Skulduggery Pleasant: Dark Days

by Derek Landy

  She led the way across the hall and knocked on the apartment door. China bid them enter. Valkyrie turned to Fletcher.

  “You stay out here,” she said.

  He frowned. “Why?”

  “Because China’s probably still weak after being shot and she doesn’t need the both of us in there. Also every time you’re around her you make a fool of yourself.”

  “Not every time.”

  “You’re staying out here.”

  “I think you’re confusing me with a dog.”

  “Stay.”

  He looked annoyed so she left him to it and stepped in, closing the door behind her.

  China walked in from the bedroom and Valkyrie stared. China looked awful. She was too pale and her eyes looked bruised. She moved stiffly and wore a silk robe tied with a sash. Still beautiful, unnaturally so, but sick. For the first time Valkyrie saw China in a moment of weakness and she didn’t know what to say.

  “Your silence says it all,” China said, a faint smile on her bloodless lips.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Nonsense.” She sank into a chair with an audible sigh. “Take a seat, Valkyrie. You reaction is refreshing. Most people do their best not to catch my eye and prattle on like nothing is different. Now then, you were at the Sanctuary?”

  Valkyrie sat. “Yes.”

  “It was raided I hear. By vampires.”

  “News travels fast. It was Dusk who led them.”

  “Him again.”

  “He stole the Desolation Engine.”

  “I thought that had been made safe.”

  “It has been, so we don’t know why he took it.”

  China shifted in her seat and grimaced.

  Valkyrie hesitated. “Are you…OK?”

  “I’ll survive. This is what happens when you invest all your magic into healing a bullet wound. It’s not pretty. Tomorrow I should be back to normal.”

  “Should?”

  China waved a delicate hand. “You worry too much about people who mean nothing to you.”

  Valkyrie’s eyes widened a fraction, but China still noticed.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she continued. “I didn’t mean to sound so cold. What I meant was there are others who would deserve your sympathy much more than I. Fletcher, for instance. That boy is always getting himself into trouble. How is he?”

  “He’s fine I suppose. He’s out in the hall.”

  “My, you have him well trained.”

  “China, do you think I don’t like you?”

  China’s smile was gentle. “No, my dear, I’m sure you do. You shouldn’t, but I’m sure you do. You’ve got a big heart. That’s not a compliment by the way. That’s a flaw in your character.”

  “I’ll work on it.”

  “That’s all I ask.”

  “Sanguine is back. He stole a Soul Catcher from the Necromancer Temple and he’s working with Dusk.”

  “That is interesting, but I’m afraid I can’t help you with Dusk. My ongoing inquiries about Sanguine, on the other hand, have finally borne fruit. What do you know of the assassination of Esryn Vanguard during the war?”

  “Just that he was a pacifist and the guy who killed him got out of prison a few days ago.”

  “At the time of his death support for Vanguard and his ideas was coming from soldiers on both sides of the war. I’d always despised the man – this was when I was a supporter of Mevolent’s, you understand, and I know that Mevolent did not appreciate Vanguard’s attempts to broker peace.

  “He suspected that Vanguard was working for Eachan Meritorious, in an effort to rob Mevolent’s troops of the will to die for him. A reasonable suspicion, I think you would agree.”

  “So he sent Dreylan Scarab to kill Vanguard.”

  “I had turned my back on the Faceless Ones by this stage, but yes, from what I can gather, Scarab was dispatched to eliminate the problem. An arrow, dipped in poison, while Vanguard was addressing a hall full of supporters. It happened so fast nobody had time to do anything. Vanguard was dead within seconds. The crowd, and bear in mind these were all sorcerers, swarmed the area, hunting for the killer, but Scarab was gone. Skulduggery found him a few days later, and with Guild’s help, he arrested him.”

  Valkyrie frowned. “Guild?”

  “Guild was one of Meritorious’s most trusted men. He oversaw certain departments within the Sanctuary and his duties included direct interaction with the investigators.”

  “I didn’t think Skulduggery and Guild were ever friends.”

