The Faceless Ones

Chapter Sixteen. Stealing the Grotesquery

Skulduggery took a small spool of thread from his pocket and started wrapping it around the door handles.

"That'll hold?" Valkyrie asked skeptically. "This is Resolute Thread. The more pressure applied, the stronger it gets. It's very rare. They say it was made from the stomach lining of an emperor dragon, over two thousand years ago."

"Was it?"

"No, it's just really strong thread." The door handles tied together securely, they walked deeper into the room. The Repository was vast and dark, with rows of shelves and tables groaning under the weight of the magic artifacts it contained. In the center, where once the Book of Names had stood on its pedestal, there was now a cage of black steel, about the size of a small truck. The remains of the Grotesquery, little more than a torso and head wrapped in soiled bandages, hung suspended off the ground by a dozen taut chains. There were symbols carved on each of the cage bars, and they started to glow as Valkyrie and Skulduggery neared.

"Don't touch the cage," Skulduggery warned.

"How do we open it?"

"Very, very carefully, I'd imagine. I'm not as fluent in the language of these symbols as China is, but I know enough to recognize a death field when I see one. It'd kill anyone who even put a hand inside those bars."

"Can we turn it off?"

"If we knew the right symbol to touch, yes. Unfortunately, if we touch the wrong symbol, the field will swell and kill everything in the room."

"Would it kill you?"

"Seeing as how I'm already dead?"

"Well, would it? Serpine used his red right hand on you, and it didn't have any effect. Maybe this would be the same."

"If I knew a little more about how I ended up as a living skeleton with impeccable fashion sense, I could give it a try. But there is every chance that the death field would kill whatever's left of me."

"So how are we going to get the Grotesquery?"

Skulduggery walked in among the shelves. "There has to be something here that will help us," he said.

Valkyrie followed, browsing the artifacts on display, although she really had no idea what she was looking for, let alone how they could use any of it to open the cage.

She picked up a wooden sphere, about twice the size of a tennis ball. It had a thin groove running all the way around its circumference.

"And this is ...?" she asked, holding it up for Skulduggery to see.

"Cloaking sphere," he said. "Not very many of those around, actually."

"What does it do?"

"It makes magic people invisible."

"Cool."

Valkyrie replaced it and turned to follow him, but Skulduggery was gone.

She heard a sound from somewhere in the stacks and saw movement. There was a grunt, and Skulduggery came flying over the shelves. He hit a table and smashed the vials that had been sitting there, then rolled off the edge, hit the ground, and groaned. A big man with long silver hair strode out after him. Valkyrie recognized him from the description she'd been given. Gruesome Krav.

The Diablerie were here to steal the Grotesquery before them.

Valkyrie backed off, her heart suddenly slamming against her chest, and then there were footsteps behind her.

She turned to see Sanguine approach, smiling that wicked smile. She clicked the fingers of both her hands, and flames filled her grip, but cracks spider-webbed at Sanguine's feet and he sank into the floor. Valkyrie turned, wary, ignoring the sounds of Skulduggery's fight, listening for the telltale crumbling that signified Sanguine's movements underground.

She heard it and knew he was rising up out of the ground directly behind her. She lashed out a back kick and felt it connect. She turned to seeSanguine sprawling, hands at his face, his sunglasses broken neatly in two and his nose pumping blood. His eyeless face contorting in pain and fury, he scrambled up and made a grab for her.

Valkyrie ducked under his right arm and kicked at his leg, and he went down on one knee; she followed through with an elbow to the back of his head. He dropped forward, onto his hands, and swung his leg back viciously, catching both of her ankles. She crashed to the ground, and his hands were on her as he got to his feet. She tried to break his hold, but he was too strong, and he hurled her into a row of shelves. The shelves toppled, artifacts smashing, and Valkyrie followed them to the floor.

She got up and tried to push at the air, but Sanguine was too fast. He punched, and her head snapped around and white light exploded in her vision, and even as she was falling, she tasted the blood. Suddenly she was on the ground, her left hand covering her mouth, aware that one of her front teeth was broken. Her body was leaden, drained of its strength, and all she could think about was that her tooth had been damaged and the hassle it would be to explain that to her mother.A brown shoe appeared beside her face, and Sanguine knelt, opening his straight razor, the blood from his nose flowing freely onto her coat.

