The steaming mug of hot chocolate in Tanith's hand was a small comfort to fight the cold fear she was drowning in, but it was enough to let her relax into the armchair. She looked up to find Skulduggery leaning against the mantelpiece, regarding her with his empty eye-sockets.
'Can I help you?' she growled coldly, narrowing her eyes.
'Tanith…' he began, and then stopped, obviously deciding it wasn't worth the effort trying to argue with her. They both knew with Tanith's nerves so frayed, and her emotions so confused, he'd easily win. Instead, he turned his back to her and watched the clock's second-hand rotate. The room sank into an uncomfortable silence. She knew he was waiting for her to say something, but no matter how hard everything had become, she still hadn't lost that stubborn streak.
Eventually, Skulduggery spoke again, although he didn't turn. 'What happened?' he asked bluntly.
She took a sip of hot chocolate.
Skulduggery sighed and turned back to face her. He looked at her for a moment, and then took a few steps forward so he was right in front of her chair. Tanith looked up at him for a few moments, and then started to answer his question.
Two days earlier, it had just been a regular day for Tanith.
Her alarm had woken her at seven-thirty. She took one look at the clock and hit the snooze button, collapsing back onto the pillow and trying to fall asleep again. Unfortunately, some moronic being had chosen that exact time to knock on her door. Groaning, she hauled herself out of bed and into the kitchen so she could grab an apple on her way to the door.
At said door, she was greeted by the smiling (and extremely good-looking) face of her postman.
'Hey Larry,' she smiled.
'Morning Tanith,' he grinned, holding out a cardboard box to her. 'Package for you.'
She took the box and tucked it under her arm, then signed the paper he held out to her.
'Nice pyjamas, by the way,' Larry smirked, sending her a cheeky wink. She looked down at her Me to You nightwear and then back at the retreating postman. He received the finger.
Satisfied with her encounter with the local eye candy, Tanith proceeded to open the parcel. As she thought, it contained the DVD's she'd ordered the previous Wednesday. She owed a lot of thanks to the guy that invented mail-ordering, as he had saved her an awful lot of boredom on Sunday afternoons.
And that was when the phone call came in.
Tanith plodded back into the bedroom to find her mobile. Said mobile was buzzing angrily and singing out an old Bon Jovi hit. She picked it up and glanced at the caller ID. It was an old friend from London that she hadn't seen for a while.
'Hey Ronnie,' she almost sang, happy to catch up on what was happening in her native city.
'Hi Tanith,' a gravelly female voice purred out. Veronica 'Ronnie' Winters was a good friend of Tanith's. She was an Elemental, and had been close to Tanith for almost sixty years.
'What made you decide to call? We haven't spoken in y…'
'Nox Mortis got out,' Veronica interrupted, and Tanith's stomach plummeted into her left big toe.
'W-what?' she stammered, hoping she'd misheard. 'Oh my God, no.'
'It gets worse, Tanith. Someone's already hired him. To kill you.'
If Tanith was terrified before, she was now struggling for breath. 'Ronnie, please. Tell me you're lying. Tell me you're wrong.'
'I'm sorry, babe. I can't help you, but Harmony's on her way to Dublin now. Expect her to call you any time. We've got your back. Rochelle and Velvet send their love. I'm sorry, again.'
The line went dead. The phone slipped from Tanith's hand and hit the carpet with a dull thud.
Nox Mortis was an infamous assassin in the magical underworld of London. He wasn't like Billy-Ray Sanguine – a crappy hitman that was up for all he could get on easy jobs. Mortis was dangerous, evil and inhumane. He wasn't just a murderer – he tortured his victims both physically and mentally before killing them.
And he had never failed a mission.