Ireland, 1988
Sarah's Place of Residence
"So you wish me to travel all the way to Russia...for a book?"
Sarah sat forwards in her armchair, one arm leant against a knee. Long fingers curled around the tip of her chin and glittering emerald eyes studied the bespectacled woman sitting on the sofa opposite. The woman, a local bookworm by the name of Maria Scribe, fiddled with the hem of her cardigan nervously. "Ah. Y-yes. That about sums it up." Her glasses, which were a little bit too big for her face, slipped down the bridge of her nose. She pushed them back into place with a single finger and tried to adopt a confident expression. It didn't work all that well. "But!" She sat up a little straighter. "This book is extremely rare and valuable! A must have for any self-respecting collector!"
Sarah smiled, and there was clear amusement in her eyes. They contracted briefly into the slitted pupils of a serpent. "And what, exactly, is this book about?"
Maria faltered. All the confidence and colour seemed to drain from her face. Sarah had the uncanny ability to make even the most hardy of people feel extremely uncomfortable in her presence and the book-loving sorcerer was already a nervous wreck."W-well...I...uhh..." Maria pushed her slipping glasses back up her nose again and coughed. "This particular volume is quite old. Ancient, in fact. I believe there to be only half a dozen copies in existence."
Sarah sat back in the chair again and crossed her legs. "If you aren't going to tell me what this book is actually about, then what makes you think I'll be interested in retrieving it?"
She didn't sound impatient. In fact, there was still a smile on her face. Somehow that was much worse than any snapped word.
Maria took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, a trickle of her earlier confidence was present. "It is a book on Dragonlore." Another push of the glasses.
"Dragons are thought to be extinct, having died out millennia ago. But learning about them; the rate in which they grew, their magic, their bond with humans...It would be absolutely fascinating, and such an opportunity only comes along once in a lifetime."
Sarah arched an eyebrow and tapped her chin, interested. "Dragons, you say? Hmm..."
She may have been something of an expert when it came to magical creatures, but records on dragonkind were somewhat lacking throughout history.
After a few moments Sarah looked up at Maria once again. "So tell me...what's the catch?"
Maria looked a little startled at this. "I-I'm sorry?"
"The catch." Sarah repeated. "You wouldn't have been so hesitant to tell me about the book if there wasn't some sort of catch." There was a knowing twinkle in her eyes. "You should know that I welcome a bit of danger, so let's hear it."
Fiddling with her cardigan again, Maria stared at her lap. "T-the book is thought to be in a small Russian town by the name of Drakon Kryl'ya."
"Dragon Wings." Sarah translated, one sceptical eyebrow raised.
Maria smiled nervously. "It is rather obvious, isn't it?" Yet another push of the glasses.
"But yes. This little town is surrounded by a small cluster of mountains, and a Dragon Cult is said to reside within the largest."
Sarah's interest was considerably piqued upon hearing this;
Dragon Cults were notorious for their fanatical behaviour and general extremism. They firmly believed in the continued existence of dragons, worshipped them as gods, and would stop at nothing to find a living one.
"Ah. Let me guess; this Dragon Cult has the book in their possession."
"Um-...well, yes."
"Excellent." Sarah exclaimed, clapping her hands together once and making Maria jump.
"I do love a challenge and Dragon Cults are known for being formidable in a fight."
Maria stared at her. "Y-you'll do it, then...?"
"I'll leave as soon as possible. If not today, then definitely tomorrow. Now..." Sarah switched her crossed legs around, peering down at Maria with a smile on her face. "About the matter of your payment..."
"R-right! Yes, of course!" Maria smiled a little sheepishly, pushing her glasses back up for the millionth time. "I don't exactly have a lot of money right now, eh, but..." She chuckled nervously, as if she were afraid of Sarah's reaction to this news. "But I heard you accept other methods of payment sometimes."
"Well now. I didn't know you had it in you, Miss Maria." Sarah purred, licking her lips in a sensual manner.
Maria went bright red. "N-no...! That's not what I-" She lost her voice mid-sentence, the redness of her cheeks deepening.
Sarah hummed a laugh. "Relax. I'm joking with you."
"Oh! Oh, right." Maria chuckled again, still a little nervously. "Of course. Silly of me."
Suddenly seeming to remember what they had been talking about, she pulled her handbag onto her lap and started rifling through the contents."I have this...here...if you're interested..." She muttered almost inaudibly, frowning at the bag in concentration as she tried to locate something specific. "Ahah!"
Sarah watched curiously as Maria pulled a strange silver bracelet from the voluminous space of her handbag and lifted it triumphantly into the air. It was made up of a thick silver band with two intricately detailed serpents coiling around it. Ruby eyes winked from their sockets and ebony tongues protruded from their mouths. "This is something of a family heirloom, but I don't much get on with the rest of my family. They've always preferred the more-...ah...practical side of magic, whereas I would rather study it." Maria held the bracelet out to Sarah and she took it carefully into her own hands. "It is called a Familiar Bracelet. Just put it on and the serpents will be yours to command, and yours alone. The contract is only broken once you die, or pass the bracelet onto someone else."
Sarah turned the bracelet round and round in her hands, eyes twinkling, and Maria added; "As far as I know, those serpents are completely indestructible. If someone does manage to destroy them whilst they are separated from the bracelet they should return to it within the minute, completely repaired and ready to reuse."
Apparently making up her mind Sarah clamped the bracelet onto her left wrist. The serpent's ruby eyes glowed momentarily and then returned to normal. "You've got yourself a deal, Miss Scribe." She nodded, holding out a hand to shake.
Maria looked ecstatic and also a little relieved, as if she had been half-expecting Sarah to kill her on the spot and just take the bracelet anyway. She clasped Sarah's hand. "Th-thank you so much!"
"You might want to hold off on the celebrating for a little while. I am yet to return alive with this book."
As Skulduggery Pleasant approached Sarah's house, he could hear voices coming from within. Stepping up onto the porch he raised one gloved hand to knock but the door swung inwards before his fingers could close around the little brass knocker. Shrugging, he stepped over the threshold, door swinging quietly shut behind him. Following the voices he made his way down the hall, not noticing the dark-haired girl that peeked shyly around the kitchen door frame, long fringe covering most of her face.
A few moments later and a woman with messily cropped white hair and an impressive collection of scars came trudging down the stairs, wearing pyjamas and a half-asleep expression on her face. She peered at Skulduggery's back with bleary eyes and shuffled almost casually up to him, kicking him in the back of the leg so he fell to one knee. Before he could react she had wrapped an arm around his neck, getting him into a nice strong head-lock. "Saraaaaah." The woman called. "It's too early, and I need coffee."
A chuckle from the living room.
"Also, there's a strange man in your hallway. Kind of a skinny fellow." She observed, glancing down at Skulduggery's thin frame, not quite noticing the skull beneath his hat. "Want me to beat him up?"
"A skinny fellow, you say?" Was the reply she received.
The white-haired woman blinked her sleepy eyes once, twice, and then looked down at Skulduggery again. "Yeah. He's wearing a nice suit, too. And a hat." No reply this time.
"You'd better answer or I may just beat him up anyway."
"I am wearing nice suit." Skulduggery agreed, and then turned his head to better see the white-haired woman. "Look, there's been some kind of misunderstanding. My name is Skulduggery Pleasant and I'm a friend of Sarah's. She will tell you so."Another pause.
"I hope." He added as an after thought.
The white-haired woman nodded once, and then called back to Sarah. "Says his name is Skulduggery Pleasant. You know 'im?"
"Nope. You can beat him up, Setari."
Skulduggery sagged. "Ah. I was afraid of that."
Before the white-haired woman, or Setari as she was now known, could start beating the living daylights out of Skulduggery, the younger, dark-haired girl darted from her observational point in the kitchen, running over to the pair in the hallway and placing a gentle hand on Setari's elbow. Setari turned to look at her, expression softening. "What is it, Phaya?"
Phaya glanced a little nervously at Skulduggery and then looked back up at Setari, her expression now a mixture of exasperation and amusement. She glanced in the direction of the living room, where Sarah currently resided.
