Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 1 - 12. Derek Landy

straightened his tie and buttoned his torn jacket. “The first thing we do,” he said, “is get over the fact that my wellbeing is obviously of less importance to you than Fletcher’s here.”

      “I’m already over that,” she told him.

      “Oh, good.”

      “What’s the second thing?”

      “The second thing is for Fletcher to reopen that gateway. Do you think you can do that?”

      Fletcher nodded. “Yes. I mean, I think so. I hope so.”

      Skulduggery stooped to help up China. “That fills me with such confidence.”

      “What’s to stop more Faceless Ones from coming through once it’s open?” Valkyrie asked as they all hurried back to the meadow.

      “Absolutely nothing,” Skulduggery said. “What we’re going to do is make a really big wish that they don’t notice.”

      “Seriously? Skulduggery, seriously?”

      “Seriously. The fact is, we stand a decent chance. The Faceless Ones that did get through were drawn here because of the markings the Diablerie wore. Now that there are no markings left, there is nothing to make them look over.”

      “That’s a plan that could fall apart in so many ways.”

      “The fun ones are like that.”

      “But how do we get the last Faceless One to go back through?”

      “We’re going to let it chase us.”

      “Us?”

      “Well, I say ‘us’. I mean you.”

      “Terrific,” Valkyrie muttered.

      

       he hair on the back of Batu’s neck stood up. The Faceless One was above him. He could feel it. His god was gazing upon him at that very moment.

       Batu turned, spread his arms, and raised his eyes to his god, and as it rushed to fill him, he screamed with terror and exultation.

       And then Batu was gone.

      

      kulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain found the Faceless One that had once been Batu on the other side of the wood. Ghastly was suspended in the air before it, his back arched, his mouth open, trying to scream. Veins were popping out all over his body, as if the Faceless One was bringing each one to the surface with the intention of ripping them all out.

      “Hey!” Valkyrie shouted.

      It looked over at them, didn’t move for three or four seconds, then cast Ghastly aside and started to run towards them.

      “OK,” Skulduggery said, “the moment it—”

      The Faceless One waved its arm and Skulduggery was wrenched off his feet and sent flying through the air.

      Valkyrie cursed and spun, sprinting into the trees. The idea had been for Skulduggery to distract it if it got too close too fast, but now there was no one between them. This was already going badly.

      She darted between trees and jumped over fallen branches. She glanced back, saw trees uprooting and branches disintegrating, clearing a path for the Faceless One to run straight through.

      She saw it wave its arm and she was thrown forward. She hit the ground and got a mouthful of dirt as she rolled.

      Something white blurred in her peripheral vision, and the White Cleaver jumped to intercept. He raked his scythe across the Faceless One’s torso, then spun to go for the neck. Any other enemy would have fallen, such was the speed and precision of the move, but the blade didn’t even penetrate the skin. The Faceless One slammed its fist against the Cleaver’s chest and he hurtled back, quickly disappearing from view.

      The Faceless One strode towards Valkyrie. She spat out dirt and wiped her mouth, watching it come. She timed its steps and then splayed her hands. The air rippled, striking not the Faceless One, but the loose ground just in front of it. Its foot touched down and its weight shifted on to it just as the ground shot backwards, and the Faceless One fell.

      Valkyrie burst from the treeline, and to her left she saw Skulduggery running parallel. They raced to the top of the meadow, to where Fletcher was once again kneeling with his hands on the Grotesquery. The yellow gateway was opening.

      China was doing her thing with the symbols around the circle. Red and black smoke began to rise. “Where is it?” she shouted.

      “Behind me,” Valkyrie said breathlessly. A shadow fell and Skulduggery dived into her as the Faceless One landed where she had just been.

      She saw Solomon Wreath, riding a wave of darkness that spilled from his cane. He jumped to the ground beside them and pulled her up, and used the cane to drive a hundred needles of dark into the Faceless One’s chest.

      “Drive it back!” China shouted from the swirling column of smoke. “Get it close enough to the gateway so it’ll be sucked in!”

      The gravitational pull from the yellow portal was immense. Even from where she stood, Valkyrie could feel herself slipping towards it. She forced herself back as Skulduggery joined Wreath in his efforts.

      She pushed at the air to dislodge the ground beneath the Faceless One’s feet, but she wasn’t rewarded. Its movements were solid as it battled, and its steps were impossible to predict.

      “Gateway’s as open as it’s going to get!” Fletcher shouted.

      Wreath suddenly started screaming. His right leg buckled and twisted and blood spurted, and Skulduggery snapped his hand against the air, throwing the Necromancer out of the fight before he was killed. Wreath landed and clutched at his leg, but now Skulduggery was the only one left.

      The Faceless One grabbed him, its fingers sliding between his ribs and gripping, and Skulduggery screamed as he was lifted off the ground.

      “Valkyrie!” Wreath shouted from behind. She turned and he threw his cane at her feet. “Use it!”

      “I don’t know how!”

      “Just use the damn thing!”

      She grabbed it, felt the dark power contained within. Shadows leaked from the cane and wrapped around her wrist. She knew instinctively that if Wreath hadn’t given it voluntarily, those shadows would tighten and turn her bones to dust.

      She turned the cane in her hand, feeling the drag, as though it was moving through water, and then she whipped it straight out and a shadow sliced against the back of the Faceless One’s leg. The shadow didn’t break its skin, but it did get its attention. The Faceless One turned to her.

      Valkyrie rotated the cane by her side, like she was gathering candyfloss around a stick, then flicked it at the Faceless One. Instead of candyfloss, shadows flew, hit the Faceless One and tried to wrap around it. It threw Skulduggery down and brushed the shadows away with one angry gesture.

      She ran up to it, swinging the cane. The Faceless One caught it and snapped it. An explosion of darkness hurled Valkyrie backwards and sent the Faceless One staggering.

      Valkyrie