Chapter 7: R.L Stine

Holding the phone to his ear, Skulduggery spoke, his voice smooth as velvet.

"Is this Mr. Shivers I'm speaking to?" Skulduggery asked.

Stine coughed. "Yes," he replied.

"May I speak to R.L Stine? It's urgent."

"I'm afraid Stine is busy currently, he cannot take any calls."

"I understand, but this matter I'm calling about is serious!" Skulduggery insisted. There was a certain edge to his voice.

Stine looked up, towards Hannah, then back down at the phone in his hand. He sighed. "I'll see if he's available." He put down the phone, making busy noises and rustling sounds to make it seem professional.

Hannah watched him with an odd expression. They faced each other, Stine shrugged as he picked up the phone again, adjusting his glasses.

"Hello, this is R.L Stine, of Goosebumps." He told him. "What can I assist you with, I'm a busy man."

"Thank you for your time, sir." Skulduggery replied. "I assume Shivers told you my name?"

"Yes, Detective Pleasant was it?"

"Exactly. I'm calling you on behalf of a package that was sent to my place of work. Tell me, are you familiar with a man named Gordon Edgley?"

Stine pushed his glasses up on his nose, trying to see if the name rang any bells. "Edgley," Stine said aloud. "The name sounds familiar. What books did he write?"

"Caterpillars, And The Darkness Rained Upon Them, Theatre of the Tormented among others. He was an Irish author."

Stine rubbed his chin, looking at his bookshelf. One of Gordon's books was on the shelf; Caterpillars. He took the book in his hands. Now he remembered. A book about mutant, flesh-eating caterpillars. Delightful.

"Yes," Stine finally said. "I have one of his books. Why ask if I'm familiar with him?"

"The package I was talking about was sent to Gordon's address. However, the date on the package being sent out was mere days after Gordon's death."

Stine froze. Gordon Edgley, dead? "What happened?"

"Gordon was murdered in his estate a little over six years ago." Skulduggery continued.

Stine was shocked to say the least. A fellow author like himself, murdered in his own home. He began remembering what happened. "It's coming back to me now. I had discussed some books with Gordon, I sent him one of my books to give him an idea or two."

"And the book you happened to send him was,"

"Night of the Living Dummy" they said in unison.

"I don't know what possessed me to send Gordon that book in particular," Stine thought to himself. "So, if it didn't get sent to Gordon, where did it end up?"

"It was first sent to the Dublin Sanctuary, but that got blown up-"

"I'm sorry, blown up?!"

"It's a long story. Anyway, the package got sent to the Roarhaven Sanctuary instead."

"Well, so long as you didn't read his spell-"

"I read the spell..." Skulduggery said.

Deathly silence filled the room. Stine froze.

"You did WHAT?!" he cried.

"Told you he'd be mad," came a young female voice.

"Valkyrie!" Skulduggery hissed, his voice taking over.

"Who was that?"

"My partner, Valkyrie Cain."

Stine massaged his temples. "Sorry, I'm still on the fact you read Slappy's spell!" He took a deep breath. "Has he caused any damage? Gotten any slaves?"

"No thankfully," Skulduggery replied.

"How?!" Stine asked.

"Copper bracelets with magical sigils carved into them, very effective."

Stine was confused. "Sigils?"

"I know a lady that can specialises in magic."

"I thought you were a detective."

"I am." Skulduggery replied. "A detective that happens to be well-versed in magic."

Stine sat down in his chair. "This is insane!" he thought to himself. "Okay, so you called me because Slappy wound up in your hands. I assume you rang me to try and get him back in his book?"

"Precisely."

"Where's the manuscript? Was is it in the case?"

"Yes, we left it with the person that carved the sigils into the bracelets. It's in her care."

"So I assume you want me to come to you. Ireland is where you're located, right?"

"Yes, my partner and I are located in Ireland and so is Slappy."

"I see," Stine said, taking the laptop and opening it to book airplane tickets. "I'm being given two airports to choose from, Cork and Dublin. Which should I go for?"

"Dublin Airport," Skulduggery told him. "Gordon's estate is in Haggard which is near Dublin."

Stine nodded as he booked his ticket, selecting Dublin Airport. He looked at Hannah, who was watching the conversation. "You don't mind me bringing my daughter, do you?"

Skulduggery remained silent. He eventually spoke. "Yes, you can bring her."

Smiling, Stine booked tickets for both him and Hannah. "So, what happens when we get to the airport?"

"I'll have someone to pick you up at the airport," Skulduggery told him. "I'll text you the person's name, and appearance once you're on the plane."

"Great," Stine replied.

"Well, we'll see you soon, Shivers."

Stine stopped, a soft laugh coming from Skulduggery's end. "Come now, Stine, Shivers is simply your alias. Slappy told me."

"Of course Slappy would divulge that info," Stine muttered to himself.

"Anyway, I'll see you soon Stine." Skulduggery replied, then hung up.

Putting the phone in his pocket, he turned to Hannah. "Get your passport, and a suitcase, we're going on a trip to Ireland."

Author note:

Phew, another chapter down. Not gonna lie, I wrote this chapter while watching the movie. Please feel free to let me know if I wrote Stine correctly. I initially was going to have just Stine travel, but I'm throwing in Hannah for good measure.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Slappy: Papa is on his way to Ireland, things are getting interesting. Remember readers; reviews are welcomed-

Stine: But no flames please.

Slappy: *glares* That's MY line.