His clothes were ragged and charred but his skin had been untouched by the fireball that had enveloped him at Gordon's house. She glimpsed his face as she was dragged through the yellow light of the Bentley's headlamps, a face that was twisted in anger and hatred, and then she was lifted and slammed on to the bonnet of the car that had hit them. His hands had her collar bunched, his knuckles digging into her throat.
"You will die," he hissed, "right here and now if you do not give me that damned key."
Her hands were on his, trying to break his grip. Her head felt light, blood pounding in her temples. "Please," she whispered, trying to breathe.
"You're going to make me look bad," the man growled. "My master is going to think I'm a fool if I can't get one stupid little key off one stupid little girl!"
The street was empty around them. Shop fronts and businesses, closed for the night. No one was going to hear her. No one was coming to help her. Where was Skulduggery?
The man lifted her off the bonnet and slammed her down again... Stephanie cried out in pain and the man leaned in, his right forearm pressed beneath her chin. "I'll snap your scrawny neck," he hissed.
"I don't know anything about a key!" Stephanie gasped.
"If you don't know anything you're no use to me and I'll kill you here."
She looked up at that horribly twisted face and just as her vision was starting to go blurry, a dark figure moved on her right. The next thing she saw was a boot in the mans face and his grip around her neck was gone. The figure punched his injured shoulder and he screamed. Stephanie rolled off the car and ran to the Bentley. Skulduggery was pounding at the door but it had buckled under the impact, trapping his leg.
"Go!" he shouted at her through the broken window. "Get away!"
Stephanie glanced back, saw the man start to run over and a hand grabbed her wrist. She snapped her head round and saw a person in a long hooded cloak. "Run!" said a feminine voice as they both ran away from the car. Stephanie slipped on the wet road but the woman pulled her arm to keep her on here feet, the man right behind them, clutching his injured shoulder.
He lunged at them and the woman let go of Stephanie's arm to avoid the streetlight. The woman jumped, caught the streetlight and spiralled around it aiming a kick to the mans face. Stephanie took off in the opposite direction, passing the two cars and running on. The street was too long, too wide, and there was no way they could loose him. They turned off into a narrow lane and sprinted into the shadows.
Stephanie heard him behind her, heard the footsteps that seemed to be moving much more quickly than the woman running slightly in front of her or her own. She didn't dare look back - she didn't want the fear that was lending her speed to suddenly sabotage her escape. It was too dark to make out anything ahead of her except for the woman, but even she was hard to focus on. She couldn't see one arm's length ahead. She could be about to run smack into a wall and she wouldn't -
Wall
Both girls twisted at the last moment, Stephanie got her hands up and hit the wall then pushed away, kicking off without losing too much momentum, continuing around the corner. The woman made a small jump and kikced the wall. The man couldn't see in the dark any better than Stephanie could and she heard him hit the wall and yell out a curse.
Up ahead was a break in the darkness. She saw a taxi pass. The man slipped and stumbled behind them - they were getting away. All they had to do was run up to the nearest person they could find and the man wouldn't dare follow them.
The two girls plunged out of the shadows and Stephanie screamed for help, but the taxi was gone and the street was empty. The streetlights tinted everything orange and stretched their shadows out before them. Then there was another shadow moving up behind them and Stephanie and the woman separated as the man barrelled past between them, narrowly missing them both.
The woman turned to Stephanie "Run for the canal and don't look back." Stephanie ran, aware that the man was once again behind her and gaining fast.
She felt fingers on her shoulder. The first touch was fleeting, but the second was a grip. His hand curled around her shoulder and tightened just as she reached the edge of the canal, and she managed to throw herself forward before he could drag her back. She heard a panicked shriek from behind and realised she had pulled him in after her. Then the freezing water enveloped them both.
The cold stunned her for a moment but Stephanie fought it and kicked out. She clutched at water and dragged it down to her sides, just like she had done countless times off the Haggard beach. Now she was moving up, up to where the lights were.
She broke the surface with a gasp and turned her head, saw the man struggling, flailing his arms in terror. For a moment she thought he couldn't swim, but it was more than that. The water was hurting him, working through him like acid, stripping pieces of him away. His cries became more guttural sounds and Stephanie watched as he came apart and was silent and most dead.
She turned from the bits of him that floated to her and ploughed through the water. Her hands and feet were already numb with cold, but she kept going until the bridge was far behind.
Shivering, Stephanie reached the edge of the canal and managed to haul herself out. Arms crossed over her chest, trainers squelching with every step and her hair plastered to her scalp, she hurried back to the Bentley.
