Cullane Wood was a popular destination for local hikers and dog walkers alike, so the trail was broad and well-maintained. Cat had only been there once before when her fourth-class teacher brought the whole class to the ruins of the ringforts to learn what life was like during the Bronze Age. She had learned that forts had been built all over the country by different clans and most of them now lay broken and forgotten. It didn’t surprise her that the fairies would claim such a place for their own: it wasn’t as though anyone else was using it.

They walked for a time down a straight, flat path until they reached a wooden bridge that spanned a lazy trickle of water barely wide enough to be called a stream. After that, the trail began to climb up the side of the hill and the forest on either side of them began to grow denser.

When she was younger, Granny used to take her on long walks around Clonbridge and beyond, telling her stories both real and mythical about the local landscape.

‘Trees have memories, Caitriona,’ she said once. ‘They have their own stories and if you listen hard enough you can hear them.’ This was the first time Cat truly understood what Granny had meant. The further they got into the forest, the surer Cat was that the trees were whispering about them – sending word ahead to warn of their arrival. Not only that, she started to feel like they were closing in, hemming in the path behind them so they couldn’t easily escape.

She wondered if Shane sensed it too. Occasionally she caught sight of him in the shafts of moonlight that broke through the branches above and his face was set and determined.

‘I’ve been thinking about the Clurichaun’s song,’ said Shane. His voice was low and quiet but the sound of it still made Cat jump. She hadn’t realised how on edge she was.

‘What about it?’ she whispered back.

‘Well, we know the first verse – “November Eve brings dangers untold” and all that – was just a fancy way of telling us to listen up and pay attention. And we know the second verse and third verse were about the Dullahan and the Merrow.’

‘Right.’

‘But what does the fourth verse tell us? “Dangers lurk where fae-winds blow, and treachery you’ll find there when you go …”?’

‘Seems kind of obvious to me,’ said Cat. ‘We’re heading right into the heart of the fairy court; it’s probably going to be dangerous.’

‘But what about the whole “treachery” bit? I don’t like the sound of that.’

‘Me neither,’ Cat conceded. ‘How did the rest of the verse go?’

They recited the song out loud until both of them were sure they knew it by heart, but its meaning didn’t become any clearer through repetition.

‘He couldn’t have just said, “Oh by the way, here’s how to get the better of those evil fairies you’ll meet tonight”, no?’