Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 1 - 12. Derek Landy

anything as stupid as try to take over.”

      “If they could claim that it was for our own good, they may decide it’s worth the risk. This isn’t about politics. It’s about power. We have a duty to protect what is ours – not out of selfishness, but out of necessity. In the wrong hands, the magic of this land could change the face of the world.”

      Skulduggery took off his hat and brushed a speck of imagined lint from its brim. “And yet if we hand over Renn, and the Diablerie succeed in their scheme, the face of this world will be changed anyway.”

      “Which is why, Detective, it is going to be your job to make sure that doesn’t happen. You have two tasks – to get Thurid Guild back alive and relatively unharmed, and to make sure the Diablerie do not get their hands on Fletcher Renn.”

      “So you’re saying we should double-cross them.”

      “That is indeed what I am saying.”

      Skulduggery shrugged. “Well, I was going to do that anyway.”

      “Are we still fugitives?” Valkyrie asked.

      “Unfortunately, yes,” Bliss said. “In Guild’s absence, I am in command, but while there is a spy in the Sanctuary it is far too dangerous to bring you back in. I will do my best to keep Remus Crux away from you, but I’m keeping him on as Prime Detective so that our spy will have something to keep himself occupied.”

      “Out,” Kenspeckle said.

      They looked at him as he stepped through the door in the screen.

      “Out,” he said again. “All of you. Get out. This is a science-magic facility, a place of knowledge and a place of healing. What it is not is a place of violence.”

      “Professor,” Skulduggery started, but Kenspeckle held up a hand to silence him.

      “You bring death and destruction to my door, Detective Pleasant. You always have. And while I am happy to patch you up, and patch up your friends, I am not willing to just stand by while you use this place as your headquarters.

      “This afternoon, this establishment was raided by Cleavers. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I now have fanatical worshippers of the Faceless Ones attacking people right where you’re standing. I took an oath to heal people, but today I was forced to take my power and use it to hurt. Unforgivable. Unforgivable!”

      Valkyrie shrank back, dreading the moment where he’d use her injuries as another weapon against Skulduggery. Kenspeckle glanced at her, then looked back at Skulduggery, but the moment came and went.

      “I will heal your wounds,” he said, “but I will not facilitate your battles. All of you, get out.”

      He turned and walked back through the door in the screen. A moment later the picture of the door faded and the heavy curtains started to close. The few remaining house lights came on.

      Bliss was the first to leave. The others looked at Skulduggery, who put his hat back on. They shrugged into coats and Ghastly picked up two large bags, then they left the cinema.

      The rain had stopped. Skulduggery unlocked the Purple Menace.

      “Back to my place, I suppose,” Ghastly said as he threw the bags into his van.

      “OK,” Fletcher said, taking hold of Valkyrie’s arm, “we’ll meet you there.”

      And they teleported.

      It was like she blinked, and within that blink there was a rush of air and she felt light, and her belly lurched, and there was nothing around her or beneath her except for Fletcher’s hand on her arm. His hand was the only thing that was real, and it felt good, and warm, and comforting.

      And then they were standing on the roof of Ghastly’s shop. A wave of dizziness swept through Valkyrie and she nearly fell to her knees. Fletcher was smiling at her.

      “You OK?” he asked gently.

      She punched him across the jaw and he went stumbling backwards.

      “Why’d you do that?” he bellowed.

      She glared at him, the dizziness passing. “Shock mostly,” she said angrily. “You just can’t teleport people without asking them! What if something had gone wrong? What if you’d only teleported half of me?”

      “That’d never happen.”

      “Or you let go of my arm halfway through?”

      “It can’t be done.”

      “Or we reappeared in a wall or something?”

      He hesitated. “OK, now that was a danger … But as long as I’ve been somewhere before, and I can picture it in my head, that’s all I need. I thought you’d like it to be honest.”

      Her phone rang. It was Skulduggery. Valkyrie assured him she was OK and waiting for him at Ghastly’s. She hung up.

      “He said he’s going to kill you,” she told Fletcher, who shrugged.

      “He’s always saying that.”

      “But this time he means it.”

      “What does it matter? If he hands me over to those lunatics, I’m dead anyway, right?”

      Valkyrie didn’t say anything. Fletcher looked at the city around them.

      “It’s quite pretty up here,” he continued. “All the streetlights. The rain makes everything kind of glitter, doesn’t it? It’s like this in London too. You can sometimes forget how dirty everything is.” His eyes found her. “What’ll happen to that Guild guy? Do you think they’ll kill him?”

      Valkyrie hesitated. “I don’t know.”

      “Do you care?”

      “What? Of course.”

      “You don’t like him.”

      “I still don’t want him killed.”

      Fletcher didn’t say anything for a bit. “Does Tanith have a boyfriend?”

      Valkyrie looked at him in disbelief, amazed by the radical change of topic. “You don’t have a chance.”

      “You don’t know that.”

      “Yes, I do.”

      “Give me three good reasons.”

      “I only need two. The first one is that she is way too old for you, and the second one is that you are really annoying.”

      “Hey, just because you’re too young to appreciate my charms doesn’t mean I don’t have them. I’m a catch.”

      “Is that what your mummy says?” Valkyrie grinned.

      “Not really. My mum’s dead.”

      The grin faded. “Oh.”

      “What about your family? What do they think about all these magical adventure crime-solving things you do?”

      “They don’t know about any of it. At home I have this mirror, and all I have to do is touch it and my reflection steps out and does all the boring stuff like go to school and do homework and be nice to people.”

      “Your reflection comes to life?” Fletcher said, eyes wide.

      “Yep.”

      “You’re serious? That is so cool! So everyone thinks you’re just this normal girl?”

      “They think I’m a tad weird, but yes, basically.”

      “That is amazing. So there are two of you?”

      “Kind of, yes.”

      He went quiet and after a few moments she began to wonder what he was thinking about.

      “Cool,”