When she got there, the Bentley was empty. Stephanie hung back, out of the light. A truck passed, slowing when it approached the crash. When the driver didn't see anyone, he drove on. Stephanie didn't move from her spot.
It was only now that she realised the woman had disappeared. Who was she? Had she known about the water?
A few minutes later, Skulduggery emerged from the narrow lane she'd been chased down. He was walking quickly, looking up and down the street as he returned to his car. Stephanie stepped out of the shadows.
"Hey," She said.
"Stephanie!" Skulduggery exclaimed, rushing over to her, "You're all right!"
"I went for a swim," she said trying to stop her teeth from chattering.
"What happened?" he asked. "Where are they?"
"Well he's here and there." Te light breeze was passing through her soaking garments. "The water kind of... took him apart."
Skulduggery nodded. "It happens."
He held out his hand and she felt herself drying and saw the water drifting off her, collecting as a mist in the air over her head. "You're not surprised?" She asked.
He moved the could away and released it a faint shower fell to the street. "Certain types of Adept magic don't come cheap. As we saw at Gordon's house, your attacker had made himself impervious to fire, and was probably very proud of himself for doing so. Unfortunately for him, the cost of that little spell was that large amount of water would be lethal. Every big spell has a hidden snag.
He clicked his fingers and conjured fire, and Stephanie started to feel warm again. "Neat trick," she said. "You'll have to teach me it some time."
"And what about the woman, where did she go?" Skulduggery asked.
"I've no idea, it was like one minute she was there and gone the next."
Skulduggery nodded.
Stephanie looked at him. "Do you know her?"
Skulduggery looked down, "I didn't see who it was properly."
With quite a bit of effort, Stephanie pulled open the car door. She wiped the broken glass from the street and got in, buckling the seat belt. Skulduggery went around the other side to his own broken window and climbed in behind the wheel. He twisted the key and the engine turned, complained and then came to life.
Her body was tired. Her mind was tired. Her limbs felt heavy and her eyes wanted to close. She dug her mobile phone out of her pocket, miraculously the canal water hadn't ruined it. She pressed a button and the time flashed up and she groaned then looked outside as the first light of the morning started to seep into the sky.
"What's wrong?" Skulduggery asked. "Are you hurt?"
"No," she said, "but I will be if I don't get back to Gordon's house. Mum will be picking me up soon."
"You don't look too happy."
"Well. I don't want to go back to that world. A boring old town with nosy neighbours and nasty aunts."
"You'd rather stay in a world where you get attacked twice in one night?"
"I know it sounds crazy, but yes. Things happen here."
"I'm going to see a friend later today, someone who might be able to help us out. You can come along if you want."
"Really?"
"I think you might have a real feel for this line of work."
Stephanie nodded and gave a little shrug, and when she spoke she fought hard to keep the sheer joy out of her voice. "And what about magic?"
"What about it?"
"Will you teach me?"
"You don't even know if you're capable of doing magic."
"How do I find out? Is there a test or something?"
"Yes, we cut off your head. If it grows back, you can do magic."
"You're being funny again, aren't you?"
"So glad you noticed."
"So will you teach me?"
"I'm not a teacher. I'm a detective. I already have a career."
"Oh, right. It's just, I'd really like to learn, and you know it all."
"Your flattery is subtle."
"But it's OK, if you don't want to teach me, that's OK. I suppose I could always ask China."
Skulduggery looked at her. "China won't teach you. She won't teach you because there is nothing that she does that is not for her own gain. You mightn't see it at first, you might think she's actually being nice to you, but you can never trust her."
"OK then."
"OK. So we're agreed?"
"We're agreed. No trusting China."
"Good. Glad we've got that sorted."
"So will you teach me magic?"
He sighed. "Dealing with you is going to be a trail, isn't it?"
"That's what my teachers at school say."
"This is going to be fun," Skulduggery said dryly. "I just know it."
Skulduggery dropped Stephanie off at Gordon's house, and half an hour later her mother's car splashed through huge puddles and Stephanie went outside to meet her. She managed to keep her mother's car attention off the house, lest she notice that the front door was merely leaning against the door frame.
"Good morning," her mother said as Stephanie got in the car. "Everything OK?"
Stephanie nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine."
"You're looking a bit bedraggled."
"Oh, thanks Mum."
Her mother laughed as they drove back towards the gate. "Sorry. So tell me, how was your night?"
Stephanie hesitated, then shrugged. "Uneventful."
