Playing With Fire

Chapter Thirty-eight THOSE ABOUT TO DIE...

The Earth's shadow was starting to creep across the face of the moon.

The convoy stopped on a quiet road, and engines were cut and headlights snapped off. The Cleavers jumped from the backs of the trucks, making not one sound as they lined up and waited for instruction.

Valkyrie swung her leg off Tanith's bike and took off the helmet. She was nervous. Her palms were sweating and her teeth wouldn't stop chattering.

"Feeling okay?" Tanith asked, keeping her voice low.

"I'm good," Valkyrie lied. "I'm grand. We're just, you know, we're about to fight a god, like."

"Part of a god," Tanith corrected. "Parts of other things too."

Valkyrie looked at her and shook her head in wonder.

"You're actually looking forward to this, aren't you?"

"Hell yeah. I mean, fighting a god, part of a god, hybrid god, whatever. As you say, this is big. This is major. I've fought all kinds over the years, but ... a god. Assuming I survive this, where do I go from here? What would top fighting a god?"

"I don't know," Valkyrie said. "Fighting two gods?"

The Bentley pulled up, and Skulduggery and Mr. Bliss got out. Skulduggery took off his coat and scarf and left them in the car.

Skulduggery and Bliss approached, and the Cleavers stood to attention. Valkyrie had to fight down the irrational urge to salute.

"Billy-Ray Sanguine and the Grotesquery are in a derelict hospital just north of here,"

Bliss said, addressing them all. "The vampire known as Dusk is currently in our custody, but the whereabouts of

Baron Vengeous are still unknown. We can assume that he is on his way. He wouldn't want to miss the return of the Faceless Ones."

"I want you all to know," Skulduggery said, "that we are the first line of defense. In fact, we're practically the only line of defense. If we fail, there won't be a whole lot anyone else will be able to do. What I'm trying to say is that failure, at this point, isn't really the smart move to make. We are not to fail, do I make myself absolutely clear? Failure is bad — it won't help us in the short term and certainly won't do us any favors in the long run, and I think I've lost track of this speech, and I'm not too sure where it's headed. But I know where it started, and that's what you've got to keep in mind. Has anyone seen my hat?"

"You put it on the roof of the car when you were taking off your coat," Valkyrie said.

"Did I? I did; excellent."

"We will attack in two waves," Bliss said, steering the briefing back into the realms of relevance. "The first wave will consist of Tanith Low, Valkyrie Cain, Skulduggery Pleasant, and myself. The second wave will be you Cleavers."

"We're seizing our chance now," Skulduggery said, "before Vengeous returns and we have a battle on two fronts. The first wave will weaken the Grotesquery. We're going to hit it with everything we've got and not give it any time to teleport away or to heal. Once we know that it is damaged, we'll call in the second wave. Does anyone have any questions? No? No one? No questions? You sure?"

Bliss turned to him. "There do not seem to be any questions."

Skulduggery nodded. "They're a fine lot."

Bliss gestured, and the Cleavers divided into groups, and Valkyrie and Skulduggery strode away.

"I used to be so good at that kind of thing," Skulduggery said quietly.

"Well, my morale is certainly boosted," Valkyrie informed him.

"Really?"

"God no. That was terrible."

Tanith and Bliss joined them, and they stepped into the trees.

Valkyrie moved as stealthily as she could, but the others were moving in complete silence.

She glimpsed Cleavers all around, their gray uniforms mixing with the gloom and the darkness until they became mere hints of people.

They stopped just inside the tree line. Ahead of them, past an old metal fence, was the main hospital building. The black Jeep was parked outside, and Sanguine emerged from the hospital doors, holding a phone to his ear.

"Okay," Sanguine said, his voice clear in the quiet night. "I can hear you better now; go ahead."

As Sanguine listened to whatever was being said on the other end of the phone, Valkyrie glanced at her companions, suddenly realizing that Skulduggery was no longer with them. She looked back at Sanguine.

"So that's it, then?" he was saying. "I just leave? Naw, that ugly critter is back there, standin' around and not doin' a whole lot."

Valkyrie narrowed her eyes, squinting into the darkness behind Sanguine. She saw something move. Skulduggery.

Sanguine continued talking, totally unaware of the Skeleton Detective sneaking up behind him. "I'm pretty sure the vampire's taken care of; we don't have to worry about him anymore.

And what about our friend the Baron?"

Valkyrie frowned. Who was Sanguine talking to?

"You sure?" he was saying. "You don't want me to ... ? No, no, I ain't questionin' you, I just . . . Yeah, I know who's payin' my salary. Hey, no skin off my chin, if that's the way you want it; I'm walkin' away now."

He put the phone in his pocket and smirked.

"Have a nice life, Baron," he said softly, then turned and walked straight into Skulduggery's fist.

He staggered and went for his knife, but Skulduggery chopped at his wrist and his fingers sprang open, sending the knife flying. Sanguine swung a punch, and Skulduggery caught him and smacked his head off the Jeep. Sanguine slumped to the ground.

Skulduggery picked up the knife and flung it away, then motioned for the others to join him.

They broke from the tree line. The large gate had already been blasted open, and they moved through it, up to Skulduggery. He had Sanguine's phone in his hand, and he was checking through it.

"Whoever that was," he said, "their number is blocked."

"Sanguine's been taking orders from someone else the whole time," Tanith said. "The persons in power you were talking about earlier, the ones who got Guild onto the Council, the ones who took away all our support. He's working for them."

"And Vengeous doesn't know about it," Valkyrie said.

Skulduggery put the phone away. "That's a mystery for tomorrow," he said. "Providing there is a tomorrow."

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 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.

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 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 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.

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 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!"