get out without anyone noticing? Do we have a plan if we have to face him?”
“Oh,” Ghastly said, considering it. “No, not really.”
“I’m going to try and cut him with my sword,” Tanith said helpfully.
“Right,” Stephanie said. “Excellent. What about guards? Do you think they’ll be expecting us?”
“Serpine is used to the Elders taking forever to make their calm, thought-out decisions,” Tanith said. “So he won’t be expecting anything as amazingly rash and reckless as this.”
Ghastly nodded. “That’ll teach him to underestimate stupid people.”
“All right then,” Stephanie said. “Just wanted to make sure we’d thought of everything. So let’s go.”
Without a word, the Cleavers ran forward and jumped, legs tucked beneath them, and cleared the top of the wall and disappeared from view.
“Show-offs,” Ghastly muttered, sweeping both hands down by his sides. A gust of wind lifted him and swung him up towards the wall. He grabbed on and pulled himself to the top. Tanith turned to Stephanie.
“Want a boost?”
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
Tanith crouched, interlocked her fingers and Stephanie put one foot in her hands. On the count of three, Stephanie shot upwards. Tanith was strong, stronger than she looked, because Stephanie had no trouble catching the top of the wall. Ghastly helped her up, then dropped down the other side and turned to wait for her. She let herself hang down then released her grip, and her boots crunched on to dried leaves and brittle twigs. A moment later Tanith landed beside her.
The woodland was thick, and as they moved deeper into it, it became darker. The evening sun had difficulty filtering through the tall trees and it was cold enough to make Stephanie grateful for her coat. The Cleavers didn’t seem to make a sound as they walked. The woodland was quiet, quieter than it had any right to be. No birds sang. Nothing rustled in the undergrowth. It was an eerie sensation.
They reached the tree line at the rear of the castle and ducked down. A small army of Hollow Men patrolled the grounds.
“Oh, joy,” Ghastly said grimly. “How are we going to get by them?”
“We need a diversion,” Tanith said.
“Any suggestions?” Tanith didn’t answer, but after a moment she looked at the Cleavers. Ghastly understood immediately.
“But there are too many,” he protested.
Tanith’s tone was flat, but firm. “We don’t have a choice.”
The Cleavers tilted their heads towards her, and after a moment they nodded. They stole back among the trees and were gone. Stephanie waited with Tanith and Ghastly.
“They won’t be able to hold them off for long,” Ghastly said.
“Long enough for us to sneak in,” Tanith said.
“That’s not what I meant. You’ve just sent them to their deaths.”
She didn’t look at him. “They’ll do their jobs. We’ll do ours. Do you want your friend back or not?” Ghastly didn’t answer.
“Look,” Stephanie said.
The Hollow Men were moving fast, moving out of their field of vision.
“Let’s go,” Tanith said.
They broke from the trees, sprinting across the wide-open space towards the castle. Stephanie glanced to her right as she ran, saw the Cleavers standing back to back in the distance as the Hollow Men closed in.
They reached the castle. Tanith placed her hand flat on the lock and twisted her wrist. Stephanie heard the lock break within the door and Tanith pushed it open slowly. They crept in, closing the door behind them.
They kept to the outer corridors, staying away from the cold heart of the castle. They found a stairway leading down and Tanith went first, sword in her right hand, scabbard in her left. Stephanie followed a few paces behind, and Ghastly came last.
They reached the basement, although Stephanie thought that dungeon would probably be more accurate. Tanith held up her hand and they stopped and watched a Hollow Man clump ahead of them and pass out of sight.
They made their way forward. Tanith approached the first heavy iron door, and put her ear against it. After a moment, she pushed it open. The hinges groaned in protest, but the room was empty.
Ghastly went to the next door, listened, and opened it. Again, it was empty.
Tanith glanced at Ghastly and they shared a look, and Stephanie knew what it was about.
“We should split up,” Stephanie whispered.
“No,” said Tanith.
“No way,” said Ghastly.
“If we waste time, the Hollow Men will be back outside the door and we won’t be able to get away.”
“Then you come with me,” Ghastly whispered.
Stephanie shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I’ll listen at the doors. If I hear anything, I’ll get you. If I meet a bad guy, you can be pretty sure you’ll know about it. We don’t have a choice.”
They looked at her but didn’t argue. Tanith went to the next door, Ghastly hurried down the length of the corridor and Stephanie turned back and rounded the corner. She came to another row of iron doors and listened intently at each one. She followed the maze of corridors wherever they took her. She found herself breathing through her mouth and tasted the foulness of the air on the back of her throat. There were puddles here, stagnant pools of water on the uneven stone floor. The doors were no longer made of iron, but of rotting wood. The flickering of the torches in the brackets made shadows dance on the walls.
She saw someone moving ahead and was about to duck back when she recognised Ghastly. He waved to her and she waved back, and started checking the doors closest to her. They were working their way towards each other when Stephanie came to a door and heard a low whistling. She frowned. Could Skulduggery whistle? He could talk without lips or breath, so she couldn’t see a reason why he wouldn’t be able to whistle. She didn’t recognise the tune, however. She motioned to Ghastly and he crept forward. After listening for a moment, he nodded.
“That’s ‘The Girl From Ipanema’,” he whispered. “That’s him.”
He held up three fingers, then two, then one and they burst into the room. Skulduggery looked up and stopped whistling. “Oh, hello,” he said. “I know where the key to the caves is.”
Stephanie closed the door as Ghastly hurried around behind him, stooping to examine the shackles.
“Quality workmanship,” he said.
“I thought you’d appreciate it. There’s a binding spell woven into the metal.”
“Nice. It’ll take me a moment.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Are you OK?” Stephanie asked.
“I’ve been treated well,” he answered with a nod. “Apart from all the torture. It’s given me time to think, actually. I know where the key is.”
“So you said.”
Ghastly stood and the shackles fell. Skulduggery got to his feet. “Is Meritorious here?” he asked.
“He’s telling the other Elders what’s going on,” Ghastly said.
“Ah,” Skulduggery said. “So you’re doing this on your own?”
“Tanith Low is here, but basically, yes.”