  “Oh, they weren’t,” China smiled. “They hated each other from the very start, for reasons I won’t go into here. But they worked together on occasion.”

  “So they arrested Scarab and he was sent to an American prison. Where does Sanguine come into this?”

  “It took a long time for me to come across this little piece of information, so I hope you understand how much of a sacrifice it is to part with it for free.”

  “It wouldn’t be for free,” Valkyrie said. “You’d have my undying gratitude.”

  “Free then,” China sighed. “Scarab had a son, Valkyrie. You are trying to find out who is pulling Sanguine’s strings? I’d look no further than his father.”

  “Scarab is Sanguine’s dad?” Valkyrie stood. “This is…This is huge.”

  “Quite.”

  “China, I’m really sorry, I have to go. If I have some spare time, maybe I can stop by later to see how you are.”

  “By this time tomorrow I’ll be back to my usual self. But your concern – while pointless – is noted. Of course, if our positions were reversed…”

  “I know,” Valkyrie smiled. “You’d do the same for me.”

  China arched an eyebrow. “I’m sorry? Do I look like I make house calls? You may leave me now.”

  “Thank you, China,” Valkyrie said and turned to go. “Oh, one more thing. Ghastly’s façade. It’s great.”

  China smiled. “He seems to like it, doesn’t he? It took me long enough to devise, but I think it’s worth it.”

  “Me too,” smiled Valkyrie then hurried out to the corridor.

  “Well?” Fletcher asked grumpily.

  “We have the connection,” she told him, and immediately his grumpiness vanished and he took her hand.

  They appeared in Ghastly’s shop. It was dark, so they turned on the lights and waited for Skulduggery and the others to get there. Valkyrie crossed her arms and looked at Fletcher.

  “What?” he asked innocently.

  “You’re dying to say it.”

  “Don’t know what you mean.”

  “They’re still on their way back from the Sanctuary. We’ve been to China’s, found a very large piece of the puzzle and we’re here before them. Say it.”

  “I’m sorry, Valkyrie, I really don’t know what you want me to say.”

  She waited.

  “Although,” he began.

  “Here it comes.”

  “Teleportation is clearly the best power to have and you should all be really grateful that I’m on your side. Why anyone would still be using cars, I have no idea. Is it pride? Is it because Skulduggery doesn’t want to admit how useful I am? I don’t think I’m appreciated as much as I should be, that’s all.”

  “Right.”

  “We were getting on fine without him, you know.”

  “We really weren’t.”

  “We were doing OK. It wasn’t a disaster. No one got killed.”

  “A few people got killed.”

  “But not any of us,” he said, exasperated.

  “Anything else you want to complain about before he gets here?”

  Fletcher laughed. “What, do you really think I’m scared of him? I’m not scared of him. But since you brought it up, yes, there is one thing. I’m older than you. I should be the one giving you orders.”

  “Yeah, no. That’s not going to happen.”

  “I have more world experience.”

  “At doing your hair.”

&nbs
p; “What is everyone’s problem with my hair? My hair’s cool.”

  He kept talking about his hair until Valkyrie told him to shut up. A few minutes later Skulduggery and the others got back and Valkyrie told them what she’d learned.

  “It’s too neat to be a coincidence,” Skulduggery agreed. “Well, all right then. That means we have our big boss. Scarab is released, he has an emotional father-son reunion with his psychopathic offspring and they recruit Dusk, maybe Remus Crux, and whoever else happens to be around and holding a grudge against society.”

  “So what does Scarab want?” Tanith asked as she lovingly cleaned her sword.

  “My guess is he wants revenge,” Skulduggery said.

  “For what? He committed a crime and he was punished for it. If he was going to take these things personally, he shouldn’t have killed Vanguard in the first place.”

  “Ah,” Skulduggery said, “that’s the thing. You see, I don’t think he did kill Vanguard. It’s something I’ve suspected for a while now.”

  Ghastly stared. “But…you arrested him.”

  “Because all the evidence pointed his way,” Skulduggery nodded. “It was only later than I began to suspect that the evidence was rather too easy to come by.”

