Chapter Eleven

The Day the Earth Stood Still

A few weeks later

China Sorrows was extremely angry. She felt like screaming in rage, destroying the entire world and drowning herself in blood and tears.

Wreath had broken up with her.

She was sitting, impossibly still, on the carpet of her apartment. There was no pain, no sorrow, just an irrevocable rage. She was breathing steadily and slowly. She brought the knife across her wrist. The only time she ever deliberately hurt herself was when somebody did her wrong.

"That's to show you next time you see me, you bastard." China barely registered her pain or the blood that was seeping into her spotless blouse. The only thing she registered was the fact that she had been denied, she had been rejected, and that he had used her.

She wondered about the night she couldn't remember. Had he...? China brought a hand to her stomach. But no… she thought. Necromancers aren't capable of that…they have too much of a cold centre.

China decided not to let it worry her. Besides, she had new books to pore over. The book she had received from Savian Eck had still not been properly scrutinised.

She went to look for it. China was sure she had left it on her desk, but it wasn't there. Frowning, she looked underneath the desk to make sure it hadn't fallen off. It hadn't. China straightened up and cursed as a drop of her own blood fell onto the front cover of a century-old book, "The Day the Earth Stood Still." It was a book on the Faceless Ones.

She had placed the same book on top of the book of the Mad Sorcerer's Spells…

China healed her bleeding wrist with a wave of her hand and clenched her fists, realised what Wreath had done.

He had stolen it. He had pretended to love her, drugged her on that night she couldn't remember, and stolen the book.

A few vases around the room cracked as China shrieked in rage. And then there was a knock on the door and Skulduggery Pleasant stepped in, no longer in skeletal form. He was just as handsome as she remembered. She noticed him holding hands with Valkyrie Cain, who was hovering just behind him, and frowned.

Wait a minute… China thought. How did he get back to normal? I had the spell…it was inside the book…

Her suspicions grew, and coupled with her anger. She sprinted forward and her hand flew out to punch Skulduggery's straight, narrow nose just as he began to say, "Was that y – "

China faltered as Skulduggery put out a hand and held her back, and used the other hand to block her punch.

China stopped immediately, and began to quietly sob.

"Wreath has me ruined!" she cried.

Skulduggery regarded her with a cautious eye. "China…"

She held out her arms and Skulduggery's eyes flicked to the cut on her wrist. He said nothing. Valkyrie was muttering to herself and China couldn't make out what she was saying.

"How?" Skulduggery asked.

"Complicated," answered China. "But, basically, he used me to get his hands on a certain book of mine."

Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. He knew how passionate she was about her collection. And he knew about the Necromancer's theft. "He did tell me. In fact he helped me, to get back like this, with that book."

"You accepted his help, right under my nose?"

"I love Valkyrie. He promised to turn me back like this," he motioned to himself and Valkyrie. "And I accepted."

China's eyes narrowed. "You don't love her."

"I do."

"But that's not meant to happen. You're her mentor."

"Doesn't change a thing. China, I know we've had our things in the past…"

"Leave me."

"What?"

"Leave me. Now. And I recommend you do not see me for at least a week or you will make me very upset. And, I quote the very words I said to Remus Crux not too long ago. You would not like me when I'm upset."

Skulduggery blinked. Then he turned and walked out of the apartment, leaving the most beautiful woman in the world to her sorrow. Finally, her last name had some meaning…