Finbar. Gods, was he just beyond the hedge, perhaps held in the arms of one of these gray ghosts? It was dark and cold. I must bring him in to the fire . . . I took a step toward the gate and stumbled over a stone, almost dropping my brand. I clutched at the stick. A jab of pain went through my hand, where the splinter was lodged in the skin. What had got into me? It was crazy to consider going out there. Beyond that barrier, risk is everywhere, Dog Mask had said.

“Clodagh.” Someone spoke across the gate, soft-voiced. A woman. Framed by her gray hood, her face was oval and lovely. Her eyes were the blue of a summer sky, her skin like fresh cream. My mouth dried up; my heart beat faster. Was not this Deirdre of the Forest, the woman of the Tuatha De who had once guided my grandmother when she undertook a fearsome test of endurance? She seemed exactly the way Sibeal had described her. Now she was smiling, though her eyes were sad. She looked like a friend.

“My lady,” I said, my voice coming out as a nervous croak,

“what do you want from me?”

“We have your brother,” the woman said. “Just over there—look.” I craned my neck. One of the other figures had moved up closer and was holding a small bundle. In the uneven light I could not see it clearly. “Open the gate, Clodagh, step through. I’m here to help you, daughter of Sevenwaters. Your mission is at an end.”

So easy. All I had to do was unlatch the gate and take five or six steps and I could have Finbar in my arms. My mother’s hope, my father’s joy. He was almost within my grasp. But . . .

“What about the password?” I asked.

She chuckled in amusement. “Don’t worry about that. The gate will let you out; the password is only for going in. A trick devised by meddlesome folk. Ignore it. Come, my dear, come and fetch the child. You must be longing to take him home.”

Something was wrong here. No mention of Becan. Wasn’t this supposed to be an exchange? And if they wanted to help me, why didn’t they pass Finbar over the gate or bring him in to me?

“Please hold him up where I can see him,” I said, shivering at my own temerity. It was not for a human girl to question the motives of the Tuatha De. They were folk of immense power.