Death Bringer (18 page)

Valkyrie smiled. “Thank you. You've been really helpful.”

He nodded. “Sure. Just… try not to get delayed again, OK?”

“I'll do my best!” she laughed, and skipped up the stairs.

She moved onwards without encountering anybody else. Passport Control was quiet. Directly opposite her, across the open floor, was a glass wall, and beyond that she could see a crowd of people who had just passed through. Among the bright shirts and colourful dresses and blue jeans there were people in black, some in jackets, some in coats, some carrying bags and some not, walking apart so as not to attract attention. Necromancers. She peered round the door, to her right, where two cops were sitting in booths, chatting across to each other as they waited for the next influx of travellers. Valkyrie darted to the empty booth closest to her, using the air to rise over the barricade. She dropped gently to the other side and ran, crouched over. She sneaked behind the booths where the cops were sitting, and out into the corridor. Now she sprinted after the crowd of passengers.

She caught up with the ones lagging behind, the ones for whom this long walk was just proving too much. They puffed and wheezed with red faces, fat droplets of sweat running down their cheeks, travel cases trundling along behind like sulky children. She ran under the sign that pointed to the Luggage Retrieval area. She doubted the Necromancers would have any bags to collect. They weren't here for a holiday, after all.

She barged through a small group of people, got to the top of the stairs and leaped. People around her cried out in alarm, but she didn't have time to waste. She waited until the last moment to cushion her landing, hit the ground and rolled. She ignored the disapproving headshakes, immediately catching sight of the Necromancers on the far side of the baggage belts. She took off, using the air to nudge people from her path. She jumped on to a conveyer belt that wasn't moving, slid across the highest point and jumped down the other side. An airport official stepped into her path and she jammed her hand against his chest. His cheeks bulged and he stumbled back as she vaulted on to the next conveyer belt. This one was moving, full of luggage. She almost tripped, but made it to the centre and scrambled over to the other side, leaped off and into a crowd of startled civilians. The Necromancers hadn't noticed the commotion. She ran to intercept them as they headed for the Exit, coming to a sharp halt in front of the Necromancer leading the march.

The Necromancers stopped, each one of them suspicious. Valkyrie held up a hand while she doubled over.

“Sorry,” she gasped. “Let me… get my breath… back.”

They didn't try to move around her. Their eyes were on the ring on her finger.

“You have instructions?” the lead Necromancer asked.

She breathed deeply, in through the nose, out through the mouth, and straightened. “Yes,” she said. “You're… not needed. You're to… go home.”

“High Priest Tenebrae sent a
student
to tell us this?”

She nodded, and shrugged.

“What's happened? Is the Death Bringer OK?”

“False alarm,” she said. “Wasn't the Death Bringer. Just a girl… looking for attention. You're to go home at once and… sorry for the inconvenience. Naturally, we'll refund your air fare.”

A female Necromancer frowned at her. “Who instructs you in the Temple?”

“I'm not really in the Temple that much,” Valkyrie said, her breathing under control now. “Solomon Wreath is my mentor.”

“Oh,” the woman said. “Well, that would explain the lack of formality.”

“Even so,” said the lead Necromancer, “Cleric Wreath ought to know better than to send a student with information like this. If the High Priest wishes us to return to London, he can send someone of higher rank to tell us.”

They went to walk by her, but Valkyrie jumped in front of them again. “Actually, no,” she said, “he was quite insistent. Everyone's busy. Sanctuary agents are everywhere and they're putting pressure on and all the Clerics have their hands full and—”

The lead Necromancer glared at her. “Step aside, girl.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the airport official she had shoved. He was jogging over, flanked by two cops.

“Fine,” she said to the lead Necromancer. “I'm not a Necromancer. My name's Valkyrie Cain. I work with Skulduggery Pleasant. And I'm here to tell you that we're about to drag the Death Bringer into custody and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.”

The Necromancers stared, and almost as one they reached for her, anger flashing across their faces. Then the cops were there, standing between them.

“That's her!” the official said. “That's the girl who hit me!”

“I'm sorry,” Valkyrie said to the cops, looking as frightened as she could. “I lagged behind. They don't like it when I lag behind.”

The cops frowned at her, then turned to the Necromancers.

“Is she with you?” the first cop asked.

The lead Necromancer scowled. “No. I've never seen her before. You can keep her.”