"Ah. Gotcha." Setari nodded, having supposedly understood all of this silent gesturing.
Apparently dissatisfied by the lack of brawling-related noises in the hallway, Sarah appeared in the doorway a few moments later. She looked at Setari and arched a questioning eyebrow."You know this guy, don't you?" Setari asked.
"I might know him a little..." Sarah said innocently, eyes wide.
Sighing but smiling, Setari released her hold on Skulduggery, who straightened up and patted down the non-existent creases in his suit. "I'll leave you two to chat." Setari declared, shuffling sleepily past Sarah with Phaya, waving a lazy hand over her shoulder. "I'm getting some damn coffee."
After saying 'thank you' half a dozen times and shaking Sarah's hand at least twice Maria Scribe shuffled from the living room, down the hallway and out the front door, clutching her handbag tightly. Sarah returned to her comfy spot in the armchair, legs crossed once again.
Skulduggery walked in after her, seating himself on the sofa.
"What is it you want this time, Skulduggery?" Sarah hummed, poking little holes in the leather of the arm rest with her sharp nails.
"I thought you might be interested to know about my new case."
"We've been through this before; I'm no longer a detective. I haven't been for years."
She started picking at the stuffing in the arm rest, flicking it casually onto the floor.
"I'm working independently now. Perhaps you didn't hear me the first couple of times, but then again you don't have any ears so I think I can just about forgive you."
"Working independently?" Skulduggery repeated. "You're a mercenary."
"Of a sort." Sarah agreed, nodding. "And I must say, it's all good fun."
"Your clients hire you to steal things for them."
"They do."
"They hire you to frame people for murder."
"Again, correct."
"To protect them."
"Yup."
"And even assassinate their enemies."
"Uh-huh. Still fun."
Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "Ever since that incident during the Mjolnir case, you seem to have done nothing but deliberately immerse yourself in criminal activities. As if people now expect it of you."
Sarah sat forward in the chair. "Is this serious?" She whispered. "...Are we having a serious conversation right now?"
Skulduggery continued as if she had never even spoken."The only reason I haven't arrested you-"
"Is because I'm your bestest buddy in the whole wide world?" Sarah tried.
"-is because the Council are afraid you might have another one of your magical episodes. But they will act if you draw too much attention to yourself."
"That cuts deep, Skulduggery." Sarah tutted, shaking her head sadly. "I thought we were friends."
"We are friends."
"Then what the hell were you just saying?"
"Working for the Sanctuary, although indirectly, I was obligated to say something along those lines. Well, maybe not obligated per se, but if I didn't at least mention it they would never have let me hear the end of it. Now." He relaxed into the sofa, legs crossed like Sarah. "We can stop with all this serious talk."
"Thank god. My brain was starting to go numb."
"Although-"
Sarah rolled her eyes. "Here we go."
"-I still can't say that I approve of the assassinating part."
"Don't worry, Skulduggery. They're all the sort of scum you beat up on a daily basis."
"Oh. I feel much better now."
"Good. Now what is it that you want again? I'm a little busy at the moment."
"My new case." Skulduggery reminded her.
"Sorry. Not interested." Sarah said immediately, before he could elaborate. "I have to make travel arrangements."
"You don't even want to know the details? For all you know it could be something super-amazing, like trolley racing through the supermarket."
"Why would you have a case that involves trolley racing?"
"Well, a murder weapon could have been hidden somewhere in the supermarket. Trolley racing makes it fun, and we could also get our shopping done at the same time."
"Uh-huh. Because you of all people really need food and drink and toilet paper." Sarah hummed sarcastically. " And where would someone hide a murder weapon in a supermarket?"
Skulduggery shrugged. "The cheese counter."
"Oh, yes. I'm sure it would blend in perfectly with the Gorgonzola. Perhaps the murder weapon is a particularly lethal cheese wheel?"
"I'm sure that's it."
"No."
"I'm sorry?"
"Nope. No can do. I have to be somewhere, and as much as I would love to go hunting for evil cheese with you I really can't put off this trip."
"That's a shame." Skulduggery said sadly. "I guess I'll just have to find someone else to be part of The Cheese Squad with me."
"The Cheese Squad?"
"Yes. That's what I'm calling it."
There was a pause and then Sarah leapt to her feet, scattering half the stuffing she had picked out of the arm rest over the floor."Well, good luck in finding the dairy killer." And she walked out into the hall and started up the stairs, leaving Skulduggery to show himself out.
"If you suddenly find yourself with the overwhelming urge to go trolley racing but no-one to go with, don't say I didn't tell you so." Skulduggery called after her.
Sarah left for Russia early the next day, and even though the flight didn't take a particularly long time by itself it was evening before she finally arrived in Drakon Kryl'ya.
The town was small and unassuming, no more than a few hundred people making up the entire population. Crooked stone buildings rose up out of the earth and cobbles lined the twisting paths that wound through them. The street lamps were old fashioned; tall black posts with lanterns perched at the top, each one containing a flickering candle. There were no cars, only horse-drawn carriages.
It was as though the entire place had been cut off from civilisation, remaining far behind while the rest of the world moved on. Tall, snow-capped mountains surrounded the town, leaving only one small valley to get in and out by. It truly was an isolated place.
As Sarah made her way through one of the narrow streets, steel-plated boots clacking against the cobbles, she was a little surprised to see how happy everyone looked.
Each and every person she passed gave her a warm smile and a few even shook her hand.
Children played happily in street, some of the older ones throwing miniature fireballs around or attempting to push at the air and topple their friends. They all laughed loudly.
It was rare to have an all-sorcerer town, especially one where each and every person could demonstrate their magic freely without the threat of discovery. Smiling, Sarah walked on until she reached the nearest tavern. She paid for a room and then clopped up the stairs.
It was well into the night when Sarah finally emerged from her room. Most everyone in the town was fast asleep by now, so she was free to look around without interference. Much like a creature of the nocturnal variety Sarah operated better at night. Deciding that she could do with something to keep herself warm in the cold Russian weather, she first paid a visit to the small bar downstairs. Sitting at one of the stools, she ordered a scotch from the bartender and lit up a cigarette.
As she waited for her drink Sarah glanced casually around the room. Just the usual riff-raff; a group of men sitting around a table, playing cards and drinking vodka. A couple of intoxicated youths, laughing raucously and checking out the pretty girls that occupied their own corner. An old man sitting alone in a chair by the fire, fast asleep with an empty bottle in his hand. And then there was the man sitting at the bar a little way from Sarah. Even sitting down she could see just how tall he was. A long trench coat covered his well-built frame and a strange metal mask concealed his face. He clearly wasn't from around here.
Knowing a fellow assassin when she saw one Sarah nodded to him, a twinkle in her eye.
At first the man didn't react, and then he raised his glass to her before draining the contents through a straw he had inserted into one of the breathing holes of his mask. If the guy didn't look as though he could snap a person's neck with his pinky finger, it would have been quite comical.
Her own drink having been placed on the bar in front of her Sarah drank it in one go, watching as the masked man rose from his seat and exited the tavern.
After finishing her cigarette Sarah got up to leave. She walked out the door and came face to face with...
"Skulduggery. I should have known."
Skulduggery stood before her, hands in pockets. A young man in a warm looking faux-fur coat stood behind him, his blue eyes wide and inquisitive. "Well, you should have let me fill you in on the details." Skulduggery shrugged casually.
"Perhaps." Sarah hummed, and then paused. "Huh. That's odd. I suddenly have the overwhelming desire to go rocketing down supermarket aisles in a trolley." She smirked.
"Ah, yes. But sadly there are no supermarkets here, much less trolleys. You should have taken up my offer when you had the chance. Now I get to say 'I told you so'." Skulduggery replied happily.
"Get on with it, then."
"Very well; I told you so."
Sarah chuckled quietly and then turned her attention on the young man. Finding herself depending on nicotine more than just a little bit, she lit up another cigarette and stuck it in her mouth. "So, who's this?"
