by Derek Landy
“Are you insulting me on purpose, or just out of habit?”
“Little bit of both,” Never said. “OK, I’ll go see the nurse. Toodle-pip, monkey.” She sat there, and started frowning. “Why can’t I teleport?”
“Can’t use magic in study hall,” Omen reminded her.
Never made a face. “Yikes. I must be in shock. OK, distract the teacher for me.”
Omen looked up, but the teacher was still reading her paper. When he looked back, Never was on her hands and knees, and was scuttling between the desks towards the door. She’d have been faster walking, Omen reckoned. And would have drawn less attention.
The portal shimmered in the middle of Lily’s living room. It was quite beautiful in an eerie, heart-stoppingly scary kind of way. The members of the Darquesse Society stared at it, fully aware that on the other side there could very well be an entire race of Faceless Ones ready to reach through and grab them.
Sebastian nodded. “I’m ready,” he said. “Let’s do this.”
Demure hugged him. “I just want you to know that we all think you’re incredibly, incredibly brave.”
“Uh … thank you.”
“Anything might happen to you over there.”
“I suppose.”
“You might be eaten by something.”
“Wow.”
“Can you swim?”
“Yes.”
“If you go into the water, watch out for sharks.”
“I will.”
“And cannibals.”
“In the water?”
“In general.”
“Good advice.”
She released him and stepped back, wiping tears from her eyes.
“I’m not dead yet,” Sebastian pointed out with a chuckle.
Demure smiled sadly. “That’s the spirit,” she said.
Lily stepped up. “We’re counting on you. I know that’s a lot of pressure, but it’s all up to you now. Don’t let us down.”
“I’ll try not to.”
She tapped the beak of his mask. “For good luck,” she said.
He nodded and turned, and Ulysses filled his eyeholes.
“I’ve never had a brother,” he said. “I was the only boy out of a family of eighteen, and every time my mother got pregnant I’d pray for a boy. It never happened. But now, with you … I like to think that I finally have the brother I’ve waited my whole life for.”
“Oh,” said Sebastian. “Wow. That’s … that’s really nice of you.”
“Did I make it weird between us? I feel like I made it weird. Maybe not a brother. Maybe a cousin?”
“Cousin’s cool.”
“Yeah? Then you’re like a cousin to me,” Ulysses said, then rapped a knuckle against Sebastian’s beak. “Or a neighbour.”
Sebastian turned to Forby and Tarry.
Forby nodded, and handed him the scanner, a small box with a series of tiny bulbs built into it. Sebastian nodded back. Tarry started to say something, but his phone rang and he mouthed a silent “Sorry”, then answered it and left the room to talk.
Now there was an arm round his shoulder, and Bennet was leading him to the portal.
“If it gets too dangerous,” he said, “come back. We’ll figure something else out. We’ll load up with supplies and make a proper expedition out of it.”
“I’ll be fine,” said Sebastian. “It’s going to be fine.”
“Demure was right, you know. This is one of the bravest things I’ve ever actually witnessed.”
“Yeah,” said Sebastian. “Me too.”
Bennet hesitated, then tapped Sebastian’s beak, and allowed Sebastian to take the last few steps alone.
Sebastian stared into the swirling vortex of the portal. For all he knew, the moment he walked through, his body would be torn inside out. For all he knew, he’d disintegrate. For all he knew, there was a Faceless One waiting on the other side and the instant he saw it his mind would snap.
He took a deep, deep breath, and let it out as he stepped through the portal.
The ground on the other side was hard. Cracked. The sky was red. Dark clouds rolled.
There were no trees, no grass, no plant life at all. No animals or birds that he could see. In the distance, there were mountains. The scanner clicked and one of the lights lit up, pointing to those mountains – across all that flat, hard ground.
Sebastian stuck his head back through the portal.
“Everything OK?” Bennet asked.
“All good,” Sebastian answered, then looked at Lily. “Could I borrow your scooter?”
