Death Bringer

  “Well then,” Wreath said, “it’s a good thing you’re not in charge, or I’d really be in trouble, wouldn’t I?”

  He walked away, robbing Craven of the chance to do that himself. Craven stayed where he was, at a dirty window he could barely see out of, and seethed with anger.

  Chapter 34

  Valkyrie and Fletcher

  orning came, and Valkyrie woke. She pulled on a dressing gown and went downstairs. She left her phone by her bed. She didn’t want anyone calling her. Her mum was eating breakfast. Alice lay in her basket on the table.

  “How are you feeling?” Valkyrie asked.

  Her mum smiled. “I’m fine. You can all stop worrying about me. I had to literally push your father out the door a few minutes ago. He can be really sweet when he wants to be.” The smile faded. “What happened to you?”

  Valkyrie blinked at her. “Sorry?”

  “Is that a bruise?”

  Valkyrie ducked back into the hall and checked herself in the mirror. A nice round bruise had appeared where her forehead had met Moore’s face. She glared at herself, then returned to the kitchen. “I banged my head last night,” she said.

  “How?”

  Valkyrie shrugged. “Just one of those things. Woke up suddenly, turned the wrong way, banged my head on the wall.”

  “Nightmare?”

  “Can’t remember. How did you sleep?”

  “Not the best,” her mother admitted. “But I’m used to only getting a few hours’ sleep with the Little Miss here.” She put down her toast and picked up Alice. “You were great yesterday,” she said. “Des was just talking about it. You were so calm and collected, and the way you took care of Alice while we were running around like headless chickens… Thank you, sweetheart.”

  Valkyrie’s smile was brittle. It had been the reflection who had been there to help. Valkyrie had been too busy with her other life, where her best friend used to be a mass murderer.

  She went upstairs, selected a small healing rock from the collection Kenspeckle had once given her, stripped off and took a shower. She soaked a sponge around the porous rock and gently dabbed the sponge against her forehead. The bruise would disappear soon enough, just like almost every other injury she’d ever suffered. She looked at the palm of her right hand, where Billy-Ray Sanguine had cut her with his straight razor. She still had the scar. It would never go away. She thought about Tanith, and wondered how she was. She missed her. She missed having someone to talk to.

  The water was hot, and felt good. Valkyrie held her face against the spray, eyes closed, standing there for the longest time. When she was done, she stepped out, grabbed a towel, walked barefoot across the landing. She dried off in her room, pulled on a pair of loose jeans and a T-shirt. Her phone rang. It was Fletcher. Again. She ignored it.

  He appeared in front of her.

  Valkyrie jumped back, then lunged past him, shutting her door. “What the hell are you doing?” she whispered. “Anyone could have been in here!”

  “You haven’t been answering my calls,” Fletcher said.

  “I was in the shower!”

  “I’ve been calling for days. Val, the last time I saw you, you were in the Sanctuary covered in blood. I’ve been worried sick.”

  “You knew I was OK,” she shot back.

  “Don’t I deserve a little more than that? Don’t I deserve to see you?”

  “Fletcher, seriously, this is not a good time, all right?”

  “Ghastly told me Melancholia got away. They’ll get her, you know they will. They have every sorcerer out there right now, hunting them down.”

  “This isn’t about that.”

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  Valkyrie laughed. “Everything’s wrong. Nothing’s wrong. I just want to be left alone.”

  He looked at her, then turned to her desk, started playing music. He turned up the volume. “Now we can talk,” he said.

  “Turn that down,” she snapped. “Mum’s been through enough without you giving her a bloody headache.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She was mugged yesterday. She’s fine, she’s fine, everyone’s fine. She was mugged and the Guards grabbed him, a guy called Moore. I paid him a visit in his cell last night.”

  Fletcher stared at her. “You what?”

  “He attacked my mother. What was I supposed to do? Let him get away with it?”

  “He didn’t get away with it, Valkyrie. He got caught. He was arrested. He was in a cell. What did you do?”

