Skulduggery Pleasant (7 page)

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Skulduggery was pounding at the door, but it had buckled under the impact, trapping his leg.

"Go!" he shouted at her through the broken window. "Get away!"

She glanced back, saw a figure loom up, and pushed herself away from the car. She slipped on the wet road but scrambled to her feet and ran, the man right behind her, clutching his injured shoulder.

He lunged. She ducked, caught a streetlight, and swung herself from her course, and the man shot by her and sprawled onto the pavement. She took off the opposite way, passing the two cars and running on. The street was too long, too wide, and there was nowhere she could lose him. She turned off into a narrow lane and sprinted into the shadows.

She heard him behind her, heard the footsteps that seemed to be moving much more quickly than her own. She didn't dare look back; she didn't want the fear that was lending her speed to suddenly sabotage her run. It was too dark to make out anything ahead of her; she couldn't see one arm's length ahead. She could be about to run smack into a wall and she wouldn't--

Wall.

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She twisted at the last moment and got her hands up and hit the wall, then pushed away, kicking off without losing too much momentum, continuing around the corner. The man couldn't see in the dark any better than she could, and she heard him hit the wall and yell out a curse.

Up ahead was a break in the darkness. She saw a taxi pass. The man slipped and stumbled behind her--she was getting away. All she had to do was run up to the nearest person she could find, and the man wouldn't dare follow her.

Stephanie plunged out of the shadows and screamed for help, but the taxi was gone and the street was empty. She screamed again, this time in desperation. The streetlights tinted everything orange and stretched her shadow out before her, and then there was another shadow moving up behind. She threw herself to one side as the man barreled past, narrowly missing her.

The canal was ahead, the canal that flowed through the city. She ran for it, aware that the man was once again behind her and gaining fast.

She felt his fingers on her shoulder. The first touch was fleeting, but the second was a grip. His hand curled around her shoulder and tightened just as she reached the edge of

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the canal, and she managed to throw herself forward before he could drag her back. She heard a panicked shriek from behind and realized she had pulled him after her, and then the freezing water enveloped them both.

The cold stunned her for a moment, but she fought it and kicked out.

She clutched at water and dragged it down to her sides, just the way she had done countless times off the Haggard beach. Now she was moving up, up to where the lights were.

She broke the surface with a gasp and turned her head, saw the man struggling, flailing his arms in terror.

For a moment she thought he couldn't swim, but it was more than that. The water was hurting him, working through him like acid, stripping pieces of him away. His cries became mere guttural sounds, and she watched as he came apart and was silent and most dead.

She turned from the bits of him that floated to her and plowed through the water. Her hands and feet were already numb with the cold, but she kept going until his remains were far behind.

Shivering, Stephanie reached the edge of the canal and managed to haul herself out. Arms

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crossed over her chest, running shoes squelching with every step and her hair plastered to her scalp, she hurried back to the Bentley.

When she got there, the Bentley was empty. Stephanie hung back, out of the light. A truck passed, slowing when it approached the crash. When the driver didn't see anyone, he drove on. Stephanie didn't move from her spot.

A few minutes later, Skulduggery emerged from the narrow lane she'd been chased down. He was walking quickly, looking up and down the street as he returned to his car. Stephanie stepped out of the shadows.

"Hey," she said.

"Stephanie!" Skulduggery exclaimed, rushing over to her. "You're all right!"

"I went for a swim," she said, trying to stop her teeth from chattering.

"What happened?" he asked. "Where is he?"

"Here and there." The light breeze was passing through her soaking garments. "The water kind of. . . took him apart."

Skulduggery nodded. "It happens."

He held out his hand, and she felt herself drying and saw the water drifting off her,

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collecting as mist in the air over her head. "You're not surprised?" she asked.

He moved the cloud away and released it. A faint shower fell to the street. "Certain types of Adept magic don't come cheap. As we saw at Gordon's house, your attacker had made himself impervious to fire, and was probably very proud of himself for doing so. Unfortunately for him, the cost of that little spell was that a large amount of water would be lethal. Every big spell has a hidden snag."

He clicked his fingers and conjured fire, and Stephanie started to feel warm again.

"Neat trick," she said. "You'll have to teach me it sometime."

With quite a bit of effort, Stephanie pulled open the car door. She wiped the broken glass from her seat, got in, and buckled the seat belt. Skulduggery went around the other side to his own broken window and climbed in behind the wheel. He twisted the key, and the engine turned, complained, and then came to life.

Her body was tired. Her mind was tired. Her limbs felt heavy and her eyes wanted to

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close. She dug her mobile phone out of her pocket--miraculously, the canal water hadn't ruined it. She pressed a button and the time flashed up. She groaned, then looked outside as the first light of the morning started to seep into the sky.

"What's wrong?" Skulduggery asked. "Are you hurt?"

"No," she said, "but I will be if I don't get back to Gordon's house. Mum will be picking me up soon."

"You don't look too happy."

"Well, I don't want to go back to that world--a boring old town with nosy neighbors and nasty aunts."

"You'd rather stay in a world where you get attacked twice in one night?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but yes. Things happen here."

"I'm going to see a friend later today, someone who might be able to help us out. You can come along if you want."

"Really?"

"I think you might have a real instinct for this line of work."

Stephanie nodded and gave a little shrug, and when she spoke, she fought hard to keep the sheer joy out of her voice. "And what about magic?"

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"What about it?"

"Will you teach me?"

"You don't even know if you're capable of doing magic."

"How do I find out? Is there a test or something?"

"Yes, we cut off your head. If it grows back, you can do magic."

"You're being funny again, aren't you?"

"So glad you noticed."

"So will you teach me?"

"I'm not a teacher. I'm a detective. I already have a career."