He went to walk on, but the cops blocked his way.

“Just hold on a minute there, until we get this sorted out. She's dressed the same as you.”

“So?”

“It's a little odd, isn't it?”

“Not for us.”

“It's like a uniform,” Valkyrie said, making her voice shake. “They make us wear black. It's for the church.”

The second cop looked back at her. “Everyone here is part of a church?”

She nodded. “We call it a church, yes. Other people call it a cult. I shouldn't be talking to you. They don't like it when I talk to outsiders. They're afraid I'll tell people about their plans.”

The cops turned to the Necromancers, and the airport official backed away.

“I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come with us,” the first cop said. “Just to answer a few questions.”

“That won't be possible,” the lead Necromancer said. “We have somewhere to be.”

“I'm afraid I have to insist.”

The lead Necromancer ignored him, turning his eyes to Valkyrie. “Are you sure you want to do this? In front of all these people? In front of security cameras? Because we'll do it. The world is about to change – we could start that change right here and now.”

“That sounded like a threat,” the second cop said.

“I wasn't talking to you.”

“Yeah,” the cop said, “but I was talking to you.”

Valkyrie hadn't even noticed the movement in the crowds of people, but suddenly there were four more cops surrounding the Necromancers, done up in tactical gear and carrying automatic weapons. The Necromancers stiffened. Unlike Elementals and other Adepts, the Necromancers kept most of their magic in objects. But right now, their weapons were in their bags and pockets, and any move to get them would result in extreme violence.

Valkyrie backed away as the cops issued orders. The Necromancers glared at her, and she smiled back, slipping away through the crowd that had formed around them. She hurried for the doors, emerging into the Arrivals Area as more cops ran through to help their comrades. She rejoined Skulduggery and a handcuffed Dragonclaw, and they walked quickly for the exit.

“You handled it?” Skulduggery asked.

“I did. I could have used your help.”

“Nonsense. You're more than capable of doing these things yourself. Were there many Necromancers?”

“Twelve or so. If they're not escorted directly on to a flight home, I'd say, at the very least, they're not going to be let near their weapons for another few hours.”

“By which point we should have broken into the Temple. Well done, Valkyrie. You are good.”

“Yes, I am. What about Bison here? Did he have anything interesting to say?”

“Indeed he did,” Skulduggery said, his false mouth smiling. “He knows of a top-secret supply tunnel that leads right into the depths of the Temple, and he's going to take us there, aren't you, Bison?”

Dragonclaw sagged.

“How sweet,” Valkyrie said. “You've made a friend.”

Chapter 27
Into the Temple

he warehouse was dark. Three jeeps and two trucks were parked under a thick layer of dust. Dragonclaw led them to the centre of the floor, and stopped.

“You'd better not be lying to us,” Skulduggery said, his gun out.

“I swear,” Dragonclaw responded. “Director Solus used to have me guard it when supplies were brought in through here. Only a few people know about it.”

He stepped on a pebble, put all his weight on it, and the floor beside him opened up, revealing steps leading down. Skulduggery motioned for him to go first, and they followed him into a long stone corridor lit by bare bulbs.

“This leads directly to the Temple?” Skulduggery asked.

Dragonclaw nodded. “There's a door with a lever at the other end. It opens up into a room nobody ever uses. It's how Solus transports all his best stuff.”

“No passwords needed? Nothing like that?”

“No. You just pull the lever.”

“Good to know,” Skulduggery said, then smacked him with the gun. Dragonclaw spun and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Valkyrie glared. “You could have warned me.”

“Of what?” Skulduggery asked, his arm encircling her waist. They lifted off the ground, started moving down the corridor.

“That you were going to hit him. It'd be nice to be told these things.”

“Did it give you a fright?”

They were picking up speed now and Valkyrie's hair was being blown off her face.

“A little one, yeah,” she said. “You were standing there all normal and then you hit him. I jumped.”

“I do apologise.”

“Just a little warning, that's all I ask.”

“In my defence, if I had told you that I intended to hit him, he probably would have overheard the conversation.”

“Then we should come up with a code or something.”

The bulbs were blurring into one long stream of light above them.

“We already have a code,” Skulduggery said. “It's
be brave
.”

Valkyrie scowled at him. “
Be brave
is nothing.
Be brave
is you telling me to trust you, you have a plan, when we're surrounded by enemies.
Be brave
tells me nothing other than you're about to do something stupid. We should have another code for when you're about to hit someone.”

