Page 17 (1/2)

I suppose ic Before I could tell them differently, Emma said, "Come on!" and they sprinted toward the little man I had no choice but to follow I re my "driver" to ot, the less eager I was to meet him

He was shorter than lier than anyone else on the planet His facial features were positively Neanderthal Under his thick furry er than the other His beard looked as if it had been used to scrape greasy pots His skin was poxy with red welts, and his hair looked like a bird’s nest that had been set on fire then stomped out

When he sawto help his appearance

"About time!" His accent was American He belched into his fist, and the smell of curry nearly knocked me over "Bast’s friend? Sadie Kane?"

"Um…possibly" I decided to have a serious talk with Bast about her choice of friends "Just by the e have two gods trying to kill us"

The warty little man smacked his lips, clearly unie, then"

He turned toward the curb and yelled, "BOO!"

A black Mercedes limousine appeared out of nowhere, as if it had been scared into existence

The chauffeur glanced back at me and arched his brow "Well? Get in!"

I’d never been in a limousine before I hope most are nicer than the one we took The backseat was littered with takeaway curry containers, old fish-and-chip paper, crisps bags, and various dirty socks Despite this, Eether in the back, because none of us dared ride up front

You e ht, of course But Bast had promised us help, and Anubis had told me to expect a driver The fact that our proical lier things

Also, I didn’t have much choice The potion had worn off, and the strain of releasing so ed I wasn’t sure I could’ve walked to Waterloo Bridge without passing out

The chauffeur floored the gas and barreled out of the station The police had cordoned it off, but our limo swerved around the barricades, past a cluster of BBC news vans and a mob of spectators, and no one paid us any attention

The chauffeur started whistling a tune that sounded like "Short People" His head barely reached the headrest All I could see of hirubby nest of hair and a set of furry hands on the wheel

Stuck in the sun visor was an identification card with his picture--sort of It had been taken at point-blank range, showing only an out-of-focus nose and a hideousto eat the camera The card read: Your Driver is BES

"You’re Bes, I guess?" I said

"Yes," he said

"Your car’s a mess," Liz rumbled, "I’ll throw up"

"Is it Mr Bes?" I asked, trying to place his nay I was fairly sure they hadn’t had a god of chauffeurs "Lord Bes? Bes the Extrerunted "One s And no, it’s NOT a girl’s na short, I’od, so what do you expect? Oh, there’s bottled water for you back there if you’re thirsty"

I looked down Rolling about at my feet were two partially empty bottles of water One had lipstick on the cap The other looked as if it had been chewed on

"Not thirsty," I decided

Liz and Ereement I was surprised they weren’t absolutely catatonic after the evening’s events, but then again, they were irls, did I? Even before I discoveredconstitution and a fair amount of adaptability to be my friend [And no comment fro Waterloo Bridge, but Bes swerved around the The police didn’t even blink

"Are we invisible?" I asked

"To most mortals" Bes belched "They’re pretty dense, aren’t they? Present cood?" Liz asked

"Huge," Bes said "I’od of dwarves," Emma marveled "You mean as in Snow White, or--"

"All dwarves" Bes waved his hands expansively, which made yptians were smart They honored people ere born unusual Dwarves were considered extreod of dwarves"

Liz cleared her throat "Isn’t there a more polite term we’re supposed to use nowadays? Like…little person, or vertically challenged, or--"

"I’ed people," Bes grumbled "I’m a dwarf! Now, here we are, just in time"

He spun the car to a stop in thebehind us, I aled black shape was circling over the riverbank At the end of the bridge, Babi was taking care of the barricade in his own fashion He was throwing police cars into the River Thames while the officers scattered and fired their weapons, though the bullets seeod’s steely fur

"Why are we stopping?" Emma asked