Skulduggery opened his jaw to answer, but the other man bounded forwards and grasped one of Sarah's hands in both of his own and said; "You must be the famous Sarah! I've heard all about you and I have got to say..." He sniffed loudly and smiled, a tear in his eye. "It is an absolute honour to meet you."
Sarah nodded slowly, arching an eyebrow. "Mmhmn. Of course it is."
The young man laughed and then stopped just as suddenly. "Oh! Yes, how rude of me." He released Sarah's hand and bowed deeply. "Cal Guppie at your service, Miss. Sarah."
"Wow, Skulduggery. Your boyfriend actually has some manners, unlike you. He's a proper gentleman."
Cal laughed loudly, as if he thought what Sarah had said was the funniest thing in the world and then started coughing violently, tears in his eyes. "Ah, sorry!" He apologized. "It's just, I don't do so well around cigarette smoke! Asthma, you know?" And he continued to cough like this, waving a hand around frantically in an attempt to dispel the smoke, his face becoming increasingly redder with each second that passed. Sarah watched him curiously, one eyebrow arched, but after a moment shrugged and flicked her unfinished cigarette to the ground.
Skulduggery just sighed. "This idiot has been bothering me for months, asking to tag along on a case."
"I'm extremely interested in detective work." Cal agreed with a nod and a wheeze.
"Eventually," Skulduggery continued, completely ignoring him. "I gave in and let him accompany me. I was getting tired of trying to insult him. It just doesn't work."
"He called me a moron and a dimwit quite regularly." Cal laughed, clearly having recovered from his coughing fit.
"See?"
Sarah chuckled. "Well, he seems eager to learn. Perhaps you can use this opportunity to show off your amazing detective skills, eh, Skulduggery?"
Skulduggery crossed his arms and huffed. " That is true, I suppose." He turned to look at Cal, who was smiling eagerly up at them both. "Also, having him around will make me feel infinitely better about myself."
"Because god knows your ego needs boosting even more. Pretty soon your skull will be too swollen to fit through any doorways. You'll have to live outside."
"I'd cope."
"I'm sure you would. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some investigating to do." Sarah informed them. She flashed a smile at Cal."Nice to meet you, Cal. Keep mister grumpy bones out of trouble, will you?"
Cal laughed and nodded. "I'll try my best, Miss. Sarah!" He saluted. "I promise!"
Still smiling Sarah made her way up the street, glancing back to see Cal bounding along behind Skulduggery like an excited puppy, much to the Detective's obvious annoyance.
Coat wrapped tightly around her, Sarah made her way to the base of the biggest mountain.
She had to crane her neck to see the top and even then it was mostly obscured by clouds.
Snow fell lazily from the swollen white sky, adding to the foot deep substance that already crunched underfoot."Hm. Where to begin looking..."She muttered as she skirted a particularly large boulder. "Oh. That was easy."
On the other side of the boulder a humongous dragon face was carved into the mountain, stone steps leading into its open mouth. It was extremely conspicuous. "Perhaps they have a mutual understanding with the villagers." Sarah wondered aloud. ""If you don't bother us, we won't bother you"."
She shrugged and then started to climb the steps.
Once inside the dragon's mouth, Sarah proceeded with caution. No people seemed to be around but torches flickered in brackets on the wall. Large stalactites and stalagmites hung down from the ceiling and protruded from the floor, looking for all the world like this colossal stone dragon's teeth. A large arched door took up most of the back wall and, as Sarah approached, she could see the little dragons carved into it. They flew over a great city, setting it alight with their fiery breath.
Not too far away a metal dragon head was fixed to the wall. A chain with a ring at the end hung from its mouth and Sarah pulled it without hesitation. The door creaked and then shifted, dust tumbling from the seams. It parted in the middle and slowly retracted, revealing a well lit corridor beyond. She stepped inside, following the winding corridor to a circular chamber. Half a dozen tunnels branched off from it, each one leading deeper into the mountain. Narrowing her eyes Sarah flicked out her serpent tongue, tasting the air. The tunnel in the middle seemed to be the most promising; it carried the scent of dusty old parchment. "Well, I have to start somewhere." She shrugged and then bounded down the middle one.
The walls of this tunnel were carved from some sort of glittering green stone and little gems winked from the ceiling. Sarah could hear running water and voices up ahead. She pressed herself flat against the tunnel and stopped to listen.
"...and it's gone!" Someone, a woman, exclaimed, sounding distressed.
"Gone?" A man replied. "What do you mean, gone? How is that even possible?!"
"I-I don't know!"
Another voice joined the conversation.
"Look, they can't have gone far. Try to remain calm. We'll send out a search party immediately, scour Drakon Kyrl'ya for the culprits." The other two seemed a little edgy still, but the third voice reassured them."Do not worry. Our lord will have his day. He will hatch from the egg for us and no-one else. Have faith."
"But-"
"This world will taste of his fire. First that wretched Irish Sanctuary and then the rest of civilisation. You can be sure of that." The voices became further and further away, so Sarah slowly proceeded.
Why does everyone have it in for the Irish Sanctuary? She thought with an eyebrow raised. A shrug. From what I can gather, these people actually had a dragon egg in their possession. A smile. Amazing. Her smile widened into a grin. Three guesses who stole it. Hm. I shall have to pay Skulduggery a little visit once I'm done here.
Sarah emerged into another circular chamber three times as big as the last, just in time to see the bottom of a long, dark coat disappear around the corner. No alarms sounded, so she was safe. For now. She looked around. A beautiful water feature trickled away lazily in one corner and most of the walls were completely covered in tall bookcases. Sarah ignored this and instead approached a pedestal in the centre of the room. An old looking book rested on top, a glass case protecting it from the elements and, more importantly, thieves.
"But it won't be enough." She hummed, unbuttoning her coat to reveal two weapon belts criss-crossing her waist. Choosing a particularly wicked looking half-sword from one of the belt loops Sarah cut through the glass with ease, despite it being several inches thick.
As the top half of the case began to slide downwards, she dashed over to catch it before it could collide with the floor and make a spectacularly loud noise. Spectacularly loud noises would not be a good idea at the moment.
"Oomph!" She grunted with the effort, lugging the heavy case over to the water feature and placing it gently on the floor. She retrieved her sword, returning it to the weapon belt, and then focused all her attention on the newly liberated book. It wasn't a particularly large volume, but the writing was small and cramped. The ink glittered red on the pages, still as fresh as the day it was written, several thousand years ago. Pulling on some special gloves Sarah eased the book from the pedestal, folding it gently closed and snapping the golden fastenings on the cover shut. She wrapped it up in a large white cloth and then placed it inside the satchel hanging at her side.
Satisfied, she turned to leave.
Sarah encountered no-one on the way out, much to her disappointment. She hadn't been in a good fight for a while. Feeling a little pumped up after the whole thing she sprinted the distance to town, not stopping until she was just outside the tavern. Figuring the Dragon Cult members would take a little while to mobilize a search party, she sat down in her room to examine the book. Lifting it carefully from her satchel she then unwrapped the cloth, snapped open the fastenings and laid the ancient volume out on the desk. The writing was small and swirly, written in some strange language.
Not having enough time to translate it the old fashioned way Sarah closed her eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the magic deep within her. After a few seconds she reopened her eyes and they were a startling red. She winced. Each time she drew upon that particular reserve of magic, it seemed to hurt a little more. A trickle of blood escaped her lips and dribbled down her chin. She took another deep breath and then shook her head, as if to dispel the pain.
"Now, let's have a little look at you." She purred, peering down at the pages before her.
The previously illegible cursive seemed to unscramble and rearrange itself until it made perfect sense. Smiling a satisfied smile she began reading, occasionally flicking to a different section of the book.
""Dragons are creatures borne of magyk,"" she read.""They have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the forces all around us, from the very moment they hatch. It is passed down in the form of ancestral memories"." As she read, Sarah took notes. She continued. "' ""Depending on the human they bond with, a dragon has the potential to consume the world with its fyre.'"
"Hm. Depending on the human, huh?" She tapped her chin and turned to the section on dragon-human bonds. "Ahah. Here we are."