“Very well. How about
the sparrow flies south for winter
?”

“Seriously?”

“What's wrong with it? It's a classic.”

“And how would you work that into the conversation?”

“With my usual aplomb.”

“So if that had been our code, and Dragonclaw had just told you that all we have to do is pull the lever, how would you have worked
the sparrow flies south for winter
into the conversation?”

“I would have said
OK, Bison, so you're sure we only need to pull a lever?
And he would have said
yes
, and I'd have said
excellent, thank you. Did you know, by the way, that the sparrow flies south for winter?
And then I'd have punched him.”

“I'm going to do my best to ignore the ridiculous things you say from now on,” Valkyrie decided. “What are we going to do when we get into the Temple, anyway? Are we going to fight our way through the Necromancers on our own?”

“No, we're going to find a way to let our friends in, and we'll let
them
fight while we stand by and look smug.”

“I like that plan.”

“It has its moments.”

They slowed as they neared the end of the corridor, touched down on to solid ground and Valkyrie reluctantly stepped away. She loved the sensation of flying, but it did make walking seem absurdly clumsy.

Skulduggery pulled the small iron lever set into the wall, and the bulbs went out as the door swung open. They crept out into darkness. It was colder here – it was always cold in the Temple.

“We should be on the main level,” Skulduggery whispered, “but I'd say we're half a kilometre from the Antechamber.” Valkyrie's eyes were adjusting to the gloom as Skulduggery searched through stacks of boxes and supplies. He made an amused sound, and threw something to her. “We're going to need to fit in.”

It was a robe. She put it on. The sleeves were gigantic, and swallowed her arms. She pushed them back to her elbows and then pulled up the hood. It wasn't as easy as it looked, getting the hood to sit just right. It kept falling down over her face. Finally, she got it to where it would stay up, and turned to Skulduggery. He stood there, the black robe flowing around him, his skull barely visible beneath the hood.

“Good God,” she breathed. “You look like the Grim Reaper.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

“It wasn't meant as one.”

“I'm taking it anyway. You're a regular visitor here – any advice on how we should proceed?”

She shrugged. “If anyone stops us, as long as we mumble something pretentious about the glory of death, we should be fine.”

“Excellent.”

They left the storage room, moving quickly but quietly. Valkyrie's heart sped up when two Necromancers hurried by, but they were too busy panicking about the Sanctuary forces outside to notice them. Occasionally she would recognise something and nudge Skulduggery to alter their course, but for the most part she hadn't a clue where they were. On all of her trips through the Temple, she hadn't really been paying attention. Wreath had been the one to lead the way and she'd been happy enough to follow along, continuing whatever conversation they were having without bothering to acquaint herself with her surroundings. She was regretting that now.

“Hey!” said a voice behind them. “You!”

They stopped. Valkyrie glanced at Skulduggery and they turned. A Necromancer stalked over to them, his hood down off his head. It was that man, Oblivious or something, the one who hadn't wanted to let them in days ago.

“Where do you think you're going?” he ranted. “We have our orders! You think they don't apply to you? You think just because our enemies are massing at the gates, we should abandon our posts? Is that what you think?”

“Uh,” Skulduggery said, “the stream of death carries us where it may.”

“That may be true,” Oblivious said curtly, “but we are still bound by the oaths we swore. Or have you forgotten them?”

Skulduggery shook his head beneath his hood. “My duty is to death, but death's duty is to itself. As of life, as of death, as of the stream between…”

Oblivious frowned. “What?”

“In the stream of life, we are but paddlers.”

“I'm not sure I… who are you? Let me see your face.”

Skulduggery looked round, made sure no one else was coming. “The sparrow flies south for winter,” he said, and punched Oblivious right on the chin. He looked up at Valkyrie as he dragged the unconscious Necromancer into the nearest room. “See? It's a perfect code.”

“We're paddling in the stream of life?”

Skulduggery came back out, shutting the door behind him. “I'm not very good at being pretentious. It's one of my few flaws. But there's no denying – that code worked.”

“And you slipped it into the conversation
seamlessly
.”

They carried on, managing to avoid the panicking Necromancers. Finally, Skulduggery took Valkyrie's arm, pulled her into a dark corner, and nodded ahead.

