“It’s not getting up that dune again without our help,” Bestion said.

“Well, I’m not touching it,” Dunsany said. “Have you smelt it? It could have any kind of disease.”

“I say we leave it,” Silus said, though Zac clearly disagreed with him as he squirmed in Katya’s arms, determined to get closer to the creature.

The dog thing stopped whining and shuffled round to look back up the dune, its head cocked as though it was listening to something. Then they all heard it: a call. It came again, closer, and the creature responded with a yip, its feet scrabbling as it tried to race towards the voice.

“Come on,” Bestion said, picking up the creature and starting up the dune. He glanced back to see the rest of the crew looking at him with bemused expressions. “Stop worrying. It’s just a… dog, I think. Whoever owns him may be able to help us get where we’re going.”

Silus thought that Bestion’s line of thinking was perhaps a little naive, though as they crested the dune there was indeed someone coming towards them and the creature responded to its calls with a delighted yip.

The sun was behind the figure, making it difficult to make out its features, though it was about the size of a young child with a long, shaggy head of hair.

Bestion put the dog-thing down and it raced towards his master, who lifted him up, speaking to the creature in a sing-song voice.

The sex of the person now coming towards them was difficult to ascertain, though if Silus had to guess he’d say that it was a girl. Her skin was smooth. She had no fingernails, and when she smiled her teeth were all exactly alike. The girl’s eyes were disturbingly pale and Silus wondered whether she might be blind, though as she regarded them with interest, it became clear that this wasn’t the case.

“Hello,” Katya said. “Is that your dog?”

“We’re friends,” Dunsany said. “ Friends. Do you live somewhere nearby?”