Someone moved in the doorway of the nearest – and smallest – shack, and Abyssinia stepped out into the sunlight. She
carried an unconscious man with hair as silver as her own. Caisson.
“You played my game better than I anticipated,” Cadaverous said, smiling.
“Ah,” said Abyssinia, “I was wondering when you’d appear. Thank you for keeping my son safe for me.”
“It was entirely my pleasure,” Cadaverous said. “Was it a joyful reunion? Were there tears?”
“I was practically overcome with emotion.”
Temper Fray emerged from the shack behind her. His eyes narrowed when he saw Cadaverous, then widened when he saw Omen.
“You’re alive,” he said.
Omen didn’t know how to respond to that, so he nodded and said, “Yes, I am.”
Abyssinia turned, and passed Caisson to Temper. He grunted as he took the weight. “Take my son out of here,” she said. “If you harm him, or leave him behind, I will crush you. Do you understand?”
Temper didn’t appear to have anything much to say to that, so he just nodded and said, “Yup.”
Cadaverous and Abyssinia met in the middle of the clearing.
“Is this my punishment?” she asked. “For neglecting you?”
“You didn’t neglect us,” Cadaverous replied. “You abandoned us. You promised us glory, power, redemption … but the moment we helped you come back you forgot it all. You betrayed us.”
Temper motioned quickly to Omen, and Omen got up
and scurried over to him, giving a wide berth to the two evil nutballs.
“You keep saying us,” Abyssinia said, “yet all I see is you.”
Cadaverous smiled again. “I’m the only one who isn’t scared.”
“In here, you mean. Out there, you would never dare say these things.”
“But we’re not out there, are we? Out there, you would rip me apart without a thought. But I brought you here, straight to my home, where I hold the power. I gave you more credit, Abyssinia. I’m disappointed in you.”
“I do so hate to disappoint my children.”
Cadaverous laughed, and attacked her.
Omen reached Temper. “How did you get here?” he whispered.
“I came with Skulduggery. He flew off to find Val. Here, help me with this.”
Omen did his best to take Caisson’s weight while Temper repositioned himself. When he straightened up, Temper was carrying Caisson in a fireman’s lift. “We’re getting outta here,” he said.
Omen took his eyes off Cadaverous, who was throwing Abyssinia around like she was a broken doll, and noticed Temper’s bloody shirt. “You’re injured. Oh, God, you’re injured. Do you have your phone? We could call Never.”
“My phone doesn’t work in here, slick. We’re gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way.”
“You’re … bleeding really badly.”
Temper grimaced. “Then I guess we’d better hurry.”
67
Valkyrie found a poker downstairs, and used it to try to force the door open. The wood splintered but didn’t give.
“Alice,” she said. “Hey, sweetie. What’s the room like?”
“Um,” Alice replied. “It’s square. The walls and the floor are made of wood.”
“Is there any furniture?”
“No. Can you get me out of here?”
“I will, Alice, I will. I promise. How you doing? Are you worried?”
“No, I’m OK.”
Valkyrie smiled. “Good girl. That’s what I like to hear. I’ll have you out as soon as I …” She turned her head, frowning. Then she heard it again, closer this time.
Skulduggery, calling her name.
“Up here!” she shouted. “I’m up here!” She heard him running up the stairs and shouted, “Be careful of booby traps!”
Skulduggery came round the corner at speed, his feet centimetres above the ground, floating over the hole she’d fallen into.
She ran to him as he landed, hugging him. “So glad you’re here.”
“Of course you are,” he said. “You’re covered in mud, by the way, and this is an exquisite suit.”
“Sorry,” she said, releasing him. “How did you find us?”
“Your car is parked on an island just off what appears to
be an exact replica of your hometown. Where else would you be?
“Alice,” Valkyrie said, banging her fist against the door. “Stand back.”
“I still am!” Alice responded.
Skulduggery swept his arm wide and the door flung open, and Valkyrie scooped Alice up in the biggest hug she could manage, noticing Skulduggery activating his façade just in time.