And that was how Sebastian travelled across this alien landscape, trundling along on Lily’s yellow scooter, his black coat flapping behind him, like some weird, majestic bird.
On a scooter.
The dead watched her.
They filled the streets Valkyrie walked upon and she moved between them, slowly. Some of them were so faint they were barely there. Others so distinct they looked almost solid. They all turned their heads to follow her with sunken eyes. The only sound in Necropolis came from Valkyrie’s footsteps and the occasional whistle of the wind that found its way down here, through all that rock.
When she passed, their gazes fell on the Soul Catcher in her hands. The soul fragment inside turned in on itself endlessly. It didn’t point the way like she’d hoped, and so this was taking a lot longer than she’d expected.
All night, Valkyrie had been walking these streets. She was exhausted. She could feel her hunger, feel her thirst, but the suit stopped it from becoming a problem. Her eyes were heavy and her feet were concrete blocks she had to drag along the ground. That dose of Splash had long since worn off. Coming here, as weak as she was, had been a mistake. She knew that now.
The suit was working well. It contained her life like a glove contained the hand that filled it. It kept death at bay.
But her head …
Her head was filling with voices. All her own. Shouting at her, calling to her, telling her to stop, to lie down, to give up, to take off the mask, take off the suit, let death in, let it seep in and swamp her. It’s what she wanted, the voices said. It’s what she thought about.
“It’s what you dream about,” said Ghastly.
She froze.
He stood there, solid among all those ghosts. “Take off the suit, Valkyrie. End your pain.”
“You’re not here,” she said.
“You weren’t designed to suffer this much,” he said. “No one was. Your mind has broken. You’re never going to get back to the person you were. She’s gone.”
“Shut up.”
“She’s dead,” Ghastly said, walking with her as she moved. “It’s time for you to join her, Valkyrie. Join these people. Look at them. Ghosts. They don’t care. They’re not tortured. You can be like them. Don’t you want to be like them?”
Valkyrie stopped.
The Nemesis of Greymire was ahead of her. Standing there with that sledgehammer.
Valkyrie’s breathing quickened. She was panicking. Suddenly the suit felt too tight. It was too tight and too close and the mask, oh, God, the mask, it was itching. It was itching and she was sweating and she needed to take it off, to rip it off, and her hand, her free hand, went to the mask, fingers digging at the seam, trying to pull it off, and then she’d be able to breathe again, to gasp, to—
“What are you doing?”
Valkyrie blinked.
Her fingers stopped digging.
She lowered her hand. Kes stood there, frowning at her.
“I was itchy,” Valkyrie said.
“I can guess what kind of suit that is,” Kes replied. “And I can guess what it does. You do know that if you took the mask off, you’d die, right?”
“I wasn’t going to take it off. I just got claustrophobic. It’s passed now.”
Ghastly was gone. And the Nemesis. Valkyrie started walking again, Kes beside her.
“How did you know this place wouldn’t kill you?” Valkyrie asked.
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Kes shrugged. “I didn’t. I was bored, so I thought I’d see. I do love the suit, by the way. Skulduggery seen it yet?”
Valkyrie shook her head.
“He’ll probably think you’re wearing it to honour him.”
“He doesn’t know I’m here.”
“This place is so creepy … I’m assuming this has something to do with little sis?”
“Her soul has been split,” Valkyrie said. “I’ve got one fragment with me. The second one is here somewhere. I can fix her, Kes. She’s going to be OK.”
“That’s great,” Kes said, a huge smile on her face. “That’s brilliant! Can I help you look for her?”
“She won’t go to you. Or … it won’t. The fragment. That’s why I have the Soul Catcher. Like a, a metal detector. Or a beacon. Or both.”
“Cool,” said Kes, looking at her weirdly. “How’re you doing anyway? You OK?”
“Yes.”
“You sure?”
“Yes. No. It doesn’t matter.”
