The Faceless Ones

Chapter Forty-two. Black Lightning

There was a sound like a stampede behind them, and the Faceless One that had taken over the body of Murder Rose crashed through the trees. It batted China away and slammed into Skulduggery. Valkyrie fell back and dropped the Scepter. The Faceless One reached for her just as an arm encircled her waist.

Fletcher Renn said, "Hold on," in her ear, and then they teleported.

A blink.

Then they were on the far side of the farmhouse, beside the burning van. Fletcher let go and she whirled.

"You came back!"

"Naturally."

"Skulduggery!" she exclaimed. "We can't leave them!"

"Wasn't planning on it." He moved against her, and she hung on to him.

In an instant, they were back in the field. China was still down, and the Faceless One saw them, picked up Skulduggery, and hurled him at them. Valkyrie dived and Skulduggery slammed into Fletcher.

The Faceless One strode to her.

She saw the Scepter and opened her hand, felt the air, and used it to tug at the weapon. It rolled slightly. The Faceless One was almost upon her.

She held out both hands, clutching at the air and dragging it back, and the Scepter flew at her. She jumped to her feet, but the Faceless One snatched the Scepter from her grasp.

Valkyrie tried to take it back, but the Faceless One shook her hand off with such force that she was sent sprawling. It took the Scepter in a two-handed grip, and she saw the anger in its stance, and the violence, like it was remembering what this weapon was, and what it could do, and what it had done, an eternity before. The golden rod began to crumple, began to break, and she saw the black crystal, glowing fiercely beneath the fingers that were tightening around it. It shattered, and lightning spilled out, and then the Faceless One was crumbling to dust.

The Scepter fell, mangled and beyond use, and the fragments of crystal, which were dull and robbed of power, fell with it.

Valkyrie got up, hurrying over to Skulduggery and Fletcher. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Skulduggery said gruffly, but she ran by him and helped Fletcher to his feet.

"I'm okay," Fletcher groaned. "One more to go, huh? Not doing too badly."

"Actually," she said, "we kind of are. The Scepter's been destroyed." She looked around at Skulduggery. "What do we do?"

Skulduggery straightened his tie and buttoned his torn jacket. "The first thing we do," he said, "is get over the fact that my well-being 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." Had he forgotten Batu?"The fun ones are like that."

"But how do we get the last Faceless One to back through? "

"We're going to let it chase us."

"Us?"

"Well, I say us. I mean you."

"Terrific," Valkyrie muttered.