The Maleficent Seven (From the World of Skulduggery Pleasant) (9 page)

Jack laughed.

He was having so much fun up there, alone with his thoughts, that the time kind of got away from him. Chuckling at his own giddiness, he got himself back on track, and the wind picked up as he got nearer to Chicago’s harbour. Jackie Earl’s compound was bordered by a tall fence. The main warehouse was accessed through an open courtyard with buildings on either side. Watchtowers stood in the south-east and north-west corners. By the time Jack landed on the roof, the sentries in those watchtowers had already met Tanith Low’s blade.

“You’re late,” Sabine whispered.

Jack scanned the area, keeping his face away from her so she wouldn’t see the goofy smile. She’d been worried about him.

“Tanith and Sanguine are over there,” Sabine said. “Annis is that way.” Jack nodded, but didn’t move. This was a special moment for both of them.

Sabine checked her watch as they crouched there on the roof in the dark. Then she checked it again. Jack knew how she felt. The minutes were skipping by much too quickly.

Sabine nibbled her lip. Jack would have given anything to nibble that lip.

“Sorry?” Sabine said, looking at him.

Jack paled. “What?”

“You said something.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Something about a lip.”

He shook his head. “It’s the wind. It carries words and changes them. I didn’t say lip, I said this is the
tip
. Of the iceberg. Regardin’ what we came here to do. You nervous?”

“I’m fine.”

She walked away a little, trying to see if Tanith and Sanguine had moved from their position. Jack followed, and smiled at her.

“I hate this waitin’ around stuff,” he said. “Much rather get in there, where the action is.”

Sabine didn’t answer. She didn’t even look at him. Jack frowned. Did that mean she hadn’t heard him? She probably hadn’t. Not in this wind. Plus she was so preoccupied with her nerves and such that his words had probably failed to even register.

He smiled again, wider this time. “I hate this waitin’ around stuff. Much rather get in there, where the action is.”

Sabine frowned, and looked at him, and Jack realised she
had
heard him. “Um,” she said, “right.”

That familiar stench wafted towards them, of fish and dead otter.

“I hate waiting, too,” said Black Annis, not looking at either of them. “I prefer being in the thick of the action.”

“Didn’t you use to live in a ditch?” asked Jack.

Annis mumbled something and wandered away, and Jack turned back to Sabine. “You shouldn’t be nervous.”

“I’m not. I’m just... I don’t know why I’m doing this. Why am I helping Tanith help Darquesse? They both want to end the world. I don’t want to end the world. I may have broken a few laws now and then, but I’m not... evil.”

“I don’t think you’re evil,” said Jack.

“Because I’m
not
evil,” Sabine said, a little angrily. She looked upset. Jack wondered if he should hug her. “But Tanith is. You kind of forget that sometimes, but she is. She’s evil.”

Jack shrugged. “I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. Sometimes things happen that are good.”

“That’s your philosophy?”

“I... I dunno, actually. Never knew I had a philosophy. But I suppose if I did have one, yeah, that’d be it. Sometimes things happen that are good. You can have it, if you want.”

“Your philosophy?”

“If yours isn’t workin’, you could share mine. It might relax you. You look tense. Do you want a massage?”

“I’m sorry?”

“To help you relax. I could give you a massage.”

“Your nails are really long.”

“Yeah, you might lose some blood, but some people say blood loss helps you relax.”

“I don’t think so. Thank you, though.”

Jack smiled. “No problem. Do you want a foot rub?”

“No. I think I’m going to stand over there.”

Jack gave her the thumbs up. “Sounds good.”

She walked over to the other side of the roof, and he followed, and smiled at her. “Nice over here, ain’t it?”

rom her position on the roof, Tanith watched Kaiven issue orders to the mortal men with the guns. While keeping to the Necromancer tradition of only wearing black, everything else about Kaiven seemed golden – his blond hair, his tanned skin, his bright smile. Even the way he moved reminded her of a golden lion – proud, strong and graceful.

“Can I kill him now?” Sanguine asked from where he crouched beside her.

Tanith smiled. “What’s wrong, Billy-Ray? Jealous? You think I might trade you in for a Necromancer?”

“And what would I have to be jealous about? The guy’s an idiot. Look at him, preening like a damn peacock.”

“All big smiles and white teeth and chiselled features...”

Sanguine looked offended. “I have chiselled features. Look. Look how chiselled they are. And my teeth are at
least
as white as his. You seriously think he’s good-lookin’?”

“I do,” said Tanith.

“Right,” Sanguine said, and nodded. “I’m gonna kill him.”

She kept her laugh soft so it wouldn’t travel. “I think he’s good-looking, but I think you’re better looking.”

“Oh,” Sanguine said. “I mean, yeah. I am. I’m glad you noticed.”

“But he does have better hair.”

“
What?
”

“See how it falls across his forehead like that? It’s long, but not too long... kind of dashing, really.”