“Valkyrie, come on. If you can’t talk to the sliver of the god you were once upon a time, then who can you talk to?”
Valkyrie bit her lip beneath the mask. “I think I’ve gone nuts.”
Kes shrugged. “No argument from me.”
“Something happened. I was gassed and … and buried. I think something … broke. In my mind.”
Kes frowned at her. “Seriously?”
Valkyrie stopped again and turned to her. “I’m seeing things,” she whispered. “Things that aren’t really there.”
“Like me?”
“No. No, you’re real. I know you’re real. But other things. People. Ghastly. I see Ghastly. And this thing, this woman, called the Nemesis of Greymire. They’re not really there, but I see them. They talk to me.”
“But they’re not real?”
“No.”
“Then why are you whispering?”
Valkyrie leaned closer. “Because they might hear me.”
Kes looked at her. “When was the last time you slept? Properly slept?”
Walking again.
“I’ll sleep when I’m done here.”
“Hey, hold on.”
“No,” said Valkyrie. “I have to keep going.”
“Hold on, I said. Is it supposed to be doing that?”
Valkyrie looked down, and a sudden shot of adrenaline buzzed through her body, almost making her drop the Soul Catcher. The fragment was twisting and writhing and throwing itself against one side of the sphere. She turned slowly. The fragment kept pointing in the same direction.
“Let’s go,” said Kes. “Valkyrie, come on!”
Bleary-eyed, Valkyrie nodded, stumbled, then led the way, holding the Soul Catcher out in front. They hurried through the streets. The dead watched them go.
“There!” Kes cried. “Look!”
Something moved towards them. A shape, almost translucent, that distorted the air as it moved. Valkyrie wouldn’t have seen it if Kes hadn’t pointed it out.
Her head pounding, Valkyrie managed to switch on her auravision and instantly recoiled. The ghosts were so bright they hurt her eyes behind the skull mask. The city glowed, a dizzying array of colours. She forced herself to look up, and saw the piece of the soul that was flitting towards them.
Crying, Valkyrie held up the Soul Catcher and the fragment passed into it, and both fragments swirled and whirled like excited puppies and then they melted together.
Valkyrie fell to her knees. She shut off the aura-vision. The world darkened, went back to normal.
“I have to go,” said Kes.
Valkyrie sniffed, and raised her head. “Already?”
“I don’t have the strength to stay visible for very long.”
Kes’s face was suddenly pale and lined.
“Are you OK?” Valkyrie asked.
“Don’t worry about me,” Kes replied, smiling. “You’re about to fix our little sister’s soul, so you get home and you do that. I’ll drop in on you when I’m strong enough, OK? Hug her for me.”
Kes faded, and vanished.
Valkyrie didn’t have the strength to stand, but somehow she managed it. The Soul Catcher was so heavy in her hands. She brought it up, pressed it against her mask.
“I’m going to take you home,” she said softly. “Won’t be long now. Won’t be long.”
She turned.
A woman stood there in a black robe with a porcelain face. “Who goes there?” she asked.
“My name is Valkyrie Cain.”
“Why are you here?”
“My sister’s soul was damaged,” Valkyrie said. “It was split, and a part of it came here. I’m just getting it back.”
“To do what with it?”
“Return it to my sister.”
“I’m afraid I cannot allow that,” said the woman. “I am called the Sentinel, and the Necropolis is a place of safety. Of peace. Once a soul seeks us out, it has found its home.”
“But her soul was split. It needs to be put back together.”
The Sentinel was silent for a moment. “We have considered your proposal,” she said. “We agree that the pieces should be reunited, so we are willing to accept the fragments you have found.” She held out her hands.
“Excuse me?” said Valkyrie.
“The Soul Catcher, please.”
Valkyrie put the Catcher behind her back. “No. That’s not how this works.”
“I am afraid it is.”
