The shadows crept up closer. Blackness seemed to nudge at her elbows. ‘It’s awfully dark …’ ‘Yeah,’ said the rockgoyle. Instantly the sledge began to glow and gleam like moonlight. The snow became tinged with silver. ‘Special night metal,’ the rockgoyle said. He leered at her over his shoulder. ‘Glows in the dark, see.’ ‘Cool!’ She tugged at her cushions, plumping them up more comfortably. ‘Are we nearly there?’ She had cramp in her knees. She was hungry and tired. All the excitement she’d felt before had drained away. ‘We’ve been going for ages.’ ‘Not far. We’re on the lowest slopes of Malachite Mountain. His Nibs lives at the very top.’ The landscape was monotonous and the rockgoyle was a poor companion. Amy slept. She awoke to the sound of a bell clamouring. The rockgoyle was tugging on a bell pull beside a vast white door in the wall of the ice mountain. Slowly the door opened. Yellow light spilled out. ‘In we go,’ said the rockgoyle. He helped Amy off the sledge.
