Gyle Finch was pretty sure there had been no one else in the room with him when he'd fallen asleep. He definitely knew there had been no one standing over him whilst he'd been falling asleep. So, the sudden appearance of not one, but two people leaning over him upon his return to consciousness was a shock to say the least.
"Ah, he's awake" one of the shapes said happily, in a voice made of velvet "I was hoping he'd do that"
A lamp came to life, and Finch got his first look at the two intruders. One was a girl, probably around 18, with dark hair, dark eyes and dark clothes. The other was a thin man in an impeccably tailored suit, with a hat on his head, a gun in his hand and no skin on his face. Finch knew who the man was. He knew who the girl was too. Hell, he even knew why they were in his house. The knowledge didn't make him any less uneasy.
The girl frowned at the man in the suit. "What do you mean you were hoping he'd wake up? It's not like he had much of a choice"
"He could have killed himself in his sleep" replied the man cheerfully "Then he would have managed to spite us from the afterlife, albeit at an extreme price, but can you really put a price on a good spiting? He would also miss out on all the threatening we're going to be doing, which surprisingly isn't as much fun for the person on the receiving end"
The girl's frown deepened. "But why would he kill himself just to stop us from threatening him? How would he have known we were even here, we broke in whilst he was asleep? How would he even manage to kill himself whilst unconscious?"
"Some people are remarkably crafty and amazingly stubborn, Valkyrie"
Valkyrie's frown somehow managed to deepen further. "You didn't answer any of my questions"
"Very observant, my young combat accessory" replied the man pleasantly "I might still make a detective out of you yet"
Finch swung his legs over the side of the bed, so that he was now sitting up, looking directly at the peculiar duo. "What do you two want?" he asked ill temperedly. His voice wavered slightly when the thin man repositioned the gun in his left hand so that it was now pointing straight at the sweaty, unshaven man.
Valkyrie focused her frown on Finch. The thin man paused for moment.
"You know why we're here Mr. Finch" the thin man said in a quiet voice.
Finch went pale.
"You helped someone get a new identity, a fresh start" the man continued "A man who deserves nothing more than a bullet between his eyes. A man that killed two very dear friends of mine"
The man leaned in, so that his face was mere centimeters from Finch's. The lamplight reflected off of his skull, making him look ghastly.
"You're going to tell me where I can find Erskine Ravel" said Skulduggery Pleasant.
Finch stood hastily, his open palms facing outwards in a useless attempt to convey truthfulness. "I have no idea where he is, I swear. I just sent him on his way"
"Mr. Finch" Skulduggery began, then he hesitated, and began again "Curious name: Finch. I used to know a man by the same name. He had always loved Finches; he thought they were lovely birds. He lived right here, in Dublin. He never could bear the cold temperatures though, so he flew to Cameroon, and settled down there. I like to think he was happy. He copied the instinct of his namesake. This man is long dead. I'm telling you all this because, much like the Finch, and this man I once knew, the Sparrow flies south for the winter"
Skulduggery went low. His fist planted itself in Finch's abdomen. Finch doubled over as all the air left his body. It was in that instant that Valkyrie's knee connected with his forehead, and he crumpled to floor like a sack of meat.
Valkyrie rubbed her knee absent-mindedly. "What do we do now?" she asked.
Skulduggery holstered his gun, took his hat off and carefully brushed off some imaginary lint. "We take him back to the Sanctuary, and see what the psychics can get out of him" he replied unhurriedly.
Valkyrie frowned once more. "I meant what do we do with his body right now"
"Ah" said Skulduggery Pleasant whilst he attentively repositioned his hat back on his skull "I walk out triumphantly while you carry him down to the car"
With that said, he gracefully turned and walked out of the room, oblivious to the glare Valkyrie gave the back of his skull.