A quick shake of the head and Lethe returned to the fray. He punched and Skulduggery grabbed him again, headbutted him, kicked his knee and slammed him to the ground. Lethe thrashed and squirmed, managed to roll away. He tumbled backwards to his feet.

Now it was Skulduggery’s turn to move in. A left jab and a right hook sent Lethe staggering. When Lethe threw a punch in return, Skulduggery grabbed his wrist, wrenched it, and only Lethe’s agility allowed him to spin out and free himself.

Skulduggery hit him again, and again. Lethe wobbled and dropped to one knee. Valkyrie expected the others to rush in at this point, but they stayed where they were. The cheering had died down, but they were still grinning.

Skulduggery stood over Lethe. “Where’s Temper?”

Lethe held up a hand for Skulduggery to wait, like he wanted to catch his breath.

“That,” he said at last, “was a good one.”

He stood up slowly, groaning as he did so, then he dropped low, slamming a fist into Skulduggery’s ribs.

Skulduggery grunted and stumbled back, and Lethe straightened.

“So it’s true,” said Lethe. “Even without flesh, even without nerve endings, you do feel pain. That’s interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever killed someone as interesting as you, Skulduggery.”

Lethe stepped in with what looked like a kick. Valkyrie was fooled. So was Skulduggery. He went to move inside the arc of the kick, but Lethe was ready for him. The kick was nothing but a feint, and Skulduggery slid straight into the elbow that knocked him back. Lethe followed it up by grabbing Skulduggery and hitting him three times before flipping him to the ground.

Valkyrie stared, her entire body cold.

Skulduggery caught a boot to the face that sent him sprawling. He got to one knee and snapped his palm out. The air rippled, but Lethe had already moved up beside him. He grabbed Skulduggery’s wrist and brought his elbow down and Skulduggery’s forearm broke.

Skulduggery cried out in pain and fell back. His gloved hand hit the street, bones spilling. Lethe kicked it away.

Valkyrie started forward, but the woman in the tuxedo intercepted her, slapping her dislocated shoulder. She cried out and the woman smiled at her.

“We’re giving them a fair go, remember? One on one. To the death.” She was Australian. “Things are always more exciting when they’re to the death, don’t you reckon? Hopscotch – to the death. Dance-off – to the death. Fight to the death – to the death.” She shrugged happily. “It’s fun.”

Clutching his flapping sleeve, Skulduggery tried getting up. Lethe leaped, spun in the air and came down on top of him, pinning him in place.

“Can you lose consciousness?” Lethe asked, hitting him. “You’ve got no brain to concuss, so maybe not. But it’s fun trying, isn’t it?”