Events are coming to a head. The battle for CarCamel has ended and Kaplyn is seen as the saviour. Catriona, the Thracian Queen, wants him to lead the army in its fight against Trosgarth, leading the army with a dragon at his command. Kaplyn, however, has other ideas. He fears dragons and does not know why. His dreams remain plagued by the great serpents, but yet one helped them. It is a conundrum and Kaplyn decides to pursue an image shown to him by Astalus, the Thracian wizard. The image was of Vastra, now an old man, held captive in Aldrace. Kaplyn harbours a terrible fear. Vastra recovered a crystal from the Tree of Life and, with it, he can open a gateway to the demon world. A permanent one! Should that happen then nothing can prevent Drachar’s Shade from crossing the Great Divide, at the head of a demon horde.