stay out of other people’s way for most of the time and try to avoid any long conversations. Even if your parents corner it and bombard it with questions, they’ll just think you’re acting strange.”
Stephanie chewed her lip then shrugged. “I suppose jumping to the conclusion that it’s my reflection come to life is a bit unlikely.”
“You’d be surprised by how many things we get away with that fall into the category of ‘unlikely’. You ready to go?”
“I suppose I am.”
“Do you want to leave by door or window?”
“Doors are for people with no imagination,” Stephanie grinned and joined Skulduggery on the window sill. She took one look back. The reflection was standing in the middle of the room, perfectly still.
“Bye,” Stephanie said.
“Bye,” the reflection responded and tried a smile for the first time. It looked kind of eerie.
Stephanie climbed out and hung on to Skulduggery as he jumped, displacing the air beneath them to act as a cushion. They landed gently and made it to the end of the road without any neighbours seeing them, but when they reached the pier, Stephanie’s face fell. She stared in horror as Skulduggery marched onwards.
“What the hell is that?” she demanded.
“It’s my car,” Skulduggery answered, leaning against it with his arms folded. The sea breeze ruffled his wig beneath his hat.
She stared at him, at the car, and then at him again.
“What happened to the Bentley?” she asked.
His head tilted. “I don’t know if you noticed, but it was ever-so-slightly dinged.”
“And where is it now?”
“It’s getting fixed.”
“Right. That’s a good answer. Fixed is a good answer. But I don’t know, I’m kind of drawn back to my original question. What the hell is that?”
Skulduggery was leaning against a canary yellow hatchback with lime-green seat covers.
“It’s my replacement car,” he said proudly.
“It’s hideous!”
“I don’t mind it actually.”
“Well, you’re wearing a disguise, so no one will recognise you anyway!”
“That may have something to do with it…”
“When will the Bentley be fixed?”
“That’s the nice thing about living in a world of magic and wonder, even our most extreme car repairs happen in less than a week.”
Stephanie glared at him. “A week?”
“Not a week,” he said quickly. “Six days. Sometimes five. Definitely four. I’ll call him, tell him I’ll pay the extra…” She was still glaring.
“Day after tomorrow,” he said quietly.
Her shoulders sagged. “Do we really have to ride around in this?”
“Think of it as an adventure,” he said brightly.
“Why should I do that?”
“Because if you don’t you’ll just become really really depressed. Trust me. Now hop in!”
Skulduggery hopped in. Stephanie dragged her feet around to the other side and more kind of fell in. She squirmed down in the lime-green seat as much as she could as they drove through Haggard. There was a parcel in the back seat, wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. Beside that was a black bag.
“Is that the gear for breaking into the Vault?” she asked. “Is that where we’re going?”
“Well, to answer your first question first, yes. That bag contains all the equipment needed for a beautifully executed break-in. To answer your second question, no, that is not where we’re going. Before I get to introduce you to a life of crime, I get to introduce you to the Elder Mages.”
“Crime sounds more fun.”
“As indeed it is, though I would never condone crime in any of its forms. Except when I do it, naturally.”
“Naturally. So why are we delaying the fun? What do these Elder Mages want?”
“They’ve heard that I’ve been dragging a perfectly nice young lady into all manner of trouble and they want to admonish me for it.”
“Tell them it’s none of their business.”
“Well, while I do admire your moxie…”
“What’s moxie?”
“… I’m afraid that won’t work too well with these fellows. One thing you have to remember about the Elder Mages is that they’re—”
“Really old sorcerers?”
“Well, yes.”
“Worked that out all by myself.”
“You must be so proud.”
“Why do you have to report to them? Do you work for them?”
“In a way. The Elders pass the laws, and they have people who enforce the laws, but there are only a few of us who actually investigate the breaking of those laws – murders, robberies, a couple of kidnappings, the usual. And while I may be freelance, most of my work, and my money, comes from the Elders.”
“So if they want to wag their fingers at you…”
“I have to stand there and be wagged at.”
“So why do they want me to be there? Aren’t I the innocent young girl being led astray?”
“See, I don’t really want them to view you as the innocent young girl. I want them to view you as the rebellious, insubordinate, troublesome tearaway who has made herself my partner. Then maybe they’ll take pity on me.”
“Wait, do they even know I’m coming with you?”
“No. But they like surprises. Almost always.”
“Maybe I should wait in the car.”
“In this car?”
“Ah, good point.”
“Stephanie, we both know something serious is going on, but as yet the Elders have refused to consider that their precious Truce might be in jeopardy.”
