Chapter Text
The first thing Lucy noticed upon arriving home was that Skull was back, pouting on the sofa.
The second thing Lucy noticed was that he was wedged between Kat Godwin and Bobby Vernon.
She turned angrily to Kipps, who already had his hands raised in defense. “I needed backup,” he said. “They’re my team.”
“Kitchen,” Lucy hissed at him. “ Now .”
“Luce, it’s fine,” Lockwood said in her ear. She ignored him, throwing her backpack to the ground and aggressively motioning for Kipps to follow her out of the room. He did, but with an expression somewhere between exasperation and discomfort.
As soon as the kitchen door swung closed behind her and Kipps, she rounded on him. “How could you bring Fittes agents in on this?!”
“They’re my team,” Kipps repeated, crossing his arms. “They’re not going to rat us out.”
“You don’t know that!” Lucy snapped. “They’re as eager to climb the Fittes ladder as you were.”
Kipps’ expression darkened. “Kat and Bobby are better than that.”
“Are they?” Lucy asked. “Did you even ask Lockwood if you could tell them?”
“How could I?!” Kipps threw his hands in the air. “I’ve been chasing your boyfriend all about London!”
“Because you let him escape!” Lucy jabbed a finger against Kipps’ chest.
A muscle twitched in his jaw and he took a long, deep breath. “Lucy,” Kipps finally said. “You have to trust me, okay? I’m part of this team now, whether you like it or not. Teammates trust each other.”
“It’s not you I don’t trust,” Lucy said. “Though I’m starting to question your judgment.”
“That’s part of trusting someone,” Kipps said. “You have to trust I’ve made the right call.”
He had a point, but Lucy refused to admit it. “It’s Lockwood’s life you’re risking.”
“Not just his,” Kipps said, voice growing soft. “Yours, too. And mine. All of ours.”
Silence fell between them. Lucy sighed and the fight left her body, leaving her feeling tired. “I know,” she finally said. “And I’m about to make it worse.”
Before Kipps could ask what she meant, Holly entered the kitchen looking a mess. Strands of hair fell loose from her ponytail, as if she’d been yanking at them, and for once in her life there were puffy bags beneath her eyes. She gave Lucy a soft, strained smile. “Job go okay?” She asked, making a beeline for the kettle.
“Yeah, fine,” Lucy said, turning away from Kipps. “Any luck with George’s research?”
Holly shook her head, moving to the sink to fill the kettle. “No,” she said. “Flo asked around but all she got were urban legends and farfetched rumors. No real leads.”
“Okay,” Lucy said, closing her eyes. She’d made up her mind in Barnes’ car, but the thought of it still made her sick to her stomach. “Kipps, can you round up the others? Kat and Bobby and Skull, too. I…I have a plan.”
Lucy opened her eyes in time to see Kipps nod, though he seemed uncertain. Holly paused at the stove, a similar look of hesitation on her face.
“I don’t like your tone, Luce,” she said quietly as Kipps left. “Is it stupidly dangerous?”
Lucy tried to give her a Lockwoodian grin, but lacked the confidence to do more than grimace. “Don’t worry, Hol. It’s no more stupid than picking a fight in the presence of a Poltergeist.”
Holly giggled, but it seemed half-hearted. George and Flo drifted in from downstairs, followed shortly by Kipps and Kat Godwin frog-marching Skull into the kitchen. Bobby shuffled in after, carrying Lockwood’s jar, which he sat carefully on the Thinking Cloth.
Everyone watched Lucy with mixed looks of seriousness and curiosity, except for Skull who gave her an evil smirk. He was likely to enjoy her harebrained scheme, even if he thought it insane.
“Kipps says you have a plan,” George said, fiddling with glasses. Lucy could tell he was growing frustrated with his research, his hair standing up in odd directions. “We’re all ears.”
“You were right,” Lucy said to him. “There’s one person in the city we’re almost certain knows about this sort of…predicament.”
George’s brow furrowed. “And you were right that there was no way we’d get anywhere near her research, if it even exists.”
Kat and Bobby exchanged confused glances, but the others seemed to understand. Kipps snorted. “You’re right about that. Marissa has the best security in the country.”
“Penelope,” Bobby corrected.
“ Well ,” George started, but Lucy cut him off.
