Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked (56 page)

Kitana turned. “Use the Accelerator on just one of us to start with. If you’re trying to trick us, and it takes their powers, we’ll kill everyone in the town above us.”

Skulduggery looked at her. “So who should go first? Maybe you yourself, Kitana?”

She laughed. “I don’t think so. Doran, how about you?”

Doran frowned. “Why me?”

“You’re the strongest, aren’t you? If it is a trap, you’d be the one able to resist.”

Sean scowled, and Doran smirked, then nodded. “Yeah, OK. I’ll do it. Where do I stand?”

While Skulduggery told him what to do, Kitana wandered over to Valkyrie.

“Isn’t this fun?” she said. “Us two girls, having an adventure, surrounded by all these boys fussing over us. We’re going to be the best of friends when this is over, I just know it.”

Valkyrie looked at her. “When this is over, I’m going to beat you to a pulp and take my jacket back.”

Kitana laughed. “Oh, Valkyrie! You’re so funny!”

Doran stood up on the dais, fists clenched. “All right,” he said. “Let’s do it, come on. Charge me up.”

Skulduggery tapped the controls. “Just give me a moment...”

Doran’s leg was shaking. “Come on,” he said. “Hurry up. Haven’t got all day.”

“Just one more moment...”

“Here,” said Doran. “You have used this on people before, right?”

“Hmm?” Skulduggery said. “People? No, not on people. Ah, here we go.”

The dais lit up.

“Oh, I don’t know about this,” said Doran. “I don’t think I want to do this...”

“You’ll be fine,” Skulduggery said.

“How do you know?”

“I don’t.”

The hair stood up on Valkyrie’s arms and light filled the room. The Accelerator whined like an animal, the whine getting louder and louder and the dais beginning to tremble.

“I want to get off!” Doran shouted. “I want to get off!”

“You can’t get off!” Skulduggery shouted back over the roar. “If you get off you’ll die!”

“I’ll die?”

“I don’t know,” Skulduggery shouted. “Probably.”

And then there was a flash, and Doran screamed, and then his scream was drowned out by the Accelerator...

... and then the whine lessened, and the light dimmed, and Doran was kneeling on the dais with his head down.

Kitana stepped forward. “Doran? Doran, you OK?”

He raised his head, looked at her and grinned. “You have
got
to have a go on this.”

hey drove out of Roarhaven, skirting round Dublin and taking the smaller roads until they came to a cottage bordering a large field. A few small sheds huddled beneath the shelter of a line of trees like they were trying to escape the sun. The Bentley slowed, parked along the road. Behind it, dozens of vans did the same.

The sorcerers worked quickly. Using a cloaking sphere to hide themselves from the cottage, they laid the Tempest in the middle of the field and quickly hooked up the cables. Valkyrie watched the sorcerers lie on the ground in a wide circle, using camouflage to blend in. Once they were hidden, the sphere was retracted so that it only covered the Tempest itself, and Skulduggery and Valkyrie walked up the narrow driveway and knocked on the door of the cottage.

Greta Dapple answered, and smiled at them. “He said you’d be by here eventually. Come in, come in.”

She shuffled to one side, and when they were in, she closed the door. “Would you like anything to drink? Tea?”

“No thank you,” said Valkyrie. Greta’s home was an old person’s home. Old-fashioned, with doilies and a small television. Valkyrie helped her to her chair.

“Thank you, Valkyrie,” she said, sighing as she settled in.

Skulduggery took off his hat and focused his eye sockets on Greta. “You’ve been talking to him,” he said.

“Oh, yes.”

“Where is he?”

“I’m afraid I don’t know.”

“Greta,” Valkyrie said, “maybe you can help us. You need to convince him to stop what he’s doing. People are getting hurt.”

“Walden wouldn’t hurt a fly. He is and always has been a perfect gentleman. If only all gods were as mannerly as he is, the world would be a better place.”

“Argeddion is not a god,” Skulduggery said.

Greta shrugged. “He’s the closest thing to one that I’ve ever met.”

“Has he told you what he plans to do?”

“He has. I think it’s a wonderful idea.”

“He’s endangering the lives of billions.”

“Oh, have a little faith in the human spirit, would you? He wants to make them better. He wants to make them happier. Wouldn’t you like to live in a world without strife?” She paused. “Well, maybe you wouldn’t, Detective Pleasant, but hopefully your young partner has not been completely corrupted by violence just yet.”

“I’d love to live in a world without strife,” Skulduggery said, “but that’s not the path I’ve chosen. I do the things I do so that other people don’t have to. Argeddion doesn’t realise what he’s about to unleash.”

“He’s about to unleash peace and love.”

“He’s about to unleash an animal.”

“Mankind is not an animal.”

“Oh, it is, Greta. It’s a scared, dangerous animal. He thinks people are going to wake up one morning and be elevated by the wonders he’s shown them. He thinks we’re going to live in a kingdom of the righteous, of the noble. But we’re not like that.”

“I feel sorry for you, Detective. You fight for us but you have no true understanding of what we are. The tragic thing is that young Valkyrie probably follows your philosophy to the letter.”

“We’re just trying to help people,” Valkyrie said.

“Then you’re doing it wrong,” said Greta. “Don’t become a bitter old cynic like your friend here. Trust in the decency of others and you won’t be disappointed.”

“Where is he, Greta?” Skulduggery asked.

“I don’t know.”

“When will he be back?”

“I couldn’t say.”

“When did you see him last?”

“This morning. We spent the night together. We talked of so many things. He didn’t have an awful lot of news for me, but that’s to be expected, I think, when you’ve been asleep for thirty years. But I told him everything that had happened to me since he was taken, and we spoke of our old dreams, and of the future.”

