Aifric turned and, for the first time, I saw his expression; in fact, I could almost hear the cogs turning in his head. If he wasn’t sure that I was dead, he’d know immediately that all this commotion was down to me.
‘Someone is here. Someone is playing with us and I want to know who.’ His eyes narrowed. ‘Set guards around the perimeter. No one is to get in or out unless I know about it. And release the dogs. Maybe they’ll pick up this intruder’s scent. Whoever they are, they’re going to rue the day they picked a fight with me.’
I was tempted to open my mouth and tell him that there hadn’t been any fighting and he should look to his own actions before he pinned the blame on others but I was more concerned about the mention of dogs. Neither Invisibility nor Illusion would work against the nose of a hound. And if the Cruaich border was going to be teeming with guards on the lookout for the slightest thing, I couldn’t count on escape in that direction.
‘Do we have any Farsensers on the grounds?’ Aifric asked.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Just when I’d thought things couldn’t get any worse…
‘Most of them are off scouting for the Scrymgeour lass. But I think Stephen McGillivray is a Farsenser. He’s here for the stag party.’
Aifric nodded. ‘Find him. No one rests until every inch of this place has been checked.’ He pivoted and marched away.
Without waiting for the guards to pass me, I leapt up and darted left towards the main doors, away from Aifric.
‘This is bad, Uh Integrity,’ Bob hissed. ‘What are we going to do?’
I was rather touched that he said we. ‘I don’t know,’ I muttered tightly. I could already feel the invisibility draining away; I wouldn’t be able to use it for much longer before I started becoming less invisible and more opaque. I had to find somewhere to hide, somewhere out of reach of a Farsenser.
I ran outside and tried to think. I could always go to the old Games grounds. That cabin where we’d been made to stay would work as a hiding place if it weren’t for the Farsenser. I had to find a way of disguising my trail. Something that would fool the magic… ‘I’ve got it,’ I whispered. If this didn’t work, nothing would.
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, glad that there was a cement path leading down to the grounds. ‘I used to have a hobby pouring cement,’ I told Bob. ‘But then it became too hard.’
‘You’re telling jokes?’ he howled in my ear. ‘We’re about to become dogfood and you’re telling jokes?’ As if on cue, I heard barking in the distance.
‘Chillax, Bob. I’ve got this.’ The wind whipped past, making my baseball cap fly off and my hair stream out behind me. Crapadoodle. I stopped, prepared to run back and get it, then I saw Byron’s stag mates appearing around the corner of the castle. I grimaced and left the cap where it was. I had to hustle.
The towering trees and dark shadows of the Cruaich grove soon came into sight. When Bob saw that was where I was heading I felt him relax against me. ‘Clever girl,’ he murmured.
‘I hope so.’ I crossed my fingers on both hands for luck. The grove was sacred – no way would a pack of hounds be allowed to tear through it after an intruder who hadn’t actually done any damage. If my plan worked the magic bound into the land would stop anyone, regardless of how skilled they were, from being able to farsense through it. As long as no one thought to come and comb through the grove, both Bob and I would be safe.
I ran through the first fringe of trees, keeping to the path until I was deep enough inside to slow down. The sunlight disappeared almost immediately above the canopy as I was swallowed into the grove’s interior. The sounds of the dogs and the shouting faded away but I didn’t slow down. Even when strands of my hair caught in outstretched twigs and it felt as if my scalp were being pulled from my skull, I didn’t stop. I was not going to let Aifric win. I wasnevergoing to let Aifric win.
Gasping for breath, I pounded ahead. I only realised that I’d arrived at the central clearing – the place where I’d seen fleeting images of my ancestors and received my true name – when I felt a frisson of electricity shoot through me. I sloughed off the invisibility and came to a halt.
Bob was awestruck. ‘Uh Integrity,’ he breathed. ‘This is amazing.’ He stretched out his arms, spreading his fingers wide. ‘I can feel the power. I can even hear it.’
So could I. Already a chorus of indecipherable whispers was rising in my ears. I swallowed. It was probably alright for me to be here. Unlike the individual Clan groves, this one at the Cruaich was open to all Sidhe. In essence, it was the central point for all of us.
I put my hands on my hips, trying to slow down my breathing. Regardless of right or wrong, it would be wise to stay away from the clearing. I didn’t need to be haunted by angry Sidhe spirits of yore.
I turned round, planning to leave the path and plunge into the trees in case a search party did come through here. Before I could take a step, a word rang out and made me freeze. ‘Layoch.’
My true name. I thought I was nervous before, trapped on that staircase between Aifric and his guards, but it was nothing compared to this. I slowly turned around.
‘Layoch.’
My mouth was dry. I swung my head from left to right but, unlike the last time I was here, there was nothing to see. There was the only the voice, accented with a gentle Scottish lilt which I couldn’t distinguish as male or female.
‘Uh Integrity,’ Bob quavered. ‘This is scary.’
‘I know. Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.’ I wished I could be sure of that.
‘Join them,’ the voice whispered.
My spine went rigid. Join who?
‘Join them,’ the disembodied voice repeated.
