sprawling. He scrambled to his feet, hissing and spitting at her as she advanced, and then, in the warm London night, the sound of Big Ben. Midnight.
Tanith lunged, but it was too late. The troll skipped back as his shoulders hunched, and he snarled and started to grow.
'Nuts,' Tanith whispered to herself.
Muscles bulged in his arms and legs, stretching the skin so tight, it looked like it might split.
She moved forward again, but he flipped back through the air, and when he landed, he was as tall as she was. His chest broadened and his neck thickened and still he grew, and still he snarled. His bones popped and he finished growing. He was now almost twice her size.
Facing down a fully grown troll was not what she had planned. She held the sword down by her leg and circled the creature.
'You cheated,' the troll said, his voice deep and guttural now.
'You've been a very naughty boy,' she said.
'Gobble you up. Gobble you all up, yes yes.'
Tanith shot him a smile. 'Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough. ...'
The troll roared and lunged, moving fast despite his size, but Tanith was ready. She slipped to the side and then past him, her sword opening up his thigh. He hissed in pain and swung a massive fist that slammed into her back. She hit the ground hard. He went to stamp on her, but she rolled, coming up on one knee and bringing the sword from her side to her shoulder, and the blade found his arm.
The troll stumbled back, and she got to her feet.
'Gonna bite you,' the troll growled. 'Gonna bite you into little pieces, yes yes.'
'The game's not so much fun when you're playing with someone who can fight back, is it?'
'My bridge,' he snarled. 'My game.'
She smiled at him. 'My rules.'
Another roar and he dived straight at her. She stood her ground.
One swipe of the sword took the fingers on his left hand. He howled in pain and staggered back, and she jumped. She planted her feet on his chest and swung, the blade flashing in the bridge's lights as it took his head. The troll stumbled and she jumped off. The body hit the barrier and tipped backward into the river.
Tanith stooped to pick up the head and moved to the barrier. She turned as a man walked up.
She had never met him before, but she knew who he was. He was tall and bald, and his face was lined and his eyes were a startling blue, the palest eyes she had ever seen. His name was Mr. Bliss.
Mr. Bliss nodded toward the head in her hand. 'Risky.'
'I've fought trolls before,' she said respectfully.
'I meant the risk you took with being seen.'
'It had to be done. This troll has killed many innocent people.'
'But that's what trolls do. You can't blame him for doing what nature intended.'
She didn't know how to respond. Mr. Bliss smiled.
'I'm not berating you,' he said. 'You've done a noble and selfless thing. That is to be admired.'
'Thank you.'
'You puzzle me, however. I have been keeping an eye on your progress over the last few years.
It is unusual to find a mage, even an Adept like you, focusing as heavily on physical conflict as you have done. Yet you don't seek power.'
'I just want to help people.'
'And that is what puzzles me.'
'My mother used to tell me stories about the war,' she said. 'I think you may be forgetting some selfless acts of your own.'
Mr. Bliss smiled softly. 'There is no heroism In war; there are simply things that need to be done. The heroes come later. But I am not here to discuss philosophies.'
He looked at her with his startling blue eyes. 'A storm is brewing, Miss Low. Coming events will threaten to turn the tide of power in this world, and so I have left my place of solitude and come here, searching for you. I have a need for someone of your ability and your outlook.'
'I'm not sure I understand.'
'The sorcerer Serpine is about to break the Truce. If I fail in my endeavors, we will once again slip into war. I need you on our side.'
'It would be an honor,' Tanith said.
'We have much to learn from each other,' Mr. Bliss responded, bowing. 'Make your way to Ireland,' he said, 'and I will be in touch with you soon.'
She nodded and he walked away. Tanith threw the troll's head into the Thames and, hiding her sword under her coat, walked in the other direction.
Chapter Ten
The Gal in Black
Stephanie was awakened the next morning by the stereo playing very loudly indeed. Her dad had been trying to tune into a news station and the volume knob had snapped off, so instead of a quiet little traffic report, the family was treated to Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries' at full blast. He had lost the remote control down the back of the sofa and hadn't the first clue how to turn the stereo off. The music reverberated through the floor and in the walls. There was no escaping its sheer power. By the time her mother yanked the plug out of the socket, Stephanie was wide-awake.
Her mother poked her head in to say good-bye, and as her parents went to work, Stephanie threw on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. While she waited for Skulduggery to arrive, she thought about what would be a good name for her to take. Skulduggery had explained how the actual taking of a new name casts a seal around the old one — so if Stephanie took the name Crystal Hammer (she didn't plan on it), then the name Stephanie Edgley would be instantly immune to any controlling spells. But while she went only by her given name, she was vulnerable.
If she was to have a new name, it would have to be a name she wouldn't be embarrassed about in years to come. It would have to be something classy, and also something she felt comfortable with. He had told her about people who'd taken names like Razor and Phoenix, and how he wouldn't advise anyone to take a name that seemed cool. He'd once been introduced to a woman who had put on a little weight over the years, and her hair was a bit windswept and she had spinach in her teeth, and he was told her name was Jet. Jet did not suit this woman, the same way Razor did not suit the short fat man who had taken that as a name.
I30
She looked up from her desk as Skulduggery knocked. She opened the window.
'I thought girls were supposed to be tidy,' he said as he peered in.
Stephanie kicked some underwear under her bed and ignored the comment. 'You okay out there?'
'I've been perched on worse roofs, believe me.'
'My parents have gone to work, you know. You could have used the door.'
'Doors are for people with no imagination.'
'Are you sure no one saw you? The last thing I need is for a neighbor to be passing and see you climbing up the side of the house.'
'I was careful, don't you worry. And I have something for you.'
He gave her a short piece of chalk.
'Uh, thank you,' she said slowly.
'Go to your mirror.'
'I'm sorry?'
'Go to your mirror and draw this symbol on it.'
He handed her a small card that showed an eye in a circle with a wavy line through it.
'What's this for?'
'It's to help you. Go on.'
She frowned, then went to the mirror.
'No,' Skulduggery said, 'a full-length mirror. Do you have one?'
'Yeah,' Stephanie said. Still with no clue why she was doing this, she opened her wardrobe and used the chalk to copy the symbol onto the mirror on the other side of the door. When she was done, she handed the card and the chalk back to Skulduggery. He thanked her, put them away, and then looked at the mirror.
