Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 1 - 12. Derek Landy

man,” she managed to say. “You should recognise a feint when you see it.”

      “Oh, is that what this is? You distracted me long enough to get into the perfect position, is that it?”

      “Precisely,” she answered. “And now comes the moment when I launch the attack and beat you down.”

      He laughed again. “Well, pardon the expression, Miss Cain – but you and what army?”

      Valkyrie gave him a smile, took one hand away from his wrist and pointed over his shoulder.

      “That one,” she said. He looked around as China Sorrows stepped up behind him.

      

      hina’s whole body was covered in swirling black tattoos. Vengeous threw Valkyrie down and she watched China dodge an attack, tapping matching tattoos on her legs. They glowed green beneath her torn trousers and now she was a blur, weaving her way past Vengeous’s shadows.

      He snarled in annoyance and lashed out, but she was too fast, and now she was in close. Some of the tattoos glowed red, she grabbed him and punched and Vengeous was taken off his feet.

      His shadows curled around him and let him down gently then they shot at China. She clapped her hands together and the tattoos on her palms touched and mingled and a yellow barrier went up. The shadows struck the barrier and China grunted, but the barrier held.

      The shadows around Skulduggery started to fade, as Vengeous’ attention was focused elsewhere. Skulduggery broke free and dropped to the ground. He moved to Valkyrie, grabbing her arm.

      “We have to get out of here,” he said urgently.

      “But we can help—”

      “We can’t stop him, he’s too powerful.”

      “We’re just going to retreat?”

      “We’re not retreating, we’re advancing in reverse. Stick with me and stay low.”

      They sprinted for the main hospital building. Valkyrie looked over at the battle, saw a trail of shadows sneak around behind China, attack the barrier from there. The barrier was weakening. China dropped to one knee, her hands still flat against each other.

      Valkyrie held on to Skulduggery, the air rippled and they shot up to the rooftop.

      “We can’t just leave her!” Valkyrie said as they ran.

      “Agreed,” Skulduggery said. “But we can’t beat him when he’s wearing that armour, that much we know. We need to find a way to get that armour off.”

      “What? But the only way we could do that is by getting in close, and we can’t get past those shadows!”

      “Exactly. So we need to cheat.”

      They jumped down the other side, landing beside the jeep, and found what Skulduggery was looking for.

      “Ah,” Valkyrie said. “Clever.”

      “Naturally.”

      Valkyrie crept across the rooftop. The battle was over. Unconscious Cleavers lay all around, the Grotesquery was still trying to heal itself, and China was hurt and on her knees. Baron Vengeous was standing behind her, gazing at his armoured hands.

      “I can see why someone would choose necromancy,” Vengeous was saying. “It has its limitations of course, but for the sheer thrill of using it against one’s enemies … It’s hard to beat.

      “I fought alongside Vile during the war. I never liked him. He was … different. He had secrets. But I knew he was powerful. I just never realised how powerful. Nothing compared to the Faceless Ones obviously, but still … potent. And now, that power is mine.”

      “You’re not …” China muttered.

      “I’m sorry? I didn’t quite catch that.”

      Valkyrie stayed low and kept moving, getting closer.

      “You’re not in his league,” China said, finding the strength to speak. “Vile … was extraordinary … You just wear his clothes.”

      “I wield his power,” Vengeous said. “I wield the power of necromancy.”

      “It isn’t yours,” China said, and she laughed and it sounded brittle and painful. “You’re right. Vile was different. He could have used his power to … to change the world … but you, Baron? You wouldn’t know where to begin.”

      The victorious smile had drifted from the Baron’s face. He gathered darkness in his hands. “I should have killed you years ago,” he said.

      The darkness hit China and flipped her over and then Billy-Ray Sanguine erupted from the ground behind Vengeous with Skulduggery Pleasant clinging to his back and holding a gun to his head.

      Skulduggery threw Sanguine away and dropped his gun, grabbing Vengeous in a chokehold before he could even turn. Valkyrie leaped off the roof and displaced the air beneath her as Sanguine straightened up. She landed and focused, splayed her hand and he shot back off his feet.

      Vengeous twisted violently, but Skulduggery held on. Valkyrie heard a small click amid all the curses and and she saw the armour’s chest-plate open and a mist of darkness burst forth.

      Vengeous screamed in rage and tried to pull away, but Skulduggery had a good grip on the chest plate. He threw it to the ground and Vengeous stumbled forward. Darkness leaked from the armour and dissipated in the night air.

      Vengeous extended a hand and the shadows whipped for Skulduggery, but they were frail and slight. Skulduggery broke them and moved in, hitting Vengeous in the sternum with the heel of his palm. Vengeous gasped and staggered, tried again, but the shadows missed Skulduggery entirely this time, and the detective went low and to the side, raking an elbow across Vengeous’s ribs and then driving it back and down into his kidney. Vengeous’s knees buckled and he hissed in pain.

      Something moved in the corner of Valkyrie’s eye and she turned just as Sanguine rammed into her. He took her off her feet and she hit the floor. He was standing right over her, reaching down, and she punched the side of his knee. It hurt her fist, but hurt him more, and she rolled and got up, but he grabbed her again, hands on her throat.

      She punched him in the gut, in the jaw, but he shook it off and grinned, fingers tightening. She punched him square on the nose and he howled and she grabbed his little finger and wrenched. He howled again and let go. She booted him in the groin and he gasped and reached for her then doubled over as the pain hit.

      Vengeous got Skulduggery in some kind of lock that would have torn the muscles and sinew of a man with muscles and sinew. Skulduggery wriggled out of it and went to work with his elbows, slamming them like bullets into Vengeous’s face and body.

      Sanguine moaned in pain and went to get up, and Valkyrie grabbed him from behind, pressing his own straight razor against his throat.

      “So that’s where it is,” he said, trying to pull back from the blade, but Valkyrie held him tight.

      “Don’t even try to do your disappearing act here,” she warned him. “The moment I see the ground start to crack, you’re dead.”

      The laugh that escaped his lips was dry. “You can’t kill me, darlin’. You’re one of the good guys. That’d be murder.”

      She pressed the blade in deeper. “See if I care.”

      She looked around as Vengeous snatched up his cutlass. The blade flashed as Skulduggery held up his right hand to protect himself, and it sliced through his