'Mama!' Mila cried out, craning to spot her in the blackness. Papa's hands clamped down, holding one of her legs and one of her arms tight. He turned, Mila felt his head move as he looked into the dark too.

'Dan'iss! Dan'iss!' Papa's voice cracked, the sound making a ball of ice form in Mila's gut.

From the darkness a sound emerged. Thuds, scrapes and scratching like metal against metal that made Mila's teeth chime.

'DAN'ISS!' Papa flared out a ball of energy, ...