The sphinx had always thought hunting to be a very interesting sport. Tracking and stalking were thrilling, and asking riddles - provided the victim didn't know the answer - was the icing on the cake.

After all the fun, though, there was always the problem of tidying up. Sphix found a mirror from her purse and checked that her face was clean. She also attached the few stray strands of hair back on their place, and smoothed out the borrowed dress. After that she smiled and stepped back on a more busy street and blended quickly into the crowd.

Finding Selfridges again took a little longer that she would have liked to - London could be so confusing - but in the end, she stood in front of the store. Now she only needed to locate Chantinelle again. But, as Sphix reasoned, she had been gone less than an hour, so Ellie couldn't have gotten very far.

Could she?