Life in the Edgley household was fairly uneventful. Stephine's mother worked in a bank and her father owned a construction company, and the closest thing she had to a sibling was Gretchen, so their routine day had settled into one of admirable convenience. But even so, the was always a voice in the back of their heads, Stephine's believed that there should be more to life than this, and Gretchen's believed she was meant for more than this. Both believed there should be more than this coastal town of Haggard. They just couldn't figure out what, or, at least Stephine couldn't.

The first year of secondary school had just come to a close and the two girls anticipated summer break. Gretchen and Stephine didn't like school. Not because it was difficult, it was just hard to get along with other people, not because they weren't nice, but because they only had things in common with each another. They were inseparable. The teachers were annoying, always demanding respect the hadn't earned. Stephine didn't have a hard time doing what she was told, as long as there was a good reason. Gretchen, on the other hand, saw no reason why she should have to do anything their way and constantly questioned them. This obviously didn't turn out well.

The first few days of the summer were spent helping Stephine's father, being fill-in secretaries while he found a new one. His secretary of seven years, Gladys had had enough of the construction business and was trying her hand at performance artistry. Stephine and Gretchen found it discomforting whenever she passed in the street, this forty-three-year-old woman doing a modern dance interpretation of the Faust. Gladys had made her own costume, saying it represented the internal struggle of the Faust and refused to go into public without it. They did their best to avoid her eye.

When they weren't helping out at the office, they were swimming down at the beach or listening to music in their shared room. The practically did everything together, even since a young age. They only felt really comfortable with the company of each other. Right now, they were looking for Gretchen's charger.

"Is it over on the desk?" Gretchen asked Stephine

"No, we already checked there, remember?"

Stephine's mother then knocked on the open door. She was still dressed in the somber dark clothes she had worn to the funeral, Stephine had tied back her hair and was wearing her usual jeans, while Gretchen had donned her favorite sleeveless hoodie and a t-shirt.

"we got a call from Gordon's solicitor," Mrs. Edgley said, sounding rather surprised. "They want us at the reading of the will tomorrow."

"Oh." Stephine said, "What do you think he left you?"

"Well you'll find out tomorrow, you're coming with us."

"I am?" Stephine questioned

"Both your names are on the list, that's all I know."

"Wait," Gretchen said, surprised, "Uncle Gordon left me something too?"

"That's right" Mrs. Edgley assured. "We leave at ten, okay?"

"We were supposed to help Mr. Edgley in the morning."

"He called saying that Gladys could come back for the morning, and only agreed to if she could wear her peanut suit." Mrs. Edgley then left the room.

"What on earth could he give me? I know I always regarded him as my uncle, but still."

Gretchen said quizzically

"Not to mention me. I never really saw him leaving me anything." Stephine said.

They all left to the solicitor fifteen minutes later than planned, thanks to Stephine's father casual disregard for punctuality. He ambled through the house, looking like he had forgotten something and was just about to remember it again. He smiled and nodded whenever Mrs. Edgley asked him to go faster, with the same answer each time; "Yes, absolutely." Gretchen found this reasonable amusing, she always found him reasonable amusing.

"He does this on purpose," Mrs. Edgley said, shaking her head in her right hand. The three were already seated in the car, seatbelts ready to go. They see him at the front door, pulling on his jacket and then pause.

"Looks like he's going to sneeze," Stephine said, ignoring the constant chuckling of Gretchen.

"He's just thinking." Mrs. Edgley said. She wound down the window and called out to her husband. "What is it now Desmond?"

He looked around, puzzled. "I just feel like I'm forgetting something." Gretchen noticed what was wrong and started to laugh harder, then pointed it out to Stephine, who then told her mother.

"Desmond your shoes." Mrs. Edgley told him. He looked down at his unmatching socks, one brown, the other striped and then nodded before head back through the open door.

"That man," Mrs. Edgley said. "Did I ever tell you two that he lost a shopping center?" Gretchen couldn't take it anymore. She just doubled over in her seat laughing at the forgetfulness of her adoptive father.

"He what?" Stephine asked

"How did he lose an entire shopping center?!" Gretchen asked amid laughter.

"I never told you? It was the first big contract he had got. His company did a wonderful job, but when he went to show the clients to see it, he had forgotten where it was. He only found it once he saw something he remembered." Mrs. Edgley explained "He is the most talented engineer I have ever had the pleasure to meet, but that man has the attention span shorter than a goldfish. Much unlike Gordon."

"They don't seem to have much in common, though," Gretchen said, finally over her laughing fit.

"It was very different some time ago, the three were inseparable. Well, before their mother died, after that they just, drifted away."

"Even Fergus?" Stephine asked

"Even Fergus. After they split up, Gorden started to mix in with a strange crowd." This peaked the young girls' attention.

"Strange how?" Gretchen implored

"Well," Mrs. Edgley began "They must've just seemed strange to us. We never really knew what they were into, only it wasn't anything…"

"Normal." Stephine finished.

