“What?” I was shocked. The fact that I had just been considering whether my companion was a traitor seemed irrelevant. “Why? And what concern is that of yours?” This small entity did not seem particularly threatening, but I must be careful. Whatever this dog-person was, it surely wasn’t one of the Fair Folk.

“Lose him!” the creature hissed. “Bad blood! Shadows and darkness!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cathal stir again. I did not turn my head. “Why should I listen to you?” I asked as calmly as I could, though the creature’s words had chilled me.

“You want a guide, don’t you? I can guide you. But I won’t take him anywhere. Go on with him and you’ll be on the sure path to heartbreak. You must lose him tomorrow. Walk one way, let him walk the other. While he stays with you, you’ll be beset by difficulties. You’ll be attacked, hurt, scarred, damaged. You think your beauty marred by those cuts. Believe me, there’ll be far worse to come if you keep him by your side. You don’t need him, Clodagh. You don’t want him. His kind are scum.”

“How do you know my name?” This was deeply unsettling.

“We know. How doesn’t matter. Get rid of him, quickly.”

“I’d never have got across the river without Cathal,” I said, keeping my voice quiet though I was becoming angry. “Without him, I’d never even have found it. Whatever he may have done in the human world, he’s here because he wants to help me. He said so and I believe him.”

The mask turned toward me. “You pity him.” The creature’s tone was flat. “As you pity the little scrap you have there on your knee.”

I laid a protective hand on Becan’s curled-up form, swathed in Cathal’s tunic. “Pity?” I said. “I don’t think so. I try to give folk the benefit of the doubt, that’s all. I try not to judge too quickly.”

“Ah, well,” Dog Mask said airily, “don’t say you didn’t get your chance of help.” Its squat form began to fade away before my eyes.

“Wait!” I cried. The creature halted, wavering in and out of visibility. “What are you? Why would you offer to help me?”

“That’s immaterial if you choose to keep him with you. Do that and you’ll be finding the way yourself.”

“He’s an Inis Eala man,” I said, wondering if I was being extremely foolhardy, but knowing I would not give in to threats. “He’ll find it for me.”