Derek Landy - Death Bringer

Skulduggery grabbed him from behind, wrapping him up in a sleeper hold and hauling him to his feet. The Warlock’s huge mouth snapped and snarled.

Valkyrie fumbled clumsily for the handcuffs she kept on her belt. Moving unsteadily, she fell against the Warlock. He tried to bite her, but she swayed away from him, grabbed an arm and clicked the handcuff around his wrist.

The Warlock gasped as his magic was bound. His mouth shrank. Skulduggery threw him against the wall and stomped on his knee. The Warlock howled in pain as Skulduggery cuffed the other hand.

Valkyrie’s knees gave out, but Skulduggery grabbed her, stopped her from falling.

“I’m all tingly,” Valkyrie said.

“I have that effect,” Skulduggery responded.

“You won’t stop us,” the Warlock snarled from the ground. “My brothers and sisters will be coming for you.”

“Lots of people are coming for us,” Skulduggery told him. “We’re very unpopular in certain circles. Evil circles, you know. But your brothers and sisters are very far away, and it’s going to take a while for them to even hear about this, so they don’t really concern us right now. The only thing we care about is finding Dragonclaw. If you can help us do that, we’d be willing to make a deal.”

“You cannot bargain,” the Warlock said. “It is too late for that. Too late for you. I will be avenged.”

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. “We hit you a few times. Is there really a need to be avenged for a few slaps?”

The Warlock managed a smile. “Look out for us,” he said. “We’re coming.”

He contorted in pain, eyes screwed tightly shut. When he opened them, yellow light spilled out.

“Uh-oh,” Skulduggery said. He scooped Valkyrie into his arms and they flew, the wind in her hair, landing behind the Hyundai as more light burst from the Warlock’s screaming mouth. Skulduggery pulled Valkyrie down behind cover and there was an explosion of blinding yellow light – and then nothing.

Valkyrie blinked rapidly, trying to get her vision back. She felt Skulduggery stand up, and she did the same. “What happened?” she asked.

“He’s dead,” Skulduggery answered. “Some kind of Warlock self-destruct thing. It must have been triggered the moment his powers were bound.”

Her sight was returning to her, and she looked over at where the Warlock had lain. Now there were only his empty clothes.

Skulduggery called the Sanctuary, then searched through the Warlock’s clothes while they waited for back-up to arrive.

“Nothing,” he said. “No receipts, no ticket stubs, no clues.”

“Warlocks, eh?” Valkyrie said, watching him.

“Warlocks are dark sorcerers on a dark path. They eat the souls of their enemies to absorb their strength. I haven’t gone up against them in … a long time. I didn’t think there were any left.” Skulduggery picked up his hat and put it on. “During the war, Mevolent tried to form an alliance with them. He sent a squad of his best people to open negotiations, and they were never heard from again.”

“And yet we just took down one of them,” Valkyrie said. “They don’t seem to be that tough. Apart from the nearly killing us bit. Do you think there’ll be more?”

“Eventually. Not for a while. If we’re lucky. This is the second time Dragonclaw has got away from us, though. First the Jitter Girls, now a Warlock. He really is breaking all the rules.” Skulduggery looked up. “Still, maybe this will convince the Elders to take the Necromancer threat seriously.”

Valkyrie frowned. “You don’t think they do already?”

“Not really, no. Neither does anyone else. All the Sanctuaries around the world are either too busy with their own problems or they’re preparing to battle this oh-so-mysterious Darquesse. If the Death Bringer was seen as a threat, we’d have teams from twenty different Sanctuaries storming the Temple as we speak.”

“Maybe that means the Passage won’t be a bad thing, then. Maybe it will save the world.”

Skulduggery shook his head. “Paul Lynch had a vision of something that got him killed. This ridiculous Dragonclaw person isn’t covering up that trail for the fun of it.”

“Then maybe the other Sanctuaries are just hoping that Lord Vile carries out his threat and kills the Death Bringer.”

“Very likely,” Skulduggery said.

Valkyrie hesitated. “Do you think he’ll come after me, like he told you he would?”

“That was before,” Skulduggery said. “That was when everyone thought that you were going to be the Death Bringer. Now that we actually have one confirmed, all his attention will be focused on her.”

“Lucky, lucky Melancholia. You’re sure about this, though?”

“I’m sure. Killing you won’t help Lord Vile achieve his aim.”

“Do you have any idea why he’s so keen to stop the Passage from happening?”

“I don’t,” Skulduggery murmured. “It must be important, though, to bring him back like this. I thought he was gone for good.”

“Guess he just doesn’t want to live in a perfect world.”

A van pulled up at the mouth of the lane. Sanctuary sorcerers got out, nodded to them as they began cordoning off the area.

“You don’t think the problem here is us, do you?” Valkyrie asked. “I mean, maybe we’re so used to being the ones who save the world that we can’t see it when someone else is about to do the same. Solomon keeps saying that the Passage is going to help people.”

“True,” Skulduggery said. “But if you asked Serpine why he wanted to bring the Faceless Ones back, he’d have told you the same thing. It all depends on what people you’re talking about helping. That’s the wonderful thing about just about every religion on the planet – they’re all so incredibly selfish.”

“You are a cynical man, Mr Pleasant.”

“We live in cynical times, Miss Cain.”

He dropped her off at the pier, and she watched him drive away before turning to the shadows. “I know you’re there,” she said.

He emerged, his footsteps silent. He was tall and slender, his hair black and his skin pale. He had died as a nineteen-year-old, and it was in this form that he was frozen. He would never grow old. He would never fade. His face would never lose its beauty.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Caelan said, his voice barely audible over the gentle lapping of the waves.

“Couldn’t you have found a safer place to wait?” she asked, hooking her thumbs into her pockets. “People like you really shouldn’t be hanging around the waterfront, you know. If you swallow any sea spray, your throat’s going to close up and you’ll die.”

“And would you be sad?”

“Sure I would. I once lost a gerbil. I’d imagine the pain would be similar.”

He moved closer to her. “So I’m your pet, am I?”

“Of course. You’re my vampire.”

He was right in front of her now, and he leaned in and they kissed. “And are you my human?” he whispered.

“So long as you’re OK about sharing me, sure,” she said, and they kissed again.

His hand went to her face. “I don’t like sharing things.”

“And I don’t like being called a thing, but life isn’t fair.”

“You should be mine alone.”

She gave him a smile. “Have you taken your serum tonight? Because you’re sounding awfully territorial.”

He stepped back. “The serum is not to be joked about. Without it, I would tear off my skin and devour you.”

“Sounds tempting, doesn’t it? But I can’t tonight, dear, I’m on babysitting duty, which I’m actually quite looking forward to, and then it’s bedtime.”

“Then I will remain beside you while you sleep.”