“If I'm right,” he said, “the door mechanism is in there. If the door isn't unlocked in the correct way, an alarm will sound, the door won't open, and everyone will come running. So you're going to have to stay here. If I were you, I'd find somewhere to hide. This may take a while.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“You realise,” he said, “that you're wearing a hood and I can't see your face, so if you're glaring at me, or scowling, or raising an eyebrow, I have no way of knowing. You realise that, right?”

“Why,” said Valkyrie, “do I have to stay here?”

“Because what I'm going to do is extremely dangerous.”

“So is
everything
you drag me into.”

“Your point being?”

“What is up with everyone?
Fletcher
wants to protect me,
Caelan
wants to protect me, now
you
. For God's sake, I can handle what's thrown at me, all right? I don't need to be kept safe all the bloody time.”

“I see,” Skulduggery said. “Well, you make a very good point and I can't argue with your logic. Except I'm not trying to protect you. If I try to open the door and I fail, then I'm going to need someone else to do it once they've killed me. You see?”

“Oh,” said Valkyrie. “Oh right.”

“Now, if I fail, the odds are that you'll fail too. And if they can kill me, they can most
certainly
kill you, in an undoubtedly horrible manner. But by then I'll be past caring.”

“So… you really
aren't
trying to protect me.”

Skulduggery placed a hand on her shoulder. “Not even remotely,” he said warmly.

He moved off. Valkyrie waited a moment, then backed away, turned and hurried in the opposite direction. She rounded a corner and immediately stepped back. Solomon Wreath passed without looking at her. She chewed her lip.

And followed.

She kept her head down as they walked the corridors. He disappeared through a door and she quickened her pace, following him in. A hand grabbed her, tore the hood from her head and shoved her further into the room. She hit the wall and spun, Wreath's cane stopping right before it met her face. His eyes widened.

“Valkyrie,” he said, surprised.

“Hi Solomon,” she responded. “You said if ever I needed a chat…”

He lowered the cane and stepped back, closed the door before anyone saw. “How did you get in?”

“Dragonclaw,” she said.

Wreath sighed. “Oh, him. I assume Skulduggery is with you?”

“He's around here somewhere.”

“Then things are probably going to get very loud very soon.”

“More than likely.”

“In that case,” Wreath said, “now that we have a minute, I'd just like to say that I'm sorry for what happened. If I had known, if I had even
suspected
, that Melancholia might go after you, I would have—”

“You would have what?” Valkyrie asked. “Grounded her? What could you have done? Everyone's saying she's more powerful than anyone alive today. If she wants to slice me half to death, she's going to slice me half to death, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.”

Wreath shook his head. “This isn't how it should be.”

“You're right. She should be on a leash.”

“No, I mean she shouldn't have this power. It should have been you. At least it would have come naturally to you.”

“What do you mean?”

Wreath rubbed his face. He suddenly looked very tired. “Craven did something to her. He's been studying the languages of magic for years. He can't be as expert in the art as China Sorrows, but he'll be good, nonetheless. You've seen the scars on her face, right? They're all over her body. He says they're to protect her, but I think he carved those symbols into her skin to heighten her power during the Surge.”

“Is that possible?”

“In theory. Of course it's highly dangerous, and extraordinarily unstable. If that is indeed what he did, he stood a higher chance of killing her than succeeding.”

“But you think he
did
succeed.”

“Yes I do. It doesn't matter, of course. All the Death Bringer is, all it ever
has
been, is a Necromancer with a certain degree of power. No matter how she got there, Melancholia does seem to have reached that level.”

“She said something while she was kicking my ass. She said, if you're not on my list, you don't get saved.”

“I doubt she was making any sense at all. With that much power reverberating inside her head, I think we can expect her to babble every now and then.”

“What is the Passage?”

“I'm sorry, Valkyrie, there are things we don't share with—”

“Solomon, for God's sake. You never give a straight answer to that, yet it's supposed to be a wonderful thing where the world is saved and made a better place. Why do you need to keep any of that a secret?”

“Because some people aren't going to understand.”

“What people? People who like being miserable? I'm sure they'll get over it. What's she going to do? What happens in the Passage?”

“The walls are broken down—”

“Between life and death, yes, I know. That much you've told me. The energy of the dead will live alongside us, and we will evolve to meet it. That's what you said. I haven't a clue what that
means
, but that's what you said. We're going to evolve, are we?”

“In a manner of speaking.”