. I felt sick sick at the thought of it. But of course there was nothing I could do. It was just one more thing to keep me awake. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep now. I decided I’d go over and look at the Circle, the place where my time with Mary had finally ended.

As I was heading off that way, Trueheart came running after me.

‘Where are you going, Auntie?’

‘I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d have a look round.’

‘I’ll come with you.’

‘Okay dear, but keep your voice down. Everyone else here is asleep. Those Virsries are pretty tiring, from what I’ve heard.’