“The two of you have had adventures,” he said.
“Omen’s here, too,” Valkyrie said. “Cadaverous took him, just a minute ago. Skulduggery, you need to fly Alice out of here.”
“I’m sure I can manage that,” he said, his hand on Alice’s back as they turned for the stairs.
But a door opened before them and Cadaverous came through, dragging a broken and battered Abyssinia after him. “And where do you think you’re going?” he asked.
Skulduggery tossed a fireball into Cadaverous’s face, then pushed at the air. Cadaverous’s clothes rippled wildly, but he didn’t even sway, so Skulduggery strode up to him and lashed a kick into his knee.
Cadaverous laughed, swung a punch that Skulduggery ducked, laughed again as Skulduggery kicked at his other knee. It didn’t so much as buckle.
Keeping Alice behind her, Valkyrie watched as Cadaverous grabbed Skulduggery and marched him backwards. With his free hand, he slapped the wall and the wall opened, and Cadaverous shoved Skulduggery into the darkness beyond. He slapped the wall again: it closed up, and he turned to Valkyrie as she picked up Alice and ran.
His laughter following her, Valkyrie leaped over the pit and kept going towards the stairs.
Halfway to the bottom they trembled beneath her. She grabbed the banister with her free hand and jumped, jamming her feet against the wall as the top of each step slid back into the riser, exposing the upturned rusty nails waiting beneath.
“Hold on,” she said to Alice, and sprang over the banister, adjusting her grip as she did so. Her feet hit the wall below. She let herself hang, then dropped to the ground. She hefted her sister in her arms. “You OK?”
Alice nodded, and Valkyrie ran for the front door, but a hatch in the ceiling opened and Cadaverous dropped through.
Valkyrie hissed, turned, sprinting into the nearest corridor. They followed it round, and it narrowed as they reached the door at the far end, which opened towards them. Beyond was more corridor and another door.
Valkyrie glanced behind. No sign of Cadaverous.
She carried on, but had to put Alice down. The second door was smaller than the first. Through they went, and round the corner. The third door was smaller still, and Valkyrie had to duck her head to get through. The corridor was tight. Her shoulders brushed the walls on either side.
Alice hurried through the next door without an issue, but Valkyrie had to bend double. They had no choice but to move in single file now.
Another corner turned, and they came to a wall with a tiny door.
Valkyrie lay flat, pushed it open. The corridor returned to normal proportions on the other side. “Go on,” she said to Alice. “Wriggle through.”
Alice obeyed, crawling through quickly and easily. Valkyrie stuck her head in after her. There was a rope on the wall next to her, looped round a bracket. She couldn’t look up far enough to see what it was connected to.
Her shoulders brushed the top of the small door as she passed through. She tried to heave herself in the rest of the way, but her rear end hit with more force than her shoulders and she heard a clack and suddenly the rope was unravelling.
“Grab the rope!” she shouted, and Alice lunged, got her hands to it and the rope went taut, jerked her off her heels for a moment. Valkyrie twisted,
looked up, saw the guillotine blade hovering above.
“Your bum is too big,” Alice said.
“Apparently so,” Valkyrie whispered.
“This rope is heavy,” said Alice.
Valkyrie held out her hands. “Give it to me,” she said, smiling.
The normal-sized door at the other end of the room opened, and Cadaverous came through. “There you are,” he said, smiling.
Valkyrie yanked on the rope, tried to wriggle through, but Cadaverous had already taken Alice’s hand.
“Leave her alone,” Valkyrie said. “Alice, come back!”
But then he was leading her away.
And then they were gone.
68
Temper stumbled over a tree root, falling to one knee. “Aw, hell,” he murmured.
Omen tried to catch Caisson before he dropped off Temper’s shoulder, but all he could do was slow his descent to the ground.
“I may need urgent medical attention,” Temper said. His breath was laboured and he was sweating. His clothes were drenched in blood. “Also something for the pain. And possibly a stretcher.”
