“Of course I won’t,” Scapegrace said, crossing his fingers behind his back. He must have crossed them too hard, though, because one of them came loose and fell to the floor. He waited until McGill had walked out before picking it up, then trudged away to find some ice.

Chapter 24 - The Temple Siege

Chapter 24
The Temple Siege

t a little past noon, the first truck pulled up to the gates of the cemetery. The rear doors opened and Cleavers slipped out quietly. They moved in easy formation through the rows of graves to the crypt that acted as the entrance to the Necromancer Temple. One of them twisted the hemispheres of a cloaking sphere, and a bubble of energy rippled outwards. Once the bubble had expanded to the outskirts of the graveyard, the second truck arrived. More Cleavers disembarked and took up positions around the perimeter.

Wreath and Tenebrae watched the Cleavers, viewing it all on a large screen broken into squares. Each of these squares was a different camera angle. The cameras wouldn’t last long, but at least they gave an indication of what the Necromancers were up against. From what Wreath could see, they were up against a lot.

Men and women joined the Cleavers, sorcerers of both Elemental and Adept magic. Sanctuary agents, operatives and detectives. These people didn’t wear uniforms and didn’t carry badges. Some of them were armed, some of them weren’t. All had power coursing through their veins.

Seven minutes after the first Cleaver had stepped off the first truck, Wreath watched Valkyrie Cain follow Skulduggery Pleasant up the cracked path to the crypt. They stopped under a camera, looked right up into it.

“My name is Skulduggery Pleasant,” the skeleton said, his voice coming loud and clear through the speakers. “I have with me a warrant for the arrest of Melancholia St Clair, to be charged with the assault of a Sanctuary operative and detained by us until trial. If this door is not opened immediately, we will be forced to break it down.”

Pleasant waited a full five seconds, then nodded. Wreath’s gaze flickered to another feed, as a battering ram was brought up, held by two Cleavers, who swung it into the crypt door in a heavy rhythm.

The screens went blank. So much for technology.

“The doors won’t hold for ever,” Wreath said, as Quiver and Craven came in behind them.

“What about their Teleporter?” Tenebrae asked.

Wreath shook his head. “Fletcher Renn can only teleport to places he’s been or can see. He’s never even seen inside the Temple.”

Tenebrae sat back in his chair. “Reinforcements?”

“A dozen of our brothers and sisters are on their way from London,” Wreath said. “But whether they’ll make it in time, I don’t know.”

Tenebrae looked at Quiver. “Our escape routes?”