"Oh, right. It's just--I'd really like to learn, and you know it all."

"Your flattery is subtle."

"But it's okay; if you don't want to teach me, that's okay. I suppose I could always ask China."

Skulduggery looked at her. "China won't teach you. She won't teach you because there is nothing that she does that is not for her own gain. You mightn't see it at first, you might think she's actually being nice to you, but you can never trust her."

"Okay then."

"Okay. So we're agreed?"

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"We're agreed. No trusting China."

"Good. Glad we've got that sorted."

"So will you teach me magic?"

He sighed. "Dealing with you is going to be a trial, isn't it?"

"That's what my teachers at school say."

"This is going to be fun," Skulduggery said

dryly. "I just know it."

Skulduggery dropped Stephanie off at Gordon's house, and half an hour later her mother's car splashed through huge puddles and Stephanie went outside to meet her. She managed to keep her mother's attention off the house, lest she notice that the front door was merely leaning against the door frame.

"Good morning," her mother said as Stephanie got into the car. "Everything okay?"

Stephanie nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine."

"You're looking a little bedraggled."

"Oh, thanks, Mum."

Her mother laughed as they drove back toward the gate. "Sorry. So tell me, how was your night?"

Stephanie hesitated, then shrugged. "Uneventful."

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Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Serpine

Nefarian Serpine had a visitor. The Hollow Men bowed deeply as he strode through the corridors of his castle. They looked real from a distance, but up close they were nothing more than cheap imitations of life. Their papery skin was a mere expressionless shell, inflated from within by the foulest of gases. It was only their hands and feet that were solid and heavy--their feet clumped when they walked, and their hands weighed down their arms, so they stood with a perpetual stoop.

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Their number increased the closer he got to the main hall. They were simple creatures, but they did what they were told, and they hadn't known what to make of the visitor. Serpine entered the main hall, the crowd of Hollow Men parted, and a man in a dark suit turned to him.

"Mr. Bliss," Serpine said politely. "I thought you were dead."

"I heard that too," Bliss responded. He was an elegant man of muscle and mass, as tall as Serpine, but whereas Serpine had black hair and glittering emerald-green eyes, Bliss was bald, with eyes of the palest blue. "In fact, it was a rumor I started. I thought it might make people leave me alone in my retirement."

"And has it?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Serpine motioned for the Hollow Men to leave them, and he led his guest into the drawing room.

"Can I get you a drink?" Serpine asked, heading to the liquor cabinet. "Or is it too early in the day?"

"I'm here on business," Bliss said. "Elder business."

Serpine turned, gave him a smile. "And how are the Elders?"

"Worried."

"When are they not?"

Serpine went to the armchair by the window, watched the sun as it struggled to rise, then

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settled into the chair, crossed his legs, and waited for Bliss to continue. The last time they had been in the same room together, they had been trying to kill each other while a hurricane tore the place down around them. The very fact that Bliss remained standing right now told Serpine that he was thinking the same thing. Bliss was wary of him.

"The Elders called me in because, five days ago, two of their people went missing--Clement Gale and Alexander Slake."

"How very unfortunate, but I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of meeting either of them."

"They were assigned to .. . observe you, from time to time."

"Spies?"

"Not at all. Merely observers. The Elders thought it prudent to keep tabs on a few of Mevolent's followers, to make sure no one strayed from the terms of the Truce. You were always at the top of that list."

Serpine smiled. "And you think I had something to do with their disappearance? I'm a man of peace these days, not war. I seek only knowledge."

"You seek secrets."

"You make that sound so sinister, Mr. Bliss. As for the missing 'observers,' maybe they'll

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turn up safe and well, and the Elders can apologize for dragging you out of your retirement."

"They turned up yesterday."

"Oh?"

"Dead."

"How terrible for them."

"Not a mark on their bodies. No indication at all as to how they died. Sound familiar?"

Serpine thought for a moment, then arched an eyebrow and held up his gloved right hand. "You think this did it? You think I killed those men? I haven't used this power in years. When I first learned it, I thought it was a wonderful thing, but now I look on it as a curse, and a reminder to me of my many mistakes and transgressions in my servitude to Mevolent. I don't mind telling you, Mr. Bliss, that I am deeply ashamed of what I have done with my life."

Bliss stood there and Serpine almost spoiled it all by laughing, but he managed to retain his look of mocking innocence.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Bliss said, turning to leave. "I shall be in touch if I need to ask you more questions."

Serpine waited until Bliss was at the door before speaking again.

"They must be scared."

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Bliss stopped. "What makes you say that?"

"They sent you, didn't they? Why didn't they send the detective, I wonder?"

"Skulduggery Pleasant is busy with another investigation. "

"Is that so? Of maybe they thought I would be intimidated by you."

"They thought you'd listen to me. This Truce will hold only for as long as both sides want it to. The Elders want it to hold."

"That must be nice for them."

Mr. Bliss looked at him as if he was trying to read his thoughts. "Be careful, Nefarian. You might not like what's at the end of this road you 're on."

Serpine smiled. "You 're sure you won't join me for a drink?"

"I have a plane to catch."

"Going somewhere nice?"

"I have a meeting in London."

"I hope that goes well for you. We'll have a drink some other time, then."

"Perhaps."

Mr. Bliss inclined his head in a small bow, and left.

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Ghastly

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Stephanie went to bed as soon as she got home, and woke at a few minutes past two in the afternoon. She padded to the bathroom and showered, her body aching as she stood under the spray. Her knees were scraped and cut from when she'd been dragged along the road. Her skin was mottled with deep bruises. Her neck was stiff.

She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower, dried herself off, and pulled on fresh jeans and a T-shirt. Barefoot, she took her old clothes downstairs and threw them