"The last time Valkyrie and I played I Spy," Skulduggery broke the uneven silence that followed an Archangel's suggestion of playing a travel game, "there was nothing but white rock."
"What?" Valkyrie stared at him. "I don't remember that."
"You wouldn't," Skulduggery agreed. "You were a hallucination at the time."
"I wouldn't mind playing," Fletcher spoke up. "Can I start?"
Valkyrie groaned and slid back in her seat, even though she was still smiling at Skulduggery's comment and, to be perfectly honest, kind of looking forward to this. "Fine."
"I will warn you that eventually, all we'll see is grass, road and sky." Skulduggery merged onto the highway they would be spending most of the next three hours on, and the Bentley settled into a comfortable speed. "If you think you can stay intellectually stimulated just with that, by all means, have fun."
Valkyrie grinned. "I call the sky." At the very least, the next three hours should go by quickly.
~~
"Anything?" Tanith asked.
Ghastly lowered his hand and shook his head. "Nope."
This was still a bad idea, but Tanith knew better than to try arguing now. She and Ghastly were crouched a short distance away from the cinema, facing the empty van still parked by the curb. Ghastly's manipulation of air was telling them the coast was clear. Call her old-fashioned, but Tanith didn't like relying on magic. Sure, it was useful, but if a girl couldn't make her own way in the world under her own power, magic wasn't going to be of much use in the end.
Maybe they were getting overconfident. Under normal circumstances, they would have given up the van for lost. But neither Tanith nor Ghastly had much felt like spending three hours under China's watchful eye in the library even if there wasn't a chance Guild might find them there, and there weren't many safe places to go. After half-an-hour in a street cafe where even Ghastly started to get antsy (although his new disguise facade from China had settled in nicely and minimized the amount of strange looks they were getting), Tanith hadn't put up much of a fight when he suggested trying to get the van back. After all, if they got caught, all they had to do was pray. It was selfish reasoning, but...
"The Cleavers are fast," Tanith pointed out. Her hand, as always when she was nervous, rested on the hilt of her sword.
"They are," Ghastly agreed.
They crouched in silence for a few moments. Then, as if on an unspoken command, Tanith and Ghastly both moved forward towards the van at the same time.
Nothing else moved on the street. The cinema was a run-down remnant of a forgotten time; there was no reason for anyone to come here. Ghastly took the right side of the van and Tanith took the left; they met up again on the other side without seeing anyone else.
Tanith finally started to relax. "Maybe they left as soon as they saw we weren't there."
"Kenspeckle would certainly be happy about that," Ghastly nodded, pulling out his mobile. "Let's see if we can catch up with Skulduggery and the others."
He'd barely started dialing, however, when Tanith caught a flash of silver off the side of the van, and she spun around as she whipped her sword out of its scabbard. A Cleaver had come around the side, scythe out and brandished threateningly forward. Tanith paused, considered her options, and then sprang.
She knew from experience that scythes were practically useless within a few feet of the Cleaver itself, and Tanith's sword had much more maneuverability in general, which gave her the advantage over its speed. One Cleaver was easy enough; Tanith parried its blows and struck back without much fear of harm. Her sword cut a nasty slash through the Cleaver's arm, but it left her open, and Tanith had to leap back to avoid a second strike from a second Cleaver.
Great. Two of them. Where was Ghastly?
Cleavers were designed to work together, so this time, they really made Tanith work just to stay level. With no ceiling she could use to adjust her center of gravity, Tanith was forced back onto her defense almost instantly. It took a while for an opening to appear, but the moment it did, Tanith angled her sword and made to use it.
"Tanith," Ghastly called out. "Stop."
There were a lot more Cleavers than she had thought, and the two of them were surrounded. Tanith's body shuddered with indignation, but she forced herself to back off and sheath her sword. Ghastly was right; it wasn't worth it.
"Should we be praying now?" she asked the tailor quietly.
His head moved a fraction of an inch back and forth. "Not yet. Not in the middle of this. It'll be easier for them to sneak in and out if we're alone in a cell."
Tanith hesitated. "I really wish it was easier not to think about something."
