All evening there’s no news from the hospital. Just before bedtime I call Mum but her phone’s switched off, and I’ve not memorised Dad’s number. I try Cheetah Ward too, but it goes straight to the answerphone. Eventually Nell and I go to bed, though it’s impossible to sleep.

By two o’clock in the morning I’ve given up completely, and sit by the window with the curtains pulled back. It’s a beautiful night. There’s a full moon, which makes the sky look almost blue. I open the window and breathe in cold air until my lungs ache. All around the house, trees spread their shadows across the lawn, for the last time, I think, because Mr Giles will be back tomorrow. I feel it like proper pain. We didn’t really save the woods today, did we? We just bought ourselves a bit of time.

Then, from the woods, comes the sound of an owl. No. Not an owl, because owls don’t call like that. Grabbing my jacket and bobble hat, I’m downstairs and out the back door in a flash.

*

Flo’s where she always is. I’m so glad I want to throw my arms right around her, but I can’t because she’s halfway up the beech tree, ten or more feet higher than the fairy door.

‘Hey, Flo! I need to talk to you. Can you come down?’

‘Why don’t you come up?’

‘I’m not getting up there!’

‘What are you scared of?’

‘Nothing. It’s just …’

‘Just what?’

I’m thinking of Jacob and his fall from a tree – this tree, maybe. Hands on hips, I size up the trunk. It looks pretty dangerous to me.

‘How safe is it? I mean … where do I put my feet?’

Flo laughs. ‘You’ve never climbed a tree before?’

‘No,’ I say, irritated. It’s hardly a crime. At home there aren’t just trees all over the place, not like here.

‘Look for places to put your feet,’ Flo says. ‘Then heave yourself up. Grip with your legs and hands. Once you get to the first big branch you’ll be fine.’

But I can’t see anything to get a hold of.

‘Can’t you come down?’

Flo sighs. ‘Will you stop being so flipping sensible for a moment and try?’

‘I … I … can’t do it.’

‘You’re a child, Alice, not a boring adult,’ Flo says sternly. ‘So stop behaving like one.’

‘That’s not fair!’ I say.

I’m getting a bit tired of being bossed about by Flo. Believe in fairies, Alice, talk about your dad, Alice. Yet I can’t remember the last time I did something just for the fun of it.

I stare at the trunk again. Maybe I do want to climb it, after all. I mean, it couldn’t hurt. I pull my hat down firmly over my ears.

‘Get ready, Flo. I’m coming up.’

On the side of the tree is a strong-looking knot in the bark. With my foot resting on it, I reach up to the first branch. It’s harder than it looks. The moonlight helps but it throws shadows too. I’m not always certain what’s solid and what’s thin air. Somehow I haul myself up. My arm muscles burn. Then finally I’m lying across the branch.

The next bit’s easier. The branches are closer together, which means I can reach up and push down at the same time. It kills my arms still. But at least I’m moving.

‘Well done!’ Flo says. ‘You’re getting the hang of it now.’

I can’t help grinning. It feels good up here, especially if I don’t look down.

‘Keep going!’ she says.

As I reach up, a pigeon bursts from the branch above. Its wings flap about my head.

‘Arrgghh!’

I try to shield myself, but I need both hands to hold on. My foot slips and I slam against the trunk. Flo laughs her head off.

‘It’s not funny!’

‘Oh, Alice, you should see yourself!’ she says.

I wait for my heartbeat to slow down. Gripping tightly, I heave myself up. The branch creaks; it holds me though. I ease myself into a crouch, then a standing position. The next branch is nearer. I get onto it like I’m climbing a gate. Flo’s boots are just above me now.

One last push.

As I reach up, Flo leans down and grabs a handful of my coat. Now it’s easy. Swinging round, I land with a bump beside her.

‘Fancy seeing you here,’ Flo says, grinning.

Pushing the hair off my face, I grin back. ‘Nice place you’ve got.’

Once I’ve wedged myself against the branch, it feels safer. If I don’t look down, I’ll be fine.

‘Darkling Wood lives to see another day,’ I say, though I’m not entirely sure who’s behind it all. I’m more worried about what’ll happen in the morning.

‘Yes, I saw,’ says Flo.

‘Where were you? I thought you’d be with the Travellers.’

‘No,’ she says. ‘I was here in the woods. Tell me, who was that man in the blue jacket?’

‘My dad.’

‘Your father? I thought he never …’

‘He came yesterday evening to take me back to his house, then his car broke down. And you’ll never guess, but I found out he had a brother called Jacob who died and …’

Flo’s eyes go like saucers.

‘What?’ I ask.

She shakes her head. ‘Keep going.’

‘Well, turns out he stole his brother’s ashes and …’ I stop. Flo’s still staring at me. ‘What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?’

‘It’s working,’ she says. ‘The fairies’ tricks really are working – in ways I’d never thought possible. How incredibly clever they are!’

The thought had crossed my mind, too.

‘Don’t you see, Alice? Your father’s car wouldn’t start, which just so happened to keep him at his mother’s house, the person he’s not spoken to for years. It meant they were forced to talk …’

‘Shout, more like,’ I butt in.

‘At least you now know why they fell out all those years ago.’

‘I know Nell’s side of things,’ I correct her. ‘Not Dad’s.’

But Flo rubs her hands together like she’s really excited. ‘The fairies’ magic has got stronger, don’t you see? Strong enough to stop the work taking place today!’

‘Yes, but Mr Giles is coming back in the morning,’ I say, my sense of dread rising. ‘I never thought I’d be this superstitious, Flo, but my brother’s got really very ill and if this is the fairies’ doing then what the heck’s going to happen when the trees come down?’

Flo’s hands go still.

‘Do you believe in fairies now?’ she says.

‘I … I think so.’

She shakes her head. ‘That’s not enough. For their magic to be at its strongest, you need to be absolutely sure.’

‘You said if I believed I’d see the fairies, and these past couple of days I think I’ve seen …’

‘Think?’ Flo says. ‘Alice, you have to know.’

I take my hat off and scratch my head. It’s easy for Flo to give out orders. She’s not got a brother in hospital, or parents who barely speak to each other. She’s not miles from her real home.

I look down at my hat, my lovely green bobble hat. Something makes me turn it inside out. Putting it back on, I shift my bum along the branch.

Flo looks at me. ‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m climbing down. I want to try something.’

‘Be careful!’ she calls, but I’m already feeling for the branch below. And the one below that. I keep going until I reach the funny O-shaped branch that’s the fairy door.

Lowering myself onto it, I sit, feet dangling down. My heart is thumping fast. I can’t see much through the fairy door – just dead leaves and undergrowth. So I wait. I keep looking, shifting position to get comfortable.

Then.

Down on the ground, something moves. I sit forward. It’s too dark to see properly … and yet isn’t that a leg? An arm? It can’t be – they’re tiny! Sure enough, small, people-shaped shadows begin flitting between the bushes.

‘Oh, Flo!’ I gasp.

I’m looking straight through the fairy door. And it’s a wonder I don’t fall out of the tree.