Playing With Fire

Chapter Twenty-three ELEPHANTS AND BUNNIES

KENSPECKLE POKED HER arm. "Does that hurt?"

"No," Valkyrie answered.

He nodded, scribbled something in his notebook. "Have you eaten?"

"One of your assistants brought me a burger for breakfast."

He sighed. "I meant, have you eaten sensibly?"

"I was very sensible while I was eating the burger. Didn't miss my mouth once."

He prodded her again. "What about that? Does that hurt?"

"Ow."

"I'll take that as a yes. Hopefully, the pain will teach you not to break yourself when your van crashes."

Kenspeckle scribbled something else, and Valkyrie looked around. There were no windows in here, but she could guess what kind of morning it was. Bright, blue-skied, sunny, and warm.

Kenspeckle closed his notebook and nodded. "You're making an excellent recovery," he said. "One more hour, the bone will be healed."

"Thanks, Kenspeckle."

"Think nothing of it."

"And, you know, sorry about what I said yesterday, about the salt water and the vampires. ..."

Kenspeckle chuckled. "Don't you worry about me, Valkyrie. I'm tougher than I look. Last night, when the nightmares came, they weren't so bad. I remember them being awful. Now, you just lie back there and let the muck do its work."

Feeling more guilty than ever, Valkyrie settled back on the bed. The mixture that coated her entire right arm was cold and slimy. It had to be reapplied every twenty minutes as its magical properties were absorbed through the skin.

She heard Skulduggery come into the medical bay. His fight with Vengeous had resulted in a fractured collarbone and a few cracked ribs. She looked over at him and laughed.

He stared at her. He was wearing a bright pink hospital gown, decorated with elephants and bunnies. It hung off him like a sheet on a hat stand.

"How come she gets the blue hospital gown?" he asked Kenspeckle.

"Hmm?" mumbled the professor.

Skulduggery's head tilted unhappily. "You said the only gowns you had left were these pink bunny ones, but Valkyrie is wearing a perfectly respectable blue one."

"Your point being?"

"Why am I wearing this ridiculous gown?"

"Because it amuses me."

Kenspeckle walked out, and Skulduggery looked over at her. "The important thing," he said, "is that I can wear this gown and still maintain my dignity."

"Yes," she responded automatically. "Yes you can."

"You can stop grinning anytime now."

"I am so trying, I swear."

He walked over, and when he spoke his voice had changed slightly, tinged with concern.

"Feeling okay?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. No. I don't know. Whatever happens with the Grotesquery, it's my fault."

"Nonsense."

"But I'm the missing ingredient."

"That doesn't make it your fault, Valkyrie. However, if you insist on taking responsibility for something you never had any control over, you can use that to make yourself stronger.

You're going to need all the strength you can muster, especially when Dusk catches up to you."

She frowned. "Why Dusk?"

"Oh, yes, something I should maybe mention. Dusk will be wanting to kill you. He has a history of vendettas. He holds a grudge, and he doesn't let it go until he's spilled blood."

"And because I cut his face . . . ?"

"You cut his face with Sanguine's blade, the scars from which do not heal."

"Ah. That'd . . . that'd make him pretty mad, wouldn't it?"

"I just thought you'd like to know."

"So what are we going to do about Guild? Since he's working with the bad guys and everything ... ?"

"Now, we don't know that. It's not fact. Not yet." Skulduggery was quiet for a moment.

"Even so, it would be foolish not to take precautions. We will report back to Guild if and when we have to. At no time will we tell him what we're planning, where we're going, or who we're hoping to punch next. Agreed?"

"Agreed. So he doesn't know we have the Grotesquery?"

"I may have forgotten to tell him. I did remember to tell Mr. Bliss, though, so he has organized three Cleavers to provide security. Any more than that, unfortunately, and it would come to the attention of the Grand Mage."

"I just hope you realize, after Sagacious Tome and now Guild, that I'm never going to be able to trust anyone in a position of authority, ever again."

His head tilted. "You don't view me as an authority figure?"

She laughed. Then stopped. "Oh. I'm sorry, you were serious?"

"That's lovely, that is," he said, and Kenspeckle wandered in.

"Detective, you will no doubt be happy to know that my assistants are moving the Grotesquery into my brand-new private morgue, where it will clutter up the place just when I've finally managed to get everything in order."

Valkyrie frowned. "What would you need a private morgue for?"

"Experiments," Kenspeckle said. "Experiments so bizarre and unnatural they would surely make you vomit."

"Professor Grouse," Skulduggery said, "we brought the Grotesquery here not only because your facility is more advanced than the Sanctuary's, but also because you are the leading expert in science magic."

"Mm," Kenspeckle said gruffly. "It is, And I am."

"We need your help. We have a chance to dismantle the Grotesquery and hide the pieces all over the world so it can never be put back together, and we need you to do it."

"Fine," Kenspeckle said gruffly. "But you, Valkyrie, must rest. And you, Detective, must not place her in any danger for the next, oh, let's say an hour. Do we have a deal?"

"I can rest," Valkyrie said. "And I can manage an hour," Skulduggery said. "All right then," said Kenspeckle. "If you'll excuse me, I have a monster to take apart."