Skulduggery Pleasant: Raising Cain

Chapter 10 - Weapons neutralised

Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

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Chapter 10

Stephanie immediately sat on Bear's lap when she kicked off her shoes despite the other seats and the fact he had a cup of tea he was attempting to enjoy alone. He allowed her though and she rested her head against his shoulder. It was almost eight at night and she was waiting for whoever was cooking to serve as she was very hungry.

Also, she was a little embarrassed she had thought Tanith was so pretty, so she was happy to close her eyes and pretend it didn't happen. Something about Anton made it easy for her to rest. He was quiet, soothing, strong. They hadn't known each other long in real life, but he was exactly the way she had imagined in her childhood dreams. It made her feel closer to him than anyone else would have after only a few days.

"What did you find?" Bear asked her quietly. The others were somewhere else, probably plotting. She was grateful for that though. She wanted privacy.

She yawned and looked at her knees. "We spoke to an Echo stone and then went to China's and Crow and Panda looked at books to destroy the Sceptre's power source and I looked at magic."

He sipped his tea. "Anything luck?"

"Not yet," she said disappointedly. She hesitated for a moment and then decided to continue. "I made a friend," she admitted in a whisper, grasping a lock of her hair and beginning to braid it tightly. "She was pretty. She helped me with the magic."

She saw the smile tug at his lips. "And who was this pretty girl?"

"She wasn't a girl," she said, rolling her eyes to seem less nervous. "Her name is Tanith. She's English. And I think she's here to fight but I don't know who for, so we didn't speak much I guess. She didn't mind though; I think she knew what I was thinking the whole time. It was so embarrassing. I can never see her again."

He chuckled softly. "I'm sure it wasn't that bad. Maybe she'll be on our side and you can be friends."

"Maybe," she said uncertainly. She definitely didn't want to face those feelings again. "I think I'm going to know my name soon. I feel like it's right there, but I just haven't clicked the pieces together yet."

He nodded. "I hope you find it soon, and that it is as bold as you want. A name is always best if it fits the person not just as they are, but as far as they are willing to become. It has a lot of meaning, Stephanie. Don't pick it just on yourself now – think about the type of person you want to be."

She nodded, and they were called to dinner. She ran to the table and took her place before most of the others and was grateful Crow took his place too even though she hadn't said anything. She had enjoyed eating together the night before. They had several Turkish dishes that night, all of which she couldn't name but absolutely loved, courtesy of Wolf and Weasel.

When they finished they all got ready for bed and Stephanie let them talk in the living room about the Sceptre and book stuff and the Elders while she stayed upstairs. She used half the stone in a shallow bath to get rid of her bruises and then got a shower to get really clean. She was glad for it afterwards – she felt and looked a lot better without marred skin.