""After hatching, the first human a dragon lays its eyes upon shall be bonded with that dragon for life. The dragon will forever be at their command, obeying every wish without question'"..." Sarah stopped reading and tapped her chin thoughtfully. "So this is what the Dragon Cult needs that egg for. They want to hatch it and use it to burn the world." She rolled her eyes."How boring and predictable. Just think of what we could learn from such a magnificent creature." She glanced back at the book, noticing for the first time the strange purple glow that surrounded it. Even if Sarah didn't fully understand how, she knew then that the book was magically protected. Indestructible. "Well, it would have been handy to know that earlier. Could have saved me a whole lot of screwing around." Shrugging, she closed the book once again, not bothering with the cloth this time. She placed it back inside her bag, slung the bag over her shoulder and then left via the open window.
Her eyes still crimson, she used them to locate Skulduggery's footprints outside the tavern. After seeing them so many times before, glowing or otherwise, they were easy to locate.
Pulling the hood on her coat over her head she took off at a sprint, one hand holding onto the satchel strap to steady it, the other hovering over her weapon belts should she need anything stored there.
After a few minutes of following the footprints, weaving in and out of the crooked buildings, Sarah spotted another tavern. It was a little bigger than the one she was staying in.
She glanced up and saw several open windows. Flicking her tongue out, she tasted the air for familiar scents.
It appeared that the highest window lead to a room in which Cal Guppie, Skulduggery's temporary detective partner, had recently visited. Still sprinting Sarah ran straight at the tavern, stopping short a few feet away, kicking off from the ground with considerable force. She went shooting past the open window and, on the journey back down, landed lightly on the sill with all the grace and agility of a cat.
Peering inside, Sarah's fingers continued to twitch over her weapon belts. Nobody was around but Cal had definitely been in here only a few minutes ago. No sign of Skulduggery, but that didn't necessarily mean anything. For as long as she had known him, the skeleton detective had no scent to speak of. It was a strange thing. Shaking her head and effectively these thoughts from her head, Sarah dropped right into the room. It appeared she had used up all of her subtlety sneaking into the Dragon Cult's mountain lair.
There was an open suitcase on the bed and there, nestled in some clothes, sat the dragon egg. It was roughly round in shape and about the size of a football. Tiny black veins spider-webbed across its gleaming white surface and Sarah thought it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She tiptoed over, went to reach out and touch it, then stopped. Straightening up again she instead focused her attention on the wardrobe beside the bed.
"I've heard of skeletons in the closet, but this is ridiculous."
Nothing happened for a few moments, and then the wardrobe door slowly creaked open and Skulduggery stepped out. "I knew I should have hidden under the bed." He muttered.
"You stole the egg from the Dragon Cult to stop them from destroying the world." Sarah stated.
"Indeed I did. It's what people like us do, remember?"
"Not me. Not any more." A shrug. "Do you intend to take it back to the Sanctuary?"
"Yes."
"I'm afraid I can't allow you to do that."
Skulduggery tilted his head to the side. "And just why not?"
But Sarah didn't answer. She simply stared at Skulduggery. Several moments of silence passed and then, without warning, she lunged for the suitcase. Skulduggery barrelled into her, sending them both to the ground. The book inside Sarah's satchel went skidding across the floor and Skulduggery followed its progress. "That book..." He started, but Sarah elbowed him in the head and scrambled for the suitcase once again. The tip of one finger grazed the egg and then Skulduggery clamped a hand around her ankle, dragged her back. She kicked at him but he shielded himself with his free arm.
Rolling her eyes Sarah kicked out again, a little harder than last time. Her steel-capped boot caught him in the side of the skull. A crack appeared upon impact and he cried out, releasing Sarah's ankle to clutch at it."I honestly didn't want to do that, Skulduggery. I didn't want to hurt you." She stood up and walked over to the suitcase, picking up the egg.
"So why did you? A gentle slap on the wrist and a telling off would have sufficed."
"I know what you're thinking." Sarah started, ignoring his previous comment.
"And what am I thinking?"
"That I'm working for the Dragon Cult; I have their book on Dragonlore and now I'm here to steal the egg from you."
"So are you working for them?"
"No. I simply want the dragon egg for myself." A slight smile and the narrowing of eyes.
"It's funny how quick you are to accuse me of betrayal."
"Well, you are a mercenary."
"Am I not also your friend?"
Right at that moment three robed figures came crashing through the window, their faces concealed beneath hoods. They landed right beside Sarah, who was still looking down at Skulduggery.
"Ah. Now, you see, I may have believed you before..."
Sarah sighed. "Great. Just great." She turned to face the three Dragon Cult members. "You really need to work on your timing."
They attacked, slashing at Sarah with daggers that had been previously concealed within their voluminous sleeves. She dodged with little apparent effort, dishing out cuts and broken bones as she went. Skulduggery managed to scramble to his feet and hurl a couple of fireballs at the assailants. Both fireballs collided with one of them, but didn't seem to have any effect. In fact, it was as if the robed figure were drinking in the very flames. The hood slipped down to reveal a feminine face beneath. Her eyes started to glow bright green, and then her entire body. She rose a couple of feet into the air, hair billowing out around her. Scales started to appear on her skin and small horns protruded from her head.
"So this is the true power of the Dragon Cult." Sarah hummed, eyes glittering dangerously, a wicked grin curling at her lips.
The floating woman looked down at Sarah, their gazes met and the pair of them launched a simultaneous attack. As they grappled, a fight of tooth and claw and ridiculous strength, Skulduggery rounded on the other two. Manipulating the air, he managed to send one of them flying back through the window they had entered by. The other he clipped in the temple with a carefully aimed bullet. The Cultist spun like a top, hitting their head on a nearby wall and collapsing to the floor, unconscious.
The dragon-woman may have been strong, but Sarah was stronger. She lashed out a kick that caught her in the gut and she dropped to the floor, doubled up. Sarah used this opportunity to wrap an arm around her neck. Eyes almost glowing now, she tightened her grip and the woman's neck snapped with ease. She slumped to the floor, horns and scales disappearing along with the green glow. Sarah straightened up, wiping some blood from her mouth. She looked at Skulduggery."Do you believe me now?"
"That was unnecessary." He walked over, nodding at the dead woman on the floor.
Shrugging lightly, a grin appeared on Sarah's face. "I got carried away. Besides, they would have killed us, given the chance."
"Exactly."
Sarah snorted. "Stop acting all righteous, Skulduggery. It really doesn't suit you."
Just then the door burst open and Cal came stumbling in. "I heard a commotion from downstairs! What's going-" He stopped abruptly when he saw the dead and unconscious Cultists on the floor. "Oh my."
Skulduggery bent down to pick up the dragon egg, which had ended up on the floor by his feet.""Oh my", indeed."
"Detectives!" Someone called from outside in the street below. Sarah recognised it as one of the voices from the hideout, the man who had calmed the others down and organized this whole thing. "Why don't you all come down from there and hand the dragon egg over to me, before anyone else gets hurt."
Skulduggery strode over to the window and peered out. A cloaked man stood in the middle of the street, the Dragon Cultist that Skulduggery had thrown out of the window lying unconscious several feet away from him."There is one very big, very noticeable flaw about that statement. Can you guess what it is?"
Sarah joined him by the window, gaze never leaving the egg in his hand. Cal shuffled after her, looking a little scared and also a little excited. "If we hand the egg over to you, you'll use it to effectively blow up the planet." Sarah told the figure in the street, her tone slow and patronizing as if she were speaking to a particularly dumb child. "I don't know if you realise this, but blowing up the planet generally equals people getting hurt."
The man chuckled, lowering the hood covering his head. He had long green hair that was tied in a loose ponytail with a black ribbon. His yellow eyes observed them as an eagle might observe its prey. They were slitted, not like a serpent – but a dragon. "Right you are. Perhaps we can come to some sort of arrangement. Why don't you come down here so that we can talk about it?"
"So you can kill me, you mean?" Sarah snorted. "I would like to see you try, I really would."And, ignoring Skulduggery's protests, she jumped straight out the window, landing upright in the street below.
