‘Bottom line: you still believe we can find a way through to their homeland?’ the General asked.

‘We know that the Tuatha De Danann can cross over at will,’ Kirkham replied. ‘We also know that some human beings can pass back and forth, albeit only at certain locations. The mechanism is not clear at the moment, but with enough time and resources-’

‘You’ll get all the resources you require,’ the General said. ‘Time is a different matter. The Tuatha De Danann may have left us alone since the Battle of London, but we have still been invaded. The country is under enemy control, and we have no idea when they will attempt to begin cleansing. We’ve waited long enough already.’

‘Sir?’ Hal ventured. The others looked up sharply — they’d forgotten he was still there. ‘Shouldn’t we be working alongside those who fought off the original invasion at the Fall… the Brothers and Sisters of Dragons? From the intelligence we’ve gathered, we know they can cross over without any harm.’

‘I’ve been asking for one of them to question for a long while,’ Kirkham said to the group, his frustration plain.

‘Are we sure they’re not just urban legends?’ Manning asked. ‘I mean, five men and women — in what, their twenties? — who somehow mysteriously banded together and stopped the invasion from crushing us completely?’

‘How do you think the invasion was stopped at the Fall?’ the General said. ‘It wasn’t us. Our forces were paralysed… decimated. Why did the gods decide to sneak off into the woodwork after the Battle of London, when they’d already demonstrated that they could wipe us out any time they wanted?’

‘Yes, but five people,’ Manning continued incredulously. ‘I’ve heard the stories the same as you-’

‘Oh, they exist all right,’ Reid said.