Light flashed and Bob reappeared with a whoop. ‘I told you that bikini was a great idea!’ he crowed.

I tutted. ‘Were you listening?’

‘I was. And I can tell you that he might be a handsome bastard but he’s gone down in my estimation. Get rid of me! Honestly!’

I tried to smile.

‘Uh Integrity,’ Bob said, suddenly serious, ‘you need to tell him the truth about his father.’

‘And that I stole part of his Gift,’ I sighed. ‘Yeah, I know.’ I slumped onto the edge of the nearest bed.

‘What are you doing?’ he screeched. ‘Hair, girl! Hair! Come on! You still owe me!’

Shite.

Chapter Eighteen

Byron wasn’t the only person to come knocking. After managing to persuade Bob to allow me to change back to my regular clothing, and Lexie, Speck, Brochan and Taylor had returned from scoping out potential future targets for thievery, someone else appeared on the doorstep.

It was Speck who answered. He didn’t say anything, he simply stepped back and gestured her in. The stone-faced MacBain Chieftain strolled in, her back ramrod straight as it always seemed to be. She swept her gaze around the cabin and sniffed. ‘So this is what you’re putting the genie to use for? Soft furnishings.’

I bit back a sarcastic response and pasted on my best smile. ‘Chieftain MacBain. We are honoured by your visit.’

She sniffed again. I wondered if she had caught a cold. ‘I won’t stay long,’ she said. ‘I received the ring.’

‘Good. And, for the record, I didn’t steal your necklace.’

‘If you say so. I’m prepared to overlook the entire incident if you tell me where the Foinse is. It’s vital that we recover it.’

‘I don’t know where the damn Foinse is. How many times do I need to bloody well repeat myself?’

She gave me a long, cold stare. ‘Very well,’ she said finally. ‘In the absence of the source of all magic, I will request that you pass the genie to me once your three wishes are completed.’

Of everything I’d expected her to say, that wasn’t even close to the top of the list. ‘Er … what?’

She threw me a long-suffering look. ‘Do you need me to say that again?’

‘What on earth do you need Bob for?’ Lexie broke in. ‘You can’t trust the wishes, you know.’

She didn’t take her eyes from me. ‘What I do with him is my business. Do we have a deal?’

I frowned. My skin was still itching from the heavy gold material of the bikini and I was certain I was breaking out in a rash. ‘He’s not a thing to be passed around from person to person. He’s a being in his own right.’

‘Got that right,’ Brochan rumbled.

Chieftain MacBain gazed at me as if I were moon-touched. ‘He’s a genie,’ she said flatly. ‘His purpose is to serve.’

‘No,’ I answered. ‘It’s not. If he wants to go with you, he’s welcome to do so. It’s his decision though. He’s not my slave.’