Playing with Fire (Skulduggery Pleasant, Book 2)

by Derek Landy

  He turned to Bliss and nodded. Bliss took a little run and then leaped, caught the edge of the roof, and effortlessly pulled himself up. Tanith adjusted her center of gravity and walked up the wall after him. Skulduggery held Valkyrie around the waist, and the air shimmered as they shot upward, gently touching down on the roof. Keeping very quiet, they crossed the rooftop.

  There were four big, sturdy old buildings surrounding a large concrete courtyard. The courtyard had a small island of green, where a paltry tree tried to grow.

  The Grotesquery stood in the exact center, unmoving.

  It was wearing a garment of sorts, made of thick black leather that hung from its waist and gathered on the ground behind it.

  Out here, in the moonlight, the Grotesquery seemed even more wrong. Nothing this horrible

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  should be allowed to exist on a night so beautiful. Its right arm glistened, and the sac on its left wrist bulged again with yellow acid. The silver light displayed its cracked and splintered rib cage in sickening detail, and black blood soaked the bandages covering its face.

  Valkyrie and her companions crouched. The Cleavers took up positions all the way along the rooftop, surrounding the courtyard.

  Valkyrie's stomach churned. Her fingertips tingled. She needed to do something, and soon. The anticipation, the excitement and the dread and the fear, were overpowering. Their first encounter with the Grotesquery had not ended well, but there were more of them now. They were stronger-- but it was stronger too. She wondered if they were strong enough to kill it.

  It was like Skulduggery was reading her mind. "This thing," he said softly, "the part of it that is a Faceless One, it died once. It can do so again."

  She nodded but didn't speak. She didn't trust her voice.

  Skulduggery looked over at Mr. Bliss and he nodded, and then Mr. Bliss stood, stepped off the edge of the roof, and dropped all the way to the ground.

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  Tanith ran down the side of the building, sliding the sword from its scabbard. Skulduggery and Valkyrie jumped, displacing the air beneath them to ease their descent. Valkyrie landed heavily but managed not to stumble.

  "I thought we were going to use the element of surprise," she said as they strode toward their target.

  "We never had it," Skulduggery said calmly. "It knew we were here all along. It just doesn't care."

  All four of them moved apart, coming at the Grotesquery from different angles.

  Bliss didn't waste time with words, threats, vows, or demands. He just walked right up to it and threw a punch. Valkyrie felt the concussion of the blow as it landed. The Grotesquery didn't even stagger. Instead it looked at Bliss through its filthy bandages, drew back its right fist, and hit him.

  Bliss was launched backward and crashed through the wall of the old building.

  Skulduggery moved in and Tanith leaped, her sword flashing in the moonlight.

  The Grotesquery's right arm unraveled and its talons sliced toward Skulduggery. They cut his jacket, then wrapped around him. He was picked

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  up and swung toward Tanith. She twisted in midair and sprang off Skulduggery's shoulder, flipping over the Grotesquery's head.

  Skulduggery broke free, and the Grotesquery re-formed its arm and swung its massive fist. Skulduggery drew in the air to block it and Tanith slashed at the arm, which healed instantly.

  Valkyrie clicked her fingers, turned the sparks to fireballs, and threw them. The first missed, but the second exploded against the Grotesquery's side.

  The stinger darted and Tanith ducked, then lunged, her sword piercing its chest, but the Grotesquery smashed down on her arm and the bone snapped. Tanith cried out and was shoved away. The Grotesquery removed the sword and dropped it, and the wound healed.

  Bliss extricated himself from the hole he had made in the side of the building. He dusted himself off, as though being thrown through a wall was a mere minor inconvenience, but the first step he took was unsteady. He'd been hurt.

  Skulduggery reached into his jacket, pulled out his revolver. Then he reached in with the other hand, to the other side, and pulled out an identical revolver. He thumbed back both hammers and

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  fired. Twelve shots, hitting the Grotesquery with unerring accuracy, and then he dropped the guns and ran forward. Valkyrie saw something in his hand, a metal cylinder attached to a metal spike.

  Skulduggery jumped, stabbing the spike into the area he'd been shooting. The Grotesquery took hold of him and flung him back, but the cylinder had a red light on top, and it was flashing.

  The explosion sent Valkyrie to her knees, her ears ringing, spots dancing before her eyes. She looked back, hopeful, but the Grotesquery was standing there as if nothing had happened.

  A wound on its arm opened for a split second, enough for a drop of black blood to leak out, but then it closed. Was it weakening?

  Tanith gathered her strength and sprang, but the Grotesquery batted her away. Her body twisted as she fell, and when she hit the ground, she tried to get up again but couldn't.

