‘But . . .’ It turned its head, examining her with one set of eyes and then the other. ‘She did it, then. After all these years.’

‘I don’t know who you’re talking about. I came in here by accident—’

‘Of course you didn’t,’ it said. ‘You happened to fall into this book, of all books? Don’t be foolish.’ Its tone was getting angrier. ‘You came here because she wished you to come. But why? She can’t honestly expect you to triumph. Does she think I will show mercy?’

The last word came out as another roar, drowning all other sound. Isaac tugged hard at her arm, but Alice needed no urging. She took off running as the Dragon uncoiled and started towards them. Alice held onto the Swarm thread and leaped to the next boulder, letting her rubbery legs absorb the impact. Isaac landed just behind her.

The Dragon surged forward. All eight legs moved at once, rising and falling in opposing pairs like pistons of a steam engine. Boulders crunched and groaned under its weight. One huge foot hit the rock they’d been standing on and flipped it into the air, tumbling end over end like a child’s toy. Alice jumped to the next boulder, slipped on a patch of mossy earth, and caught herself before she fell between the rocks and stuck there. Isaac, moving more carefully, got to the top of the boulder but made the mistake of turning to look behind him. The sight of the oncoming Dragon froze him in his tracks, and Alice had to grab his arm and pull him away by force. They jumped again, this time hand in hand, moments before the creature lunged over the stone they’d been standing on, one huge foot coming down hard enough to raise a cloud of rock dust.

A tiny part of Alice’s mind – the part not concentrating on her footing, or trying to figure out what the Dragon had meant, or screaming in silent terror – was busy assessing their prospects. They couldn’t outrun the Dragon. Quite apart from its size, its eight triple-jointed legs gave it an easy grace on the uneven footing that the two humans couldn’t hope to match. She didn’t think attacking it with the Swarm would do any good, either, except possibly as a distraction, and maybe not even that. The swarmers were barely the size of lice in comparison.

That left one route to safety. She tugged the Swarm thread inside her, as far as it would go, then glanced back at Isaac. Really, she thought, I should just leave him. This is all his fault, anyway.