“It certainly looks like him,” Melancholia said, glancing behind her to the spot where Vile had been impaled. Her smile faded. He wasn’t there any more.

Skulduggery fixed his cuffs. “As I said, that wasn’t Lord Vile.” He raised his head. “This is Lord Vile.”

Darkness leaked from Skulduggery’s shirt. It wrapped around his body like a bandage, growing thicker, forming armour, covering him from head to foot. Valkyrie stepped back, found herself retreating as fast as she could.

And then Skulduggery was gone, and in his place stood Lord Vile.

Melancholia didn’t move for a few seconds, then she shook her head, as if to wake herself up. “You don’t scare me,” she said before whipping up the shadows and lashing them at Vile. A wall arose in front of him, absorbed the shadows and then melted away.

Melancholia snarled. The shadows behind her grew and writhed, then swooped in through her back and burst from her chest. The stream of darkness slammed into Vile, drove him backwards a single step. Melancholia started to curse him as more shadows poured through her. At Vile’s nod, a sliver of darkness severed the stream and Vile absorbed the rest of it into his armour.

He swept his arm wide, firing a salvo of black arrows, three of which got through Melancholia’s shield as she stumbled away.

“Stop!” she shouted, like a child who didn’t like how the game was being played.

Vile shadow-walked the space between them, appearing behind her. Instinctively, the darkness around her swelled, keeping him at bay, and Melancholia tried to use this as her chance to escape. But Vile sent his shadows after her. One shard nicked the back of her leg and she cried out, and the next slashed across her forearm. Blood sprayed and she shrieked, clutched her arm to her and fell to the ground. She curled up, moaning and sobbing and howling in pain while the shadows around her went nuts. Vile strolled up, stood over her. So absorbed was she in her own distress that she didn’t even notice him.

Valkyrie ran forward. “Skulduggery! Don’t do it!”

Vile ignored her, reached down to take hold of Melancholia’s head. A shadow rippled across her skin, exploding in a dark burst above her that sent Vile flying. Melancholia started crawling away, and Valkyrie grabbed her, hauled her to her feet.

“I’ll kill you,” Melancholia snarled.

“I’m helping you, you moron. Run!”

Chapter 55 - Tunnel Vision

Chapter 55
Tunnel Vision

hey got to the tunnel and Valkyrie dragged Melancholia after her. “Hurry!”

“Shut up!” Melancholia snapped, shoving Valkyrie away. “I don’t need your help! I killed him once, I can do it again.”