Playing with Fire (Skulduggery Pleasant, Book 2) Read online

  She set off, limping slightly. There was a road ahead. If she could get to the pitch blackness on the other side, she might have a chance at escape.

  But now there was another set of headlights. The black Jeep. She had to get across the road before she was cut off.

  And then there was somebody standing in her way.

  Dusk grabbed her and she tried to hit him, but he threw her down. "Finally," he said, as though he was bored of a game. He was about to continue

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  speaking, but she saw his face twitch, and his hand went to his belly. His fingers dipped into his coat, brought out a syringe.

  This was her chance, and she couldn't afford to mess it up.

  Forcing the fear and the panic from her mind, Valkyrie splayed her fingers. The air shimmered and the syringe flew from his grasp, vanishing into the darkness.

  He cursed, tried to run after it, but lost his balance and stumbled.

  Valkyrie was up, already moving fast in the other direction.

  "That was a mistake," she heard him mutter. "That serum was the only thing keeping me under control. ..."

  She glanced back as Dusk took hold of his human form and tore it off, like a snake shucking its skin. The vampire beneath the flesh and clothes, the creature within the man, was bald and alabaster white, and its eyes were black and its fangs were jagged, and she knew Dusk hadn't been lying. That had been a mistake.

  Valkyrie sprinted, and the vampire bounded after her.

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  The Infected were all around her, and the black Jeep had picked her out with its headlights. Baron Vengeous could plainly see her, but she didn't care. Vengeous would keep her alive until he decided it was time to kill her. The vampire, on the other hand, would rip her to pieces right there and then.

  It was bounding after her and gaining fast. One more leap and it would be on top of her. She couldn't afford to try anything, couldn't afford to try her powers. Adrenaline was pumping through her system. Her powers probably wouldn't even work.

  She took Billy-Ray Sanguine's straight razor from her pocket, unfolding it as she ran. Over the sound of the oncoming Jeep, she heard Vengeous trying to call off the vampire, but she knew the beast wouldn't listen. A vampire, after it's shucked its skin, has no master. Skulduggery had called them the most efficient killers in the world. The only thing a vampire cared about was blood.

  The bounding stopped and she felt it in the air, felt it descending, and she turned and lashed out. The razor opened up the vampire's face as she fell backward. The vampire that had once been Dusk roared in pain, hit the ground, and came at her

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  again before she even had time to roll to her feet.

  The Jeep was still approaching, and it wasn't slowing down.

  It swerved and swung around in a cloud of dust and smacked right into the vampire, flinging it back. The passenger door opened.

  "In!" Skulduggery yelled.

  Valkyrie jumped in and the Jeep shot off.

  "Seat belt," Skulduggery said.

  Valkyrie reached for it as he turned the wheel, and her head hit the window.

  "Ow!"

  "Sorry. Wear your seat belt."

  The van was right behind them, filling the inside of the Jeep with yellow light. Skulduggery braked and turned, gunning the engine, and the yellow light withdrew sharply as the van missed the hidden turn. They left the van in their dust and followed a trail through the hills.

  Valkyrie grabbed the seat belt and tugged it a few times before she got it to work. She settled into her seat and clicked it in, just as Skulduggery braked.

  "Okay," he said. "Out."

  He opened his door and got out, hurrying to the Bentley.

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  Cursing his name, Valkyrie followed.

  The silence of the night was eerie. And then the ground ahead of them cracked and crumbled, and Skulduggery pulled out his gun as Billy-Ray Sanguine rose to the surface.

  "Well, I do declare," Sanguine said with a smile. "The great Skeleton Detective, in the flesh-- figuratively speakin', of course."

  Skulduggery regarded him warily. "Mr. Sanguine, I've been hearing so much about you."

  "That so?"

  "You're quite the little psychopath, aren't you?"

  "I try."

  "So tell me something: Why wait eighty years before you helped your old boss escape? Why didn't you just bust him out the day after he was caught?"

