I stared at Jock in incomprehension. “What do you mean? How could they?”
“She must have slipped away to Fleming’s cottage.”
“But we warned her not to!” I said.
I had to claw through the whistling to enable me to hear Agnes. She was screaming for help as the Sidh hustled her away, with half a dozen of the creatures surrounding her. I saw the Sidh clearly now, with their pointed ears and gashed mouths, they were the living embodiment of that thing in the Muckle Barn, an ancient evil I did not understand.
“You’re not getting my baby!” Agnes yelled. “Dougie! Mr Lunan! Help!”
Dougie was first out of the trees, bounding down the hill like a young stag. Peter was only a few steps behind, holding his pike in both hands and roaring a challenge. Jim gasped as the wound in his leg re-opened, but
