He rambled on for almost the entire journey, barely pausing to take breath. I heard about the merits of magic versus machinery in keeping out larger species of wildlife; a treatise on punctuality; details about some failed key-card system which apparently the MacBain Clan had instituted in a bid to rid themselves of the trolls. At one point Bob roused himself, appearing in his usual flash of light. Sorley didn’t falter; he just kept on talking. It took Bob all of twenty seconds to decide that he was going back to sleep. It hadn’t occurred to me that I’d be glad to see the Adair Lands but when we approached their border, I exhaled with relief. Sorley was well-meaning but even I had limits. ‘So you see, if you take a combination of an interlocking system and add it to a linear magic fold, then you’ll— Stop the car!’ ‘Eh?’ ‘I said, stop the car!’ I slammed on the brakes. ‘What is it?’ I hadn’t even finished the question when he leapt out and ran over to where I’d flung down Aifric’s old sign.
