“A problem?” he echoed. “No! My word, no! Not at all! I’m sure, given time, we could be the best of friends, were it not for your unfortunate habit of murdering my gods.”

“Oh,” she said, understanding at last. “You’re a disciple of the Faceless Ones.”

“Indeed I am,” Arthur said, bowing before her. “In the spirit of openness and togetherness that the new Council of Elders wants to project, I have been invited, for the first time, to the Requiem Ball, where all you people laugh and chortle and pat each other’s backs for defeating the evil Mevolent and his evil followers – of which I was one.”

“You didn’t have to come,” Valkyrie pointed out.

“And you don’t tell me what to do,” Arthur sneered. “You’ll get your come-uppance, you know. You’ll pay for all the things you’ve done.”

“It was a pleasure to meet you,” Hansard Kray said, trying to pull his father away.

“I should put you over my knee,” Arthur said loudly, keeping his eyes on Valkyrie, “and spank you here in front of everyone.”

A waiter appeared, tried to help Hansard’s efforts, but Arthur shoved him back. He waved a fat finger at Valkyrie. “You watch yourself, girl. You watch yourself. Your time is coming.”

Finally, Hansard managed to turn his father, and they plunged through the gathered crowd until it swallowed them up. A moment passed, and slowly the conversations picked up again.

Valkyrie turned to Skulduggery. “He was lovely!” she beamed.

“Arthur Dagan’s family was once royalty,” Skulduggery told her, “or something close to it. Mevolent served under his grandfather for a time, before he came to power himself. Arthur hasn’t handled their fall from grace with as much dignity as one might wish for. Hopefully, his son fares better.”

There was a shout, and then a door burst open and men in ski masks poured into the room, waving guns.

“Nobody move!” one of them screamed, firing into the air. “We’re here for your jewellery and wallets! Anyone tries being a hero, they’ll be shot dead!”

Chapter 47 - This Evening’s Entertainment

Chapter 47
This Evening’s Entertainment

he gunshot stopped the music. Everybody stopped talking, and just stared in absolute astonishment. Valkyrie couldn’t quite believe it.

The guest with the claws spoke up. “You’re… you’re here to rob us?”

“Yeah!” the leader of the gang said. Then he faltered. “What’s up with your hands?”

One of his friends, a man in a red ski mask, was already panicking. He held his gun in a tight grip, and even from where she was standing, Valkyrie recognised the dirty fingernails of the waiter who had offered her champagne. “I told you, Larry, this isn’t right. Look at these people. They’re not right.”