"You deserve this," he snarled, bringing the blade to her throat.

There was a gunshot, and he screamed and fell to one side, clutching his leg. Behind him, Skulduggery switched targets, but Krav slapped the gun out of his hand.

Cursing in pain, Sanguine got up and, ignoring Valkyrie, lurched to the cage. He pressed his hand against a symbol, and it flashed. Valkyrie rolled away, expecting the death field to envelop them all as Skulduggery had warned. But the symbol faded, as did all the others. The cage door opened and Sanguine dragged himself inside. He reached for the Grotesquery, and at his touch, the chains released their hold and the bandaged torso fell heavily.

"I have it!" he snapped.

Krav snarled at Skulduggery, cheated out of his kill, and strode for the cage. The ground crumbled beneath them as Sanguine took Krav and the Grotesquery down and away.

Skulduggery snatched up his gun and hurried to Valkyrie. She became aware of the pounding on the double doors. The Resolute Thread was holding, but even as she watched, the blade of a scythe pierced the door and withdrew. The Cleavers were hacking their way in.

"Let me see," Skulduggery said, helping her to sit up. He took her face in his gloved hand and tilted her head back. Blood was running down her chin, and she was doing her best not to swallow. "Open your mouth."

Valkyrie shook her head. She had tears in her eyes--partly from shock, partly from distress. Billy-Ray Sanguine had taken her smile with one vicious punch.

Skulduggery pulled her to her feet. A sliver of cold air hissed past her tooth, and she moaned in pain. She kept her lips pressed tightly together.

The double doors fell apart, and Thurid Guild stormed into the Repository, flanked by two Cleavers. He saw the empty cage.

"Get them!" he thundered.

Skulduggery grabbed Valkyrie's hand and dragged her into the maze of shelves. One of the Cleavers bounded from Guild's side and leaped high, landing in front of them, scythe swinging to block their way. Skulduggery thrust at the air, but the Cleaver moved through the ripples. The other Cleaver was coming in from behind, moving to trap them.

They couldn't afford to be arrested. The Diablerie had the Isthmus Anchor, which meant their next move would be to track down and snatch Fletcher Renn. Valkyrie and Skulduggery had to get out of here.

Skulduggery's gun was still in his right hand, and he fired, point-blank, into the first Cleaver's chest. The Cleaver staggered, his uniform protecting him, and Skulduggery added to his backward momentum with a kick. The Cleaver went down, and they jumped over him.

They ran to the end of the row, and Skulduggery grabbed the cloaking sphere, then rammed a shoulder into the shelf, and the whole thing toppled over. Artifacts crashed to the ground, unnatural smoke billowed, and there were cries, like a dozen trapped souls suddenly released. In the confusion, Valkyrie ducked low and followed Skulduggery on a course through the shelves, heading for the door. She could hear Guild barking orders as reinforcements arrived.

The smoke reached her and smelled foul, and by instinct she took a breath through her mouth, immediately stumbling from the pain. Clamping both hands over her bloody lips, she blinked the tears away and saw Skulduggery disappearing behind another row of shelves. She hurried after him but froze as a Cleaver stepped in front of her.

His visored helmet swept his surroundings. She stayed frozen. He'd see her in a matter of moments.

Gloved hands emerged from the gloom behind the Cleaver and yanked him back out of sight.

Valkyrie stayed where she was, waiting for the fight to erupt, but there was only stillness.

She peered between the shelves and saw Guild, standing there with a furious look on his face. There was movement behind him, and Valkyrie realized that a Cleaver had been standing there only moments before.

She moved forward, staying low and quiet. She darted across the gap between shelves and followed another row, which led her closer to the door. Another Cleaver ran in, and Guild waved to him to stop.

"Stay there," he ordered. "Make sure they don't leave."

The Cleaver pulled out his scythe. He was the only thing between her and the door. The unnatural smoke trailed and sank and swept up, and it passed in front of her, obscuring her line of sight. When the smoke cleared, the Cleaver was gone.

