Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 1 - 12. Derek Landy

utter a lazy reply, but she cut him off. “Thank you. I didn’t think you would. We need to know anything you’ve heard concerning Dreylan Scarab and any possible base of operations.”

      Myron looked at her for a long time. “I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

      “And I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist. I could continue calling you Myron, you see, or I could switch to your other name. What was it again? The name that makes you do anything you’re told?”

      Myron’s eyes turned hard and he looked at Skulduggery. “You promised me you would never use my true name against me.”

      “Yes, I did,” Skulduggery said, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. “And I won’t. Unfortunately, you were rude to my partner and friend, and she made you no such promise.”

      Valkyrie pulled a chair from beneath the table, wiped the seat and sat. “I read somewhere,” she said, “that you can protect your true name. Isn’t that right? There’s a way to seal it so it can’t be used against you? Why didn’t you do that?”

      Myron licked his lips. “It was too late,” he said stiffly. “That only works if you seal the name before it’s used.”

      “I see,” she nodded. “But you didn’t even know what it was, did you? And Mr Bliss did. And you annoyed him. I can’t possibly imagine how, seeing as you’re just so nice and polite, and such fun to be around.”

      Myron put his beer can on the cluttered tabletop and glared. “You want to know if I’ve heard anything? I heard about you. Both of you. Sensitives are talking and they’re saying that some freak called Darquesse is going to kill you. I for one can’t wait. Skulduggery, we’ve never really liked each other, and girl, I have certainly not taken a shine to you, either. If you ask me, the sooner this freak gets to you, the better.”

      “We heard about those visions,” Skulduggery said calmly. “But I wouldn’t sound too pleased about it, if I were you. Darquesse kills us, yes, but she kills everyone else while she’s at it. You may have missed that bit.”

      Myron rubbed the bristles on his jaw and didn’t respond.

      “We want to know where Scarab is hiding,” said Valkyrie.

      “I don’t know where. No one knows where. That bunch of psychos he has with him don’t let things slip to friends, because they don’t have any friends. Nobody knows where they are.”

      “We know that they’re in a castle somewhere,” Valkyrie said.

      “Well, why didn’t you say that at the start?” Myron snapped. “I didn’t pay this any attention when I heard it, but there’s been a lot of activity around Serpine’s old place recently.”

      “Serpine’s castle has been sealed off,” Skulduggery said.

      “Well, they must have found a way to unseal it then.”

      Skulduggery stood and put on his hat. He took a roll of cash from his coat pocket and left it on top of an upturned fried chicken bucket on the table. “Thanks for your help,” he said.

      “My pleasure,” grunted Myron.

      Skulduggery tipped his hat and walked out. Valkyrie got up to follow him.

      “Interesting people you hang around with,” Myron said, and she looked back at him. “Couple of bad habits you’re picking up too. Got a pretty smart mouth on you, don’t you?”

      “I suppose I do.”

      “Word of warning though. There might not be many people out there who trust me, but there are even fewer who trust your friend. Just something to think about.”

      He took a swig from his beer can and Valkyrie walked out to the car.

      

       carab and Billy-Ray walked over to inspect the bomb on the table.

       “That was quick,” Scarab murmured. “We had all the materials ready for you, but still, how did you do it so fast?”

       “This one has secrets,” Professor Grouse said. The chains that kept him on his side of the room weren’t bound, but they were enough to slow him down. “Who cares? I did the job, didn’t I? Didn’t I do the job? Now the job is done. Now you release me, yes?”

       “You added the specifications I asked for?”

       “Yes, yes, yes,” the Professor replied. “It was no problem, not for someone like me. This mind is a wonderful thing. I’d be sorry to leave it, if the body wasn’t so decrepit.”

       Scarab didn’t know a whole lot about Desolation Engines, but everything seemed to be where it should be.

       “We’re not releasing you,” he said. “You’re too mischievous. You might tell our enemies where we are.”

       Grouse’s smile dropped, very slowly, from his face. “Your enemies are my enemies. My enemies are everywhere. Everyone is my enemy. You release me now!”

       “Not goin’ to happen,” said Billy-Ray. “But we sure do appreciate the work you’ve put into this. Assumin’ our plan goes well, we’ll release you after.”

      “You said now!”

       “Calm down, Professor. We understand how upset you must be, so we have a gift we’d like to give to you.”

       Grouse cocked his head curiously. “A gift?”

       “A lovely gift,” Billy-Ray said, smiling. “One for you to play with to your little heart’s content.”

       The door opened and, with a clang of shackles, Tanith Low was led in.

       “Our gift,” said Scarab, “to you.”

       Grouse clapped his hands and laughed.

      

      ver the bed there was a sigil painted on to the ceiling and it glowed gently, its power drifting down into China’s body. She lay with her eyes closed, hands folded on her stomach, her mind attuned to the sigil, manipulating its properties. The ebb and flow of magic raged like a storm-tossed sea, and yet none of that was evident from outward appearances. Instead of a storm-tossed sea there seemed to be a still lake, not even a ripple on the water’s surface, exactly the way China preferred it to be.

      The sigil stopped glowing and her eyes opened. She sat up smoothly, without hurry. As she dressed, she observed herself in the mirror. She looked pale and weak. Her body was still tired, her magic still exhausted. She wasn’t strong enough to do what she needed to do, but it had to be done.

      China left the bedroom, took the gun from her desk drawer and put it in her purse. She couldn’t risk taking one of her own cars, so she called a taxi and endured forty-five minutes of the taxi driver telling her how much he loved her before they arrived at their destination. The driver wept as he drove away.

      China