LITMIR.BIZ

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she said.

      Ghastly Bespoke glanced back at her. “You and your reflection know a lot about us. You mind telling me how?”

      Valkyrie hesitated. “Later,” she said. “I promise.”

      It was unsettling, looking at Ghastly and not seeing the recognition in his eyes. For the first time she noticed what some of them were wearing – black clothes, made of the same material as her own outfit back home. This Ghastly was a little narrower than the one she was used to. He still had the same broad shoulders but where her Ghastly had a boxer’s physique, the Ghastly who stood before her looked like a sprinter. Less physically powerful, but faster.

      He walked over to Meritorious and Valkyrie followed.

      “I’m sorry,” said Ghastly.

      Meritorious smiled. “You’re not to blame, my friend. Do what you can. Save who you can. This girl here, take her, too. She has an interesting story.”

      “I’m sure she does,” said Ghastly. “We’ve rounded up everyone. We have to go.”

      “Then go.”

      “I’ll be back for you, Eachan. We’ll get you out somehow.”

      “I’m an old man and my time is almost done, so don’t you worry about me. I’m not as valuable as you all seem to think I am, and I’m certainly not as wise as I pretend to be. If I see you again in the sunshine, so be it. If I die down here, I’ll make sure they’ll have to clean up after me for a week.”

      The air was split by a scream.

      “Vile!” someone shouted. “It’s Lord Vile!”

      Suddenly everyone was panicking. Ghastly grabbed Valkyrie’s arm, dragged her after him. She glimpsed a dark figure striding between the cells, and all those people trying to get away.

      Darkness swarmed to his armour, filling the space behind him. Tendrils lashed out, as fast as striking cobras, impaling those who tried to run. The dead and the dying were lifted off their feet and paraded ahead of Vile as he walked, their tortured cries adding to the panic of those still with a chance of escape.

      “Keep him back!” Ghastly roared, and immediately five sorcerers barged past Valkyrie, on an intercept course. Elementals and Adepts, they hurled whatever they had at him. Most of their attacks struck the helpless bodies of Vile’s victims, and the attacks that got by were instantly swarmed by shadows.

      Ghastly ran to a wall, started drawing with chalk. “Behind me!” he roared. “Everyone behind me!”

      People pushed and shoved, almost knocking Valkyrie back. Finished with one symbol, Ghastly ran to the opposite wall, started drawing there. He had a scrap of paper in his other hand, and he was copying it as best he could.

      Shadows reared up behind the five sorcerers who faced Vile, and they turned, tried fending them off, but the shadows swayed and feinted, waiting for the silent command to strike. And then they struck, slicing through the sorcerers and picking their bodies up off the rough ground to join the grisly parade, and still Vile walked.

      Ghastly finished drawing, pressed his hand to the symbol, then backed off towards Valkyrie. “Run!”

      They ran. Vile flung the bodies of his victims away and pressed forward, stepping between the symbols. There was a green flash, so bright it blinded Valkyrie for a moment. She staggered, feeling around her. Slowly her vision came back and she turned, blinking, saw Vile on the ground, trying to get up.

      Ghastly grabbed her arm again, turned to the dozens of people all linked by touch to Vex and Remit in the middle of the crowd.

      “Everyone linked up?” Vex asked loudly.

      Valkyrie glanced back. Vile was on his feet.

      “Go!” Ghastly ordered. Vex put a knife to Remit’s throat and they teleported, all of them, exchanging the oppressive confines of the dungeon for the open sky of a meadow at evening time.

      There were people on the outskirts of the meadow, people who rushed in, shouting. At first Valkyrie thought they were being attacked, but when they collided, they collided in hugs. She watched all these people be reunited with friends and family, and Ghastly led her through it all. She saw the top of a scythe in the crowd and tensed, then glimpsed grey instead of red. Cleavers. Proper Cleavers, not Redhoods, standing to attention.

      “Wait here,” Ghastly said, and moved between them. She quickly lost sight of him and stood there, looking around for a face she recognised.

      “Did you meet Mevolent?” asked her reflection, appearing beside her. Valkyrie surprised herself by how glad she was to see it.

      “Yeah,” she responded, smiling. “Not what I was expecting. I thought he’d be, you know, fire and brimstone and drenched in blood. But he’s normal. Not totally normal – he’s eight foot tall and insane – but normal enough. Lord Vile is with him.”

      The reflection looked at her. “Maybe that’s why Mevolent is still alive.”

      Valkyrie moved closer, and kept her voice low. “That’s what I was thinking. Which means if our Skulduggery hadn’t snapped out of it and thrown away the armour all those years ago, Mevolent would be ruling our dimension as well. What’s going on here? How did you meet these guys?”

      The reflection shrugged. “They found me. Apparently having a stranger in town wearing clothes that don’t fit is enough of an oddity to attract the attention of the Resistance. Vex came to see me. He’s so good-looking.”

      Valkyrie nudged the reflection’s side with her elbow. “Keep your voice down.”

      An eyebrow arched. “My opinion is your opinion.”

      “Yeah, but I don’t need him knowing my opinion.”

      The reflection smiled. “Sorry.”

      Ghastly approached through the crowd. “Valkyrie, she will see you now.”

      He turned and she hesitated, then followed, the reflection by her side.

      “She?” Valkyrie whispered.

      The reflection gave another little smile. “The Resistance leader.”

      The crowd parted ahead and revealed a woman in a long white dress, the most beautiful woman Valkyrie had ever seen. Her hair was as black as a starless night while her eyes were as blue as ice and twice as cold. China Sorrows gazed upon her and didn’t smile.

      “Child,” she said. “We are in your debt. Without your gift of the Teleporter, my people would still be rotting in that dungeon.”

      “Thank you for taking me with them on the way out,” Valkyrie replied. “You’re... You’re the Resistance leader?”

      China arched an eyebrow. “You sound surprised. Do I know you?”

      “No,” Valkyrie said. “But I’ve heard of you.”

      “Your reflection tells me you’re an Elemental, is that right? We’re always on the lookout for more recruits to the cause.”

      “Sure,” Valkyrie said, a little doubtfully. “It’s just I don’t know how long I’ll be here.”

      China was already turning away. She had delivered her invitation and that was all she cared about.

      Ghastly stepped closer. “You promised to tell me how you know the things you know,” he said. “I see recognition in your eyes. We’ve met before, haven’t we? But I don’t remember.”

      “It’s complicated,” she said. “I’m not from here.” Her arm started to ache. “Oh... and it looks like we’ll be heading home soon.”

      “Is that so?”

      She smiled at him. “It was very nice to meet you, and I’m glad I could do something to help. And if you ever meet a girl called Tanith, do yourself

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