Skulduggery moved out of the darkness and waited by the door. Valkyrie checked to make sure no one was looking. She crept to the end of the row, and Skulduggery nodded to her; then she hurried by him and out into the corridor.

They ran.

A sorcerer Valkyrie vaguely recognized saw them and frowned, but Skulduggery pushed at the air, and the sorcerer shot off his feet. They took the corridor to their left, heading away from the busiest areas.

"There's another way out," Skulduggery said as they sprinted. "Eachan Meritorious told me about it once. For emergency use only. Guild doesn't know I know about it."

They burst into a large oval-shaped room with a single light source that kept the edges of the room in darkness. It was the room where Valkyrie had first met the Elders, two years before.

Valkyrie turned to swing the door shut, but Remus Crux charged through, sending her to the ground. His gun was in his hand, and Skulduggery moved into him, trapping his gun hand against his ribs. Crux tried to protest, but Skulduggery caught him with a right hook. Crux's knees wobbled, and Skulduggery disarmed him and flipped him to the floor.

Valkyrie heard footsteps in the corridor and clicked her fingers to get Skulduggery's attention. He took the cloaking sphere from his jacket and twisted its hemispheres in opposite directions. A bubble of haze erupted outward, enveloping them and Crux.

Thurid Guild ran up to the door, followed by three Cleavers. Valkyrie tried to ignore the pain in her mouth and prepared to fight, but Skulduggery laid a hand on her shoulder.

"They can't see or hear us," he said. "Everything magical is now cloaked."

The sphere in his hand was gently ticking, as the hemispheres slowly worked their way back into alignment.

"Grand Mage," Crux called weakly. "Help me."

But Guild couldn't hear him. He turned to the Cleavers. "They must have doubled back. I want the exit sealed. Nobody in or out unless I say so. Go!»The Cleavers sprinted off, and Guild stalked back the way he had come. Crux moaned in misery, and Skulduggery looked down at him.

"We didn't steal the Grotesquery, Remus. The Diablerie did. That's who is behind this. Jaron Gallow, maybe someone named Batu. Focus your investigation on them."

"I'm placing you under arrest," Crux whimpered.

"Guild is working with them. He told them which symbol deactivated the death field. You can't trust him. You can only trust Bliss."

The cloaking sphere clicked one last time, and the bubble of haze withdrew. Skulduggery pocketed the sphere and led Valkyrie to the dark edges of the room. He clicked his fingers, summoning a bright flame.

"Timing is everything," he told her. "When we start running, we cannot stop, are we clear?"

She murmured an affirmative, in too much pain from her broken tooth to open her mouth. Skulduggery leaned in and whispered so that Crux wouldn't hear.

"The moment we're out of here, we'll get Professor Grouse to fix up your tooth, okay? You've got nothing to worry about."

She murmured again, and his head tilted sympathetically for a moment. Then he nodded to the wall. "Touch the wall and be prepared to run."

Valkyrie reached out, her palm on the cold wall, and there was a rumble as the wall opened up, wide enough for the two of them to enter.

"Now," Skulduggery said, and they bolted. The wall closed behind them as the space immediately ahead opened. It was disconcerting to run full pelt at solid rock, but just as they were about to hit it, it parted, then resealed at their heels. They were sprinting in a bubble of space that was moving quickly through the ground, and the rumbling was huge and loud and reminded her of Billy-Ray Sanguine taking her to see Baron Vengeous. She hadn't liked it then and she didn't like it now.

They were running up an incline--Valkyrie could feel it in her legs. Skulduggery had doused the flame so it wouldn't burn up the oxygen, so now they were running in complete darkness. Valkyrie opened the side of her mouth to suck breath through, trying not to let the cold air hit her damaged tooth.

She was getting tired. They had been sprinting for far too long. She needed to slow down, just for a moment, but she knew this little bubble of space would move ahead without them. She didn't much fancy being crushed to death, no matter how fast it would be.

"Didn't think it would be quite so far," Skulduggery said over the noise. The good thing about not having breath was that he would never be out of it, and the good thing about not having muscles was that they could never scream at him. She envied him right now.

