The Fomori demon turned to one of his companions. They nodded and he looked back at me. ‘That was the name we were given by one of your kind who dared to come to us. He said he was a treasure hunter. We do not like hunters.’

I kept my voice calm and level. ‘What happened to him?’

‘You see where we live, Adair. We do not have sun. Very little grows without light. We struggle to feed our people.’ For a brief moment, I recognised sadness in his eyes then the mask fell again.

I considered the pixie and what she said she’d done. I was fairly certain I understood what had happened to Matthew MacBain and nausea churned in my stomach.

‘I am not condoning what happened to him or to others who thought they could come here at will,’ he continued. ‘But understand that hunger will drive even the sanest person to depths they would never previously have considered.’

I inclined my head. ‘It would be easy for me to stand here in judgment of those actions,’ I told him. ‘But I have never starved.’

‘Do you have children?’ he asked.

I shook my head.

‘Then,’ he said, ‘you cannot understand what it is like to see your baby, your flesh and blood, wither in front of your eyes and to be unable to help them. That is the reality we live with here, every single day. Understand, Adair, we are a violent people but in this land, only the strong survive.’

‘Why don’t you leave?’

His answer was simple. ‘We have nowhere else to go.’

‘The one thing Scotland has,’ I said, ‘is land. If you had come to us…’ Even as I said the words, I realised they were stupid.

The demon knew this too and he laughed harshly. ‘Do you think we haven’t done that? We tried every method possible of asking for aid. For a long time we were too proud then we were too desperate.’

My voice was quiet. ‘Tell me.’

He sighed. ‘We began with threats: help us or we will hurt you. More often than not we were beaten back by the Sidhe. Or we hurt the wrong people. You might think we are brutal but your people are brutal also.’

I knew what he meant. To the Sidhe, with their Clan Lands and magic and wealth, the rest of the country was disposable. However, from the departure of the trolls to the effect of the freed Foinse, that was changing. I knew it in my bones.

‘We tried other tacks. We appealed to your leader and, initially, he appeared amenable. He told us we could barter, that he would provide aid. He also warned us that our entire race was in great peril.’

Byron didn’t understand what was going on so I risked a glance in his direction. I gave him a reassuring smile but he remained on edge. ‘That peril was me,’ I said.

The demon nodded. ‘Your Clan. He told us he would rid us of this immediate threat if we agreed to stay away and contact only him. He was,’ he licked his lips, ‘very persuasive.’