The green-haired man studied her carefully, eyes glittering. "I know of Detective Pleasant and I even know of his little sidekick." He tilted his head to the side. "But I know nothing of you."
"Amazing. Someone on this planet who has never heard of me."
"I am Arcaius Kalashnikov."
"Well, that's not threatening at all." She hummed cheerfully.
"Might I ask your name?"
"You just did. It's Sarah."
"Sarah? Hmm. Such an ordinary name to take for yourself."
"But...I thought you hadn't taken a name yet, Miss. Sarah...?" Cal called from the window, sounding confused. Skulduggery sighed deeply and brought a hand up to slap Cal on the back of the head.
"Well done for broadcasting that, idiot."
"...Sorry..."
Sarah chuckled and shrugged, glancing up at the duo by the window."It's not like I care who knows it." She looked back at Arcaius. "Go ahead. Try and use my name to control me, I dare you."
"No no, that's quite alright. I can quite clearly see that you are not bluffing." He smiled warmly, but that warmth did not reach his eyes. "Now, about the egg..."
"You can't have it. Non-negotiable." Sarah stated, flexing her claw-tipped fingers.
A sigh from Arcaius. "Then I shall have to-... ah...remove you, and take it back anyway."
He started glowing like the woman from before, but instead of green he glowed golden. His eyes shone brilliantly as he rose up into the air, scales appearing all over his body. Curved black horns spiralled from his head and his nose became flat and slitted. A lengthy tale even sprouted from beneath his robes.
"So what do I call you, a were-dragon?" Sarah asked, one eyebrow raised.
But Arcaius didn't appear to be listening. He instead took a deep breath, chest puffing out.
"Ah." Was all Sarah could say before he opened his mouth and a great stream of white-hot fire shot towards her. The fire collided with a solid wall of air, sending it in all directions before fizzling out to nothing. Sarah turned to see Skulduggery standing beside her, both arms raised, palms flat.
"My hero." She gushed mockingly, clutching her hands over her heart and swaying from side to side. "Saving a damsel in distress – So noble!"
"I'm pretty sure in your case the correct term would be "distressing damsel"."
"You sure know how to treat the ladies." Sarah rolled her eyes and grinned, sharp teeth visible.
While Sarah and Skulduggery bantered, Arcaius had used this opportunity to sprout a pair of leathery wings twice the length of his body. The golden glow surrounding him vanished and he slowly descended back to earth. Now capable of more than just levitation he instead turned his gaze on Cal, wings flapping rhythmically. And as he rose into the air higher and higher, Cal's eyes widened considerably. "Uh...Miss. Sarah? Mr. Skulduggery?" He muttered shakily, just loud enough for the duo to hear.
They both looked up just as Arcaius angled himself towards the window and Cal, who was clutching the dragon egg. "I knew I shouldn't have left it with that idiot." Skulduggery muttered, reaching into his jacket and bringing out his gun. He whacked back the hammer and fired, the bullet making contact with Arcaius's back. It ricocheted off his scales harmlessly, the crumpled metal projectile falling into the snow beneath him.
"Aim for the wings!" Sarah yelled as she made for the tavern wall, running up the stone bricks as soon as her feet made contact.
"I was getting to that." Skulduggery snapped and fired again, this time clipping the delicate veined material of Arcaius's wing as he started to dive. The Dragon Cultist literally roared, a sound that was amplified tenfold as it echoed around the enclosed valley, and he was thrown off course. Sarah, having bent her knees as much as she could, launched from the wall and made a grab for his tail. With too much weight to carry plus an injured wing, Arcaius went spiralling towards the ground and the pair of them landed in the snow with a heavy 'whump'.
People started spilling out of buildings, yelling and screaming, clutching the hands of their children, dragging them along. Skulduggery urged them all to move a little faster and pretty soon the entire town was deserted save for the four of them, and the two unconscious Dragon Cultists.
Arcaius, growling deep in his throat much like a beast, rolled over and tried to right himself, tail thrashing about wildly. He struck out an arm, razor-sharp claws catching Sarah in the cheek. They tore straight through the flesh, exposing her teeth and sending an arc of arterial spray out across the snow. Sarah gagged on the blood and fell over backwards, clutching at her ruined face just as Arcaius managed to get to his feet. With an entire jaw full of sharp teeth exposed in a snarl, he threw himself into the black-haired sorcerer, pinning her to the ground. And that's when it happened.
Sarah's red eyes widened and started to glow brilliantly, all recognition and emotion draining away. Her teeth elongated and her hair rippled. Skulduggery, who had been shouting instructions to Cal, suddenly stopped and turned to face them both. "Oh no."
The flesh in Sarah's cheek started to repair itself, her magic knitting veins and muscles back together, replacing lost blood. One hand came up to grip Arcaius by the neck, long fingers curling, squeezing. He tilted his head curiously and then made a strange growling sound that could well have been a laugh. "You think you can harm me, when I am covered in scales tougher than steel?" And then he seemed to notice Sarah's cheek and the absence of her wound. "But how did you...?"
Slowly, a smile curled at Sarah's lips and the recognition came flooding back. But she was somehow...different. No longer was there a mischievous, playful glint her eyes, but rather a cold, harsh intelligence."It was quite simple, really." She purred, her voice deadly and irresistible, laced with magic."Just as this is simple." And her grip around Arcaius's neck tightened, his scales cracking and crunching at her touch.
"Impossible!" Arcaius cried, eyes widening as he leapt backwards, out of Sarah's reach.
A chuckle from Sarah as she rose to her feet."I will not allow you to abuse the power of that unhatched dragon." She stated, one finger coming up to point straight at the Dragon Cultist's chest. He stiffened and the scales all over his body started to disappear, as did the horns, tail and wings.
Having seen Sarah murder someone before just by pointing, Skulduggery ran over. "Wait, Sarah. You don't have to kill him. Just calm down."
"Oh but I do, detective Pleasant." A tilt of the head. "And before you continue to address me with such familiarity, I shall let you in on a little secret; I am not Sarah. At least," she chuckled, her expression quite demented. "Not the one you know."And with the tiniest twitch of her finger, Arcaius shuddered violently and then spread his arms wide, head thrown back in a scream as his heart exploded outwards. "And just for the record..." Another insane chuckle as his body slumped to the floor. "I am perfectly calm."
Skulduggery stared at her for a moment, and then... "Kenspeckle was right."
"Right?" Sarah echoed, briefly puzzled. And then realization dawned. "Ah, yes. Of course. Leading little miss goody two-shoes to believe there was absolutely no threat of another personality." She tutted. "Very cheeky."
"Many sorcerers have heard stories about Sarah the vampire; perfectly civilised one moment, homicidally insane the next." Skulduggery said, although mostly to himself. "Kenspeckle feared something like this would happen if our Sarah ever found out. But it seems he only postponed the inevitable."
"Quite. I bet you and the good doctor had some interesting conversations about the whole thing behind poor little Sarah's back."
"So if she is Sarah then what does that make you, Sarah number two?"
A laugh from the newcomer. "Hm, not quite. I was known as Sarah long before she was. It was the name I took on the very day of my creation. A psychologist would call this whole thing textbook split personality disorder, albeit magically amplified." She swept her hand aside with another laugh and gave a bow. "But where are my manners! Allow me to introduce myself; I am the darkness within Sarah's heart, the half that represents her demon nature and all things impure."
"A pleasure." Skulduggery said in a bored tone. "And I'm sure you are simply dying to explain the demon thing to me, so you may as well get on with it."
""The very first Vampyre, borne of Demon and Man"." Sarah quoted, straightening up from her bow. ""Bringer of misery and pain, the Mistress of Death rises up from a lake of blood, consuming all before her"."
"How delightful." Skulduggery commented, retaining his bored tone, and Sarah shrugged.
"Not my own words, I assure you. The book was written over three thousand years ago and there was only ever one copy in existence, so I cannot expect you to have read it."
"Convenient."
"But it was the most accurate account by far. After that things got a little bit silly; children of Satan, burning up in sunlight, stakes through the heart. And do not even get me started on the garlic."
