"Don't, don't," Edmund ordered, worry and adrenaline making his voice breathy and shaky. He wasn't a king at that moment giving orders, just a boy scared to death for his friend.

Gently taking hold of Claire's hands, he set them by her sides in the dirt. "Don't touch. Don't move. You shouldn't move." He wished desperately for Lucy's cordial, for the power to make that magic work here, but instead had to do with the next best thing.

"Honour!" he shouted and the massive wolf came bounding out from the shadows in which he had hidden. Moving silently on large paws, he took up a protective stance near Claire's head, seeming to know what Edmund wanted without his asking.

"I'm going to get help," he told her. "Please, please, just hold tight, Claire."