Chapter 7

Jean sat at the polish table that was place next to the window looking out at the sea. She could smell that bacon and eggs being cooked in the kitchen. She looked at the scenery outside. The midnight hotel now sat near a cliffs edge looking out over the deep blue sea but she could see dark clouds that would soon roll in and cover the sky. Jean recognized the place; it was near the new sanctuary. Jean became lost in her thoughts thinking about her life before everything happened. Before the remnant attack, the sanctuary, the war, skulduggery and Darquesse. Before, well, everything. She thought about how simple her life was. She was carefree and lived happily before that day. If everything thing had turned out differently for Jean, then she may not be sitting in the midnight hotel, she could be working for the Irish sanctuary, she could have a family. But of course that was not what life had planned for her.

"Hey Stranger." Jean looked up and saw the dark haired Australian sitting in the chair across from her. Placing breakfast in front of each other.

"Hello, Mr Nightshade." Jean replied. The man across from her looked familiar to someone she had met before but she couldn't place when she had met him. "Have we met before?" She asked quietly.

He smiled at her, flashing his straight white teeth. "You still don't remember me? Well I can't blame you. We haven't seen or worked together for about thirty years now."

Jean suddenly remembered the memories of their dangerous jobs together. "I can't believe I forgot." She said. "Thane Nightshade the ex-assassin from Australia."

Fifty years ago Jean Heart-net had left her homeland and ventured out to places she had never been before like England, America and Australia. Of course being the person she was, she managed to get jobs and a bad reputation overseas. The English sanctuary disliked her so much that they actually sent out her own personal detective to hunt her down and that person would be known as Joshua Jackson, he was rather well known for his unique ability. But she spent most of her time in Australia, where she worked a long side various jobs with Thane Nightshade, the last of a dying breed of sorcerers. But now the ex-assassin took up the role of working as a sanctuary operative, luckily for him it was the Australian Sanctuary.

"Perth in fact." He added. "So Miss Jean Heart-net, how has life treated you?"

"Eh, it could be better. Still being hired to steal but to certain detectives keep showing up but I still get the job done. I have also been moving around Ireland a lot. I was hired by some necromancer but the Fall Twins were there."

Thane looked at her with wide eyes. "What happened?"

"Nothing. The client need their help to find me that's all but I have a feeling they want me to do some thing more than steal a pair of red shoes."

"Do you think they want the dagger?" He motioned towards the dagger that was strapped to her thigh.

"Maybe but I hope they wont. How are you? What's it like being one of the last of your kind?" She teased.

"Gee you should know." He shot back.

"But I'm the last." She mocked being offended. "But you're the second last."

He gasped. "No I am not. I was born first so that porcupine haired boy by the name of Fletcher Ren is the second last." He pretended to pout.

They both looked at each other for a moment before laughing at each other.

"Seriously, how are you?" Jean asked before eating a bit of her bacon.

"All is good but I've been sent here as a representative for the Australian sanctuary."

"Really? Why?" She asked calmly.

"There have been sitings of Darquesse and Fletcher Ren in Australia."

"I see. When are you going to go?"

Jean heard someone knocking at the door and was about the get it but she saw Anton go towards the door so she sat back down.

"Tomorrow." He answered before they heard something hit the floor with a thud.

Jean and Thane jumped put of their seats and headed to the front door where the sound had came from. Before them was Anton Shudder out cold on the ground with the fall twins: Banshee and Parody.

To Jean and Thane, they looked exactly the same since the last time they had seen them and of course they looked like each other too with their bright wild red hair that looked like fire and their pale complexion. The only way you could tell them a part was by their eyes. Banshee had grey eyes whilst Parody had black eyes instead.

"Hello Jean." Banshee said, stepping over Anton.

She disliked Banshee the most and that was because she was the smart one when it came to the twin and talked the most as well.

"It's nice to see you again." Parody continued for her sister and stepped over Anton.

"To bad I can't say the same." Jean replied crossing her arms.

Banshee frowned whilst Parody simply ignored the comment and looked at Thane before smiling.

"It's been a long time Thane, perhaps too long." Parody said in a sickly sweet tone that made Jean want to vomit all over the floor.

She couldn't help but feel sorry for Thane. You see Parody has had a crush on him since she had first meet him and wouldn't leave him alone for the whole time the four of them had to work together. Thane didn't reply to Parody but instead he avoided eye contact. The reason he did that was because Parody could bend the reality of what people saw and made them see what she wanted them too. But Banshee was much different from Parody. Banshee could control and manipulate sound.

"What do you want?"

Banshee smiled wickedly at Jean. "We want the Dual Blade." She demanded, eyeing the blade strapped to Jeans thigh.

Jean laughed. "That is really funny...oh your serious." Her hand instinctively went to the blade that was strapped to her thigh.

Thane glanced at the thief before speaking up. "Why do you want it?"

"To change the world, Thane." Banshee smiled at thane before turning to Jean. "And we need your help to change it."

"How?" Jean simply asked.

Banshee and Parody smiled at Jean before Banshee moved towards her and whispered in her ear.

"Are you insane?" She shouted pushing banshee away from her which made the twin stumble backwards. "There is no way I'm going to do that."

"That's what our boss thought you'd say." Parody sighed.

"And who exactly is your boss?" The thief snapped.

The fall twins looked at each other. "Darquesse." They both said. "If you don't do it then she will."

"You want to give Darquesse a weapon so that she can destroy the sanctuary and the necromancer temples? Well you aren't getting it."

Banshee frowned slightly. "But we thought you hated the sanctuaries."