“And what is your future?” Skulduggery pressed. “Are you and Walden going to live happily ever after in this new Age of Enlightenment?”

“Me?” Greta said. “Oh, my time is nearly up. It’s sad, really. I wish I could have stayed young and beautiful for him – although he says I’m still the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.” She laughed softly. “He’s such a bad liar.”

“You love him,” said Skulduggery.

“Of course,” said Greta.

“Then you won’t help us, even if you agree with us.”

Greta gave them another smile. “I’m glad you understand.”

“Unfortunately, I do. Can I ask you to accompany us outside?”

Greta seemed surprised, but smiled again as Skulduggery helped her up. Valkyrie didn’t look at her. She couldn’t.

They went outside, moving slowly, and crossed to the field.

“It’s a beautiful spot,” Skulduggery said.

Greta nodded. “It belonged to my parents. They died over a hundred and sixty years ago, but I can still hear their laughter. They didn’t know I was magic. They didn’t know magic existed. I’ve always regretted not telling them. What about you, Valkyrie? Does your family know?”

Valkyrie shook her head.

“A shame,” said Greta. “But don’t worry. They will. You’d make it easier on them if you told them beforehand. Tell them today. Show them what you can do. Delight them. Tell them that soon enough, they’ll be able to do it, too. Think of the look on their faces.”

They were on the field now. They’d passed through the circle of sorcerers and Greta hadn’t even noticed, even though she’d been right on top of one of them.

“Walden loved this place as much as I did,” she continued. “The peace and the tranquillity, the fact that no matter how fast the world was moving around us, we could always stop and hear the birds sing.”

“Greta,” Skulduggery said, “we’ve tried to be reasonable. We’ve tried to use logic and common sense to convince Argeddion that this is not the way to go. But we’ve run out of options.”

“I don’t understand.”

At Skulduggery’s signal, all of the hidden sorcerers raised a hand.

Greta gasped. “What... what are they doing here?”

“It’s a trap,” Skulduggery said. “We’ve worked out a way to stop Argeddion and we’re using you to draw him in.”

“No. No, I won’t do it.”

“You already are. With the bond you share, I can’t see how he wouldn’t be tuned in to your emotional state at all times. Your panic will send him running.”

“Then I won’t panic. I won’t—”

“You’re panicking right now, Greta. You’re doing exactly what we want you to do.”

She stared at him, then stared at Valkyrie. “How can you do this? What is wrong with you that you can do this?”

“We’re sorry,” said Valkyrie.

“He doesn’t want to hurt anybody!”

“He may not want to,” said Skulduggery, “but he will.”

Greta covered her mouth with her hand, and tears filled her eyes. “He loves me. How can you use that against him? What kind of people are you?”

Skulduggery tilted his head. “We’re the people who get the job done.”

“I’m disappointed,” said a voice from behind them.

Greta sobbed as Argeddion walked forward, taking her in his arms. “It’s OK, my sweet. It’s OK.”

Valkyrie glanced at Skulduggery, and they both took a step back.

“Walden,” said Greta, “no, it’s a trap.”

“I know,” Argeddion said. “But it won’t work. Please, go back inside. I’ll speak with you soon.” He kissed her gently on the forehead, and then made her vanish. He looked up. “As I said, I am disappointed in you. Greta is an elderly lady, and you purposefully cause her distress simply to draw me out?”

“We had to get you here,” Skulduggery said.

“Why? So all of the sorcerers you have surrounding us could attack me at once? What, you thought I wouldn’t notice them? A clumsy plan for such an intelligent man.”

“You’ve left us no choice.”

Argeddion’s eyes flickered to Valkyrie. “I see someone has installed a psychic block in your mind. A good job they did, too – although it wouldn’t take me long to dismantle it if that’s what I wished.”

“We’re offering you a chance,” Skulduggery said. “Return to the Cube. We have it powered by the Accelerator. It’s safe. Forget all this. Let the world evolve on its own.”

“Abandon everything, after I’ve learned so much?”

Argeddion held out his hand and a man appeared beside him. He was in his twenties, dressed in a suit, and he was sweating profusely. He looked like he hadn’t even realised he’d just teleported.

“This is my newest test subject,” Argeddion said. “As of yet, no side effects or abnormal behaviour. He is coping quite well with his new abilities.”

The man looked up, eyes wide. He stared at Skulduggery. His hand began to glow. He cried out, raising his arm and energy crackled—

—and then he crumpled to the ground, unconscious, and a small globe of light drifted from his chest, absorbed into Argeddion’s hand.

Argeddion was silent for a moment while the man disappeared. “That was a promising start,” he said at last. “I knew this wasn’t going to be easy. I knew there was going to be a lot of trial and error. But I’m close. When the power I gave to Sean and Doran and Kitana reaches its full potential and returns to me, it will answer a lot of questions. It won’t be long now before I discover the correct amount of magic to give to mortals which will not result in trauma.”

Skulduggery shook his head. “We gave you a chance to surrender. It’s obvious you’re not going to take it.”

Argeddion smiled. “Is this when you spring your trap?” He rose into the air. “Very well, then. Here I am, a nice big target for you all.”

“Actually,” Skulduggery said, “would you mind moving to your right a little?”

“By all means. How’s that?”

“Perfect,” Skulduggery said. “Thank you.”

Argeddion sighed. “Is this when the violence begins? Are you going to attack me now?”

“We are,” said Skulduggery. “But not in the way you think.”

The cloaking sphere retracted, revealing the Tempest lying directly beneath Argeddion’s hovering form. All around the field, sorcerers burst from cover, grabbed their Siphoning Discs. Energy pulsed down the cables, stirred in the Tempest and burst upwards, catching Argeddion right in the centre of the beam.