  Sanguine shrugged. "I suppose I had what y'all might call a crisis of faith, and my faith lost. These past eighty years, goin' it alone, it's been good, but somethin's been missing, y'know?"

  "You're under arrest."

  "Speakin' of which, and I don't mean to be rude, but I just popped by to pick up the li'l darlin' there. I'll be out of your hair in a moment-- again, figuratively speakin'."

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  And then he passed down into the ground with a smile on his face.

  "Oh hell," Valkyrie said, and Skulduggery reached for her but it was too late. The ground exploded and Sanguine grabbed her and Valkyrie didn't even have time to cry out before he took her down into the ground with him.

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  Chapter Twenty

  UNDER THE GROUND

  VALKYRIE GASPED for breath as she plunged down into the darkness.

  The earth shifted around her. It scraped into her back and crumbled at her feet. Dirt flew into her eyes and the sound of a rockslide roared in her ears. She clung to Sanguine as they moved.

  "Scared?" he said in her ear. "What if I were to just ... let go?"

  He was right in front of her-- she could feel his breath on her cheek-- but she couldn't see him. It was impossibly dark, whatever tunnel they were making filling up above them as they moved. Her

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  gut twisted as real, raw terror spread through her.

  "I'll burn you," she said, but the sound of rock-slide drowned out her small voice. "I'll burn you!" she shouted. She heard him laugh.

  "You burn me enough you might kill me, and then what would you do? You'd be stuck here, buried alive under the ground with only my corpse for comfort."

  They slowed, the rockslide lessened, and they came to a stop. Valkyrie was shaking. Sweat drenched her. Panic caught at her throat.

  "I can see you, you know," he said. "My eyes were taken, but my sight remains. And here, in the dark? I can see best of all. I can see the fear on your face. You can't hide it from me. So here's what's gonna happen. I'm gonna put some dainty li'l shackles on those wrists of yours, and then we're gonna go pay a visit to Baron Vengeous. That sound like a nice way to spend the rest of your life?"

  She tasted dirt in her mouth but didn't answer. It was too dark. She could feel the rocks all around her. Despite her loathing, she realized she was clinging tightly to Sanguine, terrified he was going to let her go and leave her here. She felt him move,

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  heard the earth shift, and felt something cold and metal close around her wrists.

  "Oh, one other thing," he said. "My blade. Where is it?"

  "Coat pocket," she whispered.

  His hand dipped into the pocket, removing the straight razor.

  "So good to have it back. It's like a part of me, y'know? Like a little piece of my soul."

  He could see in the dark, so she made sure he could see the contempt on her face. "Is there somewhere we need to go, or are you going to keep us down here and bore me to death?"

  He laughed, the rock shifted, and they moved again, fast. She tried to work out how Sanguine did it, but it was as if the ground just parted for him, then closed up when he'd passed. It was impossible to tell what direction they were going or even if they were headed up or down, and then suddenly the earth gave way and their momentum carried them through into the fresh air.

  The moon, heavy and low in the dark sky. Trees and hedges and grass. Valkyrie fell to her knees, spitting dirt and sucking in air. The sweat that coated her body now chilled her, but the ground

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  was solid and the roar was gone from her ears. She raised her head, looked back.

  "Your chariot awaits, ma'am," Sanguine said, opening the door to the car that had been parked there. She tested the shackles, but they were on tight. She clicked her fingers but no spark came. Her powers were bound.

  Sanguine helped her to the car by gripping the back of her neck and forcing her in. Even if she managed to get away, there was nowhere to run. There were meadows in every direction.

  He closed the door, walked around the car, and got in behind the wheel.

