Skulduggery Pleasant: Last Stand of Dead Men (63 page)

“The world has changed, my friends. Technology has changed it. Secrets are harder to keep. Do you know how many dark corners of the Internet there are dedicated to amateur, blurry footage of sorcerers in action? We are urban legend now. It is only a matter of time before we become front-page news. And just like that, overnight, we will be the enemy. We will be hunted, imprisoned, experimented on, until we are forced to fight back. But we cannot fight back. How could we? It is our duty to protect the mortals.

“It is time to match the world, to change with it. I have spoken with the Supreme Council about protecting the mortals in a more overt fashion, not to run from the spotlight but to step from the shadows. We have broached the subject of revealing our existence. I know, I know, this goes against everything we’ve ever believed in, but our choices are few and we have little time to decide. There is a threat on the horizon. The Warlocks are massing. They have joined with the Brides of Blood Tears, and they are on the march. We have even heard rumours that they have an army of Wretchlings with them. With that level of sheer power and savagery, they could decimate a small country within days. Millions of mortals would die and the world would wake up to the harsh reality that magic is real, but not everyone who wields it is good and honourable.

“If such a tragedy were to take place, we would need to act swiftly and decisively. We would need to push back the Warlock threat in full view of the mortals so that they would rightfully view us as their protectors. And once the Warlocks are defeated we slip into their society. We let their gratitude enhance us and we use our magic and our science to enhance them, to improve their lives, to protect them to the fullest of our abilities. We co-exist. We thrive.

“Of course, no decision about any of this has been made, and no decision could be made without the full support of every Sanctuary around the world. This is a paradigm shift of epic proportions. We all need to be in agreement.

“At my command, our shield will be lowered. Under the terms of the truce, General Mantis and its army can enter Roarhaven. They will not be harmed. They will be welcomed. They are our brothers and sisters, and Roarhaven is nothing if not hospitable. There is also more to this town than at first appears. Decades ago, its citizens discussed how best to grow their town. They were proud of their magical heritage, and they wanted Roarhaven to be a shining light for magical communities the world over. So they worked. And they built. And people came. Whispers spread from like-minded individual to like-minded individual. There is a place, they said. A place for people like us. But such a rapid and extravagant expansion needed to be kept from mortal eyes, and so they enlisted the help of Creyfon Signate. Creyfon comes from a long and distinguished line of Dimensional Shunters, explorers into realities few of us would even dream about. Creyfon heard the citizens’ plans and he agreed to help, and he is with us today for the grand unveiling.”

A man came forward, small and slim with close-cropped hair, and joined Ravel on the podium.

“I know him,” Scapegrace whispered. “We beat him up. We thought he was Silas Nadir.”

Creyfon Signate raised his arms and lowered his head. Stephanie frowned.

The town began to flicker with new buildings superimposing over the old.

“The citizens of Roarhaven had a dream,” said Ravel, “to rise beyond the limitations set on them. They dreamed of a town strong enough to withstand any assault and big enough to house any number. They dreamed until their town was a town no longer. Sorcerers, friends, brothers and sisters, I present to you Roarhaven City!”

Signate gave a cry of effort and the flickering buildings became solid. Towers and steeples raced each other skywards, overshooting the residential blocks, apartments and houses and homes. The roads were broad and intricately layered, and the old Main Street was now little more than an alleyway. The old buildings were still there, but above and around them there were all manner of improvements and modifications.

When his speech had begun, Ravel had been standing in front of a squat, unimpressive Sanctuary building. It was now nothing less than a palace, and it stood shimmering in the sun. Smaller than Mevolent’s palace had been, perhaps, but just as luxurious, and it seemed to be occupying the exact centre of this new city like a vibrant, beating heart. Even the stagnant lake was different. Swirling bridges criss-crossed its sparkling surface, and on those bridges people cheered. People cheered in the streets, too. Thousands of them. Men and women and children, who hadn’t been there moments earlier.

And around the outskirts, a wall, complete with watchtowers and buttresses.

“This isn’t a city,” said Vex softly. “It’s a fortress.”

At Skulduggery’s command they moved backwards cautiously, keeping their faces hidden from the thousands who now surrounded them on all sides.

he relief was a tangible thing, heavy in the air, like a low-lying heat that wouldn’t go away. Those who had fought under Mantis’s command, sorcerers from all over the world who had never wanted to go to war in the first place, laughed and sang with the people of Roarhaven and the mages they had been trying to kill just days earlier.

Grievances were forgotten. Grudges were dismissed. No one, it appeared, bore any animosity towards anyone else.

No one except China.

In one of the vast and empty rooms of this strange new Sanctuary, she sat and watched Vincent Foe walk in, followed by his gang of mercenaries. They had been drinking and carousing with the best of them, but now their fun was over.

“You sent for us,” said Foe.

“I did,” said China.

They stood in front of her, and Foe tried a smile. “Listen, Miss Sorrows, we were hired to do a job. You can’t take this stuff personally.”

“I happen to take being hunted down very personally.”

“We’re the bullet. We’re not the finger that pulled the trigger. The Supreme Council—”

“I know who pulled the trigger, Mr Foe. And it’s not even who you think. There were systems in place behind this war. Strings being pulled. I know exactly who ordered my death.”

“Then that’s who you should be angry with.”

