The Faceless Ones

Chapter Twenty-seven. Blink

Mr. Bliss met them as they strode toward the cinema. He told them what had happened, then told them that Remus Crux had left with the Cleavers in a preposterous attempt to catch the Diablerie as they made their getaway with Guild. The main problems with this course of action were that first, the enemy had too much of a head start, and second, nobody knew what kind of vehicle they were in, if they were even in a vehicle at all. But Bliss had let Crux go, simply because he wanted him gone.

They hurried down the aisle, as Ghastly andTanith emerged from the door in the screen, onto the stage. Valkyrie looked at them, checking for injuries, but Tanith caught her eye and winked. A small gesture, but reassuring, and Valkyrie's heart stopped beating so hard in her chest.

"Sorry," Ghastly said to Skulduggery. "We tried our best, but..."

"Your job wasn't to protect Guild," Skulduggery reminded him, "it was to protect Fletcher. Where is he? "

"Here," Fletcher said from right behind Valkyrie. She jumped and glared at him; then he vanished and reappeared on the stage beside Tanith. "You're not going to give me to those nutcases, are you? I mean, I know they have a hostage and all, but he's an old guy, he's practically dead already. I'm the important one, so I'm the one who has to stay safe, yeah? "

"We're not doing the trade," Tanith said.

"Actually," Bliss said, "we are."

Everyone stared at him. He stood there like a rock in a churning sea.

"That's insane," Ghastly said. "You're telling us to hand over the last Teleporter just because they ask us to? And in return for Guild, of all people?"

"If we do not, they will have no hesitation in killing the Grand Mage."

"Bliss," said Skulduggery, "if we give them Fletcher Renn, this world dies."

"And if we let them kill Thurid Guild," Bliss countered evenly, "the world collapses into chaos."

"I'd rather chaos over death," Ghastly said.

Bliss shook his head. "Ireland is the Cradle of Magic. Our people were the first Ancients. Our people fought the Faceless Ones on these shores. This land holds secrets, both magnificent and terrifying, that are coveted by Councils across the world. If we lose another Grand Mage a mere two years after we lost Meritorious, how long do you think our friends and neighbors will wait before stepping in?"

"You all know I'm not the biggest fan of the English Sanctuary," Tanith said, "but even they wouldn't do anything as stupid as try to take over."

"If they could claim that it was for our own good, they might decide it's worth the risk. This isn't about politics. It's about power. We have a duty to protect what is ours--not out of selfishness, but out of necessity. In the wrong hands, the magic of this land could change the face of the world."

Skulduggery took off his hat and brushed a speck of imagined lint from its brim. "And yet if we hand over Renn, and the Diablerie succeed in their scheme, the face of this world will be changed anyway."

"Which is why, Detective, it is going to be your job to make sure that doesn't happen. You have two tasks: to get Thurid Guild back alive and relatively unharmed, and to make sure the Diablerie do not get their hands on Fletcher Renn."

"So you're saying we should double-cross them."

"That is indeed what I am saying."

Skulduggery shrugged. "Well, I was going to do that anyway."

"Are we still fugitives?" Valkyrie asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Bliss said. "In Guild's absence, I am in command, but while there is a spy in the Sanctuary, it is far too dangerous to bring you back in. I will do my best to keep Remus Crux away from you, but I'm keeping him on as Prime Detective so that our spy will have something to keep himself occupied."

"Out," Kenspeckle said.

They looked at him as he stepped through the door in the screen."Out," he said again. "All of you. Get out. This is a science-magic facility, a place of knowledge and a place of healing. What it is not is a place of violence."

"Professor," Skulduggery started, but Kenspeckle held up a hand to silence him.

"You bring death and destruction to my door, Detective Pleasant. You always have. And while I am happy to patch you up, and patch up your friends, I am not willing to just stand by while you use this place as your headquarters.

"Tonight, this establishment was raided by Cleavers. And if that wasn't bad enough, I had fanatical worshippers of the Faceless Ones attacking people right where you're standing. I took an oath to heal people, but today I was forced to take my power and use it to hurt. Unforgivable. Unforgivable!"

Valkyrie shrank back, dreading the moment when he'd use her injuries as another weapon against Skulduggery. Kenspeckle glanced at her, then looked back at Skulduggery, but the moment came and went.

"I will heal your wounds," he said, "but I will not facilitate your battles. All of you, get out.»He turned and walked back through the door in the screen. A moment later the picture of the door faded and the heavy curtains started to close. The few remaining houselights came on.

