Skulduggery Pleasant: Raising Cain

Chapter 116 - Worthless

Chapter 116

To say it was bad was a lie.

Not a little, insignificant thing, or a mediocre event you'd feel guilty about but one day be able to mention with a smile and maybe get a few teasing remarks about.

This was so bad that she'd run to the bathroom in fear of the consequences and hadn't even been able to pull her trousers down before she wet herself. She hadn't wet herself since she was three. She'd felt as if she might when she was stupid and didn't go before a car trip as a little girl, and she felt like it when she was being tickled, or perhaps trampolining. But out of fear? Never. She'd been mortified. Luckily, Fletcher had collected her bag from Valkyrie's room so she could change out of the mud and dust and other muck so she wouldn't look so beaten up before she'd had to admit to it, so no one knew, but it was in her head.

Not as much as how awful she felt.

Before Tanith, Dexter, Saracen and Erskine arrived at Kenspeckle's where Fletcher had taken her, Solomon had been whisked away to be treated, at which point Nadia had been crying into Fletcher, and then when she had stopped he had kindly told her the others were on their way and she had realised that they would know what she did without permission and that they might just be mad that she risked her life and Solomon's in getting him back. She had already known that, had worked that out before she'd gotten out of Skulduggery's car – but she'd been focused and hadn't thought of the real consequences. In a way, she'd done well because that focus was what Valkyrie spoke about feeling, and she was a rescuing expert to Nadia.

But she wasn't Valkyrie, and she'd been so scared she had run to the loo and peed herself. Then was the joint panic of peeing herself and everyone on their way, then she'd changed, then she double checked the locks on the bathroom door and sat on the floor after using the wet room shower to clean herself and the floor as well as she could without any cleaners available.

She knew exactly when they arrived because she could hear the loud voices and the front door slamming loudly against the wall.

With the two assistants and Kenspeckle busy with Solomon, she had thought they'd find her immediately. Her ribcage shook violently from shivering with fear and she ground her teeth so no one would hear her crying, but she was saved once more by Fletcher when she heard him shout for the angry voices, she couldn't quite discern what each person said, to stop. They had, but only for a moment. She listened through her crying.

"Renn, did you find them?" A man snapped. She had heard that voice once before at the Requiem Ball. That was Elder Deuce. "Out with it!"

"Yeah, I found them," Fletcher snapped back irritably. "Kenspeckle and the others took Solomon to the back for surgery, he's already in there. He looked like hell, but it was him."

"Are you sure?" Elder Deuce asked immediately, and she could hear someone was pacing. The bathroom door was in the waiting area, where they were, so she could hear them well now. Her sobs lessened to silent tears. She was so exhausted.

"Yes," Fletcher replied, a wariness in his voice. "Nadia was with him. She had him in mid-air, carrying him out. A giant freak of a spider was about to jump on her, but I was able to get to her first."

There was a moment of silence. "Good lad, then," Elder Deuce said, and she could hear him pat Fletcher. "But we have to know. Where's the girl?"

Nadia felt her heart begin to race. 'Where's the girl?' That – that sounded like a threat, something sad and distressing like bad, bad news. Unable to help it, her nails began cutting into her arms over the unhealed, already sore scratches she'd been hiding these last few days.