“How far is the exit?” Omen asked.
“Not sure,” said Temper. “Or if we’re even on the right track.”
“You think we might be lost?” Omen asked, panic rising in his chest. “But you just came this way!”
Temper wiped his forehead. “Slick, I can navigate my way through any urban jungle without an overabundance of hassle. But over a mountain? All these trees look the same. All these rocks look the same. See that bush? I don’t know if it’s my first time seeing that bush or the fourth. We might be totally screwed here, kid, and I have to admit I ain’t thinking so straight.”
“OK,” Omen said, nodding fiercely, “I’ll take care of it. I’ll get us out.”
“You’re taking charge,” said Temper. “That’s what I like to see. That’s good. I feel better now. Though I might need a lie-down.”
“You can’t,” Omen said, pulling him up when he tried to sit. “You’re losing too much blood. Our only chance is to keep going, all right? We need to find the exit and get to the car.”
“I can’t carry this guy any more.”
“Maybe, um, maybe I could.”
“I don’t see that happening.”
“Then … then how about we drag him? We each take an ankle and just drag him behind us?”
Temper wiped the sweat from his brow. “Yeah, we could try that, I guess. Help me up.”
Omen heard a loud tick, and looked up. Through the trees he watched the sun flip like a coin, revealing the moon on its other side, and the sky changed to a deep, dark and ugly purple.
It had just turned 11.30.
69
Both hands gripping the rope, Valkyrie pulled, raising the guillotine blade. She turned slightly, squirmed through, tucking her knees to her chest as she released her hold. The blade thunked into the ground behind her and she rolled to her feet and ran on, barging through the door.
“Alice!” she shouted. “Skulduggery!”
Lights were flickering on all over the house, throwing back the darkness as Valkyrie panicked. She shouted for her sister, shouted again – and finally heard Alice respond.
“Alice!” Valkyrie yelled, bursting into the living room.
Cadaverous was sitting in the armchair. There were suddenly roaring flames in the fireplace, but no sign of Alice or Skulduggery.
Valkyrie stalked over. “Where are they?”
Cadaverous smiled. “Close by.”
“If you’ve hurt them—”
“Why would I have hurt them already?” Cadaverous interrupted. “You think I’d go to all this trouble and not even have you present for something like that? No, no, no. You have to watch. You have to see them in pain; you have to see them die. Then, and only then, will I allow your pain to end.”
“And that’s it, is it? Then it’s all done?”
“Then it’s all done.” He stood. “Are you ready?”
“No.”
“Well, fortunately, it’s not up to you.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Valkyrie said. “When I spoke to the boy, the younger version of you—”
“He’s not real,” Cadaverous said irritably. “He never existed.”
“He’s real somewhere. Somewhere in your head, that boy is real, and he is you, a version of you that didn’t sink into all this evil. When I spoke to him, he told me something. He told me not to play your game.”
Now Cadaverous laughed. “My dear girl, in here, my game is all there is.”
“I know,” said Valkyrie. “Which is why we shouldn’t be playing.”
She backed off, turned to a door, lunging through, Cadaverous’s laugh following her into the hall. She ran to the kitchen, careful not to touch anything, wary of booby traps. She ignored the back door. In the old house, the real house, in St Louis, the back door had been rigged to deliver an electric shock. Instead, she clambered up beside the sink, kicked at the window, cracked it, kicked again, smashed it, the glass trying to get through the jodhpurs. She cleared the edge with her boot and crouched, then slid through, dropping into weeds and scrub that snatched at her ankles.
Round the corner of the house she ran, sprinting for her car.
The front door opened and yellow light spilled out and from that light Cadaverous came, jumping down the steps, snatching at her, but she ducked him and his foot hit her own and they both went down, sprawling away from each other. Valkyrie rolled, came up with her keys in her hand, leaped on to the bonnet and slid across.
Pulled the door open. Key in the ignition. Engine roaring. Knocked the car into reverse and the wheels spun, throwing dust, Cadaverous punching a hand through the passenger-side window, reaching for her.
