I folded my arms. Now hang on a bloody minute. ‘If you’re telling me to join the damn Moncrieffes, you’ve got another thing coming,’ I said aloud. ‘I don’t care who you are. I’m not doing that.’

Something icy cold brushed against my cheek and I leapt about three feet in the air.

‘Join them, Layoch. Join them and Alba will be saved.’

The whispers rose in a tide, encircling me, getting louder and louder. I cupped my hands over my ears. ‘Stop it!’ I yelled. ‘Stop it!’ I twirled round and sprinted out of the clearing until I was surrounded again by nothing more than trees. Then my knees buckled underneath me and I collapsed.

Chapter Seven

Dusk was falling when I finally felt safe enough to pick myself up and leave the grove. Bob and I skulked towards the edge and peered out. The search for me had been abandoned for now; I could hear no dogs and see no people. Aifric had had a good four hours to search the Cruaich and its grounds and with Stephen McGillivray, or whoever the Farsenser was, it would have taken much less time than that. All the same I remained cautious in case we were walking into a trap down by the border.

I slipped across the main thoroughfare to the line of trees beside the long, snaking driveway. All the while Bob crowed in my ear, ‘Ha ha! We showed them, didn’t we, Uh Integrity! We are the masters. All those Sidhe against us and every single one of them was clueless while we are free and in the wind.’

Much as I appreciated that I wasn’t now facing an executioner’s axe, I felt that Bob was viewing our expedition as more of a success than it actually was. ‘We came to rescue Candy,’ I pointed out, ‘and he didn’t want to be rescued. I wouldn’t get over excited. In effect, we’ve accomplished nothing.’

‘But just look at what we’ve learned, Uh Integrity. Now you’re getting a glimpse of what it’s like to be as all-knowing as me.’

I wasn’t sure we’d learned anything useful. ‘Candy has made some mysterious promise to Byron which makes no sense.’ I sighed. ‘And the Sidhe ancestors think I should join up with my enemies.’

‘Technically that’s not what they said.’

I shrugged. ‘So what do you think they meant?’

Bob stroked his chin. ‘I could tell you,’ he said slowly, ‘because of course I know.’

‘Of course.’

‘But you need to come up with the answer yourself to achieve true enlightenment.’

‘Right. So what you’re actually saying is that you don’t have a scooby what they were on about.’

He sniffed. ‘I’m not even going to deign to answer that.’

I gave up on debating further as we approached the border. There were more guards in place than before but I reckoned I had just enough of Tipsania’s Gift left inside me to slip across without being noticed. I brought it up, vanished from sight and darted towards the car.