"The Irish sanctuary is the one I hate and just because I hate one doesn't mean I'm going to take it out on the whole magical community!" She ranted.

"This all would have gone smoothly if them meddling detective had actually caught you. Everything would gone to plan if we told them earlier. Then our mole could have delivered it to us by now..." Parody sighed not realizing what she had said.

"What? You snitched on me." She yelled. "To think I thought you had a little bit of decency to actually let me do my job but no!"

"Hand it over or else." Banshee hissed

"Or else what?" Jean dared.

"Or take it by force."

"I think I will take option two." Jean stated.

Black suddenly filled her vision it was like she was staring into an infinite amount of nothingness.

"Oh come on that's cheating Parody." Jean mumbled, hoping her hearing might come in handy.

She heard a muffled scream before her vision returned but she noticed that Parody and Thane were nowhere insight. Suddenly she heard banging in the hotel and parody shouting at thane about breaking nails.

"So guess it's just you and me like the good old days." Jean smiled at Banshee, pulling out the dual blade to get ready to fight.

"I guess so." Banshee replied.

Suddenly banshee let out a pitch scream that knocked jean off her feet and sent her flying into a wall. Jean groaned whilst getting up but then she jumped to the side quickly to avoid another wave of sound that was hurtling towards her. Jean flicked her blade quickly which send a steam of electric energy towards Banshee but the fiery haired woman quickly dodged it and ran towards Jean. The thief quickly got to her feet and moved into a fighting stance. Banshee moved into to punch her but Jean parried the blow away before cutting her arm with the blade. Banshee wailed loudly but the sound wave never hit jean because she then elbowed her in the face and pushed her away.

Banshee touched her lip and saw blood on her fingers. "You made me bleed!" She screeched.

Jean was knocked violently against the wall, which made her drop the blade. She fell to the ground; she could only hear the ringing in her ears. Jean looked up at banshee but the action made the world spin around her, she could feel something warm slowly trickle down her face. Banshee lifted her off the ground by her collar before gripping Jean by her throat and slammed her against the wooden wall.

"You have no idea how long I have wanted to kill for." Banshee smiled evilly.

"I think I have a rough idea of how long." Jean huffed.

"Don't talk back to me!" Banshee tightened the drip around her neck. "I hate you so much."

"I feel the same for you too." She choked.

Banshee tightened her grip before slamming her against the wall again. "How can you be so carefree right now?" Banshee yelled before noticed the blade at jeans feet.

Banshee picked it up before looking at her evilly. "Let have a little fun."

Jean struggled to break free of Banshee's grip but it was in vain. The fiery haired woman raised the blade above head and sent it plummeting dow-


"I think I will take option two." Thane heard Jean state.

He let out a huff before getting into fighting position knowing that the thief wouldn't be able to fight them alone.

"Oh come on that's cheating Parody."

As if on cue, Thane teleported behind and Parody and moved into a separate room. He threw Parody away from himself and kept his eyes to the ground.

"It's rude to throw a lady." She wined before letting out a cry. "I broke a nail!"

"It's a good thing you're not a lady." He replied flatly.

She gasped. "What am I to you?"

He sighed. "Nothing, nothing at all."

"How can you say that?" She screeched running towards him. "We are meant for each other!"

He parried her away into a wall. "We aren't." He simply stated

"Then I will show you." She growled.

Suddenly an image of himself and Parody standing at an altar filled his vision. Thane could fell parody holding his face in front of hers so he couldn't look away.

"This when we are getting married." She whispered.

A new vision appeared with the two of them laughing with each other and small four children running around them.

She giggled. "Those are our children: Sammy, Lara, Nathan and John."

"You are deluded." He gritted his teeth trying to pull away.

"I'm just showing you of how happy we will be."

A disturbing vision of fire and rubble filled his vision with then looking down and laughing.

"When we are together we can then rule the magical world like kings and queens."

"You know that doesn't sound so bad." He lied.

"Really?" She moved closer to his face.

He could feel her breath on his face before he replied. "No." He head butted her, which sent her to the ground unconscious.

"What an idiot." He muttered.

He heard shouting in the front room and so teleported in time to see Banshee raise the blade above her head. Without thinking he pushed her away from Jean before it pierced her shoulder but the wooden wall instead. Banshee whipped around to face his and screamed which sent him plummeting into close by wall. Darkness engulfed him a soon as he hit the ground.


Jean could barely see banshee because dark spots were starting to cover her vision but she could still hear Banshee speaking. She tried to fight against her hold but she couldn't break free no matter how much she flailed about. Jean saw Banshee raise the dagger above her head. The thief suddenly felt the grip around her neck release and the black spots slowly start to fade away. Jean looked up and saw thane and banshee standing in front of each other. Jean greedily took in breaths of air before she looked up and saw the blade stuck in the wall. Shakily she stood and gripped the blade but it wouldn't budge. She heard banshee scream and then heard a thud. Jean whipped around and saw Banshee taking a breath.

'Not this time.' Jean thought before snapping her palm and shot bolt of energy at the fall twin.

Banshee was knocked of her feet and landed in the lobby. Jean yanked the blade out of the wall and went to run towards banshee but she fell to the ground. The room began to spin around her. She could see Banshee looking towards the front door before scrambling up towards the direction of her sister. And then she saw Skulduggery Pleasant and Alex Chance burst into the Hotel and then she heard shouting lots and lots of shouting. Darkness started to swarm her vision until it there was only complete darkness. The last thing she saw was Alex Chance walking towards her.