Her thought was never finished as she cannoned into a soft lump of lace and flesh that turned out to be Elowen. Before she had time to roll out of the way, Lug crashed into her and the three of them tumbled – packs, rope and all – into a bundle on the ground.

They lay there catching their breath, a jumble of elbows, knees, wild hair and bruises. When her heart had stopped trying to crack its way out of her ribcage, Liska began to untangle and pick herself up. From the corner of her eye she saw Fishbone perched on a rock nearby, calmly licking his tail.

‘You could have explained that a bit more,’ she said to him. ‘Or at least told us to untie ourselves.’

The kittimew shrugged as if their safety was nothing to do with him.

‘That was such fun,’ said Elowen, climbing to her feet and rearranging her complicated array of dresses and petticoats. Lug was still lying where he had fallen, face down. It looked as though he might be trying to kiss the ground.

‘At least we’ve got down from the mountain,’ Liska said. ‘And made good time as well. Thresher will have a job catching up with us.’

‘And now,’ said Fishbone, hopping down from his rock, ‘we is going forward. Into the mistless lands!’

Liska was about to ask whether the kittimew knew anything about crossing the Blasted Waste when a sound erupted that almost knocked her off her feet.

ROOOOOAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!

The ground around them shook with the force of it. The mist itself bucked and swirled.

Lug had been gathering enough strength to stand up again, but had instantly fallen flat and was now trying to bury himself under the mound of packs. ‘What . . . what was that?’

‘Wyvern,’ said Fishbone, putting a finger to his lips. ‘Quiet now. If it hears us, it is eating us.’

*

Following the slinking kittimew, they tiptoed through the mist, using rocks and boulders as cover.

The further they moved, Liska noticed, the thinner the fog became. Soon she could make out the landscape around them.

Compared to the lush forest of Arborven, it was a bare and lifeless place. Tumbled rocks from the mountains were dotted all over, and the ground was mostly dry earth speckled with clumps of bristly heather and straggly trees.

It carried on that way for as far as she could see, and the sight of it filled her with dread. Open ground. No cover. And with wyverns flying around looking for prey. But what had she been expecting? A lovely straight road all the way to Nammu? She might have known it wouldn’t be that easy.

Fishbone had run ahead and was hiding behind a large boulder, peering around the side. They scrambled after him, keeping low to the ground.

‘What can you see?’ Liska asked. ‘Is the wyvern there?’

She was answered by another earth-shaking roar. The thing sounded close. Far too close for comfort.