Bliss was the first to leave. The others looked at Skulduggery, who put his hat back on. They shrugged into coats, and Ghastly picked up two large bags; then they left the cinema.

The rain had stopped. Skulduggery unlocked the Purple Menace.

"Back to my place, I suppose," Ghastly said as he threw the bags into his van.

"Okay," Fletcher said, taking hold of Valkyrie's arm. "We'll meet you there."

And they teleported.

It was like she blinked, and within that blink there was a rush of air and she felt light, and her belly lurched, and there was nothing around her or beneath her except for Fletcher's hand on her arm. His hand was the only thing that was real, and it felt good, and warm, and comforting.

And then they were standing on the roof of Ghastly's shop. A wave of dizziness swept through Valkyrie and she nearly fell to her knees. Fletcher was smiling at her."You okay?" he asked gently.

She punched him across the jaw and he went stumbling backward.

"Why'd you do that?" he bellowed.

She glared at him, the dizziness passing. "Shock mostly," she said angrily. "You just can't teleport people without asking them! What if something had gone wrong? What if you'd only teleported half of me?"

"That'd never happen."

"Or you let go of my arm halfway through?"

"It can't be done."

"Or we reappeared in a wall or something? "

He hesitated. "Okay, now that was a danger.... But as long as I've been somewhere before, and I can picture it in my head, that's all I need. I thought you'd like it, to be honest."

Her phone rang. It was Skulduggery. Valkyrie assured him she was okay and waiting for him at Ghastly's. She hung up.

"He said he's going to kill you," she told Fletcher, who shrugged.

"He's always saying that."

"But this time he means it."

"What does it matter? If he hands me over to those lunatics, I'm dead anyway, right? "

Valkyrie didn't say anything. Fletcher looked at the city around them.

"It's quite pretty up here," he continued. "All the streetlights. The rain makes everything kind of glitter, doesn't it? It's like this in London, too. You can sometimes forget how dirty everything is." His eyes found her. "What'll happen to that Guild guy? Do you think they'll kill him?"

Valkyrie hesitated. "I don't know."

"Do you care?"

"What? Of course."

"You don't like him."

"I still don't want him killed."

Fletcher didn't say anything for a bit. "Does Tanith have a boyfriend? "

Valkyrie looked at him in disbelief, amazed by the radical change of topic. "You don't have a chance."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do."

"Give me three good reasons."

"I only need two. The first one is that she is way too old for you, and the second one is that you are really annoying."

"Hey, just because you're too young to appreciate my charms doesn't mean I don't have them. I'm a catch."

"Is that what your mummy says?" Valkyrie grinned.

"Not really. My mum's dead." The grin faded. "Oh."

"What about your family? What do they think about all these magical adventure crime-solving things you do?"

"They don't know about any of it. At home I have this mirror, and all I have to do is touch it and my reflection steps out and does all the boring stuff like go to school and do homework and be nice to people."

"Your reflection comes to life?" Fletcher said, eyes wide. "Yep."

"You're serious? That is so cool! So everyone thinks you're just this normal girl?"

"They think I'm a tad weird, but yes, basically."

"That is amazing. So there are two of you?"

"Kind of, yes."

He went quiet, and after a few moments she began to wonder what he was thinking about. "Cool," he said at last. "So could I get one of these mirrors? Maybe we could trade my reflection for this Guild guy. Unless the reflection would have the same abilities as me, which'd kind of defeat the purpose."

"No, they can't do magic, but it wouldn't work. Sorcerers can generally spot a reflection a mile off."

Fletcher shrugged. "Worth a shot. I tell you, it'll sure be nice when all this is over and I can get back to my life."

"What was your life? What did you do all day? "

"Whatever I wanted. I have this power and I didn't train for it, I wasn't told about it, it just happened. I'm a natural. And it means I can go anywhere and do anything. And that's what I do all day--whatever I want."

"You should get someone to train you."

"Who? Every other Teleporter is dead."

"As Skulduggery keeps telling me, magic is magic. The basic underlying principles are the same no matter what your power is."

Fletcher made a face. "Sounds a lot like school."

"It's generally more fun." She smiled. "You may be a natural at this, but you're never going to be as good as you can be if you don't train."

He vanished, then said from behind her, "I'm good enough already."

She sighed and turned, but he was already gone. "Okay," she said, "this is mature."