She raised an eyebrow. “How could I be angry? It’s what I would have done in their place. You see, to the finger that pulled the trigger, ordering my death was a purely business decision. But you and your friends took to it with relish. Too much relish, if I’m being honest.”

“We were hired—”

“Step forward, please.”

Foe frowned. “I’m sorry?”

“There are five circles drawn on the floor in front of you. Each of you pick a circle and step into it.”

“We’re not going to—”

“Mr Foe, I’m sure I don’t have to remind you that I am a personal guest of Grand Mage Ravel’s, and that he has instructed you to do whatever I ask.”

Foe’s merry band of mercenaries glanced at each other uneasily. Except for Samuel. Samuel just kept his eyes on China. Even as they all stepped into the circles, his eyes never left her.

“Thank you,” China said, as she stood up and tapped the sigil on her elbow.

The circles lit up and their bodies went rigid, eyes bulging, fingers curled as pain seized control.

“I could kill you all with another tap of my finger,” China said, walking between them. “You dare to hunt
me
? You dare to make an attempt on
my
life? Do you even know who I am? Do you know the things I have done? I’m sure I cannot even begin to comprehend the audacity with which you thought that my life would be quashed by the likes of you. In all your years on this planet not one of you has done anything to deserve the
right
to kill me. Not you, Mr Foe, and not one of your pathetic, mewling little band of killers.”

Her finger hovered by her elbow. One twitch would be all it took, and the pain would rise so suddenly their hearts would burst. Instead, she flattened her hand and brushed it over her elbow, and the circles stopped glowing and the mercenaries dropped, gasping, to their knees.

“I’m not in the habit of being merciful,” she said to them, “but you have your uses, as clumsy and thick-fingered as they may be. Mr Foe, please look at me when I’m talking to you.”

Foe raised his head. Sweat poured down his face. Immediately China felt the need to shower.

“For the indignity I have suffered at your hands, you owe me. When I come to collect my favour, you will obey without question. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-yes,” Foe said.

“You work for me now. Remember that. Leave me now, I have another appointment to keep.”

They dragged themselves away, and China allowed herself a moment of pleasure before shaking it off. She headed for the busier sections of the Sanctuary, where mages walked and talked quickly. A pair of Cleavers let her through to the Round Room. Ravel and Mist sat in their chairs, the Black Cleaver standing behind Ravel while the Children of the Spider stood around them. Ghastly’s chair was, of course, empty.

“China,” said Ravel, “thank you for joining us. I apologise for taking you from your work, but I think there’s something you can help us with. You may have heard talk of some missing mages?”

She inclined her head in a nod. “I’ve heard the gossip. Four mages have failed to turn up for their Sanctuary duties. Their houses are empty. Their friends don’t know where they are.”

“We know where they are,” said Ravel. “We’ve been keeping it quiet so as not to spread panic. They’re dead. And it’s been more than four. Eight dead, in the last week. All of them killed in the line of duty. Another eleven gone missing. Taken. Two of them were the mages sent to keep an eye on you.”

“That’s terrible.”

“Isn’t it? I suspect that while the war between Sanctuaries is over, there is another war being fought within these city walls.”

China could feel Mist’s gaze on her, despite the veil that covered her face. The Terror and the Scourge were looking at her calmly. Only Syc and Portia had open hostility in their eyes. She didn’t know how much they knew, but she knew how much they suspected. A lie here could land her in shackles, or worse.

China gave them all a smile. “The Dead Men,” she said.

“Or what’s left of them,” said Ravel. “This was more our style than leading an army across a battlefield, after all. Drop behind enemy lines, take the opposition out one by one, whittle down their numbers.”

“Strike from the shadows,” China said. “Disappear into darkness.”

“That’s our motto, and that’s our system. And now it’s being used against me. I never realised how annoying it could be. Of course, the system is a lot more effective when you have a Teleporter on your team. I’m assuming they have Fletcher back?”

“You’re assuming I know?”

“Of course you know,” Portia said. “You’re Skulduggery Pleasant’s
friend
. You have a history.”

China locked eyes with her. “The same could be said for Erskine, and look how that turned out.”

“Ladies,” Ravel said, “we’re not here to throw accusations around. We’re not playing the blame game. You’re standing in a circle of trust, China. We’re all on the same side. Isn’t that true?”

China thought about her answer before voicing it. “Somewhat.”

Ravel laughed. “That’s why I like you, China. You’re so hard to trap in a lie. When was the last time you spoke with Skulduggery?”

Erskine Ravel and the Children of the Spider in front of her. The Black Cleaver behind. The truth, then.

“Six days ago,” China said. “The day you unveiled your city, actually.”

“Execute her!” Syc growled, stepping forward. A slight turn of the head from Madame Mist, though, and he glowered and stepped back.

“Were they here for the speech?” Ravel asked. “I hope they liked it. Not nearly enough people have come up and congratulated me on that speech. It took me ages to get it right. Skulduggery, now, Skulduggery would have appreciated it.”

“I wouldn’t know what he thought,” said China. “I haven’t spoken to him, or any of them, since.”

“Oh. That’s a shame. Well, since we’re on the subject, what did you speak to them about?”

“They asked about your plans. I answered honestly. I don’t know anything about your plans. They asked when you would likely be alone. I said you’re never alone, you always have bodyguards around you.”