‘Shite, Integrity,’ I muttered. ‘Think. How can you do this?’

The answer popped into my head: levitate. I snorted. Yeah, right ‒ then my skin tingled and suddenly I was doing it. My body was pushing upwards of its own accord. The water level moved down to my chest, then my stomach, then my waist and still I continued to float upwards. I waved my arms around, sending drips of dark water flying in all directions. How was this happening? First teleportation, causing the Bull and I to end up tumbling through the sky at the Cruaich. Then aura reading after I took the Bull’s true name from him. Now I was capable of levitation. I had learnt to levitate just by watching that demon. It didn’t seem possible. I’d certainly never heard of anyone else tripping from Gift to Gift like this. I thought of the expression on the demon’s face. Something had happened to him. Had that something been me? Fear and worry flickered at me. It wasn’t normal. I wasn’t normal. I shook my head and tried to push away my thoughts and focus on getting the hell out of there.

Finally free of the water, I wobbled in mid-air. My clothes felt heavy and their weight was sapping my energy. I bit my tongue as hard as I could and tried to concentrate. All I had to do was reach dry ground. I wobbled again before righting myself and turning to face the street.

‘Come on,’ I whispered. Thankfully my body obeyed and slowly drifted over.

Less than a foot across the street I let go, crashing to the ground with a thud. What I wanted to do was roll over, kiss the hard Fomori earth and then sleep for a few hours. What I did was jump to my feet and run. I couldn’t stay out in the open.

The only positive aspect of my situation, other than still being alive and unharmed, was that I appeared to be taking half the Clyde with me. I was covered from head to toe in a black oily film. It made movement difficult and I was leaving a visible trail of footprints but it did help to camouflage me. I was now a shade darker than the sky and my white hair was a sticky black. All the same, I clung to the side of the buildings and used what cover they offered. There was neither sight nor sound of the hundreds of demons but I could no longer afford to take any chances.

I reached the bridge again and veered round to the main street along which I’d arrived. It was as clear and empty as it had been an hour ago and I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness; I could be back home and dry before teatime. All I had to do was run. I shook my body like a dog, trying to get rid of some of the strange water. And that was when I heard a sudden hiss and looked up to see a demon right in front of me.