Lexie tutted, giving him a sharp shove. Speck stumbled through the gap, his curse echoing as it bounced off the walls.

‘We are trying to stay quiet,’ I reminded her with a frown.

She shrugged. ‘No-one’s here, Integrity. We’d be waiting forever for Speck to make a move if I’d not done that.’

I didn’t entirely disagree; I didn’t entirely approve either. ‘There’s no point in taking unnecessary risks.’

‘Your impending retirement is making you boring.’

I folded my arms and gave Lexie a stony glare. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to maintain it for long before a smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. ‘Yeah, you’re right. I can still get to the bottom quicker than you though.’

The other woman grinned. ‘Go on then.’

I took a deep breath and jumped. Although the drop to the bottom should have been lethal, Taylor had cleverly modified all of our jumpsuits so it was a piece of cake. He was a regular Q. Each suit was fitted around the shoulders with a small canopy-style parachute. It was no good for heights of more than eighty metres, as sheer velocity would negate its gliding power. For something like this elevator shaft, though, it was perfect. Less than one floor down and I’d already released it, enjoying the air rushing past my cheeks as I descended with Lexie a heartbeat after me on the other side of the narrow drop. She might have beaten me if Speck hadn’t somehow gotten in her way and forced her into the wall instead of directly on top of the roof of the frozen lift.

‘Oops,’ he said, entirely unrepentant.

‘Idiot!’ Lexie hissed. ‘I’ve been trying to beat Integrity at this for months and you know this was my last chance to do it.’

‘Tell you what, Lexie,’ I said. ‘I promise I’ll meet up with you in a few weeks once I’m settled in Oban and we can have a jumping session then. As many times as you want.’

Brochan joined us, his large feet clanging loudly against the metallic lift. His merman body was better designed for water rather than land, even though he had a profound fear of the sea. Any footwear he ended up with looked like outsized clown shoes. It was a miracle he managed to stay as quiet as he did. ‘Waste of time,’ he dismissed.

‘Why?’ Lexie demanded. ‘You don’t think I’m good enough?’

‘She’s Sidhe. You’re not. You’re a cute pixie but you’re not like her.’

I stiffened. What did that mean? Fortunately I was prevented from asking by Speck’s obvious snigger. ‘She’s Sidhe. That’s funny.’ Brochan looked at him blankly. ‘Sidhe? She? You know. Sidhe is pronounced she and you said she is…’ His voice faltered at Brochan’s expression. ‘Never mind,’ he muttered.