‘Yeah, but it’s possible. Maybe they’re not the villains, Byron. Maybe we are.’

He sighed and glanced at the three bodies. ‘Regardless of what’s going on with the demons either now or in the past, we need to get a move on. I wasn’t expecting the, er, delay upstairs.’

‘Is that what you’re calling it?’

Amusement flickered in his eyes. ‘Come on.’

‘You went to all the trouble of sneaking in past the border,’ I told him, ‘and yet you’ve left a great big pyrokinesis-induced hole in your father’s study. Isn’t that going to be something of a giveaway?’

‘I knew I’d have to cover my tracks,’ he said. ‘Just as I knew that having the library next door was going to be an advantage.’

I was still confused. ‘What do you mean?’

He smiled sadly. ‘Watch.’ He strode out and opened the library door.

I gaped; it was a beautiful space. Say what you like about Aifric, this was magnificent. Even in the gloom of the wee hours, shelves upon shelves stretched out. I couldn’t stop myself reaching over to the nearest one and trailing my finger along the leather-bound books. ‘This is wonderful,’ I breathed.

‘Yes.’ Byron took a deep breath and flicked his fingers, sending out a plume of fire straight ahead.

I yelped in alarm. ‘What the hell are you doing?’ I made to run forward but he grabbed my arm and pulled me back. The old books had already caught fire, the smell of burning paper filling the air.

‘You might not have come prepared, Integrity, but I did. One of my best friends is in a dungeon because of me; I’m going to blackmail Tipsania to draw her out of hiding; I’ve broken into my own father’s study.’ His eyes studied me intently. ‘If all that, plus burning down his house, means removing him from power and showing the rest of the world what he’s really like, it’s more than worth it. Collateral damage.’

Fire rippled along the walls. It wouldn’t be long before the whole place was ablaze. ‘Just how far are you prepared to go?’ I whispered.

He didn’t blink. ‘I thought he’d killed you,’ he replied simply.

‘He didn’t.’

‘Not for want of trying.’ He tugged gently on my arm. ‘We need to leave.’

‘There are people inside here! Sleeping! You can’t—’ I was interrupted by a loud fire alarm screeching from all corners of the castle.

‘My first Gift is Pyrokinesis and I was a precocious child,’ Byron said. ‘The fire systems here are up to date. It’s about the only thing that is. Now we really need to go.’

We pelted to another room where Byron yanked open the window and all but shoved me out. He dived after me and we began running down towards the driveway, away from the growing inferno that was the Moncrieffe stronghold. Everyone would be too occupied with dealing with the fire to look for anyone scurrying off but I still felt rather sick. Just as with my foolish actions in altering the traffic lights back in Perth, there was still the possibility that someone would get hurt.