Each time he failed he retreated and tried a different shape: a beetle, a snake, a mouse. But as soon as he got anywhere near the entrance he turned back into the porker and got stymied again. While she watched him, Tess reflected on what she had learnt. It seemed that Lizzie was right yet again, and that it was ancestors and not ghosts that haunted the woods and wild places of the land. It made sense, too. There were plenty of stories about affairs and marriages between members of the fairy host and humans. Why shouldn’t a bit of the old, wild blood have survived to enable children to use the ancient, magical power? Colm retreated once again, and the puzzled expression on his face would have made Tess laugh if the situation hadn’t been so serious. ‘You can’t do this,’ she said. ‘You can’t hold the children here for ever.’ ‘Who says I can’t?’ said Declan. ‘Besides, I don’t have to. As soon as they get hungry enough they’ll join me at my table. Then they will belong to this world, and they’ll never return to that other one, out there.’ ‘But that’s not right, Declan,’ said Kevin.
