They set off again, heading north.

Really heading north this time, instead of pretending-to-go-north-while-gradually-twisting-around-to-the-south.

With every step she took, Flax felt weighed down with secrets.

First, and worst, was the Dark and Terrible Secret.

It had been bad enough before. But now they were actually going towards the dragon, instead of sneaking away from it, it seemed Darker. And even more Terrible.

She tried not to think about it, but that just left room for the other secrets to come crowding in around her.

The fact that the pup was a Spellhound. Which Rose must not discover, because she was human and Flax didn’t trust her.

The fact that the sword could talk. And change shape. Which Rose must not discover (because she was human and Flax didn’t trust her). And which the pup wasn’t going to hear about because he might tell Rose.

The fact that Flax was scared out of her wits.

‘How did this happen?’ she whispered to herself. ‘I’m just an ordinary minch-wiggin. I’m not meant to carry this many secrets.’

She wondered if she should try again to get rid of Rose. Except she couldn’t think how. And besides, maybe the pup was right when he said three was better than two.

It wasn’t a lot better. Not against a dragon. Three hundred might make a difference. Or three thousand.

But just three?

Flax shivered, and tried not to think about that, too.

A little way ahead of her, the pup was poking his nose into everything he passed. Flowers. Brambles. Holes in the ground.

‘Can we eat this, Flax?’ he asked. ‘How about this? How about this?’

Flax glanced towards him, just as Rose cried, ‘No, it’s a wasp, keep away from it!’

‘Ow!’ The pup pawed at his nose and whimpered, ‘It bit me! Ow-ow-ow!’

Some of the plants in the World Below were strange; others were almost familiar. Flax grabbed something that looked like wild garlic and crushed it with her bare heel.

‘Stand still,’ she said to the pup.

‘But it hurts! OW-OW-OW-OW-OW!’

In a distant field, a couple of humans looked up from their work, as if they had heard something.

Flax grabbed one of the pup’s ears and pulled his head down. She squeezed the crushed garlic onto his nose.

Gradually, he stopped crying.

Rose watched open-mouthed. ‘How did you know what to do?’

‘Everyone knows garlic is good for wasp stings,’ said Flax. She glared at the pup. ‘And everyone knows you shouldn’t try to eat wasps! Look, there’s the nest in that tree. You’re lucky the whole lot of them didn’t come after you.’

‘I was hungry,’ mumbled the pup.

‘Then help me find some acorns,’ said Flax. ‘And thistles.’

Rose made a squeaking sound. ‘You eat thistles for breakfast? Couldn’t we find some porridge with brown sugar and cream? Or eggs and toast? And maybe a little bit of cake?’

‘Does porridge grow on trees, like acorns?’ asked the pup. ‘Is it nice? Is it as nice as horned glob?’ He pawed his nose one last time, as if to make sure it didn’t hurt any more. Then he stood up and wagged his tail. ‘What about cake? Can we find a cake tree?’

‘No, someone has to cook it,’ said Rose.

‘How?’

‘I – I’m not sure. Qu – quite ordinary fourth chambermaids don’t do much cooking.’

But then she brightened. ‘Maybe you could catch a rabbit.’

‘What’s a rabbit?’ asked the pup.

Rose shaded her eyes against the early morning sun and studied the nearby fields. ‘There!’ she cried. ‘That’s a rabbit!’

The pup let out a yelp of excitement and bolted after a small furry creature with long ears.

The humans in the distant field turned and watched him.

The pup was very fast. For a moment, Flax thought he was going to catch the rabbit.

But then it dodged, and the pup couldn’t stop in time. He ploughed straight into a bush and ended up in a tangle of leaves, branches and legs.

The rabbit disappeared down a hole.

Flax and Rose pulled the pup out of the bush and brushed away the twigs and leaves. The pup shook himself. ‘I nearly caught it,’ he said. ‘I’ll get the next one.’

‘You’ll have to be quieter with the next one,’ said Flax. ‘I think the can’t-see-us-can’t-hear-us-can’t-smell-us is wearing off.’

The pup stared at her. ‘Can’t you do your magic again?’

‘You did say magic before!’ Rose’s eyes were wide. ‘How does it work? Can you make us invisible?’

Flax hunched her shoulders. ‘No. I have to keep it to fight the dragon.’

‘But you’ve got so much,’ said the pup, peering at her bulging satchel. ‘Can’t you spare a bit?’

‘I told you, no,’ snapped Flax. ‘Just – try to look smaller, can’t you?’

The pup did his best to look smaller. But then he started sniffing things again. He sniffed this way and that. He cocked his head and stared at a tree. He took a long time jumping over a fence.

At last, he pinned back his ears and said, ‘We came past here last night, Flax. We’re going in the wrong direction. We’re supposed to be going north after the dragon.’

‘We are going north after the dragon,’ said Flax, without looking at him.

The pup stopped. ‘But that means – that means last night we were going away from the dragon.’

Rose stopped too. ‘We were?’

The pup whined softly. ‘Why were we going away from the dragon last night, Flax? Don’t you want to find my parents?’

‘Maybe I got turned around,’ mumbled Flax. ‘Maybe I got the direction wrong.’

‘Minch-wiggins never get the direction wrong,’ said the pup.

‘Never ever?’ asked Rose.

‘Never ever,’ said the pup.

He didn’t say another word for the rest of the day. He ate acorns and thistles and seeds without complaint.

But every time he looked at Flax, his eyes were big with hurt and betrayal.