"There is some truth, though. Vampires, for the most part, have weakened power in the sunlight and a stake in the heart will kill pretty much anything."Skulduggery added.
"Not myself or any of the first few dozen people that I turned. No transformations are involved and stakes through the heart actually tickle quite a lot." Sarah laughed. "But after that, the blood thinned out and vampires seemed to slowly devolve into nothing more than mindless beasts."
"It sounds as though you detest your own kind."
"Is that so surprising? There are plenty of humans out there who hate being what they are. Why should it be any different for a vampire?"
"Yes, but I'm pretty sure none of them gave birth to an entire species."
Sarah chuckled. "I suppose you are right. But stop acting as though you are on the side of the vampires. You detest them just as much as I do."
"Not all of them." Skulduggery corrected.
"Ah, but of course you are referring to your Sarah. The skeleton and the vampire. How very sweet. Unfortunately," a wide grin split this new Sarah's lips, and her eyes lit up with malice. "I never much cared for such trifling emotions. "
"You don't like trifle? Really? I thought everyone liked trifle." Skulduggery commented, feigning surprise. "I like trifle, and I can't even eat it."
"Yes, very good, Detective." Sarah smiled mildly, the faint twinkle of amusement in her eye.
"But I grow weary of this conversation. The only reason I decided to put in an appearance was to retrieve the dragon egg, seeing as my better half could not quite manage it."
"You're right." Skulduggery nodded, hands in pockets. "She is better than you."
"If I had feelings to hurt, that may have been upsetting." Sarah's smile widened a fraction as she turned to face the tavern in which Cal, and more importantly, the dragon egg, resided. Not even needing to look at Skulduggery, Sarah knew his fingers were currently curling around the grip of the gun in his pocket. Her smile turned into a wicked grin.
"Let us see who can get there first."
Neither of them moved for several moments, each staring at the other, Skulduggery's skull an expressionless mask, Sarah's face lit up with anticipation. And then Skulduggery pulled out his gun, whipping it around to aim at Sarah who disappeared in a flurry of snow, insane laughter following her all the way to the tavern. Skulduggery cursed and made to run after her, using up the four bullets left in their chambers to shoot at her blurred form. Unsurprisingly none of them made contact and Sarah reached the large building without incident. Cal was peering out of the window, clutching the egg tightly to his chest and looking more than a little worried. "Um, Mr. Skulduggery...? What's going on?" He called, seeing the skeleton detective come into view but missing the mini-whirlwind of snow that had just settled in the street below.
"Boo." Sarah whispered from directly behind him, causing the poor man to jump almost a foot in the air. He squeaked and dropped the egg, only Sarah's lightning-fast reflexes rescuing it from an impact with the wooden floor. "You really should be more careful with something so precious, Mr. Guppie. Perhaps, if I dropped you from a height, you would learn your lesson?" She mused cheerfully, walking around the startled sorcerer casually, bringing her free hand up to grip him by the throat. Cal tried to choke out a protest, but Sarah's grip was too tight. She lifted him from the ground and turned, started carrying him towards the broken window.
Skulduggery, who had just reached the tavern, looked up and saw what was going on.
"Will that boy ever stop getting himself into trouble?" He grumbled, and then brought up one hand to manipulate the air just as Sarah dangled Cal out of the window and released her grip. His descent slowed considerably and after several moments he was only a few feet off the ground.
"Oh, hey, thanks for saving my backside!" Cal laughed out of relief as Skulduggery dropped his arm. No longer supported by Skulduggery's Elemental magic, he fell like a sack of bricks and ended up landing face-first in a mound of snow. "Oomph!"
"You're welcome." Skulduggery replied cheerfully.
Sarah, with the dragon egg still in one hand, peered out the window. "Yes, well done Mr. Pleasant. You are very much the morally-questionable hero." She snapped her fingers and the egg disappeared in a wisp of black smoke. "You have attempted to calm Sarah before." The moonlight was reflected in her red eyes, glinting ominously. "Before she could do anything- ...hm...regrettable." A sharp-toothed grin. "And yet you still condemned her for those actions which, admittedly, were not entirely her own."
"And I suppose that was your doing?"
"I may have given her a little nudge." A shrug and a chuckle. "But I wonder..." Sarah tapped her pointed chin with a claw-tipped finger as she pretended to think. "Have you told little Sarah about the darkness within you, detective?"
Skulduggery didn't answer.
"Ah. So should I take that as a no?" Sarah laughed coldly and Cal, who had finally managed to remove himself from the snow mound, shivered. It had nothing to do with the low temperature.
"You obviously know the answer to that question already." Skulduggery told her. "So why bother asking?"
"Why would I stop when I am having such fun?." A slight chuckle here. "And in actual fact, she worked it out by herself, long ago. She simply refuses to pay it any mind. Her feelings have allowed all logic and reason to be thrown out the window."
Cal, who was listening to this conversation with mounting confusion, tilted his head to the side and little bits of snow tumbled from his ginger hair. "Darkness?" He repeated. "What darkness does she mean, Mr. Pleasant?"
"It would be best if you didn't trouble your simple mind over it." Skulduggery said without looking at him.
"But...what about Miss. Sarah?" Cal turned to face her. "Why are you being so mean all of a sudden?"
"Yes indeed, Skulduggery." Sarah hummed. "Why am I being so mean?" And with barely a flicker of movement she disappeared, only to reappear in the street below directly in front of him. With a wide grin on her face Sarah raised one arm slowly, flicking out her index finger so that it made contact with Skulduggery's ribcage. There was a sudden ripple of force and he went flying backwards, crashing straight through the wall of a small post office.
Lowering her arm, Sarah then seemed to notice the bracelet clamped around her wrist.
"Hm, what have we here? A Familiar Bracelet! How novel." She looked up at Cal, who was standing there with a terrified look in his eyes.
"M-Miss. Sarah...?"
"Kill him." She hissed quietly, the bracelet raised to her lips. "And make it painful."
At first nothing happened and then, with a little creak, the ruby eyes of the first snake blinked. It slowly detached itself from the silver band, triangular head raised and facing Cal. The rest of its body slowly uncurled, ebony tongue flicking out to taste the air. With a tinny little hiss it dropped straight to the floor with a 'clunk'.
The other soon followed and as soon as it made contact with the ground started to grow, as did the first. Soon their previously tiny silver bodies were each as thick around as Sarah's leg. Hissing loudly they advanced on Cal, who was backing up quickly across the cobbled street.
"Miss. Sarah, please! I don't understand! What are you-"
One of the silver snakes lunged for him and he barely managed to dodge its snapping jaws.
With a yell Cal tried to summon a flame into his hand, but fear overrode the magic and it spluttered and died. Sarah, who stood watching with her arms crossed and an amused twinkle in her eye, laughed cruelly. "I see now why Skulduggery did not wish to bring you along. Your skill is mediocre at best. You were never going to survive, right from the start."
"N-no..! I don't want to die, I don't-" A new determination sprang to life in Cal's eyes and as the snake lunged for him again, he ducked down and shot a punch right into the underside of its jaw. Hissing wildly, it shook its head from side to side, disoriented. The other snake advanced. Cal tried valiantly to hold it off, but the first soon recovered and the pair of them renewed their assault.
A dozen bricks exploded outwards from the post office and Skulduggery emerged from the hole in the wall, gun fully loaded and back in hand. Completely ignoring Sarah, he instead aimed for the snakes that were attacking Cal. Much like Arcaius and his dragon scales the bullets bounced off their silver bodies harmlessly, doing nothing whatsoever to deter the assault. Abandoning the gun, Skulduggery tried a well aimed fireball. It engulfed the head of one snake, which hissed quietly in annoyance, shaking almost lazily to dispel the flames.
Cursing, Skulduggery ran for Cal and Sarah stopped him with an arm around the neck. His hands shot up to pry her fingers away but the grip was much too strong. Completely helpless he could only watch as one of the silver snakes lunged for his partner, sinking its cold, unforgiving teeth into his neck. Cal cried out in pain. He cried out for Skulduggery to help him, but Sarah held the skeleton detective fast.