A moment later, though, it was made much easier; Davina Marr was leaving the cinema and stalking over to them. Apparently, the area hadn't been quite as empty as they hoped.
no subject
"What?" Valkyrie stared at him. "I don't remember that."
"You wouldn't," Skulduggery agreed. "You were a hallucination at the time."
"I wouldn't mind playing," Fletcher spoke up. "Can I start?"
Valkyrie groaned and slid back in her seat, even though she was still smiling at Skulduggery's comment and, to be perfectly honest, kind of looking forward to this. "Fine."
"I will warn you that eventually, all we'll see is grass, road and sky." Skulduggery merged onto the highway they would be spending most of the next three hours on, and the Bentley settled into a comfortable speed. "If you think you can stay intellectually stimulated just with that, by all means, have fun."
Valkyrie grinned. "I call the sky." At the very least, the next three hours should go by quickly.
~~
"Anything?" Tanith asked.
Ghastly lowered his hand and shook his head. "Nope."
This was still a bad idea, but Tanith knew better than to try arguing now. She and Ghastly were crouched a short distance away from the cinema, facing the empty van still parked by the curb. Ghastly's manipulation of air was telling them the coast was clear. Call her old-fashioned, but Tanith didn't like relying on magic. Sure, it was useful, but if a girl couldn't make her own way in the world under her own power, magic wasn't going to be of much use in the end.
Maybe they were getting overconfident. Under normal circumstances, they would have given up the van for lost. But neither Tanith nor Ghastly had much felt like spending three hours under China's watchful eye in the library even if there wasn't a chance Guild might find them there, and there weren't many safe places to go. After half-an-hour in a street cafe where even Ghastly started to get antsy (although his new disguise facade from China had settled in nicely and minimized the amount of strange looks they were getting), Tanith hadn't put up much of a fight when he suggested trying to get the van back. After all, if they got caught, all they had to do was pray. It was selfish reasoning, but...
"The Cleavers are fast," Tanith pointed out. Her hand, as always when she was nervous, rested on the hilt of her sword.
"They are," Ghastly agreed.
They crouched in silence for a few moments. Then, as if on an unspoken command, Tanith and Ghastly both moved forward towards the van at the same time.
Nothing else moved on the street. The cinema was a run-down remnant of a forgotten time; there was no reason for anyone to come here. Ghastly took the right side of the van and Tanith took the left; they met up again on the other side without seeing anyone else.
Tanith finally started to relax. "Maybe they left as soon as they saw we weren't there."
"Kenspeckle would certainly be happy about that," Ghastly nodded, pulling out his mobile. "Let's see if we can catch up with Skulduggery and the others."
He'd barely started dialing, however, when Tanith caught a flash of silver off the side of the van, and she spun around as she whipped her sword out of its scabbard. A Cleaver had come around the side, scythe out and brandished threateningly forward. Tanith paused, considered her options, and then sprang.
She knew from experience that scythes were practically useless within a few feet of the Cleaver itself, and Tanith's sword had much more maneuverability in general, which gave her the advantage over its speed. One Cleaver was easy enough; Tanith parried its blows and struck back without much fear of harm. Her sword cut a nasty slash through the Cleaver's arm, but it left her open, and Tanith had to leap back to avoid a second strike from a second Cleaver.
Great. Two of them. Where was Ghastly?
Cleavers were designed to work together, so this time, they really made Tanith work just to stay level. With no ceiling she could use to adjust her center of gravity, Tanith was forced back onto her defense almost instantly. It took a while for an opening to appear, but the moment it did, Tanith angled her sword and made to use it.
"Tanith," Ghastly called out. "Stop."
There were a lot more Cleavers than she had thought, and the two of them were surrounded. Tanith's body shuddered with indignation, but she forced herself to back off and sheath her sword. Ghastly was right; it wasn't worth it.
"Should we be praying now?" she asked the tailor quietly.
His head moved a fraction of an inch back and forth. "Not yet. Not in the middle of this. It'll be easier for them to sneak in and out if we're alone in a cell."
Tanith hesitated. "I really wish it was easier not to think about something."
A moment later, though, it was made much easier; Davina Marr was leaving the cinema and stalking over to them. Apparently, the area hadn't been quite as empty as they hoped.