  “Scarab was framed?” asked Valkyrie. “He’s innocent?”

  “Not entirely innocent. Or even remotely innocent. He was Mevolent’s top assassin, remember. But, as regards this particular crime, yes, I believe he was innocent.”

  “You have a theory then?”

  “Naturally.”

  “So who framed Scarab? Who killed Vanguard?”

  Skulduggery hesitated. “I actually have a horrible feeling that we did.”

  23

  CRUX

  Remus Crux dreamed of gods without faces and girls without heads. He dreamed of a vast forest of dead trees, of screaming things hunting him. He saw things in his dream that he recognised as pieces from his old life. They passed him by and he watched them go and didn’t miss them.

  He woke.

  He had told Dusk how to breach the Sanctuary’s defences, and where to go to get what they were after, and now the vampire was back, mission accomplished, and Crux felt not one shred of remorse. People that had once been his colleagues had just been killed and he didn’t care. They were heathens, unbelievers, enemies of the Faceless Ones.

  Dreylan Scarab was a heathen too, but he was a useful heathen. He served a purpose. Crux viewed Scarab and his little Revengers’ Club as a conduit to get him where he needed to be. Once they had fulfilled their usefulness, Crux would either abandon them or kill them, whichever was easier. But for now, they wanted the Sanctuary to fall almost as much as he did, and so he was content to go along with their plan.

  He could be patient. He could wait. He’d get his chance. The girl had killed two of his Dark Gods after all. The girl had to pay for that and she had to pay for the legacy she had inherited.

  Crux knew the legend well. The Faceless Ones had ruled this world until the first sorcerers, the Ancients, constructed the Sceptre to kill them and drive them out. Once the Faceless Ones had been banished, the Ancients fought among themselves like the petty insects they were, until only one of them was left alive. Valkyrie Cain was descended from the last of them.

  It was now time for her to pay for the crimes of her ancestors.

  24

  THE PLOT THICKENS…

  “Vanguard had noble intentions,” Skulduggery said, his voice filling the space between them all. “His dream of peace was a dream that inspired a great many people who were sick of the war, people on both sides. Someone once said about him that he had seen what he was capable of, what we all were capable of, and it frightened him. So he tried to save us.

  “He believed the answer was to allow Mevolent and his lot to worship the Faceless Ones openly, as a religion. He was certain that, given time, they would learn to curb their ruthlessness and to behave with…civility.

  “Meritorious didn’t agree. He didn’t trust Mevolent or any who stood with him. And while Vanguard had started out as a lone voice, preaching understanding and acceptance, it was a voice that echoed and carried. Soon it was a roar.

  “The dream of peace, you understand, is a dream that comforts everyone except the soldier on the battlefield. He can’t think about peace. He can’t hesitate. The soldier lives in the war. In combat, war is his mother, his friend and his god. To believe in anything else is suicide.

  “I think Meritorious came to the conclusion that the voice that started it all had to be silenced. It was getting too dangerous. Too many people were starting to believe that there was an easy way out. Too many soldiers were starting to have doubts. Meritorious needed them fighting Mevolent, not dreaming of peace.”

  “But this is all guesswork,” Ghastly said. “Skulduggery, I had my issues with Meritorious, but he was a good man. What you’re suggesting here is cold-blooded murder.”

  “I know,” Skulduggery said. “And something like that, if it got out, would tear the Sanctuary apart. Which is why he would have assigned the job to Thurid Guild.”

  Ghastly took a seat – heavily. “Of course. Guild headed the Exigency Programme.”

  “What’s that?” Fletcher asked.

  “Exigency Mages are highly trained individuals used for covert strikes against the enemy,” Skulduggery said. “Assassination. Sabotage. Dirty tricks. It’s not pretty, what they do, but it is necessary.”

  “They tried to recruit us,” Ghastly said. “Skulduggery, me, a few others. We were an independent unit in the war. Guild tried to recruit us, but we didn’t like what he was asking us to do.” He looked up. “So you think Guild assigned the job to one of his guys?”

