'WHAT I AM about to tell you both,’ Madame Latitude began, ‘only two people know, and we are both in this room. I presume that you will also find a way to get this story to Alice and Arlo.’ She nodded, as if nudging this new fact to drop into her head. ‘That will be six. And that must be the end of it. Six is an intolerable risk. I’m assuming Arlo has already told you what he learned from the pixies about our history and the danger Haven poses. Is that correct?’

Stefan nodded.

‘And now I must tell you a little more,’ Madame Latitude continued. ‘Haven didn’t die, it is true. He disappeared, for a long, long time. The process of constructing his first tunnel all those years ago depleted him more than he ever anticipated. All this time he has been rebuilding his strength, preparing to reconnect the worlds.’

‘Why?’ Harriet asked.

‘To take what he can. And destroy the rest,’ Madame Latitude said simply. ‘It is hard perhaps for you to imagine what evil looks like, but there are those in this world who would build, and those who would tear down. Of all the tearers, Haven is the cruellest who has ever been, and the most powerful. He has not just been rebuilding his strength though. He is no fool. He has been building up a secret army, ready to rise. All around, wherever we look, whatever we say, we should assume some of his people are there, watching, listening.

‘We have known this for some time. It is our job to protect our worlds against a threat few can be allowed to even know exists. For if secrecy is Haven’s weapon, it must be ours too. I have worked with Malcolm for many years. He is my most trusted lieutenant. When I sensed a new tunnel being constructed, it was Malcolm I sought out. We did not know where the tunnel would open, or when, but we were on the alert.

‘Haven’s plan was simple. Twins in your world, Stefan, do indeed carry a magic more potent than any we have here. Somehow Haven has found a way of harnessing that power, and he has used it to keep a new tunnel open. He has an ally in your world who he instructed to find two such twins and send them through. I believe it was his intention to follow them back. But as you know, those twins were separated, and we assume that a single twin does not possess enough magic to allow him through the tunnel. Haven is powerful, but even he has his limits.’

‘Why does he want to travel to our world?’ Stefan asked.

Madame Latitude hesitated, as if she were calculating the risk of telling them. She looked at Malcolm, who nodded. ‘When the first compromise was reached and the two worlds were created, it was clear that Haven posed the greatest threat to our safety the world had ever known, not just in that moment, but far into the future. Magic is a strange power. It belongs not to individuals but to the world itself. We do not possess magic, but rather we access it. We access it through our dreams. Did the first hint of your powers came to you in dreams, Stefan?’

Stefan nodded. The strange dream that he and his brother shared, that repeated every full moon. How could he forget it?

‘It was a dream that brought you to the tunnel. Each night, when we sleep, our dreams replenish our power. They cleanse the channels to magic, purify them. Haven’s dreams gave him access to magic beyond our imagination, and so, when he was captured, a powerful spell was placed over him. A spell that prevented him from ever sleeping again. Without sleep, there are no dreams, and with no dreams, Haven’s power has steadily diminished. It is still substantial, still beyond that of most living creatures, but slowly, surely, it diminishes. But our spells do not extend beyond this world, that was part of the design when the separation was first proposed. It was meant to keep your realm safe from the influence of ours. It is our belief that Haven wishes to pass through to your world in order that he would finally be able to sleep and dream. And if he replenishes his powers, then we are done for, all of us.’

‘And he intended to meet up with Jackie and Alice and follow them back through.’ Stefan said, trying to make sense of it all. ‘So what happened? Why wasn’t he there?’

‘That Haven has evaded us for so long speaks of his great caution. He knows that if we capture him again he will be weaker than before. He will not escape a second time. Something delayed him meeting your friend, some intelligence, or just an intuition. And your friends proved curious; they didn’t behave as he expected. They went wandering, unaware of the attention twins in our land would draw. As you know, one of them was captured.

‘The mine was built, as a front so that we could set about dismantling the tunnel, a painstaking process that puts great demands on our magic. Jackie was held there because we had to keep the twins apart. If she escaped and the tunnel reopened, then Haven could follow them through. No one else knows Jackie exists apart from the few trusted guards we had sworn to secrecy. We have managed to convince most people Haven doesn’t even exist, that he is a myth. If the truth became known, there would be panic, the kind of panic Haven would use to his advantage.

‘Malcolm and I decided then that we would continue our own surveillance, telling nobody of our plans. I cannot stress this strongly enough. Haven’s followers are loyal, and we must assume they are everywhere: here in the Academy, even in the mine. The only way to keep our plans from Haven was to keep them from everybody. Until now. Malcolm, perhaps you should pick up the story here.’

Malcolm cleared his throat. ‘I followed Alice. It wasn’t easy. She is ferociously resourceful, as I’m sure you know. Haven’s man in your world chose well. Haven managed to open up another tunnel for her, but without the power of Alice’s sister the opening was tremendously unstable. Alice was lucky it did not crush her. Our hope is that it has drawn greatly on Haven’s last reserves and he is now severely weakened. That was a massive risk for him, and it tells us he is getting desperate. I am certain, we are both certain, that he knows of your plans to rescue Jackie. We believe he will take his chance to follow you back through the tunnel. We are sure he sees it as his last chance.’

‘So you’re saying,’ Stefan said, the story crashing into place, filling his mind with splinters and dust, ‘you’re saying that if we rescue Jackie, we are helping Haven?’

Madame Latitude smiled. ‘No, I am saying that you will be helping us to capture Haven. He will follow you, and I will be there waiting. His only chance to regain full power is to enter that tunnel. He has created his own perfect trap.’

‘Can I ask a question?’ Harriet looked at Madame Latitude. ‘And please don’t be offended. But if Haven is so powerful, what makes you think you can capture him?’

Madame Latitude gave a modest tilt of the head. ‘Because I have done it before,’ she said.

‘But you wanted us to succeed,’ Stefan asked, reminded by the throbbing pain in his eye. ‘Why have you fought so hard to keep me from surviving the challenges?’

‘It is like Madame Latitude says,’ Malcolm replied. ‘We must assume there are spies everywhere. Any hint that anybody is making it easier for you, and Haven will hear of it and work the rest out for himself. He will never follow you into the tunnel if he does not believe you have remained undetected.’

‘But you were so vicious,’ Stefan said to Malcolm, still not quite believing that this boy before him was not the thug he had experienced. ‘Did you have to be so cruel?’

‘I had to be beyond suspicion,’ Malcolm answered. ‘And if you think the Academy has been hard, greater challenges lie ahead. I had to make sure you were ready for the battle.’

‘And if we hadn’t survived?’

‘That is a risk we had to take,’ Madame Latitude said. ‘It is a risk we still must take, for the final test is tomorrow, and Haven must not be alert to our plans. I can only hope that now you know what is at stake, you will fight even harder for your future.’

‘And when we win?’ Harriet asked.

Stefan marvelled at her confidence.

‘When you win,’ Madame Latitude answered, ‘it will be the four of you against the full force of the Royal Guard. Our future depends upon you outwitting them.’

‘But you have a plan, I hope,’ Harriet said.

‘Oh yes,’ Madame Latitude smiled. ‘We have a plan.’