No, going deeper didn’t make any sense. Not for Batu. He’d want to see his great plan coming together, and that meant being where the action was.
There was a sudden sound behind her and she turned as Remus Crux lurched out from behind a tree.
“You scared the hell out of me,” she snapped.
He held his left arm close to his body like it was hurt, and he was limping badly. He was sweating and seemed to be in a lot of pain. There was dried blood on his face.
“Are you OK? Remus? Did you see anyone run by here? An old man?”
“You’re under arrest,” he snarled as he dug his right hand into his pocket. Valkyrie lunged, catching his wrist just as he pulled out a small gun.
“Resisting arrest!” he cried as their struggle took them back against the tree.
She whacked her elbow into his injured arm and he yelled, and she twisted the gun from his grip and pushed herself off him. She threw the gun deep into the trees and he snapped his palm. A wall of air slammed into her and she hurtled backwards. Her shoulders hit the ground and she tucked her chin to her chest as she flipped over gracelessly.
Crux was dragging his leg towards her, summoning a flame into his hand. “Assault on a Sanctuary official!” he screeched.
Valkyrie launched herself at him, smacking down his right hand as she punched him across the jaw and he went staggering back.
“You could have broken my neck!” she shouted, and lashed a kick into his bad leg. Crux screamed and dropped to the ground, and Valkyrie stepped back, clutching her fist. She hoped she hadn’t broken it. Tanith was always telling her to use her elbows, not her knuckles. She really should have listened.
She looked down at him as he writhed and screamed and sobbed. He wasn’t going anywhere soon. She turned and ran back the way she had come.
She saw someone ahead, sitting against a tree trunk. Fletcher Renn. His shoulders were slumped forward and his head was down. His shirt was soaked in blood. His hair was matted.
He heard her and looked up slowly, as if every moment brought with it a new kind of pain.
“I helped them,” he said.
“I know. But now we need you to help us. Have you seen Paddy?”
He shook his head. “Haven’t seen anyone. I didn’t even fight them. They threatened me, they cut me, and that’s all it took. I always thought I’d be the hero, you know?” His laugh was brittle.
Valkyrie looked down at him. “I don’t mean to sound cruel,” she said, “but we don’t have time for this.”
“You want to get out of here? I’m gathering my strength to teleport somewhere, anywhere. Home, maybe. For some reason, I really want to go back to London right now.”
“You can’t leave. Paddy – you know that old man? He’s Batu. He’s the one behind all of this, and he has the Sceptre. He’s probably already hidden it, or dropped it in a ditch or something. Fletcher, if I can’t find it, we’ll have to lure the Faceless Ones back through the gateway. We’re going to need you to open it.”
Fletcher stared at her, frowning. “Are you nuts? Opening it the first time wiped me out. I mean, if I could use my power, don’t you think I would have by now? Do you think I’m staying here because I’m brave? The moment I’m strong enough, I’m gone.”
“You can’t leave us. This is our chance to save everyone. This is the only chance we’re going to get.”
“It’s not my fight.”
“It’s everyone’s fight.”
“When the other sorcerers hear about this, they’ll all come running to help, from all over the world. They’ll stop them. Not me. I’m just a kid.” He looked at her. “You should come with me.”
“I can’t. If you won’t help us, finding the Sceptre is our only chance.”
“You’ll be killed.”
“Apparently, that’s been coming for a while now,” she said, getting to her feet.
She gave him a chance. She stood there long enough for him to change his mind, but he didn’t. He just sat there.
She ran on, emerging from the treeline in time to see Skulduggery battling the Faceless One. He pushed at the air, but it was no use – the air just rippled and folded around the Faceless One harmlessly.
The female Necromancer attacked from behind, swirling her cloak of shadows. The Faceless One extended its hand and her body turned inside out.
It kept walking, and Skulduggery backed off, and it raised its arm to him.
Then it saw her, and it stopped. Its body turned towards her.
“Valkyrie!” Skulduggery shouted. “Run!”
Jaron Gallow could feel it above him, feel it drawing closer. The mark, the one that Batu had made them all burn into their arms, it was a beacon. No matter where he hid or how fast he ran, the Faceless One would find him.
This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.
He tore off his belt as he ran, wrapped it around his bicep and pulled it tight. Already he could feel his circulation being cut off. By the time he reached the yard beside the farmhouse, his left hand was numb.
He dropped to his knees and grabbed a Cleaver’s fallen scythe. He laid his forearm flat on the ground and pressed the curved blade to just below his elbow. He was breathing fast and sweating, and he couldn’t afford the luxury of doubt.
There was a rush of air and his ears popped. It had found him.
He closed his eyes and bellowed, forcing the scythe down on his forearm. The blade cut through flesh and bone in one smooth movement, and his bellow turned to a scream.
He collapsed, clutching the bloody stump to his body, and when he opened his eyes, he saw his severed arm lying next to him, and the Faceless One was gone.
“Hello, Remus,” China said.
He looked up. His pupils were dilated and he was muttering to himself.
“What