"Precisely. Your dad was the most frightened of them though."

"Why would he be scared of them," Gretchen asked. It was at this moment that Mr. Edgley had walked out of the house, with shoes this time.

"I believe he was more similar to Gorden then he liked to let on." Mrs. Edgley told them as Mr. Edgley opened the driver side door and got in.

"Okay!" he said proudly "I'm all ready now." As they pulled out of the driveway, Gretchen saw Stephine waving to a boy named Jasper, and then did the same. Mr. Edgley pulled onto the street, almost hitting the wheelie bin as they left, and proceeded to the solicitor's office.

It took a little under an hour to arrive at the building, and they were still twenty minutes late. After being led up a flight of creaky stairs, they opened the door to a small office to where Fergus and Beryl were already waiting. The two seemed inpatient and rather displeased to be kept waiting, they kept checking their watches and scowling. Their parents took the two remaining chairs and Stephine joined Gretchen behind them, who was learning on the wall.

"Now can we get started?" Beryl whined impatiently.

The short solicitor, Mr. Fedgewick, looked over at Beryl with an attempted smile.

"Not just yet, we are still waiting on one Mr. Skulduggery Pleasant." Gretchen who had been looking at the far wall whipped her head around to stare at Mr. Fedgewick.

"What did you say?" she asked urgently.

"U-uh, we were waiting on one Mr. Skulduggery Pleasant, miss." He repeated. As Fergus and Beryl made comments on how this 'Mr. Pleasant' sounded like a weirdo, Stephine asked Gretchen what happened

"It sounded like you heard that name before," Stephine whispered

"I have." Gretchen said, "I remember my mother telling me something about a Skulduggery Pleasant before, but I can't remember what-" she cut off seeing the figure at the door, it was the man in the tan overcoat. he still had the same attire as before, and for the temperature inside and the lovely weather outside, he was very inappropriately dressed.

"Are you Skulduggery Pleasant?" Fedgewick asked

"At your service." Skulduggery replied, tipping his hat. Mrs. Edgley unsure as she was, smiled her regards, but Mr. Edgley had an expression of weariness that was unfamiliar to both Stephine and Gretchen. After the expression had passed, he simply nodded before turning his attention back to Mr. Fedgewick. Fergus and Beryl were still staring at Skulduggery.

"Is there something wrong with your face?" Beryl asked, impolitely.

"You could say that." He answered. Mr. Fedgewick cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Now that you're all here, we can get started, okay? Well then…" he continued to read the formalities before Fergus interrupted

"Yes, yes, yes, we're already behind, let's just skip that part and move onto where we get stuff. Who gets the house? And the villa?"

"And who gets the enormous fortune," Beryl said.

The adoptive sisters were ignoring this and instead stared at Skulduggery. Gretchen with more intensity, just trying to figure out what she was told about him. His face was looking at the solicitor, but with those sunglasses, he could be looking anywhere.

Their attention turned back to the solicitor, as he was now reading out what he left Skulduggery. "To my good friend Skulduggery Pleasant, I leave you with the following advice: Your path is your own, I have no wish to sway you, but sometimes the greatest enemy we can face is ourselves, and the greatest battle is against the darkness within. The storm is coming and the key to safe harbor is hidden from us, and sometimes it's right before our eyes."

Everybody was looking at Skulduggery now. He nodded slightly at the words, signaling that Mr. Fedgewick should continue. But Gretchen was still thinking about the advice that Gorden had just given, what did he mean by 'The storm is coming…'

"And so, finally, to my two nieces Gretchen and Stephine." Mr. Fedgewick read. Her attention snapped back hearing this and shared the same thought as Stephine: What? We're getting something?

"First, to Gretchen. You may have never been my niece by blood, but I never regarded you as anything less. So, I am leaving you two things, one of my own, which I'll get to later, and one that your mother gave to me to give to you. I am sorry to say I have no idea what they are or what they do, but I'm sure you will figure it out." Mr. Fedgewick then pulled up a duffle bag. He carefully removed the contents and put it on the table, from it was a jar about the size of a melon, a tattered scarf and a short pole about the length of her hand with engraving in it. As he did this, Skulduggery shifted seeming unsettled by the objects.

"And now to both of you. Make your parents proud and make them glad to have you under their roof, because I leave you my property and land to share together, and to Stephine I leave all my possessions, assets and royalties, to be inherited when you turn eighteen. I know that it may seem unfair to how much I left Stephine in comparison to you Gretchen, but I'm sure your parents will make up for that. I will take this time to say that I truly love you all, even those who I Don't particularly like – That's you, Beryl."

Fedgewick removed his cracked spectacles, finished with the reading. Stephine and Gretchen then realized everyone was looking at them. Skulduggery then walked to the door, opening it before turning around and nodding his hat

"Congratulations." He told Stephine and Gretchen. Then he walked through the door, around the corner, and out of sight.

"THEM?!" they spun around, seeing Beryl standing "THEM?!"