  "Is it fun?" he asked suddenly. "Doin' all that detectin'? I always wanted to be a detective. I was one, for about a year. I liked the romance of it all. The suits, the hats, the dark alleys, the femme fatale, all that quick talkin'. But I couldn't stop killin' folk. I mean, they'd hire me, I'd try to solve their mystery, but halfway through I'd get bored and end up killin' them, and then the case'd be over, and that'd be it. I solved one single murder that whole entire year, but I don't think that really counts, seein' as how I was the killer. I think that's kinda cheatin', in a way."

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  "Why are you doing this?" Valkyrie blurted out. "Why does he still want me? It's not like Skulduggery's going to back off just because I'm being held captive."

  Sanguine stared. "Are you serious?" He laughed. "Li'l darlin', you ain't no hostage; you never were!"

  "What?"

  "This whole thing, everythin' that's happenin', it's because of you."

  "What are you talking about?"

  "You heard about the missin' ingredient, right? The one thing Vengeous couldn't get his hands on, eighty years ago. You heard about that?"

  "Of course. What's that got to do with me?"

  "Sweetie, it is you. You're the missin' ingredient."

  She stared at him, and his smile grew wider.

  "You're a direct descendant of the Ancients, ain't you? What, you thought that little bit of information wouldn't get around? When I heard about that, I knew the time had come to set the Baron free."

  "You're lying. ..."

  "Scout's honor. The one thing he was missin' was blood with a certain type of power in it. Seein' as how he wasn't likely to get the blood of another

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  Faceless One anytime soon, the next best thing is the blood of one of the guys who managed to kill a Faceless One. That was the last ingredient to the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it cocktail he was brewin'. Must make you feel pretty special, huh?"

  She couldn't answer. She felt the color drain from her face.

  "This is good," Sanguine said, clearly delighted, as he started the engine. "This is good."

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  Chapter Twenty-one

  DONNING DARKNESS

  IT WAS TIME.

  Vengeous felt its power, felt it pierce his skin and wrap itself around his insides. Even if he wanted to, even if he changed his mind about what he planned to do, it was too late now. It was pulling him forward. How could Vile ever have been beaten with power like this?

  The Infected had laid out the armor on a table, in a small room at the rear of the church. From such humble beginnings, Vengeous thought to himself, and smiled.

  He approached the table, reached out, but stopped, his hands hovering over the gauntlets. His fingers trailed in

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  the air, moving over the chest plate, the boots. The first piece of armor he touched was the mask. He picked it up carefully, held it, felt it change and shift beneath his touch.

  The garments he wore -- black and simple to the eye -- were specially woven to ensure a successful binding. He would be wearing Lord Vile's armor -- his body would need insulating against the raw power contained within, power that could sear his flesh and boil his blood.

  By now, Billy-Ray Sanguine would have located the Cain girl, and he would be bringing her to the church. The Baron himself, with help from the Infected, had subdued Dusk and injected him with the serum. By shedding his skin, Dusk had failed him, nearly cost him everything. But Vengeous would punish him later. For right now, all his dreams were about to come true.

  As Baron Vengeous donned the armor, shadows rose from it like steam.

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  Chapter Twenty-two

  BLOOD AND SHADOWS

  THEY DROVE deeper into the country, where the roads narrowed and twisted like snakes. Finally, they pulled up outside a dark old church and Sanguine got out, went around to her side and opened the door, then pulled her from the car.

  He took her arm and led her up the cracked, overgrown path. Vines clung to the crumbling walls, and the small stained-glass windows were caked with grime and dust.

  He pushed open the ancient double doors and guided her into the cold, dank church. There were

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  still a few pews that hadn't rotted away, and there were hundreds of lit candles that sent the shadows dancing and pirouetting across the walls. The altar had been ransacked and cleared, replaced with a large slab, solid and proud, and upon that slab was the massive, bandaged body of the Grotesquery, covered in a sheet.

  Baron Vengeous was waiting for them, clad in the black armor of Lord Vile. It was not what Valkyrie had expected. The armor did not clank, or rattle, and it cast no sheen. It seemed to be alive, subtly moving and reshaping itself even as she watched.

