“—maybe instead of doing that, he locks himself in a cage so that more people can see how he’s suffering. He probably thinks he’s being really dramatic and noble.”

“I don’t think that’s it. But this cage isn’t even bound. It wouldn’t stop magic from being used.”

The Torment sneered. “My magic, as you put it, is to grow into a beautiful spider that would dwarf the likes of you. This cage stops me from growing. It does its job.”

“I’m sure it does.” Skulduggery took a step closer. “We’re looking for a friend of ours who might have come through here a few hours ago.”

“The man Ravel,” said the Torment. “Yes, he was here. He seemed surprised when the others found him. I do not think it was what he was expecting.”

“Where is he?”

“They took him away. They’re deciding what to do with him now. They’ll argue and debate, but eventually they’ll do what they always do – bring him to Mevolent like the spineless, gutless whelps they are.”

Skulduggery tilted his head. “That’s why you’re in here,” he said. “You wouldn’t bend the knee.”

“Mevolent worships the Faceless Ones,” the Torment said. “In order to ensure their own survival, the Children of the Spider have taken to worshipping them as well. I stood against it, as did Madame Mist and a handful of others. But our own brothers and sisters betrayed us. I was the only one left alive after the purge, such as it was, and now here I sit, another of Mevolent’s trophies.”

Valkyrie remembered the lifeless body of Mr Bliss floating in that tank in Mevolent’s Palace. He did seem to have a thing about displaying his enemies for all to see.

“We need to get Ravel back,” Skulduggery said. “Where’s he being held?”

The Torment uttered a sound that may have been a cough or a laugh. “Why would I help you, skeleton? You’re a dead thing who should have given up any claim to life a long time ago. And the girl … Even she doesn’t know what an abomination she really is.”

“In your reality and ours,” Valkyrie said, “you’re still a gigantic asshat.”

“If you help us,” Skulduggery said, “you’ll be hurting Mevolent. You’ll be hurting all those people who betrayed you. That’s worth something, isn’t it, to that withered little heart of yours? Even here, trapped in a cage, you can still manage to slip the knife in and give it a fun little twist.”

“Or I could ignore you,” said the Torment, “and by ignoring you, hurt you. At least then I’ll be able to see the frustration on the face of the abomination.”