“Professor, I’m not going to waste our time. I’m not going to tell you that I was framed and imprisoned for a crime I didn’t commit. I’m not going to tell you how I watched my youth slip away from me while I was in that cell. I’m not going to tell you about the anger or the need to see my enemies suffer. I’m not going to tell you any of that.”

“Really?” Grouse asked. “Because it sounds like you just did.”

“You’d die before you’d help me, Professor. I know that full well. But you have the skills, the talent and the knowledge I need, and the only thing that’s stopping you from doing what I ask…is you.”

“And so your plan is…?”

“It’s quite simple. If you won’t change you mind, I’m going to change it for you.”

28 THE MIDNIGHT HOTEL

28
THE MIDNIGHT HOTEL

Guild narrowed his eyes at their approach. “I’m

starting to regret my decision,” he said. “A car chase? In broad daylight? Maybe Marr was right. Maybe you should all be locked up.”

“Maybe you should give Detective Marr something worthwhile to do,” Skulduggery said. “Right now Ghastly is checking out every castle within a two-hour drive of here. I’m sure he’d appreciate the help.”

“Oh, yes, because a source you will not divulge told you that Scarab’s base is probably a castle. That’s all you have to go on?”

“We work with what we have, Thurid.”

“Well, do you have anything else?”

“We have motive,” Valkyrie said. “Scarab wants revenge on the people who framed him.”

Guild looked at her. “What are you talking about?” he said at last.

“You guys killed this Esryn Vanguard bloke,” Fletcher told him. “You didn’t want him weakening your side or stopping the war or whatever it was you were scared he was going to do.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

Valkyrie held his gaze. “You had one of your Exigency Mages assassinate Vanguard, and then you framed Scarab for it and locked him away without a proper trial.”

Guild snarled at Skulduggery. “You’re supposed to be investigating Scarab, not me. You’re wasting valuable—”

“If we want to anticipate Scarab’s moves,” Skulduggery interrupted, “we need to know the truth. Is he coming after you, or both of us, or everyone? If he did kill Vanguard, then all we have to do is put you in protective custody for a year or so. He’ll get bored, or die, and it’ll all be over.

“But if he didn’t kill Vanguard, we have bigger problems. And we need to know what they are now.”

“Well, why don’t you work on the assumption that we have bigger problems and take it from there?” said Guild.

“Did Scarab kill Vanguard?”

“This is not—”

“Did Scarab kill Vanguard?”

“No,” Guild snapped.

“Meritorious ordered the assassination,” Valkyrie pressed.