The Faceless Ones (Skulduggery Pleasant - Book 3) (32 page)

Batu turned as Murder Rose ran up to him and gripped his arm. "What have you done
?"
she raged. "You told us these marks would protect us! You said they'd shield us!"

"They are not shields," Batu said, his voice calm despite the exhilaration he was feeling. "They are invitations."

Rose stared at him, then turned and sprinted away. Batu watched her disappear into the trees.

A torrent of impossibilities flowed after her, making the trees creak and sway. Re heard her scream, and then there was silence.

There was one more god out there, and Batu went to find it.

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Thirty-eight

***

F
rom All Sides

Valkyrie stopped and cursed. She'd lost him. There was no point going deeper into this wood--if Batu
was
ahead of her, which she doubted, he knew his surroundings a lot better than she did.

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.

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"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 okay? 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 backward. Her shoulders hit the ground, and she tucked her chin to her chest as she flipped over gracelessly.

Crux was dragging his leg toward 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.

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"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

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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 Scepter. 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

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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 Scepter 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 tree line 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 toward her.

"Valkyrie!" Skulduggery shouted. "Run!"

395

Thirty-nine

***

C
risis of Faith

It was coming
for him.

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 biceps, 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

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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.

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Forty

***

K
illing Gods

China found Crux sitting on the ground between the woods and the meadow. His head was lowered and his arms were crossed over his body. He was hurt--she could see that as she walked toward him. There was no one else around. There was no one to see. "Hello, Remus," China said. He looked up. His pupils were dilated and he was muttering to himself.

"What happened to you?" she asked gently.

"You're all in on it," he mumbled.

Her blue eyes narrowed. "Did you see them,

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Remus? Did you see those things? Those flying things? Did you look at them?"

He tutted and shook his head and held himself tighter. His mind was broken. He must have looked up as the third Faceless One passed by in search of its vessel.

Which would make this
so
much easier.

China hunkered down, laying a comforting arm across his shoulders. "Did you tell anyone my secret, Remus? Anyone at all?"

"Secret?" he whispered.

"I won't be mad." She smiled. "I promise I won't. Who did you tell? About Skulduggery?"

"Skulduggery ..." Crux said, trying to remember.

"Did you tell anyone?"

He turned his head to think, and his jacket opened, and she glimpsed gold.

"What have you got there?" she asked softly, reaching in slowly. His hands closed around it, and she saw it was the Scepter.

"Mine."

"Yes, it is yours, Remus. It's so pretty. Can I see?"

"It's mine. I found it. Saw a man dig a hole. Saw him dig. And then she came."

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"Who came?"

"The girl. She hurt me."

"She's a mean girl. Can I see that? I'll give it right back, I promise."

Reluctantly, Crux released his hold, and China took the Scepter from him and smiled again.

"We're friends, aren't we? Did you tell anyone about my secret? I'm not going to be mad."

He shook his head. "No. No. Told no one."

"Good boy." She took a long, thin blade from the sheath on her boot. "You're confused, aren't you? I'm going to make the confusion go away. I promise."

"Give it back now."

"I'm afraid not."

He snarled and turned suddenly. The rock in his hand cracked against her head. China fell back, and Crux tried getting up on his broken leg.

"You're in on it!" he screeched. "You're all in on it!"

He made it up and stood over her, the rock ready to smash down, but something hit him and he was flung off his feet.

China sat up, dazed, and Valkyrie ran up to her.

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"Give me the Scepter!" the girl shouted. There was a Faceless One right behind her and it was
running.

China threw the Scepter and Valkyrie caught it and turned. The Faceless One stopped running and studied her with its blank face. It raised its hand to her slowly.

China could see the panic on Valkyrie's face, like she expected her body to explode or implode or, at the very least,
twist.
Then she raised the Scepter and fired.

The crystal glowed and the black lightning crackled and shot out, hitting the Faceless One in the chest. It staggered, and even though it had no mouth, it shrieked, an inhuman scream of pain and rage. The black lightning curled around its body, and Valkyrie hit it again. The skin dried and cracked.

China saw the god try to abandon its vessel, but it was too late, and the body erupted into a cloud of dust. China got to her feet as the wind took the dust away.

Valkyrie realized she was still holding the Scepter straight out, and she tried to lower her arms, but they didn't seem to want to go down.

401

Skulduggery ran over. "What happened? Are you all right? What was that scream?"

"That was the sound of a god dying," China said.

"Paddy!" Valkyrie blurted. "Paddy is Batu!"

China didn't know who this
Paddy
was, but Skulduggery tilted his head, and his fist clenched.

"That's how he got close enough to kill the Teleporters," he said. "I doubt he even came to Peregrine's mind when we asked him who he'd been talking to."

China could see that Valkyrie was barely listening. She pointed at the spot where the Faceless One had been standing.

"It just looked at me," she said. "It could have turned me inside out, but it didn't. Why didn't it? "

"It must have recognized you," China said. "It must have recognized the Ancient blood in your veins, marking you out as something different."

China wiped the blood from her forehead and glanced around for Crux, but he was gone. Her jaw clenched in anger, but she said nothing.

"Now we can stop them," Valkyrie said. "We have the Scepter--we can stop them. All I have to do is point and shoot."

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"That's right," Skulduggery said. "Okay then, so where's the next one?" China heard something in the trees behind her and turned.

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Forty-one

***

T
he Moment

The hair on
the back of Batu's neck stood up. The Faceless One was above him. He

could feel it. His god was gazing upon him at that very moment.

Batu turned, spread his arms, and raised his eyes to his god, and as it rushed to fill him, he screamed with terror and exultation.

And then Batu was gone.