  Skulduggery nodded. “It makes sense. Meritorious needed an assassin who could completely disappear afterwards and Guild would have volunteered his people. He’s always been brave like that.”

  “Do you know who it was?” Valkyrie asked.

  “No. Every single shred of evidence pointed to Mevolent’s men and Scarab in particular. By the time it registered that this was all too neat, too easy, we’d already captured Scarab and thrown him in prison.”

  “You could have said something.”

  Skulduggery didn’t answer.

  “Let’s say you’re right,” Tanith said. “Let’s say Meritorious and Guild orchestrated Vanguard’s assassination and framed Scarab. For 200 years Scarab’s been sitting in his cell. After being cut off from his magic for so long, he would have started to age again, right? So he’s an old man, he’s out and he’s angry. He has his psycho son and their nutball gang, and they’re looking for revenge. So they steal a Desolation Engine that won’t go off and a Soul Catcher. How does this help them get their revenge?”

  “And who are they going to get revenge on?” Fletcher added. “Meritorious is dead.”

  “They’ll be going after Guild,” said Skulduggery, “so we should warn him. They’ll probably be after me too, but you don’t have to warn me. I already know. As for what they want with the things they’ve stolen, I haven’t worked that out yet. But I will.

  “On the plus side, the more people Scarab has, the greater our chances are of finding one of them. Crux was last seen in Haggard – maybe he’s still there, trying to find a way through China’s perimeter.”

  “I know the area,” Tanith said. “I’ll take my bike, have a look around.”

  “And I know of a couple of bars Sanguine used to frequent when he was here last,” Ghastly said. “They’ll still be open, even this late. I can ask if he’s been in recently.”

  Skulduggery nodded. “Take Fletcher with you – you’ll get through it faster. Unfortunately, we know next to nothing about Dusk. The vampire I took to the holding cell isn’t co-operating, which isn’t much of a surprise, and his kind are impervious to most kinds of psychic reading.”

  “Then just get Valkyrie to ask her vampire mate,” Fletcher said.

  Skulduggery turned sharply. “Her what?” />
  Valkyrie glared at Fletcher and he blushed.

  “Uh, didn’t she…She didn’t tell you?”

  “I didn’t tell him,” Valkyrie said, her jaw tight.

  Skulduggery looked at her. “You have a vampire friend?”

  “He set up the meeting with Chabon,” she explained. “I was never alone with him. Tanith or Ghastly were always—”

  Skulduggery whirled on them. “You knew about this? You knew she was meeting with a vampire and you allowed it?”

  “We had it under control,” Tanith said.

  “You never have a vampire under control!” Skulduggery roared. “It could have killed her! For what? For a chance to get me back? You should have left me there!”

  Tanith looked away and Valkyrie lowered her eyes, her face burning. Only Ghastly kept his gaze level.

  “It was a risk,” Ghastly said, as calm as ever, “but it was a risk we decided to take. And now that she has made contact with this vampire, we should consider using him to try and find Dusk. It’s only logical.”

  Skulduggery didn’t move for a moment.

  “Agreed,” he said at last, all anger gone from his voice. “Valkyrie, would you be able to arrange that?”

  She nodded slowly. These abrupt changes of mood were becoming unsettling.

  “Excellent. If we’re lucky, one of those three possibilities will lead to Scarab. Call if you find anything out. Valkyrie?”

  She led the way out of the shop. The night was cold, but at least it hadn’t started to rain yet. They walked to the Bentley.

  “I could have said something,” Skulduggery told her.

  “What?”

  “You said I could have said something, once I realised Scarab had been framed. I was agreeing with you.”

  “So why didn’t you?”

  They reached the car. He unlocked it, but they didn’t get in.

  “When the war started,” he said, “I was flesh and blood. I was a father and a husband first, and a soldier second. When Serpine killed my family, killed me, that changed. I came back a soldier. The war was all I had.

  “I didn’t like Esryn Vanguard and I didn’t agree with him. I saw him as a weakening influence that we couldn’t afford to tolerate. If he continued to make his speeches, to try to negotiate with Mevolent, I truly felt we would have lost the war.