‘He’s gonna chuck,’ Bob said knowingly.

I gestured to him to keep quiet. He huffed in irritation but did as I asked. We watched from the shadows as the Sidhe staggered backwards then spun round and began retching violently. I winced. Shite. So much for all that pacifism.

The sound was enough to wake his dozing companions. The warlock muttered in alarm and scrambled to his feet. The two humans looked groggier but they got up and stumbled over to check on the Sidhe.

‘Now. Speck,’ I hissed.

He slipped forward, moving soundlessly past Brochan and me and up to the flagpole. Even through the darkness I saw him gulp. It was rare that Speck was our point man but, given how much his recent proximity to the Foinse had affected his magic, he needed to get used to it. All the same, I watched him with my heart in my mouth. If any of the Scrymgeour sentries turned round, he’d be done for.

The Sidhe continued to retch, falling forward onto his knees. I was starting to suspect he was making a bigger deal out of his nausea than was absolutely necessary. I’d stolen partial Gifts from others and they’d not reacted this badly. I gnawed at my bottom lip and prayed I was right. The humans were hunkered down, one on either side of him and both facing away from the border. The pesky warlock, however, was kneeling in front of him. All he had to do was lift his head and he’d catch sight of Speck pulling the scrap of Adair fabric from his pocket and pinning it to the base of the Scrymgeour pole.

‘Go, Bob,’ I said urgently.

For once the genie chose not to argue. He spun in the air, transformed himself into a large bluebottle and zipped forward. As Speck murmured out the words to let us pass the border, Bob landed on the Scrymgeour warlock’s ear and buzzed loudly enough to be an irritation. Scowling, the warlock stood up and batted him away but Bob wasn’t about to quit and shot towards his ear again. The warlock cursed and waved his hands around, shaking his head like a dog emerging from a dip in the sea.

The tightness in my stomach eased slightly as Speck signalled. I sprang forward, angling my body to the left to veer round the Scrymgeour group. With the others on my heels, I wasted no more time; I acknowledged Speck with a bob of my head as he joined us and we pushed past the border.

My skin tingled, traces of the magic that held the border in place still trying to hold me back. I’d been through far worse than this; let’s face it, if I could pass through the damned Veil several times, then I could skip through the Bull’s weakened border. As the Sidhe finally stopped being sick and wobbled back to his feet, pushing his companions away in irritation, our small group sped towards the nearest copse of trees on the Scrymgeour side. By the time we reached them, the sentries had turned back to their original posts. The Sidhe was still rubbing his stomach and looking confused while the other three settled down again to return to their doze. Excitement over.