Page 26 of Tattered Huntress
‘How do I get to it?’ I asked eagerly.
They exchanged glances and suddenly I sensed something unspoken and dangerous passing between them.
Mark cleared his throat. ‘The closest point is about forty miles away. It’s a straight route if you’re driving.’
Jamila choked slightly. ‘Mmm.’
‘What?’ I asked. ‘Is there a problem?’
‘Doctor’s Gate starts at the summit of Snake Pass.’ There was an air of grim finality about her words.
My eyes flicked from one to the other. ‘Let me guess,’ I said slowly. ‘It’s called Snake Pass because…’
‘Because of the monstrous snake that lives up there and likes to eat people.’ Mark shrugged. ‘We get paid double whenever we have to go that way.’
‘Is the snake worse than a grumpy troll with a penchant for drenching drivers in her own snot?’ I demanded.
‘Only if it sees you.’
I pursed my lips; I could work with that. I leaned forward. ‘I just have one more question.’ They looked at me. ‘Are any of you heading that way now?’
I hoppedinto the driver’s seat next to Jamila. ‘Thanks again for this.’
She smiled. ‘No problem.’
‘Yes,’ Otis piped up out of nowhere. ‘Thank you.’
Jamila jerked in shock and recoiled. ‘What the fuck…?’
‘He’s a brownie,’ I said quickly. ‘He won’t do you any harm.’
‘He will if you listen to him,’ Hester butted in. ‘Otis is full of good intentions and bad ideas.’
Jamila’s skin had turned pale and I suppressed the urge to loudly berate both brownies. The last thing I needed was for her to change her mind and boot me out of her van. I sighed. ‘I sort of … acquired the pair of them just before I was invited to join the treasure hunt. They seem determined to stick around. They’re annoying, but I promise they’re not dangerous.’
She gave Hester and Otis a wary look. ‘I suppose they’re kind of cute,’ she said doubtfully.
‘Trust me,’ I told her. ‘The cuteness wears off pretty damned quickly.’
Hester aimed her tiny leather-clad foot at my cheek. I grimaced.
‘You know,’ Jamila said, starting the engine before driving the van out of the SDS car park and onto the main road, ‘for a moment there I was kind of jealous of you and all that you had going on. I’m over it now.’
Funny that. ‘Hey,’ I said lightly, ‘maybe one day you can also be insulted by a minor elf celebrity, sacked from your job, driven mad by two brownies and thrown into the deep end where you’ll be competing against people with more power, more riches and more knowledge than you have.’
She sent me a sideways glance.
‘Those are all the reasons why I’m desperate to win. I’ve got a lot to prove,’ I added, only realising it for the first time.
Jamila grinned suddenly. ‘Delivery drivers for the win.’
Amen to that.
‘But you won’t have much success if you keep hitch-hiking across the country,’ she went on.
She had a point. I was reluctant to use my money to buy an old car because even a clunky banger would wipe me out financially. My fingers strayed to the pills hidden away in my pocket. I’d told Jamila most things – but I hadn’t told her about my addiction.
‘How are you with motorbikes?’ she asked suddenly.