“A man’s hair shouldn’t be that long,” Sanguine said. “Too easy to pull in a life-or-death struggle. He ain’t being practical, that’s what it is. He’s too concerned with lookin’ good, not near enough concerned with doing his damn job. That’s why he’s got a haircut like that. And what’s he doing smiling, anyhow? The guys down there are a bunch of goons with guns, why do they need his smiles? He’s eager to please, that’s his problem. He wants everyone to like him. That’s a sign of a weak mind.”

“And you got all that from a haircut and a smile?” Tanith asked. “Your skills are impressive, Billy-Ray.”

“More skills than him, I’ll tell you that much. Main problem with Necromancers is that all their power is kept in a single object. You take that object away from them, they can’t do nothing. With Valkyrie, it’s a ring. Solomon Wreath, a cane. I don’t know what this guy’s special object is, but—”

“A wand,” said Tanith.

Sanguine turned his head to her. “I’m sorry?”

“He keeps his magic in a wand,” she said.

Sanguine took a moment, finding it hard to process the information. “He... this guy uses a wand? For real? He actually uses a wand? Like a wizard?”

“Yes.”

“A sorcerer, a proper, real-life mage... one of us... waves a magic wand?”

She grinned. “You find something unusual about that?”

“I... I don’t know where to start... How have they let him do that? Don’t the other Necromancers have any sense of pride? What’s he gonna do next, fly around on a broomstick? This ain’t Harry Potter. We ain’t witches and wizards. We are serious people with serious jobs and this guy—”

“Calm down, Billy-Ray,” Tanith said, struggling to keep the amusement out of her voice.

“It’s a stereotype,” he hissed. “It’s a damn stereotype and it’s harmful. If this catches on, we’ll have all sorts of sorcerers running around, waving wands and chanting spells. Do you know how ridiculous we’d look?”

Tanith shrugged. “I liked Harry Potter.”

“This ain’t about Harry Potter!”

“You liked Harry Potter as well.”

“They’re good books,” he snapped, “but I do not agree with this wand business. All those guys down there, criminals and mobsters and gangsters, and who are they taking orders from? A wizard with a wand. How can they take him seriously? How are they going to take us seriously when we attack?”

“Hopefully they won’t,” said Tanith. “If they’re waiting for us to wave our wands, maybe they won’t shoot, and then we can kill them more easily.”

Sanguine shook his head. “No. It ain’t right. That guy should be ashamed of himself. I have to kill him. You know that, right? It’s a point of honour. Now it... it’s just a point of honour.”

“If the opportunity presents itself,” said Tanith, “you go right ahead and kill him.”

“I will.”

“Just be careful of his magic wand.”

Sanguine muttered something she couldn’t hear, and Tanith grinned again.

A man appeared at the window above, leaning out, talking to Kaiven. A man in his fifties, balding. Jackie Earl.

“And we have our target,” Tanith murmured. “You’d better head over to Annis, give her some encouragement. Let Jack and Sabine take care of the gunmen – you focus on Kaiven. He’s the only one who’ll pose a problem.”

“I still don’t like you going after the bow alone.”

“You don’t think I can handle one little mobster? Please.” She kissed him. “Go on now, scoot.”

Looking decidedly unimpressed, Sanguine disappeared into the wall, and Tanith turned back to Earl as he closed his window.

From where she crouched on the roof, hidden in darkness like she was, Annis could peer down into the courtyard and remain completely invisible. She watched the men walk with their guns slung over their shoulders, even caught bits and pieces of their conversation. Not very interesting stuff.

She heard something behind her and fixed a smile on to her face, but it was only Sanguine.

He frowned at her. “What’s wrong with your mouth?”

“Nothing,” she muttered.

“Have you had a seizure?”

“It’s nothing.” God, he annoyed her. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn’t it have been Jack? Then they could have crouched here, in the dark, waiting to kill people, and it would have been romantic. Jack wouldn’t have asked whether her smile was a seizure, she knew that much.

Or maybe he would have. There was no point lying to herself. She’d seen how he looked at that little blonde thing, Sabine. At first she’d mistaken the look in his eyes for hunger. Sabine was a tasty morsel, it had to be said. She was a meal waiting to happen. Annis herself had fantasised about it. It was perfectly natural. She wasn’t ashamed of her urges.

But the more she saw them together, the less sure she was that it was hunger in Jack’s eyes. Or at least that
kind
of hunger. Maybe it was a hunger of a different sort. And that little piece of trash, that floozy, that Jezebel, that blonde harlot, was stringing Jack along like this was all a game. Anger burned in Annis’s throat.

“Did you hear anything I just said?” Sanguine asked.

She blinked at him. “
Whu?
”

“Get your head in the game, Annis. You got a job to do.”

“I know,” she snapped. “I just have... things on my mind.”