“We don’t have a choice,” she said shortly. “The only way to save Lockwood is if I surrender to her.”
Holly sucked in a gasp. “You’re merging the company? You’re letting her win?”
George and Kipps let out twin shouts of surprise and anger, and even Flo looked rattled. Lockwood’s plasm stilled and he said, “Luce, I don’t think this is the way. Even if we’re her subordinates-”
“Everyone, shut up,” Lucy said, holding up her hands. “You misunderstand. Lockwood & Co. are not surrendering to Marissa. I am.”
Holly and Kipps stared at her in confusion, but George caught on immediately. “Absolutely not.”
“It’s the only way,” Lucy said. “You know she wants me.”
“It’s suicide,” George snapped. “She’ll have you killed before you even make it through the front doors of Fittes House.”
“It’s not suicide,” Lucy said, voice close to a whisper. “Not if I tell her what I can do. Convince her I’m on her side, that I want what she has, that I want-”
“Money?” George sneered.
“Fame?” Holly added hesitantly.
“No,” Skull said lazily, dark eyes meeting Lucy’s. “Power.”
A shiver went down Lucy’s spine and her mouth grew dry. She didn’t like the look he gave her, one that knew her as well as she knew herself. “Right,” she said after a moment. “Power.”
“Lucy,” Holly said with a trembling voice. “We don’t even know if Skull was telling the truth about Marissa. Maybe Penelope really just is…Penelope.”
“Yeah, Lucy,” Skull said, grin lopsided and infuriating. “Maybe I lied. You’re very gullible.”
“No.” Lucy shook her head. “You really think I don’t know when you’re lying by now? And when you’re telling the truth?”
That shut Skull right up. Unfortunately, it just left room for Lockwood to speak, voice ringing painfully in the back of her mind.
“I am not worth this, Lucy, you absolutely cannot-! I will not allow-! This is too reckless, even for you-”
“I agree with Tony,” Kipps said, hands on his hips.
Lucy was dumbfounded. “You can hear him?!”
“No.” Kipps shrugged. “But I assume he’s loudly objecting. It’s a stupid plan.”
“No offense, Lucy,” Holly said, wringing her hands together. “But you’re…not a great liar.”
Lucy sighed. That was a flaw in her plan. Lockwood was the actor among them, the one who jumped at any chance to put on a show, lie through his teeth as easy as breathing. Lucy barely had the patience to speak politely to people she didn’t care for, let alone convince the most powerful woman in England that she was willing to betray her closest friends.
“It’s the only plan we’ve got,” Lucy said. “George can keep researching in the meantime, Holly can keep the company going, and Kipps can keep Skull locked in the basement. And Lockwood…” She paused, swallowing back a lump in her throat. “I’m sorry, Lockwood. I suppose you’ll have to find a way to communicate with everyone that isn’t…isn’t me.”
Lockwood didn’t respond. Lucy figured he had to be awfully cross with her, but she could apologize once he was back in his own body— if she lived that long.
“This is stupider than when you quit,” George said sharply. “But fine. We were going to have to deal with that woman sooner or later…”
Lucy felt herself relax, if only a little. If George was on board, then Holly would be, too, and Kipps would have no choice after that. Lockwood could stew in silence all he liked, but he had no real means of stopping her. This was going to happen.
This was going to work .
Slowly, Bobby Vernon raised a hand. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “I know a lot’s happening. Lockwood’s in a jar, a ghost is possessing his body, Lucy’s about to die, but I have to ask: is anyone going to explain why we’re talking about Marissa Fittes as if she’s still alive?”
Lucy wasn’t sure from where Kat Godwin obtained handcuffs, but she was grateful they didn’t have to keep taping up Skull’s hands. George and Kipps had moved Lucy’s cot from the attic down to the basement, where he was to be kept for the foreseeable future. Skull scowled at her as she tucked in the sheets Holly had freshly laundered, sulking in the darkest, dankest corner he could find.
“Where on earth did you find that ugly pullover?” She asked. It was garish, obviously a souvenir for idiot tourists. Kipps had told her they’d found Skull trying to scale the walls of the Tower of London around curfew, much to the delight of a gaggle of schoolgirls who’d watched from the sidelines. It had only been thanks to the Fittes team’s quick action that Lockwood’s body had stayed out of jail.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Skull sniffed, turning his head away. He’d been pouting since they’d locked him down here. Lucy rolled her eyes and finished her work.
