Rheagor did not pursue him. Instead he opened his maw and bent his head slowly to close his teeth on the throat of the old she-wolf, but he did not bite down, and when he lifted his head, there was no blood, though Descantra lay still as death.

Rheagor turned to me and Maruman hissed at him.

The wolf spoke directly to him, saying, ‘Nah nah, tha brave little yelloweye. Tha do be courageous but not wise. Save tha courage for tha will need all of it in the graag.’

‘Tha will guide the dinrai to the graag?’ One of the other wolves demanded, his tone incredulous.

‘This one did see us go with Innle and her pack to the graag,’ Rheagor answered.

‘What is the graag?’ I asked.

‘It be the way across the plain of shining poison,’ Rheagor said.

I remembered the recurring nightmares I had experienced in recent years of walking over the Blacklands, my legs streaked with deadly poisons, and a chill went through me. ‘What did you see seliga?’ I whispered.

‘This one did see much seliga. The Brildane will travel with Innle and her pack to the graag. Many Brildane will die on this journey, Innle, nor will all of tha own pack stand with tha at the end,’ the wolf sent. ‘Death will stalk all who make this journey and it be well fed. But at the end be the place where beasts will walk free of the funaga, if the Brildane hold true. But if the Brildane do not go with the Innle, all will come to darkness and destruction at the hands of the dinrai that tha do call Ariel and tha enemy. Thus for life and hope and vengeance, we do agree to that which tha did ask.’

His words sent a little shock through me. ‘You … you saw Ariel? Where was he?’

‘This one did see much that was as leaves glimpsed in a storm,’ he answered.

‘All right, then what is beyond the graag?’

‘There be the funaga city on a bone-white plain where my ancestor did be held captive for a time, before he escaped to cross the graag and found the Brildane. The city do be guarded by the efari.’

‘What are the efari?’ I asked.

‘Those that do guard the funaga city,’ Rheagor sent.

I tried to think how to put my question so as to get a better answer, until it occurred to me that Rheagor’s answer was limited because that was all he knew. But his description of the city beyond the graag was too close to Jacob’s dream city not to be the same place, so I had been right in one thing: the wolves would lead us to Cassandra’s key. ‘Did you see anything about Cassandra’s key when you were seliga?’

‘I did hear tha speak the words,’ the wolf answered.

‘Where do we go after we leave the city?’ I asked.