He explains that the Lost Girls found a boat in the caves below the Crow’s Nest and used this to sail to and from the mainland until Stella discovered that she gets seasick. “That’s when they made a bridge,” he says. “It goes all the way from the Crow’s Nest to the cliffs on the Bad Side, and I helped them build it!” Proudly he pulls up the sleeve of his robes to show me a yellow loom-band bracelet. “They gave me this to say thank you. We had a ceremony and everything!”

He comes to a stop by two big rocks. We’ve climbed above the Tangled Forest and it sits below us, a swaying mass of green. “We’re here,” he says.

I pull out the map and try to work out where we are. There are rocks everywhere and jungly-looking trees and vines. “I can’t see this place on the map,” I say.

“That’s because we never put it on there. We wanted to keep it a secret. Don’t you recognize it?”

I peer between the two rocks. I can see boulders piled on top of each other and hear running water. Mist hangs in the air. Something about the sound of the water and the mist tugs at my memory. “Is this . . . Boulders and Waterfalls?” I say.

Win smiles and nods. “Yes it is, my friend!”

A shiver of excitement runs through me. Win and I used to love hanging out here because, well, there are loads of boulders and waterfalls. What’s not to like? I step between the rocks and lean forward. Below me is a round pool. Turquoise water spills into another pool directly below it, and more and more pools stretch into the distance like a chain of blue beads. They’re connected by gushing waterfalls that run so fast that they’ve polished the rock into smooth water chutes. Sun shines through the mist and jet-black butterflies hover over the water.

Unable to contain himself, Win pushes past me, shouts, “HEAR ME ROAR!” and leaps fully clothed into the first pool. Straight away he’s caught in a current that spins him around and around before tugging him toward the next waterfall. He howls with laughter as he shoots out of sight.

I hear a splash followed by, “COME ON, ARTHUR!”

Happiness rushes through me. Crowky is gone, Grandad is safe, and I’m about to go on the coolest waterslide in the world, and possibly ride a unicorn.

“Wait for me!” I yell, and I throw myself off the rock.

Chapter 9

Win and I have a brilliant time slipping and sliding between the pools and jumping off rocks.

Eventually we find ourselves in a small river running toward the Tangled Forest. We pile giant leaves on top of each other to make a raft, then climb on and let the current carry us into the forest.