‘You can come through,’ he said. ‘As long as I’m in the doorway. Hurry up, though. If it stays open for too long someone may take an interest.’

Alice extended a hand cautiously. Where her fingers expected to meet stone there was nothing, not even a tingle or a ripple in the air. Her hand was gone, as though she’d thrust it into inky black water, but she could still feel her fingers. She wiggled them and pulled her hand back, obscurely relieved to find it intact.

‘Come on, come on,’ Ashes said.

Alice took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and shuffled forward. The transition was detectable only as a change in the air: it was suddenly much warmer, and her next breath carried the overwhelming smell of dust and old paper that permeated the library. She felt something soft and warm brush against her ankle, and panicked for a moment before she realized it was only Ashes.

She opened her eyes, but nothing happened. The blackness remained absolute.

‘I can’t see,’ she whispered.

‘That’s because there’s no lights.’ Ashes sounded smug. ‘Not enough for a human, anyway. I can see just fine.’

‘Hold on.’

She fumbled for her supplies, found the matches, and after a few tries managed to strike one on the floor. She transferred the flame to the candle, which gave a wan glow that was barely enough to show her the bookshelves on either side of her. Behind her was a stone wall. She put a hand on it, and felt only cold rock.

‘Fire in the library?’ Ashes chided. ‘Master Geryon would not approve.’

‘If I’d been able to get in the front door, I’d have borrowed one of the lamps,’ Alice said. ‘I’ll be careful.’

‘I’m sure,’ the cat said. ‘Now. Thanks to my good graces, you’re inside. What next?’

‘I . . . I’m not sure.’

She pursed her lips and looked down at the cat, who was only a grey smudge in the flickering light of the candle. She was feeling, frankly, a little peevish. Ashes’ smug superiority was grating, no matter how helpful he was, and it was irritating that he had the advantage of her, so she had to gawp like a slack-jawed idiot in his wake.

‘Let me guess,’ Ashes said. He couldn’t grin, like a human might, but she could hear it in his voice. ‘You thought you’d just poke around and somehow you’d happen across this “fairy” you’re looking for?’

‘I wasn’t sure I’d even be able to get inside,’ Alice told the cat. ‘Forgive me for not having a long-term plan.’

‘It’s not my forgiveness you should be worried about.’ Ashes walked around Alice in a circle, his tail caressing her bare shins. ‘Right. Follow me.’