Danny’s shoulder is most likely broken. That’s how it feels anyway. Every time he moves, he has to bite back a shriek. The rope around his neck is tight, but not tight enough to choke him, and it’s rough against his skin. The handcuffs are decorated with ornate symbols that Danny doesn’t understand, and even if he could get his feet free, he doubts his injured leg would carry his weight for more than a few steps. All this he thinks about while Gant waits for an answer, and then one more thought comes into his head. If he somehow manages to rid himself of the ropes and the cuffs, if he somehow manages to stand and put up a fight, he has Gant himself to deal with, and the old guy is tougher than he looks.

“I don’t know where she is,” Danny says.

Gant puts the book back on the shelf and turns to him. “Her boots are just inside the door,” he says. “I dare say she would not have left this house in simple shoes – not if she were merely going for a walk. Tell me, Danny, what kind of dog does she have? I saw a bowl, and some dog food. Is it a big one? It is, isn’t it?”

“Big enough to rip your throat out,” Danny says.

Gant laughs. “Quite! Yes, indeed! Big enough to rip my throat out! Provided I don’t kill it first. She didn’t take the dog for a walk. She didn’t even lock the house. Granted, she lives apart from the populace, undoubtedly assumes that those gates of hers would keep out any undesirables … but with the amount of security in place, it leads me to believe that she always locks up after herself, no matter what. Better to be safe than sorry, that’s her motto. But if she did leave quickly, then where are the tracks? Where are the footprints in the snow? Did you call her, Danny my boy? Did you warn her?”

“I don’t have her number.”

“I find that difficult to believe.”

“She has my number. I don’t have hers.”

“Ohh … and what does that tell you? That she doesn’t like you, or merely that she doesn’t trust you?”

“It tells me that she values her privacy.”

Gant smiles. “Indeed it does. But when I asked the question how much do you know? I was not asking whether or not you knew where Stephanie Edgley had got to. I was simply asking how much do you know?”

“About what?”

“About the world, and the world beneath it. The world alongside it. The people in the shadows, in the darkness. Magic, Danny. I’m talking about magic.”