The other woman, the less kind one, turned unexpectedly and disappeared down a separate narrow corridor to the left. Now they were alone, Lily was able to get a better look at her guide. She was dressed unlike any woman she had ever seen. She wore clothes similar to the strange garments Lily had found herself wearing at the lighthouse. Instead of heavy skirts obscuring her legs, this young woman wore black trousers which were fastened with a thick leather belt around her waist. A flowing white shirt was tucked into her waistband and an oversized woollen overcoat was slung lazily around her shoulders. At her waist sat a holster, from which hung a variety of weapons Lily couldn’t begin to name.

‘Do you always dress like you’re about to go and murder someone?’ Lily asked.

The woman shrugged. ‘Most days. I’m what they call a Protector. I’m assigned to a witch and it’s my responsibility to make sure she’s safe. If what you say about yourself is true, this will all make sense soon. If you’re lying, you won’t be alive long enough for me to worry about what you know.’

‘Why aren’t you with her now? Your … witch.’

‘She sleeps in. She doesn’t usually surface for an hour or two yet, so I was going for some fresh air when I bumped into your sorry-looking self. I hope you’ve got a better story prepared though because I’m definitely not buying the one you gave us.’

Lily’s heart sank. She tried to calm herself. ‘What do you mean? I told you the truth.’

She rolled her eyes. ‘What’s your name, anyway?’

Lily paused. It might be dangerous to reveal her real name, but there was a chance this girl knew Alice, and maybe she could help.

‘I’m Lily.’

The woman stopped in her tracks. Then, in one swift movement, she had Lily pinned against the hard stone wall, a knife at her throat. ‘For the love of the earth, please tell me you are not Lily Knight.’

Lily looked her dead in the eye, but said nothing.

‘Why are you here?’ the woman spat, her teeth clenched. Her entire face had turned a deep shade of mauve and her hand was shaking with fury.

‘I’m here for Alice. And I’m here for my friend’s sister. I’ve come a really bloody long way and I’m not being frightened away now, so,’ she warned, revealing her own hidden weapon and pressing it into the young woman’s side, ‘drop the knife before I make you.’

The other woman stepped back, raising her hands in a faux-apologetic stance. ‘Where’s your friend?’

Lily rolled her shoulders and rubbed the graze on her neck where the knife had nicked her. ‘What? You tell me. I literally just got here.’

‘Not Alice, you half-wit. You’re here to save your friend’s sister too, so where’s your friend? Why are you here alone?’

‘He’s finding another way in.’ Lily put away her knife and inspected the woman’s face properly, for the first time since she’d arrived. Her hair was shoulder-length, dark as molasses, and just as thick. It was heavily parted to one side, obscuring her left eye. As if aware of Lily’s invasive gaze, she ran a hand through her hair, pushing it back out of her face. A thin scar snaked from her eyebrow down to her cheekbone. It looked like it was from an old wound; it was silvery and pearlescent, barely visible.