The Warlock gasped as his magic was bound. His mouth shrank. Skulduggery threw him against the wall and stomped on his knee. The Warlock howled in pain as Skulduggery cuffed the other hand.

Valkyrie’s knees gave out, but Skulduggery grabbed her, stopped her from falling.

“I’m all tingly,” Valkyrie said.

“I have that effect,” Skulduggery responded.

“You won’t stop us,” the Warlock snarled from the ground. “My brothers and sisters will be coming for you.”

“Lots of people are coming for us,” Skulduggery told him. “We’re very unpopular in certain circles. Evil circles, you know. But your brothers and sisters are very far away, and it’s going to take a while for them to even hear about this, so they don’t really concern us right now. The only thing we care about is finding Dragonclaw. If you can help us do that, we’d be willing to make a deal.”

“You cannot bargain,” the Warlock said. “It is too late for that. Too late for you. I will be avenged.”

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. “We hit you a few times. Is there really a need to be avenged for a few slaps?”

The Warlock managed a smile. “Look out for us,” he said. “We’re coming.”

He contorted in pain, eyes screwed tightly shut. When he opened them, yellow light spilled out.

“Uh-oh,” Skulduggery said. He scooped Valkyrie into his arms and they flew, the wind in her hair, landing behind the Hyundai as more light burst from the Warlock’s screaming mouth. Skulduggery pulled Valkyrie down behind cover and there was an explosion of blinding yellow light – and then nothing.

Valkyrie blinked rapidly, trying to get her vision back. She felt Skulduggery stand up, and she did the same. “What happened?” she asked.

“He’s dead,” Skulduggery answered. “Some kind of Warlock self-destruct thing. It must have been triggered the moment his powers were bound.”

Her sight was returning to her, and she looked over at where the Warlock had lain. Now there were only his empty clothes.

Skulduggery called the Sanctuary, then searched through the Warlock’s clothes while they waited for back-up to arrive.

“Nothing,” he said. “No receipts, no ticket stubs, no clues.”

“Warlocks, eh?” Valkyrie said, watching him.

“Warlocks are dark sorcerers on a dark path. They eat the souls of their enemies to absorb their strength. I haven’t gone up against them in… a long time. I didn’t think there were any left.” Skulduggery picked up his hat and put it on. “During the war, Mevolent tried to form an alliance with them. He sent a squad of his best people to open negotiations, and they were never heard from again.”

“And yet we just took down one of them,” Valkyrie said. “They don’t seem to be that tough. Apart from the nearly killing us bit. Do you think there’ll be more?”