The Maleficent Seven (From the World of Skulduggery Pleasant) (6 page)

“It wasn’t me,” he said, annoyed. “What, just because I use a sword, suddenly I’m a suspect? OK, I didn’t exactly
like
the man. I thought he was a fraud and a charlatan and not a very good psychic. But I didn’t kill him. Besides, I have an alibi. Probably. When did he die?”

“Halloween.”

“I have no alibi,” Frightening said miserably.

Wilhelm piped up from the corner seat. “He died last year and you didn’t tell us? Why didn’t you tell us? We could have all been targets.”

“First of all,” said Vex, “his murder might not have had anything to do with this mission. From what I’ve heard of Jerry since his death, he had a habit of making enemies. He’d given out a string of predictions the previous year to some very powerful and very dangerous individuals, of which exactly none came true. Statistically, that is quite incredible. Secondly, last year you had nothing to do with any of this, Wilhelm. Even if there
had
been a death squad after us, you wouldn’t have been touched.”

“I just want it known,” said Frightening, “that I did not kill Jerry Ordain.”

“I didn’t either,” said Aurora. “Although I wanted to.”

“If his murder
was
in relation to this mission,” said Saracen, “then what does that mean?”

“It means someone is out there and they don’t want us to get our hands on the God-Killers,” said Vex. “If this is true, we’ll undoubtedly come across them over the next few days.”

“Oh God,” Wilhelm said.

Aurora turned to him. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”

“My fault,” said Vex. “Aurora Jane, this is Wilhelm Scream. Wilhelm, this is Aurora and everyone.”

“Hi, Wilhelm,” Aurora said, smiling. “I just want to check – are you going to be complaining every minute we’re on the job, or are you going to man up any time over the next few hours?”

Wilhelm went a little paler, and sank so far back into his seat he looked like he was trying to pass through it.

“Wilhelm is a good guy,” Vex said. “He might not have the experience the rest of us have, but what he lacks in combat skills he more than makes up for in... Anyway, welcome aboard, Wilhelm. Our first stop is Germany. Tomorrow night we sneak in and grab the dagger.”

“Why not tonight?” Frightening asked.

“Tonight Johann Starke is having a party to show off his collection. Security will be tightened and there’ll be guests everywhere. Only the very foolish or the very reckless would try to steal the dagger tonight.”

arkness cracked and light spilled, and then Tanith was stepping out from the wall into Johann Starke’s house. A four-piece orchestra played in the next room. Lots of chatter, sprinkled through with light laughter. No alarms. No cries. So far so good.

“I could go straight for the dagger,” Sanguine said quietly. “Why the hell not? I’m here, ain’t I? Save you the trouble of the play-acting.”

Tanith unzipped her jumpsuit and let it fall to the ground. She stepped out of it, slipping her feet into high heels as she rested the delicate strap of her handbag on one shoulder. Her dress was red and tight and her hair was brown and straight. She caught a glimpse of herself in a mirror and liked what she saw.

“Starke’s security system would alert every Ripper in the area,” she told him. “You don’t want that, do you? It’ll be fine. I’ll mingle, I’ll charm, I’ll get the dagger and replace it with the forgery. You just be waiting to pick me up.”

“Do you even speak German?” he asked, scooping up the jumpsuit and being careful not to let any dust near her outfit.

“I have a few words,” she said.

“Any of them not swear words?”

“
Nein
. Trust me, all right? Now, do I look amazing?”

“You always look amazing. Kiss for good luck?”

“Don’t want to smudge my make-up,” she said, and walked to the door. She painted an easy smile on her face. The first person she saw was a man dressed completely in black with a visored helmet and two sickles strapped to his back. A Ripper. He walked by, ignoring her completely. She took a moment to calm down, nodded to an elderly couple and then at a man with dark hair and turned like she’d forgotten something. She stepped back into the room. Sanguine hadn’t left yet. He frowned at her.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said. “Just... A man out there. I know him from somewhere.”

Sanguine’s face darkened. “We’re calling this off.”

“No, we’re not. I’ve got a forged dagger that will only fool people for the next ninety hours. It’s too late to back out now.”

“Tanith, this whole plan of yours relies on one simple thing – that nobody here has ever met you. Seeing as how most of the guests are high-up German sorcerers who never venture beyond their own little compounds, that was a fair assumption to make. But if someone here knows you—”

“I might be wrong,” she said quickly.

“You said you know him.”