"Let me go, Sarah!" Skulduggery roared, propelling them both backwards with a gust of wind, Sarah smashing her back against a nearby lamppost. But her grip held fast.
Teeth stained with blood, Sarah grinned widely. "You are a little too late, detective." And her eyes travelled to Cal, just as the ginger-haired sorcerer let out an ear splitting scream.
The second snake had lunged straight for his stomach, punching a hole right through to the other side and it now curled around his body, squeezing tightly. Cal gagged on blood and then went completely rigid, his eyes wide and flooded with pain.
"No!" Skulduggery yelled, just as the snakes tore away from Cal's ruined body, leaving it to slump against the cobbled street. Blood pooled around him and he lay there twitching, mouth opening and closing slowly as he tried to speak.
"I-I'm sorry, Skulduggery." A sad, weak smile from Cal. "I should have...have l-listened to you..." The lights seemed to leave his eyes and he went still.
Skulduggery went limp in Sarah's grip and stared at the floor silently while Sarah held out her arm, waiting patiently for the silver snakes to return. Blood coating their smooth bodies they slithered on over, shrinking in size once contact with the bracelet on Sarah's wrist had been made. Having settled down into their fixed positions the ruby eyes dulled, reverting back to normal."Well." She hummed. "That was all good fun, was it not?"
Moving quite suddenly, Skulduggery tore himself away from Sarah's grip with renewed strength, slipping a wicked-sharp dagger from one of her weapon belts as he did.
Whirling around on the spot he buried the blade deep into her gut with such force they both went tumbling to the ground. Sarah gurgled a laugh as she lay flat on her back, Skulduggery with his forehead pressed against her own, grip still tight on the dagger hilt, forcing the blade in further. "Has anyone ever told you what a violent man you are, Mr. Pleasant?" Another gurgling laugh as the blood spilled over Sarah's lips.
"He was innocent." Skulduggery said quietly, his voice cold and harsh as he twisted the blade painfully.
A gasp escaped Sarah's lips, but the smile never left her face. "But that is not the real reason for this sudden violence, is it, detective?" She said. "You feel responsible for bringing him here in the first place and also guilty for saying such cruel things, knowing that you can never take them back." She pressed her forehead harder against his own and whispered; "You are angry with yourself and not possibly being able to suffer any more than you already are, take it out on me." One hand came up to rest against the side of Skulduggery's jaw. "Do not make the mistake of thinking I am ignorant to how you punish yourself, detective. How you spend every waking moment trying to make up for your past."
"Your Sarah, although unaware, does something similar. But instead of trying to make up for the evil in her past she tries to drown it out in any way that she can." Sarah's eyes twinkled."Nothing you do will matter in the end. It will never be enough." A grin. "But why punish yourself for the evil of others? For that is the only true reason the darkness within your metaphorical heart exists. The only reason I exist."
"Why not let loose that darkness into the world? Share the suffering. The pain."
Skulduggery's grip on the dagger hilt loosened a little.
"Hm, yes. They deserve it, do they not?" Sarah continued in a whisper of deadly silk. "Deserve to die for everything that has happened to you? To Sarah?"
There was a pause, and then...
"Stop." Skulduggery resumed his grip on the hilt. "I will never let my darkness see the light of day again. That part of me is dead and buried."
Sarah chuckled a little psychotically. "Oh, my dear detective. We both know that is a lie."
And she sat up suddenly, sending Skulduggery and the dagger flying backwards. Before either of them could stand a loud 'bang' echoed throughout the street. Sarah looked down at her chest to see blood blossoming from a bullet hole there, the small, mashed up projectile just barely visible within the enclosed walls of flesh.
"The dragon egg!" A man demanded, and Sarah turned to see one of the previously unconscious Dragon Cultists standing several metres away, Skulduggery's smoking gun in his hand.
"Well." Sarah began, getting to her feet. "In my experience, shooting someone in the heart and then trying to get answers out of them generally does not work." She dug her fingers into the wound, working out the bullet with ease. "So I suppose, in some ways, it is fortunate that you chose to shoot me." Sarah flicked the bullet away and it clattered across the cobbles. Her eyes lit up with a cruel sort of pleasure and the Cultist backed away, too late realizing his mistake. "The unfortunate part is, you now get to die."
"No more, Sarah." Skulduggery called from behind her, standing up."There has been enough bloodshed already."
"Oh, but there can never be enough!" And she rose into the air, arms spread wide. Buildings started to shake and crumble, the floor started to crack and the Dragon Cultist fell to his knees, clutching at his chest. Sarah laughed loudly as the cloaked man's heart burst messily, decorating the snow-sprayed floor with blood.
"I will hurt you if I have to." Skulduggery told Sarah, walking to stand directly beneath her levitating form.
"Be my guest!" And Sarah turned her attention on a small alleyway behind them both. "But you had better hurry!" A group of older kids stood huddled there, watching the whole thing with wide eyes. Perhaps they had sneaked back to town without the knowledge of their parents, curious, as all children are.
"Don't, Sarah." Skulduggery warned, a slither of concern betrayed in his voice.
But she didn't listen.
Fingers flexing several of the buildings swayed dangerously and then toppled, broken glass raining down from above. The children screamed and tried to get away. One of them was crushed by a large chunk of falling debris while another was slashed to ribbons by the glass. Of the two remaining, one fell screaming into the void below as the floor broke apart and the other made a jump for it, just about managing to grab onto a nearby ledge. Sobbing loudly, she scrambled desperately for the next handhold. Skulduggery dashed over and reached down into the gap.
"Take my hand!" He yelled, and the girl made a grab for his bony, gloved digits.
"Oh, thank god!" She sobbed as her own hand found Skulduggery's and he started to pull her up. This relief was short-lived, however, when Sarah decided to end what she had started. Now sitting on the cobbles above the girl suddenly went rigid, her eyes wide.
"No, Sarah! Just let this one live!" Skulduggery pleaded, throwing himself in front of the girl as if it would shield her from Sarah's magic. But Sarah only laughed, her eyes glowing a brilliant scarlet. The girl screamed and then suddenly went silent. Skulduggery turned to see her lying on the floor, motionless. There had been no heart explosion this time, but her eyes were wide and glassy, little trickles of blood flowing from her nose, mouth and ears.
"Ooh, I can practically feel the anger radiating from you!" Sarah purred, a smirk curling her lips. "How delicious!"
Very slowly Skulduggery turned back to face her, palms out at his sides. Using the air around him he launched himself at Sarah, fist drawn back and ready to strike. A twitch of Sarah's eye, her smirk widening into a grin, one hand raised above her head. Skulduggery's fist collided with the side of her cheek, there was a blinding flash of light and then everything went dark.
The next thing Skulduggery knew he was lying in the snow next to a large, smoking crater in the ground. Broken and crumbling building remains were balanced precariously on the edge and the large mountain that stood at the head of it was split neatly down the middle.
This was all that remained of Drakon Kryl'ya.
Groaning and pushing himself into a sitting position, Skulduggery peered over the lip of the crater. At the very centre, Sarah was reaching down to pick up something that looked like a book. She slipped it into the satchel on her shoulder and then turned to face Skulduggery.
"You admit the destruction of this town, the murder of those children and Dragon Cultists, of Cal Guppie was all my own doing." Her voice was quiet, but Skulduggery could hear her quite clearly. "And yet you will never be able to look at your Sarah the same way again. She will feel the coldness coming from you and not understand why." Grinning cruelly, she gave a bow. "That, Mr. Pleasant, is the gift I leave to you." And, still grinning, she collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
For a long time Skulduggery simply sat and stared at the middle of the crater, where an unconscious Sarah now lay, her last words echoing around inside his skull.
Sarah awoke to the cosiness of her own bed. For some unknown reason her cheek felt a little sore, as did her stomach and chest. "Ugh." She groaned, massaging her temples. "I didn't let those Russians get me into a drinking contest, did I?"
"I'm afraid not." Someone spoke from beside her, and Sarah turned to see Skulduggery sitting in a chair beside her bed.
"Oh, hey. I didn't notice you there." She hummed.
"Obviously." Skulduggery replied, but there was no humour in his voice.
