“But you,” Caelan said, “you’re different. The others, they couldn’t keep the monster away. As much as I loved them, our love just wasn’t strong enough to keep them alive. Sooner or later, the monster would emerge. That’s when Dusk found me.” He sneered. “He said I was endangering everyone with the things I did. He tried to stop me, but he couldn’t kill me. He was living by the code. We don’t kill our own kind. The vampire he had with him, he was even worse than Dusk. He talked about living in darkness, in solitude, keeping away from the mortals. One day I’d had enough of his lectures, and I slit his throat and took his head. And because of that, I was exiled, cast out to an existence of loneliness. Until I found you. We’re meant for each other. And if you can’t understand that, I’ll have to make you.”

Moonlight made the sweat on his brow glisten. He opened his mouth, his fangs growing.

“Caelan.”

Caelan snarled, and turned. Fletcher stood there.

“Get away from my ex-girlfriend, you moany little whinge-bag.”

Caelan took a breath, like he was in pain, and straightened up. His voice was low, guttural. “I was hoping I’d get the chance to kill you.”

“You won’t be killing anyone, you sad little emo git.”

“You’ve stood in the way of our love for long enough.”

“Just listening to you makes me want to top myself, you self-pitying Paranormal Romance reject.”

Caelan glared. “Stop insulting me.”

“Why? If you cry, will your mascara run?”

“You’re just making me angrier. And I really should have taken my serum tonight.”

Caelan’s fingers dug into his shirt, into his flesh, and he ripped it off, revealing the bone-white skin beneath. A suddenly clawed hand went to his face, tore it from his head, taking the hair with it. The vampire shook off the ragged remains of its human form, its black eyes gleaming as it advanced.

Fletcher licked his lips nervously and backed off. Valkyrie did her best to sit up, watching the muscles move beneath the vampire’s pale skin. A creature made for killing. She wanted to shout out, to warn Fletcher, to tell him to go and get Skulduggery, but all she managed was a moan.

Fletcher teleported, reappearing a moment later with a baseball bat in his hands. He teleported behind the vampire, swung, but the vampire was too quick, and twisted out of the way. Fletcher barely had time to vanish before a claw lashed through him.

Fletcher appeared, regarding the vampire warily. The vampire snarled. They circled each other. Fletcher teleported again, appearing behind his foe, then teleported to the other side as those claws came for him again. He swung for the head, but the bat was knocked from his hands. Fletcher stumbled, the vampire lunged, found nothing but empty space.