‘I’ll prove to you that we can work together,’ I said. ‘That we can be on the same side and things can change. That, with the right circumstances, your entire society can change.’ I beckoned to them. May came over but the others were reluctant. I sighed. ‘I couldn’t throw you over the edge even if I wanted to.’

It took another moment but they got up and joined me. ‘When I steal part of a Gift,’ I said, ‘it doesn’t last for long. Eventually it runs out. When I steal all of a Gift, however, it’s mine forever. And this,’ I took a deep breath, ‘is a Gift I’ll have until I die.’ I flicked out my hands, using everything that Morna had taught me. I really hoped this was going to work ‒ with the dim light, it was possible there wouldn’t be much of an impact. Work, I prayed. Bloody work. And then it did.

It started at the edges, down at the base of the castle. At first it was difficult to tell what it was but the demons had better eyesight than me in this dark land. They gasped. Byron stood beside me, placing an arm round my shoulder and sliding out Bob’s letter opener from his sporran. He passed it to me and I carefully tucked it away. He didn’t say anything; it was enough to know that he was beside me.

I continued my work as if I were merely rolling out a carpet. Grass unfurled, followed by flowers. I cast my power out towards Arthur’s Seat. Screams reached my ears even from that far point as the people there were terrified by what was happening all around them. I didn’t stop, though. My heart was racing, hammering out a beat against my ribcage and it was painful to breathe. To the east, I produced wheat; to the west, it was barley. I was hardly aware of the demons staggering as the scent of fresh, plant life rose into the air.

Then there was a loud crash and I stumbled.

A demon raced in from inside the castle. ‘The Sidhe!’ he yelled. ‘They’re here! They’re attacking!’

The Fomori leader snapped his eyes to me. ‘Bitch! You did this to distract us! You…’ his words fell away as the last of the Language magic left me and Fomorian became incomprehensible once more. Another four demons burst through the door, each one dragging a captive: Lexie, Speck, Brochan and Taylor.

Bob shrieked and disappeared in a flash of light and I stared in dismay while all hell broke loose.

Chapter Twenty

Almost immediately we were rounded up and backed against the wall. Three Fomori stood in front of us, ready to cut our throats at the first command. Their weapons were unnecessary; I could see what magic swirled inside them and it made my veins run ice cold. ‘Listen,’ I began. ‘We…’

The Fomori leader spun towards me with such force that I stopped. He barked something, no doubt along the lines of shut the hell up, then he turned to the messenger and spat out a question.