The giant took them all the way to the forest edge. As it parted the dense branches of the last pine tree, a vast open vista appeared before them, leaving them blinking in the sudden glare of light.

The sun had just risen, shooting golden, gleaming beams across from the horizon. It lit up a flat, endless plain. A sea of grass dotted with clusters of heather and lichen-speckled boulders. The air was sharp and cold. A biting breeze sent ripples across the tundra, making the streaks of green, red and brown colour ripple like patches of water.

In the far distance, just a thin strip along the skyline, was a line of white ice.

The glacier, thought Liska. The one that’s about to swallow Nammu. If it hasn’t already.

That was their destination, their target. Having it in sight gave Liska a buzz of triumph. One that was quickly stifled when she worked out how far away it was.

‘I WILL LEAVE YOU HERE,’ said the giant, carefully setting them all down on the soft swaying grass. ‘THIS COLD AIR HURTS MY BONES.’

Liska felt a stab of disappointment. She had hoped their new friend might carry them the rest of the way, striding over the plains ten times faster than they could manage on foot. But it had taken them through the forest – and also it hadn’t eaten them for breakfast, which was one thing to be grateful for.

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Don’t forget – you must travel south to Arborven now. There will be a new home there for you.’

‘HOME,’ echoed the giant, a distant, dreaming expression on its face. Then it looked down at them, raised a gnarled hand in farewell and disappeared back into the forest.

‘Do you think it will head for the Undrentree?’ Lug asked. ‘Or will it just forget and end up sitting in that stump forever, stomping around the forest and scaring people?’

‘I hope it does go north,’ said Liska. ‘I guess we’ll find out. When we finally get back.’

They all spent a moment staring across the yawning plain, thinking about the distance they still had to travel.

‘Yes,’ said Fishbone quietly. ‘If we is ever getting back at all.’

*

For the next five days they travelled ever northwards, growing colder and colder with each step. While they walked, Elowen practised gestures with her hands, as if she were summoning spells. Liska watched from the corner of her eye. Once or twice she saw a spark appear amongst the patterns Elowen drew with her fingers. But it always fizzled out after a few moments. Whatever powers the ghost girl had, they still hadn’t returned to her.

They kept going through the sunsets into the nights, until it was too cold to move their aching feet. Then they lay under the wide-open sky, watching strange streams of coloured light flicker and dance above them.