“Maybe I’ve seen him, but that doesn’t mean he’s seen me. Even if he
has
met me, he wouldn’t recognise me. That’s the advantage of being a blonde who always wears brown leather – when you step out as a brunette in a knock-’em-dead red dress, you’re a completely different person.”

Sanguine shook his head. “We should either make a strategic retreat or find a way to isolate him. We kill him, you get the dagger, we get the hell outta Dodge.”

She put her hand on his arm. “No. Leave him alone. I’m not even one hundred per cent sure I recognise him.”

“You may have dated him at some point.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Wouldn’t be surprised. You seem to have dated most everyone else.”

“Now is definitely not the time for this. I’ll say this once more – I don’t know who he is.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll ask him his name as he’s dying.”

“Billy-Ray. Be nice.”

“What do you care? You no longer have a conscience. I could slaughter everyone in this place and you’d only be mad because I didn’t leave any for you.”

Tanith shrugged. “Just because we
can
kill doesn’t mean we have to. I don’t derive any pleasure from killing people.”

Sanguine looked at her oddly. “You don’t? Not even a little?”

“Well,” Tanith said, “maybe a little.” She turned. “OK. I’m trying again.”

“This is stupid. What if he does know who you are? You got no back-up here.”

“Would you please trust me? Go on, go. I’ll be fine.”

Sanguine seemed on the verge of saying something else, but Tanith walked away before he had a chance. She stepped out, smiling again. The man with the dark hair wasn’t standing there any more.

Expecting a pack of Rippers to descend on her at any moment, she followed the sounds of the party and found herself in a large gallery where everyone had congregated. Starke, she knew, was something of a collector. In the past, his collection would have paled in comparison to China Sorrows’, but ever since her library blew up, Starke’s was possibly the most impressive in Europe.

Starke himself was a narrow man with grey-flecked hair. His beard and moustache were intricately styled – the sign of a man who spends far too much time admiring his own jawline. Well-dressed, though, Tanith had to give him that. And he had that aura of power that all people in positions of authority seemed to possess. He saw her watching him and she looked away, walked to examine the next item in his collection, adding a little sway to her hips.

A moment later he was standing beside her.

“This is a wonderful piece,” she said.

“And you have an eye for quality,” he responded. He held out his hand. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

She put her hand in his and he raised it to his lips, kissed the back of it. Tanith smiled. “My name is Tabitha. Is this your house? It really is wonderful.”

“Why thank you, Tabitha. Whereabouts in France are you from?”

Tanith laughed. “Toulouse,” she said. “But I’m surprised you noticed. I thought I had lost my accent long ago. I suppose it just goes to show, you cannot hide where you are from.”

“And why would you want to?” Johann asked. “Toulouse is a beautiful part of the world. Some of the most beautiful women are from there, you know.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s what I’ve heard.”

“Mr Starke, I do believe you are flirting with me.”

Now it was Johann’s turn to laugh. “It is only flirting if you’re flattered.”

“Then it is flirting,” Tanith said.

“Tell me, Tabitha, who are you here with?”

Tanith turned her head a fraction. “My friends are over there. Forgive me, Mr Starke, I have gatecrashed. They assured me you would not mind but, well... my friends are notorious liars. But even if you kick me out this very minute, this night will still have been worth it.”

“I think I can forgive you, Tabitha, but only on condition that you call me Johann.”

“Then we have a deal, Johann. Tell me, what does a girl have to do to get a tour of this wonderful house?”

They left the crowd and walked to the furthest wings. The corridors were darker there. They came to a large circular room with glass walls looking out at the dark lake that cut through the forest around them. In this room there were more exhibits.

“Don’t the other guests get to see these?” Tanith asked, walking from one to the next.

Johann smiled. “I’m afraid not. Only very special people get to visit this room.”

“I’m a very special person, am I?”

“From what I can see, yes.”

She smiled. “Are these valuable, then? Worth a lot of money?”

“There comes a point where it stops being about money,” Johann said. “These items are priceless for a variety of reasons.”

“What about this one?” asked Tanith, moving to the central exhibit encased in glass. “This knife?”

“That is a dagger,” said Johann. “And I could tell you had an eye for quality. Have you ever heard of a God-Killer?”

“Should I have?”

“Perhaps not. Eons ago, when the Ancients rose up against the Faceless Ones, they had an assortment of weapons that could hurt them.”

“Oh, I know this,” said Tanith. “My mother used to read me these stories. The Sceptre, wasn’t it?”

