The sky was beginning to brighten, the first rays of the morning sun seeping into the black.
'You know,' Tanith said weakly, 'I still have a gigantic hole in my back.'
'Sorry,' Skulduggery said, and he helped them both toward the Bentley.
Chapter Thirty
An End, a Beginning
Somewhere in Haggard, a dog was barking. Somewhere a driver beeped his horn, and somewhere else people were laughing. It was a Friday night, and music drifted to Stephanie's open window from the bars and pubs on Main Street, snatches of songs piggybacking on the warm breeze.
Stephanie sat in her swivel chair, her foot resting on the bed. Skulduggery had taken her to a friend of his, a cantankerous old man who had mended her broken leg within an hour. It was still stiff, still sore, but the bruising had gone down, and in another few days it would be like it had never been broken at all.
She didn't mind the recuperation period she had been advised to take. After the week she'd just had, a week in which she'd seen wonder and magic and death and destruction, she could do with a little holiday.
Skulduggery Pleasant sat on the windowsill and told her what was happening in the world outside her bedroom. The White Cleaver had vanished, and they still didn't know why, or even how, he had ignored his master's final command. Skulduggery had a suspicion that he was under orders from somebody else, but just who this mystery master was he didn't yet know.
Serpine's allies had resurfaced and struck, and then vanished again when the news of the sorcerer's demise had reached them. Serpine's grand scheme might have failed, but because of it, the Cleavers' numbers had been decimated, and their duties now stretched them thin.
'How's Tanith?' Stephanie asked. 'Will she be okay?'
'She's lucky to be alive. The injury she took was severe, but she's strong. She'll pull through. I'll take you to see her when you're rested.'
'And Ghastly? Any change?'
'I'm afraid not. They're keeping him safe, but. .. we don't know how long he'll stay like that.
Fortunately for him, the time will pass in the blink of an eye. The rest of us will have to wait.
On the bright side, the Sanctuary has a new and interesting addition to their Hall of Statues.'
'Do they have a Hall of Statues?'
'Well, no. But now that they've got a statue, maybe they'll start.'
'What are they going to do about the Council of Elders?'
'Meritorious was a good man, the most powerful Grand Mage we had seen in a long time. The other Elders in Europe are worried about who will fill the vacuum now that he's gone. The Americans are offering their support, the Japanese are sending delegates to help us wrest back some control, but ...'
'It sounds like a lot of people are panicking.'
'And they have a right to. Our systems of power, our systems of self-government, are delicate.
If we topple, others will follow. We need a strong leader.'
'Why don't you do it?'
He laughed. 'Because I'm not well liked, and I'm not well trusted, and I already have a job. I'm a detective, remember?'
She gave a little shrug. 'Vaguely.'
Another snippet of pub music drifted by the window, and she thought about the world she'd grown up in, and how different it was from the world she'd been introduced to, and yet how similar. There was joy and happiness in both, just as there was heartbreak and horror. There was good and evil and everything in between, and these qualities seemed to be shared equally in the worlds of the magical and the mundane. It was her life now. She couldn't imagine living without either one.
'How are you?' Skulduggery asked, his voice gentle.
'Me? I'm fine.'
'Really? No nightmares?'
'Maybe one or two,' she admitted.
'They'll always be there, reminding us of where we went wrong. If you pay attention to your bad dreams, they can help you.'
'I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time I'm asleep.'
'Good,' said Skulduggery. 'In any event, get well soon. We have mysteries to solve, and adventures to undertake, and I need my partner and student with me.'
'Student?'
He shrugged. 'Things are going to get a lot rougher from here on in, and I need someone to fight by my side. There's something about you, Valkyrie. I'm not quite sure what it is. I look at you, and ...'
'And you're reminded of yourself when you were my age?'
'Hm? Oh, no; what I was going to say is there's something about you that is really annoying, and you never do what you're told, and sometimes I question your intelligence — but even so, I'm going to train you, because I like having someone follow me around like a little puppy. It makes me feel good about myself.'
She rolled her eyes. 'You are such a moron.'
'Don't be jealous of my genius.'
'Can you get over yourself for just a moment?'
'If only that were possible.'
'For a guy with no internal organs, you've got quite the ego.'
'And for a girl who can't stand up without falling over, you're quite the critic.'
'My leg will be fine.'
'And my ego will flourish. What a pair we are.'
She had to laugh. 'Go on, get out. Mum'll be up soon to check on me.'
'Before I go . . .'
'Yes?'
'Aren't you going to show me what you've been practicing? You've been dying to show off from the moment I knocked on this window.'
She looked at him and arched an eyebrow, but he was right and he knew it. The other good thing about this recuperation period was that she had all the time she wanted to develop her powers, and she hadn't wasted the few days that had passed already.
She clicked her fingers, summoning a small flame into the palm of her hand. She watched it flicker and dance, then looked up at Skulduggery and grinned.
'Magic,' he said.
EXTRAS
Skulduggery Pleasant An Exclusive Interview with the Skeleton Himself, Mr. Skulduggery Pleasant Derek Landy's Short Story about Skulduggery in Captivity, 'The Lost Art of World Domination'
An Interview with Mr. Skulduggery Pleasant Being a skeleton. Please discuss!
Ah yes, that whole skeleton thing. It really isn't as bad as it sounds, you know. I never put on weight, for one thing. I never have a bad hair day, for another. It took a little getting used to, I'll admit, and for the first few weeks I kept expecting my jaw to fall off, but I like to think that I've grown into a very well-adjusted skeleton. I'm happy with who I am, thank you very much.
Has using magic ever got you into an embarrassing situation?
Me? No. But I did witness an amusing event when an evil sorcerer, who shall remain nameless to spare his blushes, tried to evade me by turning invisible in a crowded market place. He really should have practiced that skill a little harder, however, because while his clothes became transparent, he himself did not. Needless to say, he surrendered himself immediately and asked for something to cover himself up. I gave him my hat. Waste of a good hat, if you ask me.
You have said that everyone has three names — please tell us more, including how you came up with the name Skulduggery Pleasant.
Names are power, you see. When we are born, we are given a name, but that name can be used against us, to control us. So, we sorcerers take another name, to protect ourselves. But there is a third name, a true name, the source of all our power, and this name rests in our dreams, and should never be spoken to another person. As for the name I took, and the reasons I took it?
Well now, that's a secret.
