to stop indulging this, this curse that has plagued us. Gordon introduced me to your mother and I fell in love. I put it all behind me.”
“So you think Gordon was part of a cult?”
“For want of a better word, yes.”
She remembered the look on her father’s face the first time he had encountered Skulduggery, in Mr Fedgewick’s office. It had been a look she had never seen before – suspicion, mistrust, hostility – and it had passed as quickly as it had appeared. Now she understood why.
“And you think, what, that I’m part of the cult now?”
He gave a gentle laugh. “No, I suppose I don’t. Not really. But what Beryl was saying, it got me thinking. In the last few days, sometimes there’s a distance in your eyes I haven’t seen before. I don’t know what it is. I look at you now and you’re my little girl. But I’ve been getting the feeling that… I don’t know. Recently, it seems like you’re somewhere else.”
Stephanie didn’t dare respond.
“I just wish you’d talk to someone. You don’t have to talk to me because you know how much I babble, but your mother… You could tell her, you could tell us, anything. And as long as you’re honest with us, you know we’d help you in whatever way we can.”
“I know, Dad.”
He looked at her and for a moment she thought he was going to shed a tear, but then he wrapped an arm around her and kissed her forehead. “You’re my little sweetheart, you know that?”
“I know.”
“Good girl.” He got off the boulder. “I better get back to work.”
“See you later.” He looked at her, gave her a smile and walked back off the beach.
Stephanie stayed where she was. If it was true, if the family legend was true, then this was, this was… Actually she didn’t know what this was. It felt important, though. It felt big. She left the beach and waited by the road, and when Skulduggery arrived in the hideous Canary Car she told him everything her father had said.
Mr Bliss turned the brooch over in his hands. “Are you sure this is it?”
Mr Bliss was in black and Skulduggery was wearing a dark blue pinstriped suit that Ghastly had finished working on that very morning, along with a crisp white shirt and a blue tie. They were standing in the shade of the Martello tower, a centuries-old ruin that stood atop the grassy cliffs along Haggard’s coast. Far below them, the sea whipped at the jagged rocks.
“I’m sure,” Skulduggery said. “See how the pin folds back, actually becomes a makeshift handle? That’s our key.”
Stephanie tried her best not to be intimidated by Mr Bliss’ presence, but whenever he glanced at her she looked away. She hadn’t objected when Skulduggery told her that Mr Bliss would be accompanying them into the caves, but she hadn’t exactly jumped for joy either.
“Thank you for calling me,” Mr Bliss said, handing the brooch back to Stephanie.
“We need all the help we can get,” Skulduggery admitted, “although I was surprised when you made yourself available.”
“Serpine has become extremely powerful, much more so than anyone realises.”
“You almost sound afraid of him.”
Mr Bliss paused for a moment. “I don’t feel fear,” he said eventually. “When you no longer have hope, the fear evaporates. But I do respect his power. I respect what he can do.”
“If he gets to the Sceptre before us, we’re all going to see what he can do firsthand.”
“I still don’t get it,” Stephanie said. “If he gets the Sceptre, OK, he’s unstoppable, but how can he use it to bring back the Faceless Ones?”
“I don’t know,” Skulduggery replied. “In theory, the ritual could be known to no more than two people in the world – I wouldn’t even know who to start threatening.”
Mr Bliss shook his head. “He doesn’t plan to threaten anyone. From what he has said, I think the Sceptre of the Ancients is merely a stepping stone, a toy that he needs to get what he wants.”
“And what is that?” Mr Bliss looked out over the sea, but didn’t answer.
“I don’t understand,” Skulduggery continued. “Were you talking to him?”
“This morning,” Mr Bliss said. He had a resigned tone to his voice, and Stephanie narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She stepped back, but Skulduggery was too caught up in the conversation to notice.
“Did you see him?” Skulduggery said, moving closer to Bliss. “You saw him and you didn’t take him down?”
“The reaches of his power were unknown to me and I do not start battles I cannot win. It was too dangerous.”
“Where is he? The Elders are looking for him!”
“They don’t need to. He will go to them when the time is right.”
“Why did you meet him?”
“Serpine had something to say. I listened.”
“What are you talking about?”
“He already knows about the caves. The only thing that had delayed him is the search for the key.”
Skulduggery looked at Mr Bliss. Mr Bliss looked at Skulduggery. Stephanie realised that he was standing right on the edge of the cliff.
Mr Bliss put a hand on Skulduggery’s chest and before Stephanie could even shout he shoved, and Skulduggery shot backward over the edge and disappeared from view. And then Mr Bliss turned to her.
THE CAVE
She glanced back but Bliss wasn’t there, and then a shadow fell across her and he dropped from the sky. She ran straight into him and stumbled back. His hand moved like an attacking snake, snatching the brooch from her grasp. She landed on the seat of her jeans.
She looked to the edge of the cliff, expecting to see Skulduggery swoop up to save her. He didn’t. Mr Bliss slipped the brooch into his jacket.
“You’re going to give it to him,” Stephanie said.
“I am.”
“Why?”
“He’s too powerful to fight.”
“But
