The Faceless Ones (Skulduggery Pleasant - Book 3)

by Landy Derek

  He reached for her again, and she grabbed his bandaged hand and wrenched it. He shrieked and forgot all about his attack. She moved away from the door and, still leading him by his broken fingers, spun him in a tight circle around her. She brought

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  his hand low, and he dropped to his knees.

  "Let go!" he pleaded, tears in his eyes. "I wasn't going to kill you, I swear! I was joking!"

  She released his hand and he clutched it to his chest, and she grabbed his head and drove her knee into the hinge of his jaw. He fell over backward and didn't get up.

  The backs of her legs hit the side of the bed, and she collapsed into a sitting position. Her breathing was fast and shallow, and her eyes stayed glued to Scapegrace's unconscious form.

  Her shoulder started to ache. His punch had caught her right on the side of the head, and her ear was burning. She thanked God he hadn't busted her in the mouth. She didn't think she could handle breaking another tooth.

  She wondered what she would do when he woke up. There was nothing in the cell that she could use to tie him up, and no one had come to investigate the sounds of struggle.

  She had beaten him. She had beaten him without using magic. True, he was already injured, and she had caught him by surprise, but the fact remained: She had fought a grown man and she had beaten him.

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  She started to smile, and then the smile faded as she thought what would have happened if she hadn't beaten him. She'd probably be lying dead on the cell floor right now.

  She got off the bed and unwrapped the bandage around Scapegrace's injured hand. His fingers were badly swollen, the skin blue and yellow and purple and black. He didn't even murmur as she tied one end of the bandage around those fingers, and the other end around the iron leg of the bed. At least now he wouldn't be able to jump her when he woke up.

  She sat on the bed again, well away from him, her back against the wall. She tied her hair into a pony tail and wondered if Skulduggery had realized yet that something had gone wrong. She tried to think of what he would do.

  First, he'd call her phone and get no answer. After a while he'd turn up at the house--or more likely send Tanith, someone a little more normal-looking. He'd definitely speak with the reflection, and hopefully work out what had happened. And then he'd come for her.

  Valkyrie sat back and waited.

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  Thirty

  ***

  B eryl

  Beryl Edgley was a busy woman.

  She really didn't have the time to take in and feed abandoned waifs. But that being said, when Melissa Edgley had asked if she would take care of Stephanie while she jetted away to Paris for the weekend, Beryl had of course accepted the challenge graciously.

  Her niece had always been a stubborn and willful child, with a sharp tongue and an attitude that Beryl found quite distasteful. Although even she had to admit that over the past couple of years Stephanie had seemed to become a lot more

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  subdued. Beryl liked to think that this new, quieter Stephanie was a result of her own hints and tips to Melissa and Desmond about raising well-behaved children. Beryl's twins, Carol and Crystal, were not perfect by any means, and they had both been losing far too much weight lately, but at least they didn't drink or smoke or hang around with loutish boys like so many of their friends.

  The family, plus Stephanie, ate lunch at the kitchen table without speaking. Fergus's eyes were glued to the television, and the twins were picking at their food without enthusiasm. In fact, only Stephanie seemed to be intent on eating what Beryl had placed before her. Which was surprising, given what had happened to her earlier that day.

  The doorbell rang, and Beryl went to answer it. There was a young woman standing on the doorstep, smiling. She had tousled blond hair and was wearing a brown leather outfit that was far too tight. The poor girl was practically falling out of her top.

  "You must be Beryl," she said in an English accent. "I've heard so much about you."

  Beryl didn't trust new people. Ever since they had sold the gigantic boat that Fergus's brother had

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  left them, she'd had a niggling suspicion that everyone wanted their money.

  "And you are?" Beryl asked, standing with her back straight so she could look down her nose.

  "Name's Tanith," the young lady replied. "I was wondering, is Stephanie about?"

  "She's having lunch."

  "Could I talk to her for just a moment?"

