This caused a twist of such anguish that it severed me from the dream. As I drifted towards consciousness, I decided that the only explanation for the strange dream was that I had been sharing one of Rushton’s dream-memories. It had never happened before, but perhaps it was a side effect of the golden link between us. Yet how could anything pass along the spirit link when Rushton must already be at sea and bound for the Red Land? I had lost track of the days, but there was no doubt that the expedition had departed. It must be that both of us had been touching on the dreamtrails. Certainly I had communicated with Matthew over a far greater distance than I could have farsought or sent a probe, because we had met in spirit form on the dreamtrails. The fact that I had experienced a past-dream of Cassy meant that I had drifted very close to the mindstream as I slept, and it was possible I had taken on an unconscious spirit-form and had drifted to the dreamtrails. But Rushton had never possessed the ability to dreamtravel. The only way he could have managed it was to have been rendered deeply unconscious. The thought that he might have been hurt was so alarming that it brought me awake. As always it was hard to hold onto what I had dreamed and thought in the moments after waking, unless I concentrated hard. But instead, I wondered if something else had awakened me. Even as I opened my eyes I had my answer in the ululating howl of a wolf. It sounded a good deal closer than before, and as I sat up, I felt a flash of anxiety for Gahltha.

‘The gehdra love the taste of equine meat and the scent of it would drive them mad with greed,’ Maruman sent, perhaps in belated explanation.

‘They like feline meat almost as well,’ Darga observed in a neutral tone.

There had been no malice in the dog’s tone but the cat showed sharp teeth to him. ‘No wolf will ever eat Marumanyelloweyes, canine,’ he spat.

‘How do they feel about human meat?’ I asked, meaning it for a black joke.

‘They do not eat it,’ Maruman answered, to my surprise. ‘They believe it to be full of corruption.’

‘I think we ought to get out of this crevice,’ I said firmly. ‘The Agyllian fliers can’t possibly land here.’

‘No fliers will come,’ sent Darga.

‘But Maruman said we were waiting for them,’ I protested.

‘Marumanyelloweyes said wait, yes, but not for birds,’ said the dog. ‘We wait for gehdra.’

I gaped at him. ‘What are you talking about? Why would we be waiting for wolves?’ Maruman flattened his ears and made no answer but I glared at him. ‘Tell me why we are here.’

‘You must make the Brildane hear you, ElspethInnle,’ Maruman said.

‘Hear me,’ I echoed carefully.