Now that I could see better, I noticed a dark patch trailing down from Matthew MacBain’s name. Frowning, I leaned forward and sniffed. All I could smell was damp but the patch looked suspiciously like old, dried blood. I sidestepped to examine it from a different angle – and tripped over something on the floor. My feet flew out from underneath me and I landed with a heavy thud, expelling the air from my lungs.

When I looked at what I’d stumbled on, I threw myself backwards, my heart racing.

It was a skeleton. Scraps of flesh and a few rags still clung to the bones but it had obviously been here for a long time. I reminded myself to breathe, my hand rising to my chest until my pulse began to calm. Then I went back to look more closely.

Physiologically, humans and Sidhe were almost the same and my knowledge of biology wasn’t extensive enough to tell the difference between them. Even so, I bet that this was poor Matthew. When I spotted the signet ring on his third finger, I knew for sure: it was engraved with the MacBain crest.

Holding my breath, I bent down to pull it off. ‘It’s only a skeleton, Integrity,’ I muttered. ‘You can do this.’ It came off easily – after all, there was little more than bone for it to cling to.

I examined it. Even covered in dust, dirt and goodness knows what else, its rich, buttery gold shone through. By the looks of things, Matthew MacBain had been highly placed in his Clan.

‘I’m sorry for what happened to you,’ I said to his body, aware how pathetic my words were.

I shoved the ring deep into my back pocket and glanced to my left. There was something else written on the wall. When I got close enough to read it, my bones turned to ice. This was worse than Matthew MacBain’s body.

There were only two words. They weren’t cut into the stone but drawn on it with what again looked like blood. With my heart in my throat, I backed away. I didn’t want to be here; I had to get the damned harp and get out of here.

I left quickly, returning to the makeshift road and picking up speed. It was probably my imagination but it felt like it was getting hotter and it was becoming harder to breathe. The dark sky felt oppressive. I started to run again. There was no one here; I could afford to be less careful.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to reach a crossroads. On the far corner there was an old church. The steeple had long since fallen but there were five pillars in front, which Bob had described to me in painstaking detail. I was to turn right and count down twelve buildings. From there I would see a thin bridge leading across the Clyde River and then the house I was looking for would be twenty-seven steps east.