  Beryl frowned. "She's having lunch, I said. She's eating. She cannot come to the door while she is eating."

  The young lady, Tanith, looked at Beryl for a few moments and then she smiled again.

  "Maybe she can stop eating, come to the door, I'll be really quick saying what I have to say, and then she can go back to eating. That sound good to you, Beryl?"

  "I would prefer it if you called me Mrs. Edgley."

  Tanith took a deep breath that threatened the integrity of her top. "Mrs. Edgley, be a dear and get Stephanie for me, will you?"

  "I don't like your tone."

  "I don't like your shoes."

  Beryl looked down, wondering what was wrong with her shoes, and Tanith moved in and around

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  her. Before Beryl realized what was happening, Tanith was walking into the kitchen.

  "Bloody hell ..." came Fergus's whisper.

  "Stephanie," Tanith said, "could I have a word?"

  Beryl stormed in after her, outraged, as Stephanie stood up from the table. The twins were looking at the young lady curiously, and Fergus was staring at her, his eyes wide and full of wonder.

  "Stephanie, you are not leaving this room!"

  "This is a private matter," Tanith said.

  "And this is private property! Fergus, call the police!"

  Fergus just kept staring at the intruder.

  "If this has anything to do with what happened earlier today," Beryl said, "the police will certainly want to talk to you!"

  Tanith frowned. "What happened earlier today?"

  Stephanie opened her mouth to speak, but Beryl took control of the conversation. "Three hours ago, Alan Brennan came to my door and told me he had been attacked by a man who had been chasing Stephanie. Attacked! In Haggard!"

  "Who was the man?"

  "I don't know," Stephanie said. "I don't remember much of it. I think I must still be in shock.

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  He probably thought I was somebody else. After he attacked Mr. Brennan, he went away, and I returned home."

  "We found her hiding under the bed," Beryl said, and Carol and Crystal snorted.

  "Have you seen Val?" Tanith asked Stephanie, ignoring Beryl completely. "Do you know what happened to her? "

  "She was supposed to come back." Stephanie shrugged. "But she never did."

  "Who is this Val?" Beryl asked, confused. "What has she got to do with anything? There is a dangerous lunatic on the loose, claiming to be a policeman!"

  Tanith's eyes narrowed. "He said he was a cop?"

  "Mr. Brennan said he told him he was a detective."

  "Crux ..."

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "I know this man." Tanith nodded. "And you're right, he is a lunatic. Have you called the police?"

  Fergus spoke up at last. "They, uh, they said they'd stop by this afternoon...."

  "Tell them not to bother. This man has a history of psychiatric problems. He just forgot to take his

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  pills this morning, that's all. I'm his doctor."

  "What kind of doctor dresses in brown leather?" Beryl asked suspiciously.

  The young lady flashed her a quick smile. "The kind who looks good in it," she said. "Thank you for your time. You all have a good day now. Good-bye, Stephanie."

  "Good-bye," Stephanie said, and sat down to finish off her lunch.

  Beryl followed Tanith to the front door, her mind overloading with questions, but Tanith just kept walking and didn't look b
ack. She got to the road, and a dreadful purple car pulled up and she got in. Beryl tried to catch a better look at the driver, but all she could see was a man in a hat, and then they were gone.

  Beryl frowned. The man in the hat seemed awfully familiar....

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  Thirty-one

  ***

  O ld Friends

  Crux burst into her apartment, and China turned, appraising him coolly. "We have the girl," Crux said triumphantly. "I tracked her down and arrested her. Put her in the cell myself."

  "She's fourteen," China said. "That was very brave of you."

  "You can save your snide comments. The Diablerie have the Grand Mage."

  "It's the talk of the town, but apparently, you'd still prefer to go after Skulduggery than the real enemy."

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  "He is the real enemy. I figured it out, and it's all so obvious. It fits."

  "What fits, Remus?"

