“Four, though.”
“Maybe five.”
“Ah, for God’s sake.”
“One of these days,” said Never, “the Chosen One will ask for our help, and we will prove ourselves and then we’ll be part of his gang. Wouldn’t that be something? You, me, Kase, Mahala and Auger, saving the school, saving the city, saving the world.”
“Ah, I don’t know,” Omen said, slouching.
Never arched an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. It’s just … I’ve seen him save the school and save the city, and in a few years I’ll see him save the world … and it’s not really that glamorous. He gets hurt. Like, seriously hurt. A lot. Last year he almost died.”
“I heard about that.”
“I don’t know. Having adventures is fine and everything, but I’ve been around this stuff my whole life. It starts to wear thin after a while.”
“Yeah,” Never said, “maybe. Or maybe it wears thin when you’re watching it. Maybe if you were having those adventures yourself, it wouldn’t seem quite as bad.”
“Yeah,” Omen said quietly. “Maybe.”
Never’s phone beeped and she checked it, then slid her book into her bag and stood up. “OK, I’m off.”
Omen frowned. “Who was that?”
“Who was what?” she asked, walking to the door.
“Who was that messaging you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re talking crazy. Stop talking crazy now, you hear? All that crazy talk will land you in the crazy house, you crazy biscuit.” And then she was gone.
Omen stayed in his seat for another ten minutes, spectacularly failing to complete the work that Peccant had set for him. Once the allotted time was up, he hurried to his locker, dumped his bag and climbed the stairs to the fifth floor.
He slipped into the library. Lounging around in the seating area, Jenan Ispolin and his friends congregated and chatted – loudly. The librarian, a bald old man with an astonishingly white beard, like a skinny Santa Claus, was asleep behind his desk.
Omen darted behind the bookcases as more Arcanum’s Scholars joined the group. He got into a position where he could peek without being seen.
“Did you hear?” Colleen Stint said, talking in her usual breathless fashion. “Did you hear what happened?”
Jenan took his time looking at her. Everyone knew Colleen fancied him like mad, and Omen was sure that Jenan despised her for it.
“What happened to what?” Jenan asked, like he couldn’t be bothered hearing the answer.
“What happened to Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain,” Colleen said.
Omen crept a little closer, making sure he caught all of it.
“They were in the Narrows,” Colleen continued. “Went to arrest someone. Just the two of them, like. No Cleavers or back-up or nothing.”
Jenan sat straighter. “They dead?”
“No,” said Colleen, “but close to it. They got the crap kicked out of them.”
“Everyone’s talking about it,” said Byron Grace. “There was a Teleporter and a man in black, and he went up against Pleasant and—”
“Kicked the crap out of him!” Colleen finished, shooting a glare at Byron for daring to interrupt. “Like, threw him about the place. I heard he pulled the skeleton’s head off.”
Jenan sat forward. “Seriously?”
Colleen folded her arms. “That’s what I heard.”
Jenan took a moment to absorb the news. “Well now,” he said, “looks like we chose the winning team.”
A few of them laughed at this. Omen’s frown deepened.
“You think it’s them?” Lapse asked, too stupid to put things together by himself.
“Of course it is,” said Jenan. “We’ve been told for ages that they’re a force to be reckoned with, right? Who else could do something like that? This is it, boys and girls. This is where it all kicks off.”
“About time,” muttered Gall.
Byron took a seat, like he was exhausted, his bag spilling open on the ground beside him. “We don’t know for sure,” he said.
Jenan shot him a look that boiled with hostility. “What did I just say? There’s no one else who could do something like that. The guy in black? I bet that was Lethe himself.”
“Yeah,” said Byron, “maybe.”
Jenan stood. “What the hell is wrong with you, Grace? You going soft all of a sudden?”
Byron paled. “No.”
“You’re full of the big talk when all we’re doing is planning,” Jenan said, “but the moment it turns real your spine turns to jelly. Is that what’s happening?”
Byron shook his head, but didn’t answer.
“Everyone, listen up,” Jenan said, looking round. “These aren’t games we’ve been playing. This isn’t dress-up. This is real life, baby. The plan has been set in motion. We have all been set in motion. We were told they had big plans for us. Well, this is where it starts. If you’re having doubts now, at this stage … I’m sorry to tell you that you’ve missed your chance to back out. You’re here now, and that means you’re in. No excuses. Does everyone, and I mean everyone, understand that?”
Nods all round. Even Byron.
Jenan retook his seat. “Good.”
The librarian snorted and woke, raising his head. “Quiet down there!”
“Sorry,” said Jenan without even looking at him.
The librarian went back to sleep.
Omen’s gaze fell upon Byron’s open bag, and the golden mask that peeked out.
He wished his brother was here. Auger would not only know what to do, but he’d also be able to do it. And, if it went wrong, he’d be able to get out of it. Omen, though, was the screw-up of the family. Omen’s efforts were doomed to failure. He knew this.
And yet, if what Colleen had said was true, the stakes were high. And high stakes meant chances needed to be taken, no matter how ill-advised they might be. And this chance was incredibly ill-advised.
Omen crouched, held out his hand and touched the air.
He