  She met his eyes and didn’t answer.

  “What did you do?” he asked again, stepping forward.

  “I hurt him,” she said. “I could have killed him, too. He’s lucky I didn’t.”

  Fletcher shook his head. “You don’t mean that.”

  “Again, I’ll say it because you may have missed it the first time. He attacked my mother.”

  “You nearly killed him?”

  “He deserved it.”

  “What? What did you say? He deserved it? Are you serious? You went in there with your magic and your training, you almost killed him, and you’re OK with that? You’d do it again?”

  “Nobody hurts my family.”

  “You’re spending way too much time with Skulduggery. I’d expect this from him, wading in, leaving a trail of bodies behind. But you? This isn’t you. This isn’t who you are.”

  “You don’t know me well enough to say that.”

  “No, obviously I don’t. The Valkyrie I thought I knew would argue with me every time I even implied that she was violent. She certainly wouldn’t do what you did.”

  “If you’re going to give me another lecture, save your breath.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it. I wouldn’t dream of telling you what to do. You know it all, don’t you? You know exactly what you’re doing, and everyone around you is so very happy to let it continue.”

  “What are you on about now?”

  “Did Skulduggery scold you for breaking into that police station? Did he caution you against beating up a prisoner? No? I’m not surprised. That’s exactly the kind of thing he’d do.”

  “Oh I see,” said Valkyrie. “Now that Kenspeckle’s gone, you’ve taken it upon yourself to tell everyone when they’ve crossed a line, have you?”

  “Someone has to. It’s not going to be Skulduggery. Ghastly’s too busy. I was relying on Tanith, but I can’t do that any more. You need someone to rein you in.”

  “And that’s you?” she laughed. “You are my moral compass? My God, things are worse than I thought. And I haven’t told Skulduggery yet. I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want to talk to anyone.”

  “Well, I’m not going to just stand around while you go down a path you’re going to regret.”

  “Do yourself a favour, OK? Stay out of it. You think we’re in this together? We’re not. I’m in this. That’s all.”

  “I’m your boyfriend, Valkyrie. It’s not as simple as that.”

  “Well, we can make it that simple.”

  He looked at her. “You want to break up?”

  “I don’t know,” she said, defiance rising in her voice. “If you don’t stop complaining all the damn time, maybe I do.”

  “Be careful.”

  “Of what? Of hurting your feelings? Because you’re so delicate?”

  “Be careful of saying something you won’t be able to take back. You’re angry. You’re not thinking right.”

  “I’m thinking fine, Fletcher. Maybe we should break up. Maybe we need a change. We’ve been together for too long as it is. We should have broken up ages ago.”

  He shook his head. “You’re angry. You don’t mean it.”

  “Yes I do.”

  “No you don’t. Stop being so bloody silly.”

  “Silly?” she snapped. “Silly? You don’t say that to me. You don’t get to say that to me. We’re breaking up, Fletcher. We’re through.”

  “Wait a second, OK? Calm down. Think about it. This
is heat of the moment stuff. You don’t mean any of it.”

  “Heat of the moment? This isn’t heat of the moment, this has been building for a while. I’ve wanted to break up with you for a long time, I just didn’t realise it. You think we’re good together, do you? You think we’re a happy little boyfriend and a good little girlfriend? Well, I’m not a good little girlfriend.”

  “Val, just take a breath, count to ten—”

  “I’ve been seeing Caelan behind your back.”

  Fletcher froze, and Valkyrie instantly regretted it. More than regretted it. She hated it. She hated the words she’d just said. She hated the look on Fletcher’s face. She hated herself. She wanted to claw it all back, to scrub it all away, but it was out, it was in the open, and she was talking again, saying something, she didn’t know what, but she shut up when he looked at her.

  He said, “What?” in a dull, dull voice.

  There was something in her chest that stopped her from speaking. She had tears in her eyes. She was crying. When was the last time she’d cried? He looked at her and all his questions were answered. His face changed.

