“From what I can gather, it’s going to just stand there, and then the people who are sneaking up behind us are going to cut our throats, chop us into bits, and feed us to it over the next week or so in very small chunks.”

Valkyrie turned, and a dozen villagers froze mid-step. Baffle was the closest. He looked embarrassed to have been caught out. “Ah,” she said. “So this is where we fight.”

She snapped both hands against the air and Baffle flew backwards, yelling as he crashed into his fellow villagers. She grabbed the shadows, brought them in low, knocking a big man off his feet before he could get to her. Fire flared in her hands and she lobbed it into the middle of the crowd, scattering them. She slammed her elbow into a woman’s face and stomped on the knee of another man. They were everywhere, all around her, but unable to use their magic in case they hit one of their own. Valkyrie didn’t have that problem.

She caught sight of Myosotis, taking on three at a time, but then more villagers were running in, joining the fight, and Myosotis was blocked from view.

Valkyrie knew there were too many of them. She knew this wasn’t going to end well.

A beam of blue light flashed by her face and she jerked back. It hit the man behind her and he dropped instantly. Villagers were stumbling out of the way as one of them, a man in rags with crazy hair, swung his arms wildly, like he couldn’t control the energy that was pouring from his fingertips. Valkyrie dived to the ground, and the blue beam swept over her, taking down half a dozen villagers in one go. Everyone was screaming at Crazy Hair to stop, but he looked terrified, like he’d forgotten how to turn off his power.

And then Myosotis was behind him, grabbing his arms, redirecting the beams into the crowd above Valkyrie’s head. Villagers fell around her, unconscious before they hit the ground.

But then the beams sputtered and died, and Crazy Hair sagged, exhausted.

“Thanks for that,” Myosotis said, and punched him. He did a little twirl and fell down.

Valkyrie scrambled up before the remaining villagers could grab her. She ran through the stone huts, Myosotis behind her, towards Skulduggery. A man crashed into her and she went down, rolled over, dropped an elbow into his face and hauled herself to her feet.

Skulduggery raised his head. “Oh, hello,” he said. “I see you’ve found Myosotis.”

“Thank you for saving me,” Myosotis called as she ducked the swipe of a crude blade.

“Not a problem,” Skulduggery answered happily. “So this is the exciting battle part, is it? I do so love these parts.”

“You might have to stay up there just a little while longer,” Valkyrie called, using the air to hurl three villagers off their feet.