  There were others in the church, Infected men and women, the vampire virus working through their bodies, changing them every moment that passed. They stayed in the shadows as best they could.

  She could see Dusk now. His human form had grown back, but it had kept the scar across his face. It was deep, and ugly, and he was glaring at her with every ounce of hatred his blackened soul was capable of.

  "Valkyrie Cain," Vengeous said, the mask distorting his voice into a rough whisper. "So nice of

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  you to join us on this most auspicious of nights. The creature on this table will open the gateway for its brethren, and this world will be cleansed. The unworthy will be decimated, and we will usher in a new paradise, and it's all thanks to you."

  Sanguine took Valkyrie by the elbow and led her to the front pew, where he made her sit beside him, and they watched Vengeous lower his head, his hands raised above the body on the slab.

  Shadows started moving around Vengeous. The candles were flickering as though a strong wind was blowing, but the inside of the church was deathly calm.

  "The Grotesquery's gonna feed on you," Sanguine whispered, almost casual. "That good ole boy's been down for the count-- he's gonna need your blood in his veins. Gonna have himself a slap-up meal. You mind if I take pictures? Brought my own camera and everythin'."

  "Knock yourself out."

  "Thanks."

  "No, really, run headfirst into the wall and knock yourself out, because I'm telling you, you better be unconscious when Skulduggery gets here."

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  Sanguine grinned and sat back. "I can handle Mr. Funnybones, don't you worry about that. Pay attention now, darlin'-- this is where it gets interestin'."

  Valkyrie looked back at the altar, just as the shadows bunched up behind Vengeous and descended on him like a shroud. He stiffened and his body jerked, as if he was being shot through with electric currents. The shadows started flowing out through his fingertips and down, passing through the sheet.

  "Mr. Sanguine," Vengeous whispered.

  Sanguine pulled Valkyrie up and dragged her over to the slab. He grinned as he showed her his straight razor, then grabbed her wrist. She tried to struggle but he was far too strong, and she cried out as he ran the cold blade across the palm of her right hand.

  But instead of running off her hand and dripping onto the sheet, her blood drifted to the shadow stream, mixing with it, twirling through it and around it, being fed into the body of the Grotesquery.

  And that was when the double doors swung open and Skulduggery Pleasant strolled into the church.

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  The Infected snarled and Valkyrie pull
ed her hand from Sanguine's grip. Vengeous looked up from his dark work and his armor grew angry spikes, as Skulduggery walked up to the end of the aisle and sat in the front pew. He crossed his legs, settled into a comfortable position, and waved his hand in the air.

  "Don't let me interrupt," he said.

  Valkyrie frowned.

  Not quite the rescue she'd been counting on.

  The Infected moved into the light, closing in on Skulduggery, who was acting like he'd just popped by for a chat. Vengeous sent the last of the shadow stream into the Grotesquery and then stepped back. Valkyrie saw him sag slightly.

  Vengeous brought his hands up to his head and undid the latches on the mask, lifting it off. His face was pale and shiny with sweat. His eyes were narrow and cold.

  "Abomination," he said. "You came here alone? No Cleavers with you? Mr. Bliss isn't by your side?"

  "You know me, Baron; I like to take care of things myself. Also, when you beat me up, you broke my phone, so . . ."

  A smile now, cracking across Vengeous's lips.

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  "Did you come here to witness the beginning of your end?"

  "No, not really. I just came here to do this."

  Skulduggery reached into his jacket, pulled out a small black satchel, and lobbed it onto the slab. It landed on the sheet, over the bandaged chest of the Grotesquery. Vengeous gazed at it, reached out . . .

  "Wouldn't do that if I were you," Skulduggery said, holding up a small device. "One push of this button, and this lovely little church is decorated with bits of your god."

  "A bomb?" Vengeous said, anger rising in his voice. His armor swelled and thickened protectively. "You think explosives could harm a Faceless One?"