  “I thought you loved me,” he said.

  “Fletcher, I’m sorry.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know… I’m not sure…”

  “You must know. You must. You always know what you’re doing. You always know why you do things. It’s how you’re able to be right all the time. It’s where you get all this confidence from, the fact that you are the one who is always right. So why did you do it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You’re lying. You know exactly why you did it.”

  “Fletcher, it’s not important.”

  He laughed horribly. “Not important to you, Val, but it’s plenty important to me. Do you even care? I mean, I know you’re crying, I can see the tears, but they’re not tears for me. You’re crying because you feel bad. Those tears are about you, because everything is about you. It always is, isn’t it? The world revolves around you, because you’re just that selfish.”

  “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  “I don’t think it even occurred to you that I would be hurt. It never even entered your head. You’re obsessed with yourself, you know that? You always have been, but I’ve been OK with it, because I was obsessed with you too. How stupid am I, huh? Boom, just like that, I’m cut off and now I can see the whole thing. You’ve never done anything for anyone else. You’ve never inconvenienced yourself purely for someone else’s benefit. The rest of us have. It’s what makes us good people. You? You’ve saved the world, but you’re not a good person. I don’t know what you are.”

  “Fletch, please—”

  “Please what? Please stop making you feel bad? Oh, wow, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realise I was ruining your day. Maybe you should run back to Caelan… maybe he can comfort you.”

  Valkyrie shook her head. “It’s not like that.”

  “Oh, so you’re not dumping me for him?”

  “I’m not dumping you for anyone.”

  “Does he know this?”

  “I couldn’t care less what he knows.”

  “That doesn’t surprise me.”

  “Listen, you can stand there and insult me all you want, but the fact is, this has been coming for a while.”

  “And yet it’s the first I’ve heard about it.”

  “Of course it is, because you haven’t wanted to hear about it.”

  “Ah, right. OK. I get it now. Basically, I should have seen this coming, yeah? I should have seen the signs, and realised what was about to happen?”

  “Yes,” she said.

  “So in a way, when you think about it, all this is my fault.” Valkyrie looked away and sighed.

  “Which makes perfect sense,” he continued. “Because you can do nothing wrong. Because you can never be selfish or self-centred because the fault always has to lie with someone else. I am really stupid, Valkyrie, and I apologise.”

  “Don’t be like this.”

  “Don’t be like what?”

  “Don’t be so bloody childish. Don’t sulk. Don’t feel sorry for yourself. Your girlfriend broke up with you. Fine. It happens all the time. Grow up and move on.”

  “Like you, you mean. Because you’re so mature, taking everything in your stride, accepting any and all responsibility that comes your way. That’s you, isn’t it? Little Miss Perfect?”

  “I never said I was perfect.”

  “But my God, do you think it.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “But why wouldn’t you think you’re perfect? Haven’t I spent the last two years telling you how beautiful you are, how smart, how exceptional? Hasn’t Skulduggery been telling you how great you are, and powerful, and amazing? Everyone you meet is instantly impressed with you, because you’re so confident and capable. You can do anything you put your mind to. You go from schoolgirl to sorcerer overnight. You’re descended from the Last of the Ancients. The Necromancers meet you and you’re immediately one of the nominees to be their impossibly powerful saviour. With all these people going crazy over you, Val, I’m actually surprised you stuck with a nobody like me for so long.”

  “Right now,” she said angrily, “I’d have to agree with you.”

  There were tears in Fletcher’s eyes, but he didn’t cry. “Well? If you’re expecting me to teleport away, you can forget about it. You’re the one doing the dumping, so it’s up to you to walk out first. So go on, Val. Walk.”

  There was a silence, and in that silence she thought of all the other things she wanted to say. Instead she nodded, turned, placed one foot in front of the other, and all too soon she was at the door. But she had to say something. She couldn’t let it end like this, in anger, with his eyes drilling holes in her back. She turned again.