He tapped her on the shoulder, and she laughed and swiped for him, but he appeared in front of her, flashing that cocky grin.

They waited on the roof for another ten minutes, and Valkyrie did her best not to smile at his annoying remarks. Despite her good intentions, however, she found herself being amused by him. When the headlights of the Purple Menace and Ghastly's van approached, Fletcher extended his arm, and she took it. Once again it was like she blinked, and was swept away, and then they were on the sidewalk. Valkyrie held on to him while the dizziness passed.

They parted as Skulduggery strode up. He towered over Fletcher, who was looking quite nervous. Ghastly and Tanith hurried to join them.

"Never," Skulduggery said, "do that again."

Fletcher nodded.

"Someone's in the shop," Ghastly said quietly.They followed his gaze to the door, which stood open slightly. Inside was darkness.

Skulduggery took out his gun and glanced at Fletcher. "Forget what I just said and teleport somewhere. Valkyrie, go with him."

She took Fletcher's arm and motioned upward. He nodded and they reappeared on the roof. The dizziness was fleeting this time, and she moved quietly, leading the way to the skylight. They crouched and peered through the glass.

The light from the streetlamps pierced the gloom as the door opened fully. Valkyrie couldn't see them, but she imagined Skulduggery and the others swarming in, checking the corners, moving with silent purpose. A few seconds later, she heard voices--not raised in alarm, but in conversation.

Someone turned the light on.

Skulduggery was putting his gun away, and Tanith was sheathing her sword. Ghastly walked back from the light switch to join them as they stood facing Solomon Wreath and two other Necromancers.

"It's safe," Valkyrie told Fletcher. "Let's go."

They stood and he held her hand. She blinked; then they were in the shop, people's heads turning at their sudden arrival. Wreath nodded her a greeting before resuming talking.

"What you see before you is the full extent of the Necromancer contingent. The opinion held by the majority is that we should leave you to fight your battles alone."

"But you don't agree with that?" Skulduggery asked.

"I think it is a foolish approach to take, and my colleagues agree with me."

His colleagues wore black. The woman had a cloak thrown back over her shoulders, the ends of which seemed to writhe in the shadows. The man had an old flintlock pistol in a holster on his leg. Neither of them looked remotely friendly.

"Three Necromancers isn't much of a contingent," Ghastly said, clearly unimpressed.

"Four, actually," Wreath said, and tapped his cane on the ground.

A figure walked in from the back room. Immediately, Skulduggery's gun was out, and Tanith's sword was flashing, and Ghastly had fire in his hands.

The White Cleaver took his place beside Wreath.

Skulduggery thumbed back the hammer of his gun. "Explain yourself, Wreath. This man has been on the Sanctuary's wanted list for two years."

Wreath smiled innocently. "I assure you, Skulduggery, my colleague was not responsible for his actions."

"He almost killed me!" Tanith snarled.

"Under orders from Nefarian Serpine," Wreath pointed out. "His will was most certainly not his own."

The White Cleaver just stood there, perfectly still. The scythe that had pierced Tanith was strapped to his back.

"How did he end up with you?" Skulduggery asked.

Wreath shrugged. "It was our technique Serpine used to bring him back from the dead. Once we realized what he had done, we managed to break the hold he had over the Cleaver, and the Cleaver came to us."

"So that was you, when he ignored Serpine's orders in the Sanctuary? "

"That was us. If only we could have severed Serpine's influence earlier, Miss Low would not have been injured, and Mr. Bespoke would not have had to turn himself into a garden ornament.»Ghastly lunged, and Skulduggery had to hold him back.

Tanith walked up to the White Cleaver, who looked down at her, his visor reflecting her face.

"Does he have Necromancer powers?" she asked, directing the question at Wreath but not taking her eyes off the Cleaver.

"No. He is merely a Cleaver, albeit one of the best. He is also dead, self-repairing, and somewhat unstoppable. He is the result of one of our techniques, and so, being a soldier, his natural instinct is to take our orders and stand at our side. In this case, our side is, happily, also your side."

Tanith turned and walked away. "He doesn't stand at my side."

"Mine neither," Ghastly growled.

"Nevertheless," Wreath said, "he is part of the Necromancer contingent you have requested. The three of us and the White Cleaver. Unless, of course, you think you can stop the Diablerie without us."

Skulduggery put his gun away. "If any of us survive this, Wreath, you and I are going to have a conversation.»