"What's up with you, Mister Grumpy?" Sarah raised an eyebrow.
Skulduggery hesitated. "...Nothing." He realized then just how true the words Sarah's darker half had spoken were. He couldn't help but feel resentment towards her, despite the obliviousness she so clearly experienced.
"Whatever you say." Sarah shrugged, eye-balling a packet of cigarettes on her desk and reaching out to grab it. She stopped, however, just before she could touch it. "You know, all of a sudden I don't really feel like smoking any more." A pause. "...Man, that's depressing."
"Just look on the bright side." Skulduggery said cheerfully, trying not to sound so obviously cold. "At least you won't get cancer now."
"Ha ha."
As Sarah took a shower, Skulduggery remained seated in the bedroom, staring at the floor.
He thought about Sarah's reluctance to smoke and its possible connection to subconscious guilt. Cal had been allergic to cigarette smoke, due to his asthma, and now he, along with a handful of other people, lay dead in the Russian mountains, nothing more than so much dust mixed in with the snow surrounding what used to be Drakon Kryl'ya. But Sarah must never know, lest it give her darker half some mental purchase.
"Deep in thought, Skulduggery?" Sarah smirked, returning from the shower with a towel wrapped around her. Skulduggery looked up but didn't answer. "So." She continued, seating herself on the edge of the bed. "Are you going to tell me what happened in Russia? The last thing I remember was Arcaius and his funky were-dragon form." A pause. "...He didn't beat me up that badly, did he? I mean, I do feel a little sore, but..." Still no answer from Skulduggery."What is it?" Sarah frowned. "I didn't-" Realization suddenly dawned. "I flipped out again, didn't I?"
Finally Skulduggery spoke. "No no, nothing like that. You were right the first time." He tilted his head to the side. "Arcaius turned out to be far more formidable than either of us expected."
"Oh, that's a relief." Sarah sighed. "But I'm still pretty pissed off."
"Understandably."
"So, did you recover the dragon egg?"
"Yes. It is locked safely away in the Sanctuary."
Sarah frowned. "Can't say that I approve, but it's better than the alternative, I suppose."
A smile suddenly lit up her face. "I'm sorry for kicking you in the head, by the way. But I see that Kenspeckle has already dealt with it."
Skulduggery tapped his hollow skull, which no longer had a fracture. "Good as new."
"Huh. I'm surprised you aren't more annoyed."
"Me too, actually."
Sarah snorted. "Well, why don't you go downstairs and watch T.V or something? I'll get dressed and come down in a minute." Skulduggery got up and left without a word, Sarah retaining her smile until the bedroom door clicked shut behind him."Shit." She swore, eyes screwed shut. Something was wrong, as made quite clear by Skulduggery's strange behaviour but, Sarah had to admit, his underestimation of her intelligence certainly came in handy at times. Throwing herself backwards to lie flat on the bed, she spread her arms wide.
"Now. Let's piece everything together." She opened her eyes again. "Firstly there is Skulduggery, who seems strangely cold all of a sudden. He's reluctant to talk about Russia, and what he did tell me... I'm just not buying it."
"Next are the cigarettes. Why all of a sudden would I want to stop smoking?"Sarah tapped her chin thoughtfully, trying to piece everything together. And then she noticed the strange indent in her bed canopy. Eyebrow raised, she leapt to her feet and poked at it. Something spherical rolled along the material and then dropped heavily onto the carpeted floor below. Gleaming a brilliant white the dragon egg sat nestled in the plush carpet strands, black veins pulsing. "Oh." Was all Sarah said, the pieces of the puzzle fitting together in her brilliant mind.
Finally Sarah emerged and Skulduggery looked up. "I never will understand how women take so much time to get dressed."
"How do you know that's all I was doing?" Sarah purred, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"That was inappropriate, Sarah."
"What can I say?" She shrugged, grinning. "I'm an inappropriate person."
"Indeed you are." Skulduggery agreed as she took a seat next to him on the sofa.
"So, how's Cal?"
"Fine. At home. Definitely not coming on another case with me."
"You're right. He's not."
"I'm sorry?"
"You can stop lying now, Skulduggery. I know. Perhaps not everything, but enough."
Skulduggery stared at her for a moment. "Why is it you have the uncanny ability to do that?"
Smiling sadly, Sarah crossed her legs. "Kenspeckle lied to me, didn't he? I always suspected as much, but I didn't want to believe it."
"Yes." Skulduggery confirmed. "He also told me not to underestimate you. It probably would have been a good idea to listen."
"Probably." Sarah sighed deeply. "You hate me, I can tell. But I want you to know that I'm sorry, even if it makes no difference."
"I don't hate you."
"And here I thought you were going to stop lying."
Skulduggery stared at her. "I don't hate you. It's her that I have an issue with."
"Ah yes. My alter-ego." Sarah snorted. "It sounds kinda funny when you say it like that."
She turned to stare out of the window. "You don't have to stay, Skulduggery. In fact, you never have to visit again. Being around me is quite clearly painful, and I don't want to put you through that."
"Sarah-"
"It's fine. Go." And she exited the living room, leaving Skulduggery to stare after her, unsure of what to think.
–
"Here." Sarah said, handing the book on Dragonlore over to Maria.
They were currently sat in Miss. Scribe's living room, which was more than a little overrun by books. There was hardly a space that wasn't taken up by stacks of precariously balanced volumes and tomes. "Oh, thank you so very, very much!" Maria exclaimed, hugging the ancient book to her chest.
"And you can have this back, too. I don't seem to want it any more but I'm pretty sure I can guess why." Sarah yanked the Familiar Bracelet a little harshly from her wrist and held it out to Maria.
The bookworm blinked and hesitantly reached out to take the small, silver object.
"But what about your payment..?" She asked slowly, staring wide-eyed at Sarah.
Sarah shook her head. "Forget about it. I made myself a copy of your book and that is more than enough."
"I can't allow that!" Maria squeaked. "You retrieved this book all the way from Russia, and the heart of a Dragon Cult lair no less! I simply will not accept no for an answer!"
Chuckling, Sarah reclined in her chair. "Fine, fine. Have it your way."
Smiling a little frantically, Maria carefully placed her book on the table. "Now! What would you like?" She gestured around the room. "There must be something that catches your eye."
Smiling, Sarah cast her eyes about the cluttered space. Most of the books she had her own copies of, so instead she started scanning the shelves. Nothing of particular interest there either. And then she spotted the large mirror above the fireplace with a chunky, gilded frame. Maria caught her looking at it and sat forward a little. "Oh, you don't want that old thing!" She laughed, waving a dismissive hand. "It used to belong to my great-grandfather, who explained its magical properties to me at a very young age; if you were to look at it, another figure would appear right alongside you. Your darkness, supposedly. What you would have become had you taken a less savoury path."
Hardly paying attention to Maria, Sarah slowly rose from her chair and walked over to the fireplace, staring up at the mirror. She could see the bespectacled woman reflected in it, what looked like her twin standing a few paces away, no glasses on her face and a somewhat unsettling smile parting her lips. Sarah turned back to look but only Maria was there, sitting alone in her chair. But that wasn't the most intriguing part. Once again facing the mirror she could see, right next to her shoulder, a tall woman with chalk-white skin and long ebony hair. Her crimson eyes had a cruel glint to them and she smiled wickedly at Sarah.
"You." Sarah said.
"Me." The woman in the mirror agreed, nodding, her smile widening. "This mirror is quite a novelty, is it not?" She gestured to the frame all around her. "It shows and allows a person to communicate with the darkness within them."
Sarah stared at her own reflection and the one beside it for almost a whole minute.
Eventually she turned back to face Maria. "I would like this mirror." She declared.
"Oh. But, um, it's really not worth anyth-"
"I would like it all the same."
Maria looked a little startled, but soon composed herself with a push of the glasses.
"Right. Of course. I'll help you carry it outside, shall I?" And she shuffled off to find a coat and some shoes.
Sarah turned back to face the mirror and her evil counterpart. "You and I have some serious talking to do." She received a sharp-toothed grin in return.