Page 1 of Tattered Huntress
Chapter
One
Ishould make it clear from the start that a bogle wouldn’t be my first choice of drug dealer. And Arbuthnot wouldn’t be my first choice of bogle. Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a position to be picky.
I’d spent the last three nights exhausting my other options, which was why I found myself standing in front of Arbuthnot in a dark, brooding nook along Fleshmarket Close. I’d known him for a dozen years, and I was certain that it had been at least another dozen years before then since he’d abandoned his natural countryside habitat in favour of the city. I’d never asked him why he’d come to Edinburgh; in my experience it is better not to know about the skeletons in other people’s closets. Those doors are shut for a reason.
Arbuthnot’s watery eyes were fixed on a random point somewhere over my shoulder. It made me feel I was about to be jumped from behind by one of his cronies, even though I knew nobody was there. ‘I’ve got white dust, skunk and ’shrooms,’ he mumbled.
I ignored the flash of panic that clawed at my throat and remained still. Bogles don’t like sudden movements. ‘I’m notlooking for any of that,’ I said. ‘All I want is spider’s silk.’ All I ever wanted was spider’s silk.
‘All?’ Arbuthnot’s voice rose to a high-pitched squeak as if he didn’t already know what I was there for. ‘All?’
‘I have the money.’
He twisted his head slowly from side to side, making his long, matted hair shiver. ‘Silk is in high demand. There’s not a lot of it about, and the authorities are cracking down.’
The knot in my stomach eased. If he truly didn’t have any, he’d be extolling the dubious virtues of his other products. Arbuthnot was simply trying to drive up his price. It was a dance with which I was more than familiar.
I took a step back. ‘Oh. I’ll try somewhere else, then.’
His hand shot out, grasped my shoulder and pinched it hard. ‘I havesome,’ he said. ‘Just not a lot.’
‘Is it pure?’
His answer was too swift to be anything but a lie. ‘One hundred percent.’
I maintained a blank expression but my spirits sank; I’d be lucky if it were fifty percent pure, then. But I was out of options because the withdrawal symptoms were already kicking in with a vengeance. I’d be hallucinating soon. I didn’t have time to find an alternative.
‘I’ll give you two hundred quid for ten.’ That would see me through to pay day when I could find a different dealer with higher standards.
Arbuthnot wheezed, his derisive laugh echoing down the alleyway. ‘Five hundred.’
‘Three,’ I countered. I could manage that.
‘I won’t break even at three. But I like you, Daisy.’ He tapped his thin lips and pretended to be deep in thought. ‘Tell you what, I’ll do you a special deal. Four hundred and the pills are yours.’
I ran the numbers in my head. I still had to pay my electricity bill and I owed Kat fifty pounds, but there was enough food in the cupboard to last me until the end of the month. It could be worse.
‘Three-fifty.’
‘Four.’
‘Three-sixty.’
‘Four.’ He tilted his head and I recognised the dangerous gleam that suddenly lit his eyes. ‘Offer less again and the price goes up.’
He was probably bluffing but unfortunately I didn’t dare test that theory. Arbuthnot had the spider’s silk I needed, and that meant he had all the power. My position was too weak – and I was too damned desperate.
I cursed inwardly then dug into my pocket until I found the crumpled wad of notes. I thrust them in his direction. He all-but snatched the money from me, sticking his tongue out as he counted it. He lost count halfway through and had to start again while my skin itched and my hands trembled. Eventually he grunted in satisfaction and waved me away. ‘Jimmy’s waiting at the bottom of the steps. He will sort you out.’
I nodded. Before I could twist away to collect what I’d paid for, Arbuthnot’s eyes snapped to my face and met my gaze for the first time. ‘It’ll kill you in the end, you know.’
He was the last person I needed health advice from. And, yeah, it would kill me in the end. Being an addict sucked but spider’s silk was the only thing I’d found that could control the wild magic inside me. Before I’d started taking it, I’d been in real danger of inadvertently killing someone because of my lack of self-control. I’d rather be an addict than a murderer – though I wouldn’t tell any of that to Arbuthnot.
‘Yes,’ I said simply. ‘I know.’
I marched briskly down the well-trodden steps. The narrowgullies on either side, where rivulets of blood from the butchers who used to do business here once flowed, had been filled in decades ago but even so I stayed away from them. There was no sense in treading over bloody history unnecessarily. It was important to me to respect the past, even when it had no bearing on my future. Call it an odd quirk, if you like. We all have them.