“Listen to me – even if I left this here, it still wouldn’t fix the problem. Her soul was split into three. I have two pieces, and the third is still with my sister. You understand? The only way the soul is repaired is if I take these two pieces with me when I leave.”
The Sentinel shook her head. “There is another option.”
“No, there really isn’t.”
“You bring your sister here,” the Sentinel said. “Her physical form will die, but her soul will be reunited.”
“You’re … asking me to kill her.”
The Sentinel paused. “Yes.”
Valkyrie surprised herself by laughing. God, she sounded insane. She looked away, chewing her lip while her mind struggled to sort itself out.
“I killed her once before,” she said at last. “That’s how her soul was damaged in the first place. I’m not going to do it again.”
“Why not?” the Sentinel asked.
“Because she’s my sister. She deserves to live.”
“Life is but the first step on the journey we all must take,” the Sentinel responded. “It is nothing to be especially cherished. Death is where we break free from the physical universe.”
Valkyrie indicated their surroundings. “Excuse me for saying so, but you don’t exactly look free to me. You spend your days haunting a place you can’t leave. How is that better than living?”
“This is only a fraction of our existence.”
“My sister should have a chance to grow up in the world. She should be able to feel the sun on her face. She should be able to travel, and meet people, and fall in love, and experience life before she gets to a place like this. Please, let me help her.”
“Even if I wished to, I could not,” said the Sentinel. “It goes against our most ancient laws.”
“People break laws all the time.”
“People do,” said the Sentinel, “but we do not.”
“I’m not leaving here without it.”
“You have trapped one of us in your little cage,” the Sentinel said. “Do you think we could ignore this?”
Valkyrie stared at her. She softened her tone. “It doesn’t have to be like this,” she said. “I came here to heal a soul. That’s what we both want, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Your way, listen to me, your way can’t be done. I can’t bring my sister here. I can’t kill her. I just can’t. Do you understand me? I am unable to. This is my law. This is my unbreakable law. But my way, where I leave with the pieces I have,
that can be done. It’s achievable. It’s simple. You just have to let me—”
“It is far from simple.”
“No, no, you listen. You just have to let me walk out of here. It’s easy.”
“It is impossible.”
“No, it isn’t.”
“Please,” said the Sentinel, “hand over the Soul Catcher.”
“No,” Valkyrie said. Tears were in her eyes. “Don’t do this. Please. I want my sister back. I want to help her.”
“Your sister is not a thing of flesh and bone and blood,” the Sentinel said. “Your sister is more than this, as are you. As is every living thing. Your view is limited because your experience is limited.”
“I’ll fight you.”
“Why?”
“I won’t give it to you.”
The Sentinel reached for the Soul Catcher and Valkyrie went to shove her, but her magic crackled round her hand and, when she touched her, the Sentinel staggered.
Valkyrie froze, and there was a moment, a moment of shock, and then the ghosts changed and became angry and they crowded her and Valkyrie couldn’t help it, the energy built up inside her, churned and burned, and they reached for her and reached for the Soul Catcher and her power exploded and there were a thousand flashes of crackling light and her scream was the only thing in the world and then
she was flying.
The surprise broke her focus and she wasn’t flying any more. She was falling, falling towards the fields and the trees and the roads beneath her.
The Soul Catcher slipped from her hands.
Energy crackled and she righted herself, swooped low and snatched up the Soul Catcher, then ascended again, passing through the low-hanging clouds. The suit kept the cold at bay. The crackling energy didn’t make it smoulder or burn. She still had the hood up, still wore the mask. She could feel her heartbeat.
She’d been … where had she been? The Necropolis. Yes. She’d found the soul fragment and the Sentinel … the Sentinel …
Valkyrie piled on the speed. Her face, beneath the mask, was wet with tears, so she went faster. Faster still.
She glimpsed Grimwood House through a gap in the clouds and flew down, wincing as the thoughts in her head grew louder. She tried to stop the images from forming, but they slipped round her defences.