Playing With Fire. Derek Landy

put the handkerchief away. “I can still be merciful, even if my gods are not. The girl, China. Valkyrie Cain. Tell me where she is, and I will let you live.”

      “Skulduggery doesn’t care about her,” China said through gritted teeth. “She’s a hobby, nothing more. You won’t be able to get at him through her.”

      “My mercy is on a timetable. Tell me where I can find her or I shall torture you until you beg to tell me.”

      “OK,” China said, “OK, I’ll tell you.” She nodded to the bedroom. “She’s in there.” Valkyrie went cold, but Vengeous just shook his head sadly.

      “China, I don’t like this side of you, these jokes.”

      “I’ve been spending too much time around Skulduggery. You remember his jokes, don’t you, Baron? What else do you remember? You remember him arresting you?”

      “I remember almost killing him.”

      “Almost wasn’t enough,” China said and actually managed a laugh. “He’s coming for you, you know. I hope I’m there when he gets you.” Dusk twisted and China cried out in pain.

      “Tell me where the girl is,” Vengeous said, “or I will have your arms broken.”

      “Here I am,” Valkyrie said, kicking the door open as the fire flared in her hands.

      

      er aim was off on the first fireball she threw and it missed Dusk. The second fireball, however, was on target, and it would have hit Baron Vengeous if he hadn’t moved out of the way at the last moment. He was fast. Maybe even faster than Skulduggery.

      “Cain,” he snarled.

      “Run!” China shouted and Valkyrie obeyed. She was out in the corridor before she glanced back, just in time to see China wave her hand. The door slammed shut, sealing the men in the apartment.

      Valkyrie got to the stairs, heading down, when something grabbed her ankle and she nearly fell. She kept going, looking back in time to see a hand disappear back into the steps. She reached the second floor, banged off the wall and kept going down. The wall below her cracked and crumbled, and the man in the sunglasses lunged out. Valkyrie gripped the banister and jumped, using her momentum to lend force to the kick. Her boot slammed into his chest and he hit the wall hard and bounced off.

      At the first floor she almost tripped over herself, the man right behind her. She jumped the last few steps and ran out on to the street. Cars were passing and people were walking. Too many innocent people that could be caught up in a battle they weren’t ready for. She sprinted into the alley beside the tenement building. It was narrow and cut off from the sun. The other side led out on to a quieter road.

      The man in the sunglasses was behind her, closing the gap between them to an arm’s length. She barely kept out of reach.

      Valkyrie dropped and the man’s legs crashed into her and he went flying over, losing his sunglasses in the process. He hit the ground and sprawled, and when he snapped his head to her, she saw that he had two small black holes where his eyes should have been. She spun, ran back the way she had come, and glanced over her shoulder in time to see the man sink into the ground, straight down, like he was in an invisible elevator. With five paces left to the street, the ground in front of her exploded and a man surged upwards. She fell back, trying to wipe her eyes clear of gravel and dirt.

      “I don’t see what all the fuss is about,” the man said. He was American and spoke with a strong Deep South drawl. “You’re just a little girl.”