He leered at me with a slack-jawed grin. I saw Angus in an attack stance on the other side of the loch, facing his own giant; there were glowing balls of an eerie green colour in the palms of Angus’s hands, suggesting that his Gift was of the more violent sort.

‘Let me past,’ I grunted to the giant in front of me, ‘and I won’t hurt you too badly.’

He guffawed and a line of spittle dangled from his chin. Physiologically, giants have large brains but they aren’t known for their intelligence. He would be under strict orders to do whatever was necessary to bar my path and his single track mind would be focused on that and that alone. Nothing I could say would help me. I thought about the competitors behind me and hoped that none of them would hurt him. The Carnegies shouldn’t have inveigled him into this. It simply wasn’t fair.

The giant threw back his head and let out such a massive roar that I could swear the ground shook. Then he lunged forward with a massive swipe that caught me on the side of my head and I went flying backwards. Shite, shite and shite again.

Gasping for air, I struggled to my feet. The giant cracked his knuckles in anticipation. There was a howl of pain and I glanced over to see one of Angus’s green orbs smack into the other giant’s chest. He fell backwards and Angus wasted no time in swerving round him and running off. It didn’t look like I was going to win this challenge after all.

My distraction served my opponent well and he took full advantage of the opportunity, punching out again and this time catching me full on the chest. Yet again I was almost unable to breathe. I wheezed and spluttered but managed to stay on my feet. Just.

I looked to my left. I could avoid my opponent by going towards the loch. I might even get lucky and the ice would hold my weight but somehow I doubted it ‒ and there was no way that I was going to brave those waters again. To my right, the banks were steep and covered with ice and snow. I was agile but I knew my limits. If I tried to leap up there, I’d slide back down again and that would lead me to my doom.

The giant grinned vacantly. His left flank was completely open and I could have attacked him there and made my move. I was aware of distant footsteps behind me; it wouldn’t be long before I was overtaken by more than just Angus. I gritted my teeth and ran forward full pelt.

At the very last minute, as the giant’s huge arms swirled in my direction, I ducked and threw my body into a rolling dive. I skidded through the gap in his legs, closing my eyes to avoid the unsavoury temptation to peek under his heavy kilt. While the giant heaved in frustration and tried to turn, I was already on my feet.