  The Grotesquery raised its left arm, and Valkyrie dived. She held both hands out toward Tanith, felt the spaces between them, felt how they linked together, and when the stinger darted out, she pushed, and the air rippled. Tanith was sent skidding along the ground, and the stinger missed.

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  Valkyrie looked up, realizing that she was now the Grotesquery's main focus of attention.

  "The Cleavers," Valkyrie whispered. "Somebody signal the Cleavers. ..."

  And then Bliss was there, standing between Valkyrie and the approaching Grotesquery.

  Instead of striking, Bliss pressed both hands to its chest and started to push. The creature kept walking. Bliss locked his body, but he was being driven slowly back. Valkyrie could hear him straining. Not even Bliss's legendary strength could stop it.

  And then, amazingly, it faltered.

  Bliss gave another heave, and the Grotesquery was actually forced to take a step back.

  Tanith made herself get up on one knee and finally stand. The Grotesquery had stopped walking altogether and now seemed to be examining Bliss. It held up its left hand close to him.

  "Tanith?" Bliss said through gritted teeth. His face was drenched with sweat. "If you wouldn't mind ..."

  Tanith looked quickly to Valkyrie. "Sword."

  Valkyrie reached out, felt the air around them, used the air to close around the fallen sword, and then she twisted her wrist and the sword flew from

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  the ground into Tanith's left hand. Tanith was already swinging when the stinger darted, her blade intercepting it before it could reach Bliss.

  The tip of the stinger fell to the ground. Valkyrie and Tanith stared down at it.

  "I hurt it," Tanith said in disbelief.

  "About time," Bliss muttered, drew back his right hand, and let loose with an almighty punch that sent the Grotesquery reeling.

  "Cleavers!" Bliss roared. "Attack!"

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  Chapter Thirty-nine

  FACING VENGEOUS

  THE GROTESQUERY flailed and struck. out and three Cleavers were flung away, but there were more to take their place.

  Skulduggery and Valkyrie stood together. Tanith cradled her broken arm. Bliss had taken a step back to catch his breath.

  They watched the Cleavers attack, and it was a sight to behold. They moved as a perfect team, silently and without the need for orders. They knew what they had to do, and they backed each other up, compensated for injuries, reinforced, and provided distraction. The Grotesquery was not

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  granted a single moment to recover.

  Valkyrie saw the growth on its left wrist contract, spitting acid. It caught a Cleaver full in the chest and he went down, trying to tear his coat off but dying before he was able.

  The Grotesquery's right arm unraveled again, and all five talons plunged into another Cleaver and then tore out. The Cleaver was thrown through the
air like a rag doll.

  A slice across the Grotesquery's tendon made it stagger. Another slice, across its back, splattered the ground with black blood. It lashed out wildly, struck nothing but air, and stumbled to one knee. The Cleavers swarmed over it as it tried to heal itself.

  And just when things were going right, everything went wrong.

  There came a voice from behind them-- "Heathens!" -- and they looked around.

  Baron Vengeous had returned.

  He stood on the same rooftop they themselves had stood on, and the shadows whipped around him angrily. His armor shifted, became sharp, and when he walked forward, the shadows snaked over the edge and down to the ground. He strode on

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  darkness, and the darkness lowered him to the courtyard.

  The Cleavers broke off their attack. The Grotesquery was on its knees. Its body was trying to mend the wounds it had suffered. It didn't get up.

  "How dare you!" Vengeous thundered as he stalked toward them. "How dare you attack a living god!"

  "It's not a god," Skulduggery said. "And it won't be living for much longer."

  Valkyrie looked closer at the shadows around Vengeous. There seemed to be a clump of darkness trailing after him. Suddenly the darkness unwrapped and let its captive go, and China Sorrows tumbled to the ground. Vengeous left her in his wake.

  Bliss went to meet him.

  "You will go no further," Bliss said.

  "Then stop me," Vengeous snarled.

  "That is my intention," Bliss said, and punched.

  Vengeous held up a hand, collecting shadows to form a barrier. Bliss hit the barrier, and they all heard his knuckles break.

  The armor shifted, reinforcing Vengeous's fist, and he smiled as he delivered a punch of his own.

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  The blow caught Bliss beneath the chin, lifting him and sending him hurtling back.

  Skulduggery raised his gun and fired, aiming for the head. The shadows became a cloud that covered Vengeous's face, soaking up the bullets and spitting them out again. When the gun clicked empty, the shadows settled.

  "Well, that didn't work," Skulduggery muttered.

  "Cleavers," Tanith said, gripping her sword, "we have a new target."

  Tanith ran forward, and the Cleavers sprang.

  Vengeous held his arm out straight.

  "Oh damn it," was all Skulduggery had time to say, before a wave of darkness erupted from Vengeous's hand and slammed into Tanith and the Cleavers. Skulduggery grabbed Valkyrie and dragged her down, the darkness passing above them. She glimpsed everyone else slump to the ground, unconscious.