  He stood with his hands on his hips." Skulduggery Pleasant is Batu."

  "Oh, my God...." China stared at him. "You are actually thicker than you look."

  Crux stepped in close. "Where is he? Where are they keeping the Grand Mage?"

  "I tried to help you, Remus. I told you where Skulduggery was making his headquarters, and you went in, you stormed the place, and what happened? You missed Skulduggery, you missed Valkyrie, and you got the Grand Mage kidnapped. I've done what I can--it's not my fault you're not very good at your job."

  "I'm good enough, China. I was good enough to figure out your dark little secret, wasn't I?"

  "You didn't work anything out. A dying man told you because you were the only one around at the time."

  "Where is the skeleton?

  "I don't know."

  "Then where will he be?"

  "Oh, now that one I do know. Once he learns

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  that you've arrested Valkyrie, you're not going to have to look for him. He'll come to you."

  "I'm not scared of Skulduggery Pleasant."

  "Yes, you are, Remus. Everyone is."

  "You have failed to cooperate with a Sanctuary investigation, and furthermore, you are an obstruction to said investigation. I'm placing you under arrest."

  Crux produced the handcuffs with a flourish. China sighed and allowed her hands to be shackled behind her back.

  "Once again, you're concentrating on the wrong people. First it was Skulduggery and now it's me, when the people you should be after are the Diablerie. Why are you doing this, Remus? Are you afraid of challenging them? Is that why you're going after everybody but them?"

  "You will lead me to the enemy. You're working with Pleasant--"

  "If Skulduggery was Batu, then he wouldn't have brought in Fletcher Renn in the first place, would he? He'd have locked him up until he needed him."

  "Your attempts at logic are as pathetic at your attempts at seduction."

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  China laughed. "You have my word, Remus: I have never tried to seduce you."

  His face reddened. "You've made a huge mistake in underestimating me, China. You chose to believe that I am not a man of my word. I told you what would happen. I made it quite clear. But you haven't helped me, and so I must go public with your secret."

  "I don't know where he is," she insisted.

  "It's too late." Crux took her by the arm and escorted her to the door.

  "Remus, listen to me. No matter what you think you know of what happened, no matter what you were told, it isn't the whole story."

  "You can tell your friend that when he finds you," Crux replied. "I'm sure he'll be in the mood to listen."

  "You don't know what this could do," she snarled.

  He smiled back at her. "I have an idea."

  Crux opened the door, and there was a man standing outside.

  "Hello, China," Jaron Gallow said.

  He walked in, and Crux quickly backed into the apartment, taking China with him. She wrenched

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  her arm from his grasp.

  "You're part of it," Crux said to her, as Gallow gently closed the door. "You're all part of it. You're all working together."

  "You're absolutely right, Detective," Gallow said, a small smile on his lips. "Everyone is in on it. It's a conspiracy the likes of which you have never seen. China, Skulduggery Pleasant, even the Grand Mage. We were going to invite you to join us at Aranmore Farm for the final act, but we took a vote and nobody wanted to ride with you. Please don't take it personally."

  Crux snapped his hand against the air, but Gallow moved out of the way, hooked his foot under the coffee table, and sent it into Crux's chest. Crux staggered and went for his gun, but Gallow twisted it from his hand.

  "Not much of a fighter, are you?" Gallow asked, and threw the detective across the room.

  Crux tumbled and spun. He was panicking. Gallow was blocking his escape route. Crux must have known he didn't stand a chance against Gallow, because he turned and ran for the window. He leaped, crashing through the glass and falling from sight.

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  Gallow strolled over, eyebrow arched in quiet amazement. He leaned on the sill, looking out, and smiled.

  "He's alive," he said. "He's not crawling away particularly fast, but he's alive. It looks like his leg is broken. Possibly an arm. Can you hear him screaming? Unusually high-pitched."

  "Why are you here, Jaron?" China asked.