  “I still care for you,” she said.

  “Wouldn’t worry about it,” he replied, back to acting cool, “it won’t last long. You look at Skulduggery and that’s who you model yourself on. He’s brave, you’re brave. He’s cold, you’re cold. He’s ruthless, you’re ruthless. Well done, Val, you share the emotional range of a dead man.”

  He folded his arms and did that cocky smirk of his, only now it looked mean, and Valkyrie left her bedroom. When she looked back in, he was gone.

  Chapter 35

  Teaching the Twins

  alkyrie ate a lunch she didn’t feel like, then took Alice for a walk. She headed up Main Street, sunglasses on, ignoring the smiles and the looks from the people she passed. Everyone wanted to tickle Alice’s chin and waste Valkyrie’s time. They’d all heard about the mugging, of course. Big news travels fast in small towns.

  Carol and Crystal came round the corner and it was too late to hide – they’d already seen her.

  “We heard about your mum,” Crystal said. “Is she OK?”

  Valkyrie nodded. “She’s fine. She was more shaken up than anything else.”

  “Who did it?” whispered Carol. “Was it a sorcerer?”

  “Nope, just a regular kind of scumbag.”

  “You wouldn’t think anything like that would happen here,” Crystal said. “You hear about fights outside pubs and the chipper and that, but not people being mugged. It makes you realise that nowhere’s safe, doesn’t it?”

  “You should probably take up self-defence,” Valkyrie said, turning the pram round and heading for home.

  “Or you could just teach us magic,” Carol suggested.

  Valkyrie shook her head. “We’ve been over this…”

  “Are you going to teach Alice magic?” Carol asked.

  “Uh, no. I don’t think so.”

  “You don’t think so? So you might?”

  “Well, no, I mean, I don’t want to. I want her to be normal.”

  “But there’s still the possibility that you might?”

  “I… I suppose…”

  “Then we think it’s unfair that you won’t teach us.”

  Valky
rie sighed. “Yeah, I know, but—”

  “Teach us for, like, just a few hours this afternoon. If we can’t do any tricks by the end, then at least we’ll know that we tried.”

  “They’re not called tricks, Carol.”

  “Illusions, sorry.”

  Crystal nudged her sister. “That’s on stage. When Valkyrie does it, it’s called magic. So? Will you teach us? A few hours?”

  Ordinarily, Valkyrie would have said no, but she needed something to fill in the time that had suddenly expanded all around her. She sighed again. “Fine. A few hours.”

  The twins broke into the biggest smiles she’d ever seen them wear.

  “Can Fletcher come?” Carol asked.

  “Uh, Fletcher and I broke up.”

  “Oh that’s awful. Did he dump you?”

  “No, we just broke up.”

  “Is he seeing anyone else?”

  “I wouldn’t expect so.”

  “Can I have his number?”

  “I think he wants to be left alone.”

  “Why did he dump you?”

  “He didn’t—”

  “Did he think you were too immature?”

  “He never mentioned—”

  “How long did it take you to get over it?”

  “Um, I’m not sure what…”

  “When did it happen?”

  “Three hours ago.”

  They stared at her.

  “You’re so brave,” Carol said.

  “Did you cry?” asked Crystal. “If you want to cry in front of us, you can.”

  “Thanks,” Valkyrie said, “but I think I’m fine now. I’ll meet you down on the beach in half an hour, OK?”

  “Will we need anything?” Carol asked.

  “Just your wits.”

  They looked confused.

  Half an hour later, Alice was back home and Valkyrie was standing with her cousins at the far end of the beach, where the sand gave way to hard pebbles. They were alone here, tucked away in the corner. Carol and Crystal looked at her eagerly.

  “Elemental magic is influence over air, fire, water and earth,” Valkyrie said. “The first one we’re going to look at is air, and with this, the main thing to keep in mind is that everything is connected. It all interlocks. There’s a, a kind of fault line between spaces, and once you find the pressure point, you push.”