“Do us all a favour and focus, all right? You’re the starter’s pistol. You go down there, cause a distraction like only you can do. That’s the signal for Jack and Sabine to start picking off the mortals and for Tanith to go after the bow.”

“Where’s the vampire?”

“There’s a reinforced door down the other side of this courtyard – I’m assuming that’s where they keep the vamp. They’ll release it soon after you make yourself known, so be ready. And if you see a guy with a wand, leave him alone. He’s mine.”

Annis peered downwards. “How am I supposed to get down there?”

“Tanith said something about that,” Sanguine told her. “Let’s see, what was it? Something about the element of surprise. Oh, yeah, I remember.”

He put a hand on her back and pushed, and Annis was suddenly tumbling, arms flailing as she fell, skirt up around her head. The ground came to meet her and its embrace was not soft. She bounced, rolled and lay there on her back, gasping, struggling to breathe. She looked straight up and saw Sanguine, waving down at her. Her skin started turning blue.

She heard running footsteps, getting closer, and forced herself to sit up, gritting teeth that were already lengthening in her mouth. Her fingernails were growing too. Moaning slightly, she got to her feet as half a dozen men ran up, guns in their hands. When they saw her, the men at the front pulled up short, and the ones behind ran into them. There was much cursing and shoving, but they all turned silent when her jaw popped, allowing her teeth to grow to their full size.

Black Annis stood before them, blue-skinned and wild-haired, fingernails click-clacking together and saliva dribbling down her chin.

“What the hell is that?” one of the men whispered.

Another man raised his gun. It trembled in his grip. “A monster,” he said.

Annis snarled.

The men spread out from each other, forming a line. Annis looked down the barrels of all those guns. She didn’t like guns. Guns hurt.

A man with a silly moustache was the first to pull the trigger. The bullet hit her in the shoulder. The others fired, then, and she staggered, bullets slamming into her torso, her legs, her head. She pitched backwards, the hard ground embracing her once again.

The gunfire stopped. The last cartridge did a little dance on the ground and went still. The smell of cordite filled the air like smog.

“Is it dead?” one of the men asked.

“I don’t know,” another answered. “Go over and check.”

“I’m not going over,” the first man said. “You go over. I’ll cover you.”

“You’re a terrible shot.”

“I’m better than you. I got three headshots there. You shot its ankle.”

“I did not.”

“You did,” said another man. “I saw it. You’re a really bad shot, Paulie. Also, your breath stinks and you wear ugly ties.”

The man named Paulie didn’t respond to that for a moment. Then he said, “You guys suck.”

“Ah, Paulie...”

“Paulie, come on...”

“No, shut up. My wife buys me these ties, you know she does, and you know she’s colour-blind and not that bright. And I’m sorry if my breath stinks or I’m not the best shot in the world. But I thought we were friends.”

“We
are
friends, Paulie.”

“Friends forgive each other the little things. But fine, if you want me to check on the dead monster, I’ll check on the dead monster. We wouldn’t want any blood to get on any of
your
ties, would we?”

Paulie came forward slowly. He stood over Annis and prodded her with his foot. Then he hunkered down.

“It’s really ugly,” he said. “But I think it’s a she.” He sounded puzzled. “And I can’t see any blood.”

Annis opened her eyes and Paulie jerked back, but her nails were already skewering his face. She heard the others cry out, heard them panic and reload. There was nothing they could do now, though. They were already dead, they just didn’t know it yet.

She threw Paulie aside and sprang to her feet, charging them as they backed away. Every swipe brought a cry of pain and a spray of blood. One of them grabbed her and she took his arm off. Another fired point-blank into her head and caught the ricochet in his own chest. They screamed and begged and slipped on blood and Annis took the last man’s head off with a single bite.

She was aware of alarms and distant shouts, and then a growling. She turned. The vampire stalked towards her. Bone-white and hairless. Big black eyes. Big teeth. A monster. Just like her.

It sprang at her and Annis went down, snarling. Claws tore at her, fangs tried ripping her throat open, but that blue skin of hers was as tough as any armour. They rolled over and over, the world doing crazy tilting somersaults all around them. Compared to her own blue hide, the vampire’s alabaster skin was soft and tender, and her teeth cut through it with ease. The vampire shrieked and twisted, its claws raking across her face, almost taking out one of her eyes. The vampire was suddenly free, but she reached out, grabbed its foot, brought it down when it tried to leap away. She crawled over it, her claws leaving bloody furrows in its flesh, and its shrieks reached a new pitch of desperation and raw fear as she crawled up towards its neck.

*

Jack was happy. He whirled and twirled and killed and mobsters died all around him, and tucked back there, out of harm’s way, was Sabine, watching it all. He tried not to show off, honest he did, but every now and then he’d catch himself killing with an unnecessary flourish or making a hilarious joke.

Like after a quick disembowelling: “That took guts!”

Or after he tore out a throat: “That’s put an end to your singin’ career!”