  He turned to her. "We can't be stopped--I hope you realize that. In an hour we'll have Fletcher Renn, and then we'll be at the farm, and the gate will open, and we'll win. Just like we were always meant to."

  "You're inviting back an angry race of gods who hate us. I hope you realize that."

  "Have faith, China. Maybe they will rule, maybe they will scorch, maybe they will obliterate, or maybe they will just simply be. It is not our place to question them. A long time ago you told me that. You told me this world belongs to them. We've overseen it for millennia, and now it's time to give it back. You taught me well."

  "You were an excellent student," she admitted. "But if you're trying to get me to return to the fold, I'm going to have to disappoint you."

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  "Is that what you told Baron Vengeous when he asked you? "

  "Something along those lines, yes."

  "But he was alone, and unaware that Batu was orchestrating everything. Things are different now. This is a chance for you to come back to the Diablerie. Batu is a good leader. He has his plan. But he's not you. He could never be you."

  "You want me to take over, just when Batu's plan is coming to fruition?" She smiled. "Why, Jaron, how delightfully treacherous of you."

  "The Diablerie is yours, China; it always has been. Your family has been devoted to the Dark Gods for a thousand years. It's in your veins. It's in your blood. It's in your heart. This isn't something you can just shake off."

  "My brother managed it."

  "Mr. Bliss is ... unique."

  "And Batu?"

  "Will die by your command."

  China strolled to the middle of the room, thinking about it. Finally, she stopped and looked at him. "The offer is, admittedly, somewhat tempting, but the fact of the matter is inescapable: I am a traitor to a race of sadistic gods who loathe humanity. Why

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  would I want them to return?"

  Gallow sighed. "That is unfortunate. I really didn't want to have to kill you."

  "And I really didn't want to have to be killed. I don't suppose you've developed a sense of fair play since last we met?"

  "You mean, would I free you from those handcuffs? I'm afraid not." He picked Crux's gun up off the floor. "I'll make it quick, though. I promise."

  China stamped her foot. "How gracious of you." She took a step back and stamped her foot again.

  He frowned. "No one's going to hear that, China."

  She moved again, stamping her foot a third time. Gallow looked down at the carpet, and his eyes narrowed when he recognized the three symbols she had just sta
mped on. She stepped out of her gorgeous shoes and stood in the middle of the triangle. She smiled as the floor gave way beneath her.

  China dropped through the trapdoor, landing awkwardly in the second-floor corridor. The ceiling closed up above her just as Gallow was about to follow her down. She rolled to her knees and got up and ran for the stairs.

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  There'd be someone out front waiting for Gallow to emerge. It would either be someone in a car-- Gruesome Krav or Murder Rose--or someone capable of their own kind of travel, like Sanguine. She didn't want to find out which.

  She got to the first floor. Gallow's footsteps were heavy on the stairs above her. She ran the length of the corridor, the floor sticky beneath her bare feet. She had built a lot of escape routes into this building, and she ran for the nearest one.

  Once again, events beyond her control had dragged her into the middle of things. China was not impressed.

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  Thirty-two

  ***

  T he Trade

  The Liffey Bridge is a bridge with three names.

  It is a pedestrian bridge a little over 130 feet long, spanning the river Liffey from Ormond Quay to Aston Quay. Steps on either side lead up onto the walkway, and there are three lamps--one at the center and two on either side--supported overhead by ironwork that curves out from the railings.

  Its given name is the Wellington Bridge, its true name the Liffey Bridge, but it is by its taken name that it is most commonly known.

  As a young girl, Tanith had been brought over

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  to Dublin by her parents. The first time she crossed this bridge, her parents told her that the bridge used to have turnstiles, and the cost of traveling was one penny and one halfpenny. The turnstiles were done away with a few years later, around 1919 or so, but by then everyone knew the bridge as the Penny Ha'penny Bridge, which was eventually shortened to, simply, the Ha'Penny Bridge.