you send him in, Detective? I’m sorry, can I call you Skulduggery?”
“Of course.”
“Did you send him in, Skulduggery? Did you send him in to spy on us?”
“I did.”
“That was sneaky of you.”
“We were only returning the favour. You and your group have been pretty sneaky yourselves, what with—”
“No,” said Lethe.
Skulduggery tilted his head. “I’m sorry?”
“You don’t get to steer the conversation, Skulduggery. You’re not in charge here. We are.”
“Very well. It’s all yours.”
“How gracious of you,” Lethe said. “You’ve taken a risk coming here. A big risk. A big mistake. Skulduggery, I know you’ve been Commander of the Supreme Mage’s personal Gestapo here in Roarhaven for the last few years, and the stories I’ve heard about the things you’ve done in that time … Shocking. Simply shocking. But I fear you may have lost your edge now that you’re back as the Dynamic Duo. Things have … well, they’ve changed since you’ve been away. The world has changed. It’s sharper. It’s nastier. It’s cut-throat. I would have loved nothing more than to have watched you both embark on more adventures, to watch you both fight to preserve the status quo yet again … but I’m afraid I can’t allow it.”
“You have your plans,” said Skulduggery. “It’s understandable.”
“Not my plans,” said Lethe. “I’m just a pawn. We’re all just pawns in the great game.”
“And the objective of the game?”
Lethe shook his head again.
“What is the anti-Sanctuary?” Skulduggery asked. “What is it really?”
“It’s beyond you, I’m afraid. I doubt you could fathom how we see the world. We’re not like you. We’re not … content. You’re scared of us and of course you’re scared. We are something you don’t understand. We are the future.”
“Can I talk now? You’ve had your say, I think it’s only fair that I have mine.”
Lethe walked forward. “There’s nothing fair about this world, Skulduggery. We don’t always get what we want, do we? For example, I bet you want to walk away from this encounter, isn’t that right? I bet you want to live, yes? But you’re not going to.”
Skulduggery observed him. “Seven against two,” he said. “And, as you can undoubtedly tell, Valkyrie injured herself in the fall.”
“It’s not seven against two,” said Lethe. “It’s right against wrong. It’s me against you. If you win, you walk away. If you lose, you die, and we take Valkyrie here.”
“I see,” Skulduggery said. “Well, that seems reasonable.” He took off his hat, handed it to Valkyrie. She stepped back.
“Before we begin,” Skulduggery said, “can I ask what your magical ability might be?”
Lethe chuckled again. “You can ask.”
Lethe went at him and Skulduggery let him come.
He started with a kick that Skulduggery swayed away from. He spun with a back fist that got nowhere near. Next he sprang, twirling in the air like a Cleaver, and Skulduggery dodged back.
Valkyrie’s left shoulder was on fire. She glanced away from the fight, to Lethe’s friends. All of them, apart from Melior and the guy in the ill-fitting suit, were grinning, enjoying the spectacle as Lethe leaped and lashed out and Skulduggery just kept out of his way. It looked like it would only be a matter of time before one of Lethe’s attacks landed. They were anticipating it. This was sport to them.
But Valkyrie knew better.
Lethe was good, of that there was no doubt. As quick and agile as a Cleaver, he threw in a load of extra moves that almost caught Skulduggery out. But Skulduggery kept out of reach, watching him, observing him. Understanding him.
And then, once he’d absorbed enough information, Skulduggery acted.
He stepped inside a wild hook and flipped Lethe over his hip.
Lethe hit the ground and rolled, came up to his feet in one smooth motion. He bounced on his toes like a boxer for a moment, and moved back in again.
Skulduggery stayed where he was.
Lethe spun with a kick and Skulduggery stepped forward, tripped him, and Lethe executed a one-handed cartwheel to avoid hitting the ground a second time.
His friends cheered and clapped. They had no idea what was about to come.
Lethe changed tactics. He stopped with the spinning and the whirling, and came in straight and strong. His hands flashed. Skulduggery covered up, didn’t even try to block the strikes, but when he got close enough he reached out, grabbed Lethe and pulled him in to an elbow to the jaw.
Lethe stumbled away. His friends laughed.
A quick shake of the head and Lethe returned to the fray. He punched and Skulduggery grabbed him again, headbutted him, kicked his knee and slammed him to the ground. Lethe thrashed and squirmed, managed to roll away. He tumbled backwards to his feet.
Now it was Skulduggery’s turn to move in. A left jab and a right hook sent Lethe staggering. When Lethe threw a punch in return, Skulduggery grabbed his wrist, wrenched it, and only Lethe’s agility allowed him to spin out and free himself.
Skulduggery hit him again, and again. Lethe wobbled and dropped to one knee. Valkyrie expected the others to rush in at this point, but they stayed where they were. The cheering had died down, but they were still grinning.
Skulduggery stood over Lethe. “Where’s Temper?”
Lethe held up a hand for Skulduggery to wait, like he wanted to catch his breath.
“That,” he said at last, “was a good one.”
He stood up slowly, groaning as he did so, then he dropped low, slamming a fist into Skulduggery’s ribs.
Skulduggery grunted and stumbled back, and Lethe straightened.
“So it’s true,” said Lethe. “Even without flesh, even without nerve endings, you do feel pain. That’s interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever killed someone as interesting as you, Skulduggery.”
Lethe stepped in with what looked like a kick. Valkyrie was
