EIGHT
TEWKESBURY, 2022 AD
The next morning, when Aria came into the lounge carrying a black canvas bag, I was poring disconsolately over the usual ordnance survey chart. The expression on my face alerted him,
“What’s the matter, Jake? You look like you’ve lost a fortune at cards!”
I snorted and looked up,
“I don’t like failing at anything I undertake.” I pointed at the map, “Look here, I went straight past this when I was on the Mary trail. How’s that possible?”
“Belas Knap? It’s worth a visit.”
“I’m not interested in a long barrow as such, Aria, don’t you see, it must be on the Mary line and I missed it! There’s Sudeley Castle too. I passed quite close. I suppose I was so concentrated on the flow that I detected that I didn’t spot a deviation—as in the writhing of a serpent.”
“Sud