Valkyrie's coat snapped her backward--she realized immediately that the coattails had been caught in the crush--and she ripped her arms out of the sleeves, abandoning the coat to the darkness, and stumbled. She felt Skulduggery's gloved fingers close around her hand as he yanked her up alongside him, practically dragging her. She got her feet under her once more and was running on her own again, but she gripped his hand and didn't let go.

And then there was a blinding light, a rush of fresh air--and they were outside. Valkyrie slipped on wet grass, landing on her back. The rumbling abruptly ceased. She lay there, both hands covering her mouth, breathing fast and squinting as her eyes adjusted.

Skulduggery was wrapping his scarf around his jaw. He dipped his hat low over his eye sockets. "The Garden of Remembrance," he said. "Not the most inconspicuous place for a secret tunnel to emerge, but I'm not complaining."

Valkyrie grunted a response, indicating that she wasn't about to complain either. He helped her up. Her arms were bare and prickling with goose bumps in the cold air. The only people she could see were an elderly couple, out for a quiet stroll. Nobody had seen their arrival. They walked to the gate.

"We have a problem," Skulduggery said. "Apart from all the obvious ones, I mean. The Bentley is back at the Sanctuary, and we're not going to be able to get to it."

She moaned.

"The good news is, after it was damaged two years ago, I took the precaution of stashing a few replacements around town. There's one a few minutes' walk away."

Valkyrie looked at him and mumbled a question.He laughed. "It's not yellow, no. I'm sure you'll like this one."

They walked to a small parking lot behind a crumbling building, with Valkyrie doing her best to hide the blood from the people they passed. The only car parked here was a Ford Fiesta. She glared at Skulduggery.

He nodded. "I suppose it is kind of small."

She mumbled something again, and he shook his head.

"Actually, you'd be surprised at how nimble it is. It doesn't have the speed, the comfort, or the sheer power of the Bentley, but especially in city traffic, a Fiesta is a fine--"

She interrupted him with another, angrier mumble, and he took a moment before nodding.

"I suppose you're right. It is sort of purple, yes."

She sagged. Skulduggery took the key from its hiding place in the tailpipe, opened the car, and got in. Valkyrie slid in beside him, buckling up without enthusiasm, and Skulduggery started the engine.

"Starts first time," he said happily.

They drove out of the parking lot and headed for the Hibernian Cinema. The Purple Menace wasn't as bad as the Canary Car, but it was close. At least it didn't make people stop and laugh as it passed. After a few minutes, Valkyrie even stopped thinking about it and instead started worrying about her tooth.

They got to the Hibernian and parked across the street. Skulduggery went first, making sure Guild hadn't sent a squad of Cleavers to arrest them, and then he beckoned Valkyrie over. It was starting to rain as they entered, and Valkyrie led the way through the screen and into the medical bay.

Fletcher swaggered up, started to say something cocky, but saw the dried blood on Valkyrie's face and hands, and his eyes widened. They passed each other in silence.

Kenspeckle was in one of the labs, drinking a cup of tea and eating a scone. He muttered when he saw them approaching, but his eyes narrowed when Valkyrie neared. Up to now, she had been pretty brave about it, but the look of concern on Kenspeckle's face brought tears to her eyes and she couldn't help it. She started crying.

Skulduggery stepped back like she had stung him, but Kenspeckle rushed forward.

"Oh, my dear," he said tenderly, "there's no need to cry, there's no need. What's happened to you, eh? Let me have a look. A broken tooth? Is that all? That's nothing, Valkyrie. That's a half hour's work at the very most. You've nothing to worry about."

Normally, Valkyrie would have had something to say to show she wasn't rattled, but today she was without words.

Kenspeckle shot Skulduggery a glare. "You can wait elsewhere, Detective Pleasant. Maybe you can keep an eye on that annoying boy you stuck me with--try and make sure he doesn't break anything else. I'll have her back to you soon enough."

Skulduggery nodded and looked at Valkyrie, then walked away.

"We'll get that smile working again," Kenspeckle promised, giving her a wink. "Don't you worry.»