“Stop hittin’ me!” he cried. “This is hardly fair, now is it? Two of you against me?”

“You’re the one who came at us with a gun,” Ghastly said, standing over him.

“But that was for a giggle,” Jack tried. “I wasn’t aimin’ at you, I swear.”

Valkyrie looked back and saw Skulduggery running to catch up with Guild and Scarab.

“Besides,” Jack continued, “we accomplished what we needed to.” He looked up at Ghastly. “Are you usin’ a new face cream or somethin’? You look different.”

Shudder frowned. “What did you accomplish?”

“You got one unpredictable element in your little team,” Jack told them with an exaggerated sigh. “The kind of power that could mess up everythin’. It was our job to take that power out of the equation.”

Valkyrie paled.

“Where’s Fletcher?” asked Ghastly.

Jack grinned. “He should be right—”

A fist of cold granite hit Valkyrie and she went tumbling. Shudder went to leap over her at Dusk, but Dusk threw Fletcher’s limp body into him. They went down in a heap and Jack sprang, his knee smashing into Ghastly’s face, then he leaped off him and landed behind Valkyrie.

He grabbed her, his hot breath in her ear. “I got someone who’d like to talk to you.”

He shoved her at Dusk, who swatted her hand away as she brought it up. He didn’t waste time with talk, or threats, or anything as mundane as enjoying the moment. He just sank his jagged teeth into her neck.

45 SEARCHING FOR SCARAB

45
SEARCHING FOR SCARAB

For a time there was just the pain and the feel of her heartbeat thumping loudly and quickly. And when the pain stopped and her eyes refocused, Valkyrie saw Dusk holding her at arm’s length. His lips were red with her blood, but his eyes were narrowed in confusion.

The window behind him exploded and Caelan came through, slamming into Dusk and lifting him off his feet. Valkyrie stumbled backwards, tripping over Fletcher’s unconscious form and falling. Dusk seized Caelan and threw him into the wall, but Caelan came back with a snarl.

Valkyrie’s hand pressed against the wound on her neck. Her blood was warm. She felt it trickling between her fingers. She glimpsed Caelan and Dusk fighting, and even from that one glimpse she could see that Caelan was completely outmatched. No matter how fast he moved, he couldn’t hope to match the speed of a vampire like Dusk.

She 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.