“You’re going to die, you know,” he said. “Marissa will see right through your weak little facade.”
“Okay.” Lucy was too tired to argue with him. “George has promised to feed you three times a day. Good meals, too. You’ll like his cooking.”
“I’ll eat his heart in the marketplace ,” Skull hissed.
“Or that,” Lucy sighed. “Just try to behave while I’m gone, alright?
“Why?” Skull asked, slowly getting to his feet. The way he moved was so different from Lockwood, stooped and almost catlike. He looked ready to lunge at any moment—and maybe he was. She knew enough of his former life to know he’d not had an easy time of it. “You’re on a one-way trip to hell and Lockwood’s doomed to that jar once you’re gone. Why shouldn’t I be free?”
“You won’t miss me if I die?” Lucy asked, taking a step closer. “Not even a little?”
Skull loomed down over her, their noses centimeters apart. She could feel his breath on her face, could see the curiosity in his eyes. “Why should I?” he asked. “I don’t need you anymore, Lucy.”
Though it was an objective truth, it still rang false in Lucy’s ears.“Teach me,” she demanded.
Skull frowned. “Teach you what?”
“How to fool Marissa,” Lucy said simply. “You lie all the time. You understand how she thinks. And…you understand how I think. Teach me. Please.”
“Uncuff me, then.” Skull wiggled his arms, still bound behind his back. “Can’t do anything if I’m tied up like a prisoner.”
“Fine.” It was a stupid idea, but Kipps had locked the door behind her, and was waiting for her signal to unlock it again. “Turn around.”
Skull blinked in surprise, then turned to present Lucy his hands. Lucy fished the key from her skirt pocket and slid it into the keyhole, turning until it made a click. In seconds, the handcuffs were clattering to the ground, and Lucy was pushed backwards onto the cot.
But instead of running, Skull was on top of her, knees bracketing her hips. Lucy’s heart beat wildly, but she didn’t fight him. She’d never been this close to Lockwood, to any boy really—except for the time she and George got trapped in a broom closet together on a job, but that had been the polar opposite of romantic.
“Aren’t you afraid of me?” Skull asked, leaning down over her. “I could kill you right now and no one would be able to stop me.”
“You’re not going to kill me,” Lucy said simply, and she knew it to be true.
Then his lips—Lockwood’s lips—were on hers, and Lucy melted into the embrace. His mouth was hot and hungry and their teeth clacked together as they pushed against each other. Lucy would be lying if she said she hadn’t dreamt of this, of being snogged senseless in this very bed by-
Skull pulled back too soon, an oddly frustrated look on his face. Lucy touched her swollen lips in a daze, then came to her senses. “You shouldn’t do things like that to Lockwood’s body,” she admonished.
“Of course!” Skull snapped and Lucy recoiled in shock. “It’s always about bloody Lockwood ! Why are you so obsessed with that gormless idiot?!”
Lucy frowned. “He’s a good man,” she said.
“And if you don’t switch us back,” Skull said, pushing himself up and off of her. “Are you really going to pine after a moldy, old skull until you’re gray and wrinkly?”
That, of all things, made Lucy laugh. He could be such a child sometimes. “You really think I’ll live that long?” She asked with a sad fondness.
Skull scoffed, as if he hadn’t been predicting her death since she’d announced her plan. “Of course you will.”
“You didn’t.”
Skull didn’t speak. Lucy wondered if she’d pushed him too far, letting him kiss her. Skull gave as good as he got most days, their entire relationship a brutal game of tug-o-war. He irked her, insulted her, played cruel tricks and told crueler truths, but at the end of the day she always came back, always returned the insult with one of her own. It was exhausting; it was exhilarating. And sometimes Lucy wondered if Skull knew her better than anyone else, even better than-
“You’re not me,” Skull finally said, shaking his head. “Fine, I’ll teach you how to lie to Marissa. She’s a simple creature, at the end of the day.” He gave her a wicked grin. “Most of us monsters are.”
“Alright,” Lucy said, and a terrifying excitement sparked in her chest. “So where do we begin?”