looks that way,” Oisin said, nodding. His image grew even fainter, and he held up a hand and gazed through it. “This is sort of unnerving.”
“The Sceptre has returned,” Skulduggery said.
Oisin looked up. “What?”
“It was uncovered recently, then hidden again. We need to know how to find it.”
“Oh my,” Oisin said. “If the wrong sort of person takes possession of the Sceptre…”
“It’ll be bad, we know. Oisin, how do we find it?”
The old man vanished for a moment, then flickered back into sight. “I don’t know, dear boy. Who hid it?”
“My uncle,” Stephanie said. “He realised it was too powerful for anyone to own.”
“A wise man, it seems. Of course, a truly wise man would return it to the place he found it. Failing that, somewhere similar.”
Skulduggery straightened. “Of course.”
A smile popped up on Oisin’s face. “Have I helped you?”
“You have. I know where it is. Thank you, Oisin.”
Oisin nodded proudly. “I knew I could do this. I knew I could answer questions and not talk too much. That’s what I told them, right before they called for a vote, I said, listen, I can—”
And he vanished and the Echo Stone stopped glowing.
Stephanie looked at Skulduggery. “Well?”
“Gordon followed the example of the Last of the Ancients, and buried the Sceptre deep within the earth. It’s in the caves.”
“What caves?”
“Beneath Gordon’s land is a network of caves and tunnels, stretching for miles in each direction. It’s a death trap, even for the most powerful sorcerer.”
“Why?”
“There are creatures in those caves who feed off magic. It would be the safest place to hide the Sceptre. I should have thought of it sooner.”
Beneath Gordon’s house, a world of magic and wonder Stephanie never knew was there. Bit by bit, she was seeing how close magic had been to her when she was growing up, if only she had known where to look. It was such a strange sensation – but what had Skulduggery told her when they were about to enter the Sanctuary? Better get used to that feeling.
Skulduggery closed his hand over the puzzle box and the top slid over, hiding the Echo Stone once again.
“Maybe Oisin has more information,” Stephanie said. “How long does it take to recharge the stone?”
“About a year.”
She blinked. “Ah. Well… OK then, that’s probably a little too long. Still, who knows what else he could help people with? I’m sure it’ll be invaluable to, you know, folks who are interested in history. Historians, like.”
“Actually, we can’t tell anyone we were here.”
“You could tell Ghastly. I’m sure he’d forgive the little trespass if you told him what we’d found.”
“Not really. See, this is his family’s chamber. It’s a sacred thing. Us being here is inexcusable.”
“What? You said this was just like a storage shed. You didn’t say anything about it being sacred.”
“Now you know why I have difficulty keeping friends.”
Skulduggery put the box back where he had found it. Stephanie was still staring at him.
“Is this disrespectful?” she asked. “Is this like dancing on someone’s grave?”
“A little worse then that,” he admitted. “It’s like digging up that grave, taking out the body, rifling through its pockets and then dancing on the whole thing. It’s a little more than disrespectful.”
“Then yes,” she said as he walked over, “I can see why you have difficulty keeping friends.”
Skulduggery waved his hand and every candle in the chamber flickered out. They were plunged into darkness. Stephanie opened the door and peeked out. The corridor was long and silent and empty. She stepped out and Skulduggery followed, closing the door behind them.
They crept along the corridor, up the stone steps and out of the wood and iron door. They moved quickly through the gallery. The corners were the worst, as they were always expecting a vampire to round them just as they approached. They were nearing the main hall when Skulduggery held up his hand.
Ahead of them, crouching in the middle of the corridor, was a vampire.
Stephanie stopped breathing. Its back was to them, so they moved backwards, careful not to make a sound. They were just turning when Stephanie saw something out of the corner of her eye. She clutched Skulduggery’s arm.
The other vampire was approaching from the opposite direction.
They sank behind a marble pillar, trapped. Across from them was an archway leading into another section of the gallery, but Stephanie was pretty sure that even if they made it through without being seen, they’d be cut off. Their only way out was back in the main hall, with the harness, but their chances of making it without being torn to pieces were getting slimmer with every moment. Skulduggery had his powers, and he had his gun, but she knew he didn’t hold out much hope that he’d be able to fend off one of those creatures, let alone two.
He turned to her, hand raised. One finger, pointing at her, then pointing at the ground. Stay. That finger, pointing at himself, then pointing at the arch. Go.
Stephanie’s eyes widened and she shook her head but now that finger was pressed to his mouth. If he’d had lips, she knew his finger would be on them. She didn’t want to, she didn’t want to agree to this, but she knew she had no choice.
Skulduggery took his gun from his jacket and passed it to her, and gave her a nod, and then immediately sprang up and lunged for the arch.
The vampire approaching from behind saw him and broke into a run. The vampire up ahead turned and sprang off its haunches, and Stephanie shrank back as it passed the pillar and took off through the archway, joining the hunt for the intruder.
The gun was surprisingly heavy in her hand as Stephanie crept out and started running for the main hall. Her footsteps echoed loudly in the dark corridors but she didn’t care – the only thing going through her mind was the fact that she needed to get out. She took each corner quickly, knowing the threat was behind her, and every time she took a corner she let herself glance back.
Empty corridor. Nothing coming for her. Not yet.
She was approaching the Main Hall. Just a few more turns and she’d be there. She tucked the gun into her coat – she’d need both hands to strap herself into the harness. She turned the next corner and skidded to a stop.
No. No, this couldn’t be right.
She looked up at the blank wall, her eyes wide. This couldn’t be right. This wall should not have been here.
She’d taken a wrong turn. She’d taken a wrong turn in this stupid gallery and now she didn’t know where she was. She was lost.
She turned away from the dead end, wanting to scream at herself in frustration. She hurried back the way she had come, glancing through every arch and doorway she passed, looking for something she recognised. Everything looked the same in the gloom. Why weren’t there any signs? Where were the signs?
There was an intersecting corridor up ahead. Could that be it? Stephanie tried remembering their trail from the hall to the iron door and mentally reversing it. Had they turned at an intersecting corridor? She cursed herself