“See? You understand. And so here you are, with good news. Congratulations, by the way, on taking down Ferrente Rhadaman without alerting one single member of the public. Scrutinous and Random have been working overtime to cover up some very sloppy displays. I’m amazed we’re not splashed all over the news. Did Rhadaman have any information on the remaining renegade sorcerers?”
“He didn’t have specifics, but he did say they’re grouping together.”
“Because there is safety in numbers?”
Skulduggery shook his head. “He said someone has been in contact with them. Sounds like a refuge is being offered.”
“I don’t like the sound of that. Do you mean another Sanctuary?”
“I have no more information.”
China sat back, and said nothing for a few moments. “If it’s another Sanctuary offering them asylum, we have to find out which one it is. Since the War of the Sanctuaries, international relations are … precarious. The last thing we need is one of them going rogue and upsetting everyone else.”
The door opened, and Tipstaff walked in. He whispered in China’s ear, and she nodded. When he left, she glanced at Skulduggery and Stephanie.
“Bear with me one minute,” she said.
A man walked in. Tall and lean, unshaven, with dark hair that needed a cut and faded jeans that needed a wash. He exuded an air of menace that was as natural to him as breathing.
“Mr Foe,” said China. “I was beginning to wonder if you would ever get here.”
Vincent Foe looked at them all warily. “Apologies, Grand Mage. I was working on my bike.”
“Well,” said China, smiling, “if your motorcycle has broken down the next time I call for you, I expect you to catch the next available bus.”
Foe’s lip curled at the thought.
China continued. “You would do well to remember that, on a whim, I could have the Cleavers round you up and throw you in a cell and nobody, and I do mean nobody, would raise a single objection.”
Foe brushed the hair out of his eyes. “That kind of strikes me as a potential abuse of power.”
China’s smile deepened. “As I always say, what’s the point of power if you can’t abuse it? You owe me, Mr Foe, and until your debt is paid, you are mine. Do you understand?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry?”
Foe cleared his throat. “Yes. I understand. And how, I wonder, will I know when the debt has been paid?”
“Oh, I’ll be sure to tell you.”
Foe smiled thinly, then looked over at Skulduggery and Stephanie. “You’re OK with this, are you? This is how tyrants are created.”
“What do you care?” Stephanie asked. “You’re a nihilist.”
He shrugged. “Just pointing it out.”
“Mr Foe,” said China, “I’m not done abusing my power.”
Foe gave a little bow. “Once again, my apologies. What enemy is in your sights, may I ask?”
“An old one,” said China. “Eliza Scorn has her Church of the Faceless up and running. I’ve watched her take it over, gather support, build it up, and I’ve waited for the perfect moment to tear it all down. I want to do it properly – not just here in Ireland, but around the world. So I need access to every little secret she has.”
“You want us to break in somewhere, steal her files?”
“I said I wanted this done properly. Above board. No breaking, no stealing. I need a reason to confiscate every last scrap of paper that woman has.”
“So?” Foe asked.
“She wants you to join the Church,” Skulduggery said.
Foe frowned. “But we don’t worship the Faceless Ones.”
“That doesn’t matter,” said China. “One of the rules that were set down when the Church was given official status was that no one with a criminal background could be a member.”
“Ah,” said Foe. “And me and my little gang are all ex-cons.”
“Precisely. You join, we swoop. Eliza loses it all.”
“And then we’re square?”
China laughed. “Mr Foe, you tried to kill me. We are a long way from being square. Leave.”
Foe hesitated, then nodded and walked out.
When he was gone, Skulduggery spoke. “It would be a mistake to trust that man.”
“Just as it would be a mistake for him to cross me,” China responded. “Now where were we? Oh, yes, congratulating you on taking Ferrente Rhadaman into custody. Very good work, both of you. Of course, it’s not the work you should have been doing. I assigned Dexter Vex and Saracen Rue to track down these renegades with the aid of the Monster Hunters.”
“And they’re doing very well,” said Skulduggery. “Out of the nineteen, we’ve taken down one, they’ve caught six, two more have burned out all by themselves, and various Sanctuaries around the world have dealt with a further four. Which leaves us with six renegades still at large.”
“And you’re wilfully missing the point,” said China. “Rounding up the renegades is hugely important, I accept this. But I assigned the two of you to the task of finding and stopping Darquesse. I’ve given you access to whatever resources you need to get this done, as it remains our number-one priority. If the renegades are not corralled, they will alert the world to our existence. But if Darquesse is not stopped, there will be no world to alert. So tell me, how are things progressing on that front?”
“As expected,” said Skulduggery.
“Really? We expected no progress?”
“Just because we have no results doesn’t mean we’ve made no progress. We’re looking for one person who could be literally anywhere in the world. At this early stage, it’s a process of elimination.”
“I see,” said China. “And where have you eliminated so far?”
Skulduggery looked around. “Here. Darquesse is not here, therefore this room can be eliminated from the list of places she could be. Unless she enters this room after we’ve gone, in which case, we’d be foolish to rule it out completely.”
China sighed. “So what you’re saying is that it’s impossible to track her down.”
“No, not at all. In fact, we have two ways of finding out where she is. The first is quite simple – we bring her to us.”
“And how do we do that?”
“She’s punishing Erskine Ravel for the murders of Anton and Ghastly. For twenty-three hours of every day, he’s subjected to unimaginable agony. If the doctors try to alleviate his suffering, the pain increases. If he grows somewhat tolerant, the pain increases. This link between them is something we can exploit. If we shunt Ravel into another reality, the link could break.”
“And how does this help us?”
“Once the link is severed, Darquesse will come looking for answers. When we bring Ravel back, he’ll be her first target. Naturally, we’ll have to be ready, because we’re only going to get one shot at luring her in.”
China pursed her lips. “Risky.”
“Oh, yes,” said Skulduggery. “Hugely risky. Possibly suicidal. But we should probably get started on finding a reality to shunt him into.”
China sighed. “Very well. And the second way?”