Skulduggery Pleasant_ Death Bringer - Derek Landy [45]
“I care too much, that’s always been my problem. Well, if you’re absolutely positive you don’t need company, and you don’t need me to tell you a story before you go to sleep…”
“Actually,” she said, “maybe a small one.”
“Oh?”
“Having little Alice around got me thinking. You never did tell me why you abandoned your family crest.”
His head tilted. “Did I not? Are you sure? I’m sure I mentioned it. Possibly when we were fighting something huge and horrible. I think I shouted it to you, but you may have been too busy being thrown against a wall. Still, the important thing is that I told you, so let’s cherish that moment and move on.”
“Or you could just tell me again.”
“Oh, Valkyrie, you know how much I hate repeating myself.”
“Yet you’ve told me the story of how you saved that orphanage, like, a hundred times.”
“That’s because it’s an exciting story, with twists and turns, and it paints me in an impressive light.”
“So the story of why you abandoned your family crest paints you in a negative light?”
“Essentially.”
“Hey, if you really don’t want to tell me, that’s OK, I understand.”
“Excellent.” He walked towards the door.
She frowned. “So?”
He stopped. “So what?”
“So tell me.”
“You… said you understood…”
“Don’t you know anything? That was me, lying. Whenever someone says you don’t have to tell them, you have to tell them. That’s a rule. It’s how communication works.”
“It seems to be a flawed system.”
“Tell me why you abandoned your crest, and I’ll tell you one of my secrets.”
“You have no secrets.”
“I have loads.”
“You have none. Let’s see, your given name is Stephanie Edgley. Your true name is Darquesse, and apparently you’re destined to extinguish all life on the planet. Oh, and you’re seeing a vampire behind your boyfriend’s back.”
Valkyrie’s eyes widened. “You… you know about that, then?”
“Of course I do.”
“You’re not mad?”
“I think it’s a huge mistake that will end extraordinarily badly – but if that’s the only way you’ll learn, so be it.”
“I can’t believe you’re not mad.”
“I comfort myself with the thought that I may have to kill Caelan at some stage.”
“Oh. Then just tell me why you abandoned the crest, for God’s sake. If ever I have a big secret from this moment on that I wouldn’t normally tell you, I’ll tell you. Deal?”
Skulduggery sighed, walked over to the remains of the sofa and sat on the arm. “I abandoned my family crest because I hadn’t lived up to the high standards as set by my parents and my brothers and sisters.”
“You had brothers and sisters?”
“Of course.”
“What were their names?”
“What does it matter? They’re all dead now. I’m the only one left, the only one to carry that crest down through the years. They were good, honourable, decent people. When they were alive, the crest meant something.”
“But you’re good and honourable and decent too.”
He took off his hat, brushed imaginary lint from the brim. “Unfortunately, in war, you let some of those qualities slip. When I feel I have regained the right to reclaim that crest, I’ll reclaim it.”
“I don’t know, I think you overreact.”
“Do you, now?”
“I know people do terrible things in war, but I can’t imagine you doing something so bad that it changes your opinion on who you are. You’re being too hard on yourself.”
“That’s always been a flaw of mine.”
“Were you the oldest?”
“Second oldest. I had an older brother.”
“Wow… the great Skulduggery Pleasant had a big brother. What was he like?”
Skulduggery’s chin tilted to the right. “He was bigger than me, stronger than me, he liked to think he was smarter than me. He protected us, looked out for us. He was everything an older sibling should be. He was everything that you’re going to be to your sister.”
“I hope so. It’s weird, isn’t it? You meet someone and you become friends and you grow to love them, and that’s the way it works. That’s how things go. But then a baby is born, and you don’t have that long period of getting to know them, of figuring out if you like them as a person… you just love them. Like, it’s instant. You hold the baby in your arms and you