Practically the first thing that happened when Sally arrived at Wallfruit Cove was that somebody put a lemon milkshake into her hand. That was the sort of thing that made you a friend for life.

The person who had given her the drink was tall and thin, with grey, clammy skin, and Sally couldn’t exactly tell whether they were a boy or a girl. “Welcome to the Cove!” they said, speaking with a slight lisp, “You’ll be one of Colwyn Ballantine’s neices, I assume?”

“Um, yes. My name’s Sally.” That was two people so far who not only knew who Uncle Colwyn was, but also knew that he had nieces. “This is Kai,” she added, pointing to the moth on her shoulder, “He’s the one who brought me here.” Hopefully she wouldn’t have to add, And also the one who knows what’s going on. Hopefully that was implied.

“I’m Sleet of the Meadows,” said the milkshake-giver, “Official greeter.” When Sleet talked, Sally thought she could see more than one tongue in their mouth. That was probably the reason for the lisp. “Now, why don’t we sit down somewhere a bit nicer, hm?”

Sleet had met them where they’d landed, in the middle of a kind of ferny wood, but when they led Sally and Kai to the edge of the treeline, it seemed like all they could see was water. A series of shallow pools, with little stony paths and bridges between them. Tables and chairs in the water, so that in some of them you had to sit submerged up to your waist. One deep, wide pool with a moat circling around it, which seemed a bit over-the-top to Sally. And all around, people sitting and talking, playing games, or just floating aimlessly. About half of the people Sally could see had the same grey, scaly skin as Sleet. The rest were green.

Sleet led them to a table in the shallower part of the water (so that Sally had to take off her shoes, but didn’t have to get her shorts wet), and called another person over. “Comet of the Marshlands,” they explained, “Friend of mine.”

“News from Colwyn?” asked Comet, shifting themself up onto the chair next to Sleet. As they moved, Sally thought she saw little suction cups on the underside of their hands, like you saw on squids and octopuses.

Sleet made the kind of noise that meant ‘yes.’ “This is Sally. She’s one of his nieces.” They smiled. “She says a moth brought her here.”

Sally was just about to explain what she meant when Kai said, a lot louder than you’d expect, “You know, I am at the table. You can ask me directly.”

Sleet’s mouth fell open. Comet clapped a hand over the lower half of their face. Sally looked from one to the other, and realised something: People from Wallfruit Cove weren’t any more used to talking moths than she was.

She began to explain. “He hasn’t always been a moth…”

“It’s OK, Sally,” said Kai, waving a furry leg, “I think they’re getting the idea now.”

“Sweet Colubraria…” muttered Comet, who still hadn’t taken their hand from their face.

Sleet leaned forward. “This is the Iridescence family again, isn’t it?”

“Got it in one,” said Kai.

“I’m so sorry. What you must have been through…” They took a shaky breath. “There’s no excuse…”

“Others have been through worse,” he said gently, “I’m Kai, by the way.”

Sleet moved their hands over their face, pulling themself together. “Well, you’re welcome to stay in the Cove as long as you want, Kai. Sally, how much has Colwyn told you about the paths?”

Sally bit her lip. She felt as if she was in school and she hadn’t done her homework. “He, um, he hasn’t. We only got here last night. Me and my sisters, I mean.”

“Colwyn hasn’t been around since Sally got here,” added Kai, “Otherwise, I’d have thrown myself on his mercy instead.” He gave a little laugh, which made him feel as if he was vibrating on Sally’s shoulder.

“You’re welcome, both of you,” said Comet. They were leaning forward in the same way as Sleet, which made the two of them look like book-ends. “The important thing about these paths, Sally, is that Dovecote Gardens is right in the middle. And only people who start off in Dovecote Gardens can go anywhere else.”

Sally frowned.

“What we mean is,” explained Sleet, “you can come here, because you come from Dovecote Gardens. And we could go there. But we couldn’t get to the place Kai came from, if you follow me.”

“Right…” said Sally.

Sleet pinched their nose. “Oh, I’m not explaining it right…”

Sally did her best to look as if she was willing to learn. She quite liked Sleet and Comet, so far. Not everyone gave her milkshakes in the first two minutes of meeting them.

(To be continued)