'The Truce is a house of cards, Mr. Pleasant. If it is disturbed, it will all come down. And you are known for your disturbances. The Elders hoped my involvement would be enough of a deterrent, but I fear they have underestimated Serpine's ambition. They refuse to believe that anyone would benefit from war. And of course, they still think the Scepter of the Ancients is a fairy tale.'
Skulduggery's voice changed, but only slightly.
'You think the Scepter's real?'
'Oh, I know it is. Whether it can do everything the legends claim, that I do not know, but as an object, the Scepter is quite real. It was uncovered during a recent archaeological dig. As I understand it, Gordon Edgley had been searching for the Scepter for some time, as part of his research for a book about the Faceless Ones, and he paid a substantial amount of money to gain possession of it. I imagine he worked to verify its authenticity, and once he had done so, he realized he couldn't keep it. Nor could he pass it on. Gordon Edgley, for all his faults, was a good man, and if there was a chance that it did have the destructive capabilities we've all heard about, he would have felt that the Scepter was too powerful for anyone to possess.'
'Do you know what he did with it?' Stephanie asked, finding her voice at last.
'I don't.'
'But you think Serpine's willing to risk war?' Skulduggery asked.
Mr. Bliss nodded. 'I think he views the Truce as having outlived its usefulness, yes. I imagine he has been waiting for this moment for quite some time, when he can seize all the power and plunder every secret, and invite the Faceless Ones back into the world.'
'You believe in the Faceless Ones?' Stephanie asked.
'I do. I grew up with those teachings, and I have carried my faith through to this day. Some dismiss them, some view them as morality tales, some view them as stories to tell children at night. But I believe. I believe that once we were ruled by beings so evil, even their own shadows shied away from them. And I believe they have been waiting to come back, to punish us for our transgressions.'
Skulduggery cocked his head. 'The Elders would listen to you.'
'They are bound by their rules. I have learned what I can, and I have passed it on to the only person who would know what to do with it. What you do next is up to you.'
'With you on our side,' Skulduggery said, 'things would be a lot easier.'
A small smile appeared on Mr. Bliss's face. 'If I have to act, I will.'
Without even a 'Good day,' Mr. Bliss turned and walked away. They stayed where they were for a few moments, then got into the Canary Car.
Skulduggery pulled away from the curb. They drove for a bit before Stephanie spoke.
'He's kind of scary.'
'That happens when you rarely smile. Mr. Bliss is, physically, the most powerful individual on the face of the planet. His strength is beyond legendary.'
'So he is scary?'
'Oh yes, very much so.'
He drove on, and they settled into silence. She let a few more moments drift by.
'What are you thinking?'
He gave a small shrug. 'Lots of clever little things.'
'So do you believe that the Scepter is real?'
'It certainly looks that way.'
'I suppose this is a big deal for you, huh? Finding out that your gods really existed?'
'Ah, but we don't know that. If the Scepter is real, its true history could have been mixed up with the legends. Its existence does not prove that it was used to drive away the Faceless Ones.'
'Funny. I wouldn't have thought that a living skeleton would be such a skeptic. So what's our next move?'
He was silent for a bit. 'Right, well, we've got to work out what we need. We've got to work out what we need, how we get it, and what we need to get to get what we need.'
'I think I actually understood that,' Stephanie said slowly. The car went over a bump. 'No, it's gone again.'
'We need the Elders to take action, so we need proof that Serpine has broken the Truce. We need to find the Scepter, and we also need to find out how to destroy the Scepter.'
'Okay, so how do we do the first one?'
'We'll get the proof once we find the Scepter.'
'And how do we find the Scepter?'
'We find the key.'
'And how do we destroy the Scepter?'
'Ah,' he said. 'That'll be the little bit of crime that we'll have to embark on.'
'Crime,' she said with a smile. 'Finally.'
162
Chapter Eleven
The Little Bit of Crime
From their vantage point, parked across the road, they watched the vampires, once again in their blue overalls, walk up the steps and enter the gleaming art gallery. The vampires were chatting, and didn't look intimidating at all. A few minutes later the staff and day-shift security started to trickle out of the building. When every one of them was accounted for, Skulduggery reached into the backseat and brought the black bag into his lap.
'We're going now?' Stephanie asked, looking up into the evening sky. 'But it's still bright.'
'And that's precisely why we're going now,' he said. 'Twenty minutes from now, there'll be two full-fledged vampires prowling around in there. I want to get in, find out how to destroy the Scepter, and get out before that happens.'
'Ah. Probably wise.'
'Very probably.'
They got out of the horrible Canary Car and crossed the street, then moved through the garden area to a tall tree behind the gallery. Making sure they wouldn't be seen, Skulduggery put the bag over his shoulder and started to climb. Stephanie jumped for the lowest branch, grabbed it, and started climbing up after him. She hadn't done anything like this in years, but climbing a tree was like falling out of one — -easy. The tree's limbs were long and strong, and they quickly came adjacent to the gallery's roof, which was ridged with a dozen skylights. Stephanie hoisted herself up onto a branch and sat there, regarding the large gap between building and tree with curiosity. It looked too far to jump.
'You sure I can't come with you?' Stephanie asked.
'I need you out here in case something goes terribly, terribly wrong.'
'Like what?'
'Oh, any one of a number of things.'
'Fills me with confidence, that,' she muttered.
Skulduggery maneuvered himself onto the longest branch and then walked, bent legged and stooped over, along its length. His balance was unnatural. But there was still that gap. Without pausing, he sprang forward off the branch. He brought his arms up, and a tremendous gust of wind buffeted him over to the rooftop.
Stephanie promised herself that one day she'd get him to teach her how to do that.
Skulduggery looked back. 'The gallery is outfitted with the most elaborate security system,' he said as he opened the bag. 'But because of the vampires, the alarms on the outer corridors are never set, so once I get by the main hall, it should be smooth sailing, as they say.'
'As who say?'
'I don't know. People who sail, presumably.' He opened the bag and took out a harness, which he started to strap himself into. He looked up at her. 'Where was I?'
'I have no idea.'
'Oh yes, my cunning plan. I need to access a control panel on the east wall. From there, I can disable everything. The floor is pressure-sensitive, so I'm going to have to stay off it, but that shouldn't be a problem for someone of my natural grace and agility.'
'You're very impressed with yourself, aren't you?'
'Exceedingly so.' He secured a thin wire onto a ventilation duct, looped it through his harness, and led it back
