LITMIR.BIZ

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lay flat. She was thirsty. Her thoughts were muddled. She turned her head in time to see Caelan drop to the floor. He didn’t get up. Dusk slipped back to the side of Springheeled Jack.

      Ghastly and Shudder closed in, forcing Jack and Dusk to retreat towards the elevator. Jack grinned. Dusk stepped back behind him.

      “Careful,” Jack said, “we don’t want to hurt each other, now do we? I mean, who knows? After today, we’ll probably be fightin’ on the same side.”

      “I’d ask you what it is you’re talking about,” Ghastly said, “but I really don’t care.”

      “Oh, come now, ain’t it obvious? What do you think will happen when over 80,000 people are murdered live on air by a bomb that could only be described as magic? People are goin’ to know, ain’t they? They’re goin’ to believe in magic and they’re goin’ to believe in us. No more hidin’ for yours truly. I’ll be free to walk about on street level, do what I want, kill who I want…It’ll be a little slice of heaven.”

      “That’s why you’re doing this?” Shudder frowned. “To reveal magic to the world?”

      “That’s why I’m doin’ it, yeah. The others have their own reasons. They want the Sanctuary destroyed; they want the confusion of every sorcerer around the world scramblin’ for a piece of what’s left…I don’t know, I didn’t really ask them. We’re not what you might call a friendly bunch. Ain’t that right, Dusk?”

      “That’s right,” Dusk said from behind him. “But I don’t care about the Sanctuary or the war you’re hoping will start.”

      Jack nodded. “Dusk’s motives are pure. He’s only interested in revenge. So, mate, did you do it? Did you bite her?”

      “I did,” said Dusk.

      “Then has your thirst for revenge been sated?”

      “Not quite,” Dusk said. “Valkyrie Cain was only one of the people I sought revenge upon.”

      “Really? You didn’t tell me that. Ah well, I suppose this is what you get when you don’t talk, am I right? You get surprises. So come on, Dusk, who else is on your list?”

      “You are.”

      Jack frowned and turned as the elevator doors closed and Dusk was lost to sight. Suddenly alone, Jack turned back to Shudder and Ghastly just as they attacked.

      Valkyrie forced herself up, one hand at the wound on her neck, and she ran. The wound was burning, but there wasn’t much blood loss. She followed the corridor and took a left, jumping over the unconscious body of another security guard. Skulduggery came running back towards her.

      “Where is he?” she called.

      “Guild went after him. I lost them both.” He started to say something else then grabbed her. “You’ve been bitten.”

      “Kenspeckle can cure me, right? So long as I get to him in the next few hours, I’ll be fine. Dusk bit me and basically spat me back out. It’s not even bleeding any more.”

      “Yes, it is.”

      “Well, it’s not bleeding much.”

      “Valkyrie, you have to listen to me. Go back to Fletcher and get him to teleport you both out.”

      She pulled away from him. “What?”

      “The Desolation Engine could go off at any moment. If it does, it won’t care how strong you are or how tough. It won’t be something you can fight.”

      “I’m staying with you.”

      “Damn it, Valkyrie, if it goes off, I won’t be able to save you.”

      “I’m not going to need you to save me.”

      “I didn’t involve you in all this just so you could die by my side, do you hear me?”

      “You didn’t involve me in this – I involved myself. I tagged along after Gordon was killed, I got you to teach me magic, I did it, OK? You didn’t have a choice in the matter.”

      “For once, please will you do what I ask?”

      “Not a chance. And the more we argue about it, the less time we have to stop Scarab.”

      Skulduggery looked at her then wrapped his scarf around his jaw. “He’ll be among the crowd now,” he said. “It’s the safest place for him now that he knows we’re after him. We’ll have to keep each other in sight at all times.”

      “I’ll be able to move faster than you. I don’t have to worry about a disguise slipping off.”

      “You’ve got blood all over you.”

      She snapped up the collar of her coat. “Better? Now come on, we don’t have much time.”

       46 ENDGAME

      uild watched Scarab move in off the steps and take a seat in the crowd. There was a time when an assassin of Scarab’s calibre would never have allowed himself to be followed like this, but that time had drifted by while Scarab had been sitting in his cell. Now he was just an old man who thought he had escaped. There was an empty seat beside Scarab and Guild sat in it.

      “Hello, Dreylan,” he said. “Don’t try to run. I wouldn’t want you to embarrass yourself.”

      Scarab’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t move from his seat.

      “Look what I found in the Repository,” Guild continued, opening his hand. The copper disc he held was almost as wide as his palm and it had eight thin legs curled up against its underside like a dead spider. “Do you recognise it? I’m sure you do. You built it, didn’t you? How many did you kill with this particular little weapon?”

      “I didn’t keep count,” Scarab said.

      “It just attaches to its target, isn’t that right? And releases all this awful energy? So, for example, if I were to press it against you, the power it would release would be enough to give you a heart attack a hundred times over, yes?”

      The eight legs flexed, as if the device had sensed a new victim.

      Scarab swallowed. “Yes.”

      The crowd roared and people jumped to their feet around them. Guild and Scarab remained seated.

      “Where’s the Desolation Engine, Scarab?”

      “In my pocket.”

      “Your near pocket?”

      “Yes.”

      Guild smiled, carefully dipping his free hand into Scarab’s coat. His fingers closed around the bomb and he pulled it out slowly. The liquid within the glass was still a calm green colour. It hadn’t even been armed yet. He held it under his jacket, away from prying eyes.

      “You have caused us so much worry,” he murmured. “It’s a good thing I found you before you did something to actually trouble us.”

      “You’re going to kill me,” Scarab said, “is that it? Right here?”

      “I think it would be for the best.”

      Scarab turned his head and looked at him. “Do you have what it takes? To look into a man’s eyes and kill him? You’ve ordered deaths. You’ve orchestrated them, facilitated them, covered them up…But have you actually been this close when you murdered someone? Close enough to look into their eyes as they die?”

      “I haven’t,” Guild admitted. “But I’m curious to find out what it’s like.”

      “Can I be honest? I wish Meritorious

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