Jem nodded with fervour. ‘We need to find somewhere more sheltered than this though. If a weather front closes in, or if anyone is patrolling these woods, which they very well could be, then we need to be somewhere a little less open. Did we mark anything on the map?’

Lily shook her head and then stood, rolling the map and handing it back to Jem. ‘I think we’re going to have to figure the rest of this out on our own. The map isn’t detailed enough for that kind of information, and we’ll already be playing a guessing game in the morning to find their lair. We know the general location, but it isn’t going to be signposted, is it? We’ll just have to trust our instincts.’

‘I think we head towards where the forest slopes upwards. If nothing else, at least being high up will give us a better vantage point to keep watch tonight.’ Jem shouldered his pack and set off walking, glancing behind to check that Lily was following.

They scrambled up the slope and were greeted with a hulking grey ledge of slate that curved over their heads, creating a shallow cave. It wasn’t much, but it was exactly what they needed. It provided shelter from the elements, a place to hide and it was angled in such a way that it was easy to see down into the forest valley, while keeping the two of them hidden. Lily and Jem glanced at each other and grinned, a wordless acceptance passing between them. In unison, they dropped their packs on the floor.

The light had completely faded and they were relying on flecks of moonlight to see in the darkness. Jem wandered off with a small axe, muttering that they needed to get the fire lit as soon as possible. Lily suspected that he, too, was concerned about the gathering night and the thought of being alone, in the dark, together.

Kneeling on the grubby cave floor, Lily opened her pack and began to lay out some of the essentials they would need to get through the night: blankets, their water canteens, slices of tough seeded bread which was buttered and wrapped in paper, their notes and map, a small lantern. She left everything else in the bag and placed it at the far end of the cave, intending on using it as a pillow later.

Clambering to her feet, she unrolled a couple of the blankets on the cave floor, covering and softening the hard dirt. It was going to be a long night. She sat back down and wrapped herself in one of the remaining blankets, before throwing her hair into a careless knot on the top of her head and bending over her notes, inspecting them for the millionth time, hoping that this time she’d notice a new clue or shred of information that would prepare them for the mysteries of the following day. Flicking through the notes, she reached for her water canteen before taking a long swig. When the liquid touched her mouth, she gagged and spat it out, her lips and throat burning. It obviously wasn’t her canteen, and it appeared that Jem had not filled his with water.