At once the light came. It came suddenly, a great slot of it streaming out, bright yellow light, the first light they had seen for days, and it dazzled them as it swung open across the filthy alley, spilling on black walls and dead moss, and over Galen, as he spun around, his face sharp with thrown shadow. Above it the black night-things screamed in rage, flashes of talon and wing. Then they swooped and were gone.

Carefully, in the sudden hush, Carys picked herself up. Raffi followed, one hand flat against the wall.

‘Am I interrupting you?’ a dry voice asked from the doorway.

None of them answered. The man gave a strange bark of laughter and stepped out, and Raffi instantly forgot the pain in his head.

Because it wasn’t a man. It was a Sekoi.

It was a little taller than Galen, and thin, with the starved look they had. A long, seven-fingered hand held the lantern up. On its sharp face a tribe-mark zigzagged under one eye; the short fur was a brindled grey. It wore old patched clothes of green and brown.

‘Come inside,’ it said. ‘Come inside.’

After a second Carys obeyed; the others came behind her and the Sekoi bolted the door.

Galen shook off his shock. ‘We should thank you,’ he murmured.

‘Indeed you should. You owe me your lives. keeper.’ It pointed a thin finger at Galen’s chest, and smiled.

Galen growled. ‘What makes you think …’

The Sekoi put its small mouth very close to Galen’s ear and whispered, solemnly, ‘An owl told me.’ Its eyes were bright; a strange purr of amusement came from its throat. Galen looked disgusted.

‘What were those things?’ Carys wiped the blood from her cheek.

‘We call them draxi.’ The creature looked at her closely. ‘Half bird, half beast. Hideous and dangerous – one of Kest’s mistakes. But they don’t like light.’

‘Useful to know,’ she muttered.

Swinging the lamp, the Sekoi turned. ‘Up now.’

They were in a tiny dim hall, with a spiral staircase in one corner. The creature ran up quickly and they hurried after it, the lantern light bouncing off the walls ahead. After five minutes they were breathless and their legs felt like lead; Galen was limping heavily. Finally, turning a corner, they found the Sekoi waiting for them, leaning against the wall biting its nails.

It smiled, kindly. ‘Tired? A long way to go yet.’

‘To where?’ Carys demanded.

‘Safety.’ It picked up its lantern. ‘Careful now. There are holes.’