‘There are some fresh molehills behind that bush over there,’ Hugo said. I paused to look. He was right.
Otis buzzed, ‘And I think that’s a badger’s den in front of us.’
Interesting: whatever was trying to push us out wasn’t malevolent enough to scare away the animals. That thought lightened my spirits somewhat. ‘Maybe it’s a strange sort of ward,’ I said. ‘Something environmentally friendly designed topreserve the woods but keep out the destructive force of humans and elves.’
‘Brownies aren’t destructive,’ Hugo said. Otis flashed him a grateful smile.
‘No, but their DNA is closer to ours than to a badger’s. It could be something a local witch has conjured up to keep the likes of us out.’
‘Possibly,’ Hugo said. ‘Although—’ He stopped in mid-sentence. A slow grin spread across his face, causing his dimple to appear and my heart to skip a beat. ‘There. I caught a glint of silver. That’s a chain. I think we’ve found it.’
His sharp eyes galvanised us into action. We spun round and dashed towards the spot. Otis zipped through the air, letting out a crow of delight as he got close, while Hugo and I followed on foot.
‘It’s definitely a necklace!’ Otis called.
Hester popped her head up to observe the proceedings. ‘Well, whaddya know?’ she said. ‘There really is a necklace and this isn’t just some sort of weird trap.’
I grinned and knelt down to scoop it up, but before I could Hugo put a hand on my arm. ‘Wait,’ he advised. ‘It might yet be a weird trap.’ He circled around the silver chain. ‘Let me check it first.’
The necklace was nestled on a bed of verdant green moss; I could see its broken clasp even without kneeling down. There was nothing that suggested a trap; there were a few twigs nearby and a brown leaf caught in one of the silver links, but the placement was messy rather than artful. There wasn’t a scrap of evidence to suggest that Amy had sent us here with a nefarious purpose.
‘I can’t sense any magic, Hugo. This isn’t the source of that repelling force. We’d know if it were.’
‘I’m only double checking. It pays to be prudent.’ He sent me an arch look. ‘As you should have already learned when you took a tumble down that gully before finding the dagger. One day, when you’re as experienced as I am, you’ll understand the value of being extra careful.’
Yeah, yeah. I rolled my eyes; this situation was not remotely similar to that one. ‘Look,’ I pointed down. ‘There’s a teeny spider. Who knows? That might be the one that freaked out Amy. There’s no danger here, no trap.’
Otis flitted closer to the tiny creature. ‘It’s very small,’ he said doubtfully. ‘I mean,I’msmall and even I think that spider is small. Is that really what scared her so much?’
We watched the small black arachnid scuttle across the moss. It paused for a moment, as if thinking then jumped, twisted around and darted out of sight. It was definitely far more afraid of us than we were of it, and it was far too small and far too real to cause my cravings for spider’s silk to rear up.
I glanced again at Hugo then bent down and scooped up the necklace. Nothing changed and no traps were triggered.
‘It doesn’t mean I wasn’t still right, Daisy,’ Hugo admonished. ‘Look before you leap.’
‘He who hesitates is lost,’ I returned.
I caught his flash of amusement and smiled. I picked up the necklace to give it a cursory examination. It was a pretty thing and the silver was real, although it didn’t appear particularly valuable in monetary terms. Given Amy’s determination to get it back, I suspected its sentimental value was high.
I put it carefully in my pocket to make sure it wouldn’t go astray again. ‘Mission accomplished,’ I said. ‘But not every question has been answered.’
Hugo’s eyes gleamed. ‘Do we leave this godforsaken place as fast as we can?’ he asked. ‘Or do some more investigating to find out why it feels as if we shouldn’t be here?’
‘Do you even have to ask?’ I asked.
Hester, who was still buried amongst the folds of my coat, hissed in irritation. ‘Yes! Yes, we do have to ask. And you know what the answer is? It’s no. Hell, no. Let’s get the fuck out of here as quickly as possible.’ Nobody responded and she muttered under her breath, ‘Why do I even bother?’
Suddenly Gladys, who’d remained sheathed by my side during our search, hummed loudly. It wasn’t a light-hearted sound; I knew that tone, and it wasn’t an attempt at banter with Hester. That sound was a warning.
I stiffened, immediately withdrew her blade and tightened my hand around her grip. My gaze swung nervously from side to side as Hugo stepped forward, squinting at the undergrowth. ‘Something’s in there,’ he said.
No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a rustle. Hester squeaked and her head disappeared back under my collar. Otis bravely remained where he was but his wings were quivering as he scanned the area.
There was another rustle. I licked my lips. It was coming from somewhere low, close to the ground. ‘It’s probably just a small animal,’ I whispered. ‘One of those moles. Or the badger who lives nearby.’
Hugo grimaced. ‘They’re nocturnal animals, Daisy. It’s ten o’clock in the morning.’
‘There will be other creatures here. Plus it’s pretty dark and gloomy. Maybe they think it’s night time.’
