“Only time I’ve ever seen Anton Shudder smile while on a Dead Men mission,” Vex said, eyes sparkling with approval. “That was a good day.”

“That’s why we won,” Ghastly said, a little quieter.

Valkyrie looked at him. “That mission?”

“Hmm? No, no. The mission was just a mission, the latest in a long line. No, the reason we won was friendships like that. They called us the Dead Men because they said we weren’t afraid of dying. Mevolent’s lot? They wanted to bring the Faceless Ones back, but the main thing was that they wanted to be there when it happened. After all, what’s the point of going to all that trouble if they weren’t around to enjoy the results? So there were no sacrifices to save their friends, none of that. And that’s one of the main reasons they lost. It got to the point where they couldn’t trust each other, because it was all about personal survival. Whereas with us… we were fighting, and dying, for each other.”

“Larrikin saved my life,” Vex said. “We were in Wales, and Serpine had sneaked right up behind me, about to use that red right hand of his. Larrikin pushed me away, shielded me. He died screaming.” Vex shook his head sadly. “Never forget those screams. You were there when Skulduggery killed Serpine, weren’t you?”

“Yes,” Valkyrie answered.

“I would have liked to have seen that.”

“Larrikin was a good man,” Skulduggery said, and they turned as he led China off the dance floor towards them. “As was Hopeless. They died for what they believed in.”

“Hopeless tried to kill me once,” China said, almost wistfully. “This was back when I was fighting for the other side, of course. We had some good, good times.”

“Hopeless and Larrikin,” Ghastly said, raising his glass.

“Hopeless and Larrikin,” they echoed.

Chapter 48 - Going Underground

Chapter 48
Going Underground

own deep in the caves below Gordon Edgley’s house, the zombie horde moved in silence. Twenty recruits to Scapegrace’s undead army, all with bite marks and blood splatters, all waiting for the order to charge into battle. Holding flashlights to penetrate the darkness, they looked slightly bewildered, but Scapegrace didn’t mind that. In his experience, zombie hordes always looked bewildered. This was his second horde, so he reckoned himself to be something of an expert.