Lug looked around at the shouting, clamouring mages. At the shapewalkers swooping down, the treekeepers beckoning and pointing. And beyond them, in the distance, to where the signal fire from the Noon Fort could be seen blazing in the sky like a giant candle.

‘But my parents . . . the baggage . . . I can’t . . . I shouldn’t . . .’

‘Lug.’ Liska stood on her hind legs and did her best to stare into his eyes. ‘If you stay here you’ll never be anything other than someone who gets to watch the luggage. Or worse, you’ll be eaten by a gorgaunt for breakfast. This is your chance. Come with us. Save your family, be a hero. Or stay here and be nothing.’

‘I . . . I guess . . . I guess you’re right,’ he said finally. In the darkness Liska glimpsed the gleam of tears in his eyes.

‘Well done, Lug,’ she said. ‘Get your things. And be quick. Your parents will understand. This is the best thing we can do for them. This is how we save them.’

With a nod, Lug grabbed one of the packs, emptied it out, then began stuffing it with spare robes and what looked like a stuffed, cuddly worm. A few seconds later, the three of them were running through the shadows, heading for the eastern wall.

Chapter 7

They sprinted through the gaps between trees, running through circle after circle. Everywhere they saw house doors open, mages dashing towards the Undren Square clutching staffs and scrolls. Others herded crowds of children still in their nightwear towards the safety of the temple.

Liska felt the muscles of her legs burning with effort. Her fox tongue lolled as she sucked in lungfuls of air. Lug also panted for breath beside her, while Elowen seemed to flit effortlessly between the trunks like a patch of white mist.

‘Are you sure you know where we’re going?’ Liska asked. ‘Will the path still be there?’

Elowen turned to look at her, her eyes so pale in the darkness they almost looked blank. ‘We’re going to the Oddment Caves where the mages throw their broken pottery and bottles. There’s a hidden passage there which leads up to the mountain top. That’s if they haven’t managed to fill the caves with rubbish in five hundred years.’

‘They probably have,’ muttered Liska. The mages were careful to reuse or fix most of their broken goods, but half a millenium of smashed dinner plates would still make a pretty enormous pile of junk.

Still, they had to trust that Elowen knew what she was doing. Dodging groups of mages coming the other way, they continued to dart between the trees.