Groaning, I stretched and got up before wandering outside and greeting the latest cameraman, who was lounging on a rock nearby, with a grunt and an admonition not to follow me. I curved back round the cabin in the same direction as I’d taken to talk to Winter the day before, pausing briefly at my hallucinated bloodstain. It was still just a shadow. Not blood. I breathed out; with any luck, I was now completely back to normal.

I hunkered down behind a bush for a pee then, just as I was standing up, I heard a rustle and heavy footsteps plodding towards me. Alarmed – and suddenly wondering whether this was really happening – I straightened up. Hallucination or not, I’d meet it head on. My magic reserves were back to normal so, even if this were another damn zombie, I reckoned I could manage.

There was a heavy sigh followed by a curse. Then the familiar face of Gareth, the farm helper who’d found what was left of Benjamin Alberts, came into view.

I dropped my hands and broke into a smile. ‘Gareth! How are you?’

He froze, obviously startled to see me. ‘What … what are you doing here?’

I gestured towards the cabin. ‘Filming.’

He relaxed slightly although his lip still curled. ‘I might have guessed. I skirted round the perimeter and avoided the security guards but I thought all the action was taking place further downstream. There were a lot of cameras there.’

Another team had probably set up camp down that way. ‘There are a lot of us about,’ I told him cheerfully. ‘Why are you sneaking past security to get here anyway?’

‘I’m not sneaking. All Scottish lands give right of way. It’s not illegal for me to be here.’

I held up my hands. ‘I wasn’t trying to suggest it was.’

He seemed slightly mollified. ‘I’ve lost another sheep,’ he said. ‘My…’ he hesitated ‘…my mum is getting pissed off. I thought I saw tracks leading down this way but now I’m not so sure.’ He glared at me. ‘All your lot have muddied everything.’

Given he’d already told me that he wasn’t much of a tracker, I doubted it would have made much difference. All the same, I tried to look apologetic. ‘I saw a sheep over the other side of the river yesterday. It was on its own.’ It was probably not a good idea to tell him I’d decided it was an evil omen. Gareth was sensitive enough as it was, without thinking he might end up falling across another dead body.

He cursed under his breath. ‘Bloody creature.’ He paused. ‘Thank you.’

I curtsied. ‘You’re welcome.’ He gave me a half smile in response.

I looked him over. I didn’t know him well but he certainly appeared healthier than the last time I’d seen him. Maybe those gym workouts had helped after all. I grinned to myself. Nah. Not a chance. It was more likely that the counselling sessions I’d helped arrange had done the trick. It might have only been a couple of days but spilling out your heart to a stranger could have a remarkable effect. It really did help to offload.