Page 86 of Tattered Huntress
She wetted her lips. ‘Because that’s how I met Humphrey in the first place,’ she whispered. ‘After the vampire incident when you saved me, I went to a little sorcerer’s shop I’d heard about to get something to defend myself with in case it happened again. Humphrey was there talking to someone. He told me that the only way I could defend myself against a vampire and be sure that I was safe was to use blood magic, but it was extremely rare, highly illegal and very dangerous and I shouldn’t go near it. We got chatting and went for a drink and then…’ She shrugged helplessly. ‘In the end it turns out I’d have been safer with the vampires.’
I knew she was trying to make light of the situation. ‘He fooled all of us, Eleanor. In the end, everything worked out.’
I would, however, be very happy if I never crossed paths with blood magic ever again. I crossed my fingers and muttered a brief wish to whoever might be listening. Then I smiled at her. ‘I need to go home and freshen up, but would you like to meet up later for a drink or two? I owe Billy a pint and you’d be very welcome to join us.’ I had a strong suspicion that Eleanor was in dire need of some real friends.
A genuine smile grew across her face. ‘I’d love that. I’dreallylove that.’
The doorbell rangwhen I was towelling off my hair. ‘Hester,’ I called. ‘Can you go and see who that is?’
‘Why do I have to do it? Why can’t Otis do it?’
‘I’m watching cat videos!’ he yelled.
I rolled my eyes. It was easier to answer the door myself. I padded down the narrow corridor and opened the door. When I saw who was standing on my doorstep, I blinked in genuine surprise.
‘Hi Daisy.’ Mr McIlvanney twisted his hands together and gave me a nervous look. ‘How are you?’
‘Fine.’
He looked down at his feet. Silence stretched out.
‘Can I help with you something?’ I asked eventually.
He sighed and twitched. ‘I want to apologise to you for what happened before. I shouldn’t have sacked you like that. You deserve support, not censure, and you’ve been an excellent SDS employee.’
Uh-huh. Ihadbeen an excellent SDS employee – but that didn’t explain what my ex-boss was doing here now. I waited, using my own sudden silence as a weapon against him.
McIlvanney cleared his throat. ‘I’d like it if you came to work for us again. I’ll give you a raise. You can work whichever shifts you like. I want to make amends.’
‘I’m still a drug addict. That’s not changed.’
‘We can work around that,’ he said. ‘It’s not a problem. Maybe in time we can find a rehab programme that suits, but it doesn’t matter. We want you as you are.’
I watched him for a long moment. ‘I’m not coming back,’ I said quietly.
He gnawed on his bottom lip. ‘Okay.’ He didn’t seem surprised. ‘I’ll give you an excellent reference.’
‘I don’t need a reference. I’ll work for myself from now on.’
He raised his head. ‘As a freelance delivery driver?’
‘As a freelance treasure hunter.’ I hadn’t thought about it until now but as soon as I said the words they made sense. I was good at it. Sometimes. I also enjoyed it. Sometimes. Mostly, it felt right; it was what Iwantedto do.
McIlvanney looked thoroughly confused but he seemed to know better than to question me. ‘If you change your mind, you can always come back to SDS. In the meantime…’ He thrust an envelope in my direction.
‘What’s that?’
‘Severance pay.’
I looked at the envelope, then I took it. I’m not completely stupid. ‘Thanks.’
‘You’re welcome.’ He shuffled his feet. ‘I should go.’
He twisted around and walked away. Hester flapped up to my ear. ‘Stab him in the back! You did it to Humphrey. You can do it to him!’
‘Hush.’ I leaned out and peered around the corner. ‘You can come out now.’
Hugo didn’t hesitate, neither did he look particularly sheepish at getting caught. He simply gave me a long curious look. ‘A freelance treasure hunter?’