She yanked the wheel, spinning the car, leaving Cadaverous to stagger, leaving him for the gloom to swallow, and she gunned the engine and was off. She flicked on the headlights, lit up the bridge a moment before she reached it, and then the wooden slats were thundering beneath, and on either side were the dark waters of Cadaverous Gant’s mind.
The other side of the bridge approached quickly and then shot by. No more thunder. Just the engine now, and the familiar crunch of tyres on tarmac as Valkyrie followed the road up into the town that wasn’t Haggard. Before she swerved on to Main Street, she raised her eyes to the rear-view mirror. Glimpsed headlights.
“Come on!” she shouted. “Come and get me!”
Main Street was empty now. She drove down the middle of the road, got to the bend opposite the service station, nearly jumped the kerb and hit the wall, but she forced the car back under control and kept going, biting down on her lower lip the whole time. From here on, it was a straight blast to the graveyard, and her foot got heavier on the pedal.
The darkness blurred by. The engine’s roar filled her ears. Valkyrie gripped the wheel and kept her elbows locked. At this speed, one mistake, one tiny mistake, would flip the car, would bring this manufactured world crashing in on top of her. Her seatbelt. She wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.
The graveyard approached. She didn’t let her eyes flicker.
Once beyond the graveyard, Valkyrie eased off the accelerator. The roar decreased. She turned the wheel slightly and the car slid, and she tried turning into the skid, but then the car was spinning, and she cracked her head against the window and came to a sudden, rocking stop in the middle of the road.
A moment to sit there, just a moment, to make sure she hadn’t crashed, she hadn’t killed herself, then a glance around to establish where she was. The town that wasn’t Haggard in front of her. The way out behind. And, speeding towards her, Cadaverous Gant’s Cadillac.
Reverse. Foot down. One hand on the wheel, the other across the headrest of the passenger seat, looking behind as much as in front. The Cadillac’s headlights filled the car like water. Bumper to bumper, she fled and he chased. Reflected light gave her a glimpse of that grinning, manic face.
Her fre
e hand, pulling the seatbelt across her body. Switched hands. Clicked it in. Braced herself. A foot on the brake and a sharp turn of the wheel. The Cadillac hit her and she spun and the Cadillac swept by and now she was following it, cursing at it, ramming into the back of it. They followed the curve of the road, up to the woods. Up to the narrow, narrow road into the woods.
She pulled alongside the Cadillac, going faster with every heartbeat. He bashed into her, shaking the car. She bashed into him, harder. Did it again, nudging him over, making him give up the middle of the road. She aimed the car at the gap between the trees and went faster, faster, way too fast – Jesus she was going to kill herself, going to hit one of those trees on either side and go up in a fireball, everything blurring. One tip from that Cadillac and it was all over –
– and then she was plunging between the trees, her rear-view flashing with the Cadillac’s swooping headlights as Cadaverous swerved away to avoid an impact.
Valkyrie’s foot eased off the accelerator and tapped the brake. Still going fast, but managing it. Controlling it. Slowing down more as she came to the bend in the road. She had time. She took one hand off the steering wheel and flexed the pain from her fingers. Did the same with the other one. She tasted blood in her mouth. Her bottom lip was bleeding.
She slowed further. The end of the woodland was just ahead and Valkyrie rolled towards it, and stopped.
She turned off the engine, and got out. She stood beside the car, eyes on the bend in the road behind. Listening. This wouldn’t work if he’d given up. This wouldn’t work if he’d already gone back to kill Alice and Skulduggery.
Please let him not have gone back.
Through a gap in the branches, high overhead, she could see the clock moon. It was twenty minutes to midnight.
“I’m here!” she shouted at the dark trees. “I’m right here! Come and get me, you coward! Come on!”
In the woods, there was no warm breeze. In the woods, there was only stillness.
And then headlights snapped on at the bend in the road, like a great beast opening its eyes, and the Cadillac came roaring for her.