She began to chant ‘eeny-meeny-miny-moe’ when Shane stopped her.

‘Wait, look at this!’ he said, bending down and picking up a small dark object that lay in the middle of the left-hand path. He held it up to the light. It was a long black and white feather.

The magpies have been this way, thought Cat. But what did it mean? Were they trying to point them to the Revels, or did they want to send them in the wrong direction? She thought of the way the birds had alerted the Dullahan when he was searching for them and how they had led Cat and Shane right to where the Merrow’s song could lure them in.

They’ve been leading us into trouble all night, she thought, and what could be more trouble than the fairy Revels on Halloween night?

‘That way it is,’ said Cat.

They followed the left-hand path until they came to another fork and, once again, they found a magpie feather lying in the middle of the cold stone floor, pointing the way. On and on they went, heading deeper and deeper into the hill. Soon they began to hear the faint sounds of music and laughter, which grew louder with each passing minute. The feel of the fairy-magic grew stronger too and Cat knew they were almost there. Finally, they turned a corner and came upon an ancient-looking wooden door carved with scenes of woodland animals. The sound of a raucous party thrummed behind it and rich golden light poured out from the crack between the door and the floor. They had arrived.

‘Are you ready?’ said Cat as they stepped forward and pushed the door open. They emerged into another world, or so it seemed. They stood at the entrance of a great hall that stretched out before them to nearly the size of a football pitch. The room was lit by hundreds of candles and the grey stone walls were strewn with colourful tapestries. The ceiling was open to the night sky showcasing stars that shone brighter than any mortal eyes should rightfully be able to see. On either side of the hall sat long wooden tables laden down with all manner of food and drink and towards the back of the room was a stage where a group of fairy musicians were playing a lively reel.

Everywhere Cat looked she saw groups of people dancing and feasting. Although Granny had told her plenty of stories about the fairies over the years, up until that moment, a small part of her still clung the idea that fairies were small creatures with white-blonde hair and delicate filigree wings. Looking at them now, she realised she couldn’t have been more wrong. They were more human-like than she had imagined they would be, and, like humans, they came in all shapes and sizes. Some were tall and lithe while others were short and plump. Some had brown or red hair while others had hair every colour of the rainbow, and their skin, from palest white to richest brown and deepest black, glowed faintly under the enchanted moonlight. They weren’t necessarily pretty – although some certainly were – but there was something about them that made each and every one of them seem both beautiful and terrible.