"Where's Vile? What did you do?"

Melancholia grimaced, and got up. "I don't know. I think I redirected his shadow-walk."

"Where?"

"Not sure. I don't know how this works."

"Is he far away? Are we safe?"

Melancholia hesitated, then shook her head. "I can feel him. He's still down here. Still after us."

Valkyrie looked up to the ledge. "You were going to climb up there? Let's go."

Melancholia scowled, and they started climbing. Valkyrie's b.l.o.o.d.y fingers made climbing difficult, but she hissed through the pain, letting it make her angry, letting it reinforce her strength. She got to the top, turned and helped Melancholia up. They straightened just as someone stepped from the darkness beside them, and the White Cleaver swung his scythe at Valkyrie's neck.

"Stop!" Melancholia yelled.

The blade halted, a hair's breadth from Valkyrie's skin.

"We need her to get out of here," Melancholia said, wincing. "We can throw her to Vile as a decoy, or something. We have to keep going. You understand?"

The Cleaver nodded, slid the scythe into its fixture on his back, and scooped Melancholia into his arms. Then he took off running, and Valkyrie did her best to keep up.

Chapter 57.

Beheaded

he echo of their footsteps changed, and they emerged from the tunnel into a cavern with a still lake in the middle. It was vast and black.

Valkyrie heard footsteps and turned as Vaurien Scapegrace charged out of the darkness, yelling a war cry. The White Cleaver suddenly thrust Melancholia into Valkyrie's arms. His scythe glinted, and Scapegrace's head popped off. Valkyrie stared as his body kept running and toppled into the water.

The White Cleaver swished his scythe into its fixture, then took Melancholia back from Valkyrie. There was another cry, this time a long, mournful wail, as Thrasher staggered towards them.

"What have you done?" he cried. "What have you done?"

"Don't kill him," Valkyrie told the White Cleaver. Melancholia nodded her agreement, and so when Thrasher was close enough, the White Cleaver merely kicked him. Thrasher went hurtling back into the shadows.

Valkyrie hesitated, then picked up Scapegrace's head. She'd never liked him. The first time she'd met him, he'd tried to throw her off a building. Time and time again, he'd tried to kill her, until his failures actually started to endear him to her. She realised she had begun to view him as a dumb little puppy who would always turn up, sooner or later, to chew on her sock or poo in her shoe. She was going to miss him.

He swivelled his eyes to her and she yelped and dropped his head. He bounced, and landed on his ear.

"I'll get you," he wheezed. "All of you. You're dead!"

Valkyrie didn't know what to do. She glanced back. Even Melancholia's eyes widened in surprise.

Valkyrie picked up the head again. "Sorry," she said.

Scapegrace tried to bite her hand, and she slapped him lightly.

"Behave."

"When my Master hears about this-"

"Scapegrace, what the h.e.l.l are you doing down here?"

He sneered. "I'll never tell!"

"Who's your Master?"

"I'll never tell you that, either!"

"How did you even get here?"

"Let me bite you. Just let me bite you."

She slapped him again. "Scapegrace, listen to me. You've got a choice. Either tell me what I want to know, or I throw you into the lake."

"I'm not afraid!" Scapegrace said defiantly.

"Are you sure about that? On the lake bed, all alone. Who knows how long it'll take for you to rot away?"

"Go to h.e.l.l!"

"I wonder what strange mutant monster fish they have down here. I bet they'll start to nibble at you."

"You can't scare me!"

"You'll go mad first, of course. Mad with despair. Mad with hopelessness. It could take years."

"Shut up," Scapegrace said feebly.

"Is your Master a man called Vandameer Craven?" Valkyrie asked.

"Yes!" Scapegrace wheezed proudly.

"He showed you another way into these caves?"

"Yes!"

"You need to tell us where you came in."

"My Master will kill you all."

"Craven's dead," Melancholia said.

His eyes swivelled to her. "What?"

"He's dead, killed by Skulduggery Pleasant. But you'll take orders from any Necromancer, won't you? My name is Melancholia St Clair. I'm a Necromancer."

"Mistress," Scapegrace wheezed adoringly.

Valkyrie turned him back towards her. "You take your orders from us now, all right?"

Scapegrace looked at her for a long moment, then his face crumpled. "I can't even nod! You took away my body, now I can't even nod!"

"Were you trying to nod?"

"Yes!"

"Maybe you should tell us if you're doing something like that."

"Fine, I'm nodding, OK?"

"Good. Melancholia needs to find another way out of here."

"Turn me round." She did so. "See that tunnel up there? See the light? That's a flashlight. Thrasher dropped it, like an idiot. There were a lot of us when we came in. Now there's only two of us left."

"Well," Valkyrie said, "there's one and a bit of you left."

"Turn me round again." She did so. He tried to bite her.

She held him by the few strands of hair that still clung to his burnt, rotten scalp. "When we get to that tunnel, where do we go?"

"Follow the flashlights the others dropped," he snarled. "But there are monsters up there. Horrible, chattering monsters, and they'll eat you. I hope they eat you. Not you, Mistress. But I hope they eat her."

"I understand," Melancholia said. "Can we get rid of him now?"

Valkyrie looked at Scapegrace. "I was actually going to miss you, you know that?"

"I hate you and I hope you die."

"Right," Valkyrie said, and drop-kicked the head as hard as she could. It shot past Melancholia and the Cleaver and was gaining height when Thrasher suddenly appeared from nowhere and leaped up, his hands closing around it. He landed and ran off, head under his arm, and they watched him go.

"I'll get you!" they heard Scapegrace wheeze, as the two zombies vanished into the shadows. "I'll get you, Valkyrie Cain!"

A couple of moments pa.s.sed. "Well," Valkyrie said eventually. "That's something you don't see every day."

"He's coming," Melancholia said.

Valkyrie turned. The darkness writhed in the tunnel behind them.

"If we can ambush him-" Valkyrie began, but Melancholia shook her head.

"Are you insane? We can't ambush him. And even if we could, then what? Are you going to talk to him? Try to get through to him? Your friend is gone, you stupid little girl. We have to run. We have to get out of here." She turned to the Cleaver. "Delay. You understand? Do whatever it takes to delay him."

The White Cleaver nodded, and took out his scythe.

Valkyrie wrapped Melancholia's arm around her neck and they hurried to the base of the tunnel.

"Hold on to me," Valkyrie muttered, sweeping the air in. It lifted them, but for a moment Valkyrie didn't think it would be enough, so she reached out desperately for more. The air buffeted them up and over, and Melancholia cried out as they landed heavily.

Valkyrie pulled her to her feet, ignoring the curses, and they hobbled for the tunnel. Before they reached it, Valkyrie looked back and saw Lord Vile emerge. The White Cleaver stood in his way, blocking his path. Two dozen shadows surged from Vile's armour and speared the Cleaver's body. The Cleaver managed to remain upright for a few seconds before a spasm rippled through those shadows and tore him apart.

Valkyrie dragged Melancholia onwards.

Chapter 58.

The Main Event

t came from above, scuttling from the tunnel ceiling to the curve of the wall, moving so fast it was hard to keep track. Before it slipped into darkness, Valkyrie saw its pale skin glisten wetly.

"I don't think we should go this way," she said softly.

"You heard the zombie," Melancholia responded. "This is the way out. What do you want to do? You want to go back?"

"There's something up ahead."

"There's something behind us too. Throw a ball of fire at whatever it is and it'll run off. Do I have to think of everything?"

"So far you haven't thought of anything," Valkyrie said, but resumed walking. "The creatures down here are not friendly, and they're not easily stopped."

"Maybe not by you, but I'm the Death Bringer."

"You still believe that?"