Jo woke with a start; the wolf slept on. From outside, he could hear loud voices. Peering through a gap, he could just make out a group of guards trying to break into the warehouse. Jo nudged the wolf awake. She lay in the darkness and stared up at him with her warm, bright eyes. He put his finger to his lips to indicate that they should be quiet. Sharp voices barked commands; the wolf let out a throaty growl; Jo gasped.

Crawling across the dusty floor, Jo beckoned to the wolf. Silently, she padded towards him. Crouching down, they hid behind a pile of old wooden crates. Cautiously, Jo tugged a huge tarpaulin across the crates so that no one could possibly find them.

At that moment, somebody entered the warehouse. There was a pause, a sense of someone listening. Torch beams sliced the darkness; footsteps echoed; the guards began to search. Risking a glance, Ebony shadows shifted. A sharp wintry wind seeped through the opened door. Shuddering, Jo cuddled into the warmth of the wolf’s fur. They could wait this out and would move on once the guards had gone.

It seemed like hours, but probably had only been half an hour by the time the guards left. It was night-time now and, in the darkness, the wolf spoke to Jo… without speaking. Their minds seemed almost as 6 one as she explained that she had to reach a gateway. A gateway back to her own world where she would not be hunted.

Jo had an idea that perhaps the gateway was part of the town walls where there was a huge stone arch that once had been fitted with a metal gate. Anxiously, he checked her wound. It still bled; she seemed weaker. The town walls would be a long walk… and dangerous. He wondered whether they would make it.

Jo knew that his family would be worried but there was nothing he could do about that. He had to find the gateway before he could think about getting home. So it was that only the moon and the stars saw two slim shadows, a boy and a wolf, slip through the alleyways heading across town. They made their way, street by street, avoiding checkpoints, locked in a deadly game .