  There was a moment of stillness, and then Vengeous reached out his arm and a streak of shadow wrapped around Skulduggery and pulled him closer.

  Valkyrie felt something tighten around her

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  ankle, and then she was skidding along the ground, into the middle of the courtyard. The shadow released her and she rolled to a stop beside Skulduggery. Vengeous looked down at them.

  "I am almost impressed. You actually managed to hurt the Grotesquery. I didn't think you'd be capable of such a feat."

  "We're full of surprises," Skulduggery said, and sprang. A sliver of shadows smacked him down. He groaned, and rolled over. "That obviously wasn't one of them."

  "None of you understand yet, do you?" Vengeous said. "You are no longer a threat. I am the most powerful sorcerer on this planet. When the Faceless Ones return, I will rule by their side. What hope do you have against me?"

  Skulduggery stood, and Valkyrie got to her feet by his side.

  "Baron Vengeous," Skulduggery said, "I'm placing you under arrest."

  Vengeous laughed. Valkyrie looked beyond him, at China, who was moving slightly. Her white trousers were slashed and torn, and her waistcoat was dirty and bloodied.

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  "Here we are at the end," Vengeous said, "and I'm wondering: Have you, unlike China, learned your lesson? Are you ready to accept that the world belongs to the Faceless Ones? Are you ready to praise their name?"

  "They're not here yet, Baron," Skulduggery said.

  "But they're coming. You must realize that. The Grotesquery will call them and they will know the way back. And correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be out of reinforcements."

  "Who says we need them?" Skulduggery asked, and snapped his hand out. The air rippled, and Vengeous stepped aside and flung back his arm. A wave of blackness hit Skulduggery and took him off his feet.

  Valkyrie ducked under a return swipe and scooped up two small pieces of rubble. She brought her hands together, acting on pure instinct, and felt the air around them and pushed, and the pieces of rubble shot at Vengeous like bullets. He sent shadows to intercept them and they exploded in dry clouds of dust. He pointed at Valkyrie, and the shadow slammed into her.

  "So, so easy," he laughed.

  The shadows were on her again, wrapping

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  around her, picking her up and moving her back, slamming her against the wall. She felt the cold darkness seep through her clothes, and tried to move but couldn't.

  Skulduggery hit the wall beside her, the shadows pinning him. "You're nothing without that armor," he said.

  Vengeous smiled at his prisoners as he walked over. "Is this the part where you goad me? Where you insult my honor? This armor is a weapon, abomination. I'm hardly going to abandon my weapon right before the killing stroke, just so I can give my opponent a sporting chance. If my enemy is weakened, then my enemy will be destroyed. Such is the way of the dark gods."

  "Please don't kill me!" Valkyrie blurted.

  "Valkyrie," Skulduggery said. "Don't worry, I'll get us out of this."

  "He won't get you out of anything," Vengeous said. "You seem to have chosen the wrong side, my dear."

  "Then I'll change sides!"

  Vengeous smiled, amused. "Do you hear that, abomination? Faced with the reality of the situation, your protégée has abandoned you."

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  Skulduggery shook his head. "Valkyrie, listen to me...."

  "What?" Valkyrie snapped. "Are you going to tell me it'll be all right? Are you going to tell me to be brave? He's going to kill us! Baron, please, I don't want to die! Let me prove myself! Let me kill him for you!"

  "You'd do that?" Vengeous asked. "Kill your mentor? Murder him in cold blood?"

  "It's not murder if he's already dead."

  Vengeous considered the proposal. "I suppose there is a certain poetry to it. Very well, Miss Cain. You get to be the one to kill him."

  The shadows withdrew and Valkyrie dropped to the ground. She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and looked at Skulduggery, who was now hanging there quite limply.

  "How do you intend to kill him?" Vengeous asked.

  "I think I know how," she answered. "Something he said, a while ago. Something about his weakness."

  Vengeous motioned for her to come forward, and she moved unsteadily to his side.

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  She faced Skulduggery and raised her arms. "I'm sorry," she said.

  Valkyrie closed her eyes, drew her hands into claws, and pulled her arms in close to her body, making the air shimmer around her, and then she twisted to Vengeous, but he smacked her arms away and grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off her feet.

  "Did you really think I was that naive?" He laughed as she kicked at the armor. "Such a clumsy attempt. If this is the best the abomination has taught you, you really should have asked for a better teacher."

  Her hands closed around his wrist and she lifted herself, easing the pressure off her throat for a moment. "You're a military man," she managed to say. "You should recognize 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 arm
y?"

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  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.

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  Chapter Forty

  FIGHT TO THE DEATH

  C hina's wholebody 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, and she grabbed him and punched, and Vengeous was taken off his feet.

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  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's 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.