“The Sceptre was the ultimate God-Killer, yes, but there were others, too. In particular a sword, a bow, a spear and a dagger.”

She frowned. “Are you saying that
this
is the dagger? But Johann, those stories are fairy tales. The Faceless Ones never really existed. There weren’t really terrible old gods who used to rule the world.”

Johann smiled. “For people like me, who work in the Sanctuary, such fairy tales have proven to be true more often than not.”

She looked back at the dagger. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

“Its beauty pales in comparison to you.”

Tanith bit her lower lip. “Could I... could I hold it?”

Johann smiled. “I would love to allow that, but I have strict security protocols in place. There are other items in my collection that I’m not quite so paranoid about.” He shrugged and laughed, and Tanith looked disappointed.

“Oh,” she said. “It’s just... It’s proof, you know? If those fairy tales are true, then this is... this is part of history. More than that. It’s part of
myth
.”

He looked at her, then at the dagger. “You know what? I think tonight was meant to happen. We were destined to meet, Tabitha. And who am I to argue with destiny?”

He waved his hand in front of the case and Tanith heard a click as the glass cover popped slightly. Johann tilted it back on its hinge.

“Be careful you don’t nick yourself,” he said. “One cut from this will kill. And that is no myth and no fairy tale. I have seen it myself.”

Her eyes adequately bright yet cautious, she reached in and took the dagger from its stand. She turned it in her hand, admiring the weight, the balance, the way the light caught the delicate blade.

She moved her body to obscure her handbag and, with her free hand, she opened it. The fake dagger wasn’t as finely balanced, but it was roughly the same weight. She took hold of it. It would do. She hoped.

“Magnificent, is it not?” Johann asked.

“I’m holding history,” she breathed. “This is... this is most... thrilling.” She looked over at the Ripper by the door, standing with his back to them. “Does he go everywhere with you?”

Johann glanced over his shoulder, and Tanith switched the daggers.

“Not everywhere,” Johann said, looking back at her, and Tanith smiled as she put the forgery into the glass case. Johann secured the lid and waved his hand, and there was another click. No alarm sounded. The forgery hadn’t been detected. Tanith relaxed. “We could go somewhere more private if you like,” Johann suggested.

“It’s a warm night,” she said. “I’d love a moonlit stroll.”

“Your wish is my command.” He led her to the glass door and they stepped outside. They walked to the strip of stony beach. There was a small dock set up, but no boat in its moorings. Johann talked more about his collection and Tanith said all the right things at all the right times. Then she looked into his eyes.

“What time do the guests leave?” she asked.

“Whenever I tell them to.”

“It’s getting late, don’t you think? Some of them might have to make a long journey home.”

He smiled. “I’d better thank them for coming.”

“I’ll stay here, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Please do. I’ll be back in mere minutes.”

Tanith secured the handbag strap around her shoulder as she watched him go, then kicked off her shoes and walked quickly to the dock. Her fingers dug into the material of her dress and she pulled it apart, the dress splitting right down the middle. She let it fall around her feet, reached the dock in the swimsuit she’d been wearing under it, and in one fluid motion she dived into the warm water. She sliced up towards the surface and swam on, barely making a sound.

The boat was waiting for her. Jack straddled the side, a fishing pole in his hand. He watched her approach.

“I was wonderin’ what was scarin’ the fish,” he said, as Sanguine appeared beside him and helped Tanith up.

“Did you get it?” Sabine asked.

“Would I be looking so pleased with myself if I hadn’t?” Tanith responded, passing her the handbag. Sabine took out the dagger and examined it.

“The fake was excellent,” she said. “It looks exactly like the real thing.”

“And what about Starke?” said Jack. “Did he suspect you were a master thief, or were the smile and the dress all he was seein’?”

“He didn’t suspect a thing,” Tanith said, using a towel to dry herself off. “But we should probably get going before he starts looking for me.”

Sanguine started up the boat and they moved off, sticking close to the small islands. Tanith secured the dagger in the lockbox, then heard something in the trees as they passed. She looked up and a Ripper dropped from the overhanging branch, sent Tanith into Sanguine, their heads cracking together. Tanith stumbled, dimly aware of the Ripper shoving Sabine into the water as the boat stalled. Jack flung himself at their attacker, his nails dragging uselessly across the Ripper’s coat. He got a headbutt as a reward, and a kick to the shin, and then the Ripper was wrapping an arm round his throat.