Quick warning: In case you missed the other warning, this contains major Mortal Coil spoilers. If you still haven't read it, be warned.
And I used the word 'warn' an awful lot of times there. Anyway, enjoy!
Disclaimer – Tanith Low, Ghastly Bespoke, Billy-Ray Sanguine and the Remnants all belong to the golden god, Derek Landy. And he knows where you live.
He knew it would come to this.
And he knew he could do nothing.
Ever since his search for her began, he knew he would have to fight her. All along, he had hoped he wouldn't, but something inside him said that it had to happen, one way or another. Skulduggery had gently told him their search was futile; she was already lost. Somewhere, deep within the inner-workings of his mind, Ghastly knew he was right. Although his heart still thought otherwise.
His search had lasted months. Every rumoured sighting of her turned out to be either a practical joke, a mistake, or else true evidence that was impossible to track. There were a couple of people that he genuinely believed had seen her; one said she was trying on a pair of leather boots in a small London shop, another that she bought a strong tea with three sugars from a street vendor. He knew these people had encountered her, simply because he knew Tanith Low well enough.
And each time she had been seen, the eyewitness said that she left arm-in-arm with a tall man – blonde, sunglasses, cowboy boots. Walked with a slight limp and looked to be chewing something between shiny white teeth.
Finally, after all this time, she stood in front of him. The same blonde curls, same beautiful features.
Same breathtaking eyes.
Even through the black veins that spread across her tanned flesh, he could still sense the old Tanith. She was there, somewhere, even if there wasn't much of her left.
The first blow hit him in the chest, and he staggered backwards with the force. He couldn't fight back, not without risk of injuring her. She hit him again, this time a right hook beneath his chin, followed by a shattering heel to the knee. If he hadn't twisted sideways just in time, he was sure that kick would have splintered bone.
They fought on; Tanith trying to cause pain, and Ghastly simply blocking and dodging; never even considering an offensive. Eventually, she stepped back and pulled her hair from her face with a lazy hand, offering him a malevolent smirk.
'You're a fool, Ghastly Bespoke,' she spat. 'Trying to be a hero. Trying to rescue me. Don't you understand that I don't need to be rescued? I love being this way, being Tanith Low.'
'Liar!' Ghastly didn't realise the volume of his voice until after he'd shouted. Forcing himself to remain calm, he continued. 'You're not Tanith Low.'
The Remnant tilted its head. 'And yet you refuse to hurt me.'
'I refuse to hurt the body you are using.'
'I am not just using a body at all. I am Tanith. I know every thought, every dream, every memory that Tanith knows, because I am one with her.'
'You're a Remnant. The same Remnant that inhabited Finbar Wrong, Kenspeckle Grouse and Tesseract.'
'But you can no longer remove me from this body. We are one!'
Ghastly raised his eyes. 'That may be so, but we can at least try.'
Before the last word died from his lips, Ghastly had launched himself forwards and gripped the woman's neck. He squeezed the pressure point at her collarbone and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Not wasting a moment, he looped the magic-dampening cuffs around her limp wrists and lifted her from the ground carefully. Unconscious, without the veins marring her skin, he could at least pretend that he was holding Tanith in his arms, instead of her empty shell. Grappling his phone from his pocket, he dialled Skulduggery's number. The skeleton answered after two tones.
'I've got her,' was all Ghastly said.
There was a long pause, and then: 'Where?'
And there you have it. I've decided, this will definitely be continued. If you have an ounce of good in your heart, please take the time to review. You don't even have to be a member of – anonymous reviews are enabled.
Thank you!
-Kate-
