Speck beamed. ‘Me!’

Byron turned to stare at him. I threw up my hands. ‘What if the Sidhe had caught up to us? It needs to be kept safe, Speck!’

‘I thought we might need the extra magical boost. It helped me create that wave. You know, the one that allowed us to escape?’ he added pointedly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Byron’s expression flatten into an impenetrable mask. He folded his arms. Crapadoodle. ‘You know it’s here,’ he said. It wasn’t a question.

I scratched my neck. ‘I do now,’ I answered slowly.

‘That wasn’t what I meant.’ He eyed me. Even Sorley seemed to think it was a good idea to back away. ‘You’ve had the Foinse in your possession all this time and you didn’t tell me?’

‘It’s not in my possession.’ I wondered how I could extricate myself without pissing him off again. ‘It’s got free will. It chooses where to go.’

Speck jabbed his finger at me. ‘Yes! If the Foinse hadn’t wanted to come here, it wouldn’t be here. So it’s not my fault.’

I frowned at him and he grinned. I looked at Byron. ‘And it’s not like it’s always been hanging around. It’s only been with us since we got back the Adair Lands. It was there when we arrived.’

‘That’s true,’ Taylor nodded.

‘So what you’re saying is that when I visited you there, the Foinse was there too?’

This wasn’t going very well. ‘Er, yes.’

‘And you kept it a secret?’

‘Byron, I…’ I sighed. ‘Yes, I kept it a secret.’

A muscle jerked in his jaw. He took a step towards me. ‘Why shouldn’t you tell a secret around a clock?’ His voice was dangerously low.

‘Excuse me?’

‘You heard me.’ He tapped his foot.

‘Because, um, time will tell?’

Sorley’s eyes turned from me to Byron and back again then his face cleared and he let out a loud guffaw.

‘That’s right,’ Byron said silkily. ‘And if it takes us until the end of time, I’m going to make sure that you trust me. You got that?’

‘I’ve got it!’ Shite. ‘I mean, I do trust you. I just … forgot to tell you about the Foinse, that’s all.’

‘That’s fine.’ He stepped away.

Feeling hot and bothered, I rubbed my neck. I had completely lost track of what was going on. It was just as well that Bob took that moment to harangue us. He flashed into the room with a disdainful glance. ‘You’ll be relieved to know that we’re safe. The Sidhe are no longer trying to pursue us.’ He sniffed loudly. ‘You’re welcome.’

‘Thank you, Bob.’

He zipped up to Byron. ‘I didn’t hear anything from you.’ He wiggled his earlobe. ‘I know you’re broke but manners cost nothing.’

‘Thank you, Bob.’

‘Well,’ the genie demurred, ‘okay then.’ He flew down, hovering at the edge of Byron’s kilt. ‘What do Scotsmen wear under these things? I’ve always wondered…’

Byron grabbed him before he could take a peek. ‘Manners cost nothing,’ he reminded him.