Playing With Fire
Meet Skulduggery Pleasant: detective, sorcerer, warrior.Oh yes. And dead.With Serpine dead, the world is safe once more.At least, that’s what Valkyrie and Skulduggery think, until the notorious Baron Vengeous makes a bloody escape from prison, and dead bodies and vampires start showing up all over Ireland.With Baron Vengeous after the deadly armour of Lord Vile, and pretty much everyone out to kill Valkyrie, the daring detective duo face their biggest challenge yet. But what if the greatest threat to Valkyrie is just a little closer to home…?
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HarperCollins Childrenâs Books
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London SE1 9GF
Skulduggery Pleasant rests his weary bones on the web at: www.skulduggerypleasant.co.uk
Derek Landy blogs under duress at www.dereklandy.blogspot.com
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Childrenâs Books in 2007
Text copyright © Derek Landy 2008
Illuminated letters copyright © Tom Percival 2008
Skulduggery Pleasant logo>⢠HarperCollins Publishers
Skulduggery Pleasant>⢠© Derek Landy
Cover design © blacksheep-uk.com
Cover illustration © Tom Percival
Derek Landy asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of the work.
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Source ISBN: 9780007257058
Ebook Edition © ISBN: 9780007302123
Version: 2018-12-06
This book is dedicated to my family â because otherwise Iâd never hear the end of it â¦
Nadine: warm, kind and considerate. I am all of these things.
Audrey: the greatest thrill of your life is probably the fact that Iâmyour brother.
Ivan: meaningless words such as âbrilliantâ, âamazingâ and âinspirationalâ have been used to describe me, but not nearly enough.
If any of you thought that thereâd be anything sincere or heartfelt inyour dedications, allow me a moment to quietly laugh at you â¦
Because the heartfelt sincerity is reserved for my nana.
Chic, this book is also dedicated to you, for all the love and support youâve shown me over the years. I love you much more than any of your other grandchildren do, I swear.
Contents
Chapter 2: Killer On The Loose
Chapter 4: The Beauty, The Beast
Chapter 5: The Terror Of London
Chapter 6: Fireballs In The Park
Chapter 10: The Armour Of Lord Vile
Chapter 11: The Terrifying Brain-Sucker Of London
Chapter 23: Elephants And Bunnies
Chapter 25: A Smattering Of Slaughtering
Chapter 26: Murder In The New Morgue
Chapter 27: Rise Of The Grotesquery
Chapter 31: The Edgley Family Reunion Thing
Chapter 33: The Calm Before The Storm
Chapter 34: Unfinished Business
Chapter 35: Attack Of The Vampires
Chapter 36: Giant Spider Madness
Chapter 38: Those About To Die â¦
Chapter 40: Fight To The Death
Chapter 41: Billy-Ray Sanguineâs Erstwhile Employer
The church tower stood high and proud, looking out over Dublin City. The night breeze was brisk and carried snatches of laughter from the street below. It was a long way down.
A man in a tattered coat walked up to the edge and peered over. He smirked.
âThis is insulting,â he said. âDonât they know how dangerous I am? I am very, very dangerous. Iâm a killer. Iâm a trained killing machine. And still, they send you. A child.â
Valkyrie felt her grip on the ledge loosen. She ignored the goading of the man standing above her, and looked around for something else to grab on to. She looked everywhere but down. Down was where the street was, where the long drop and the sudden stop was. She didnât want to look down. She didnât want anything to do with down right now.
âWhat age are you?â the man continued. âThirteen? What kind of responsible adult sends a thirteen-year-old child to stop me? What kind of thinking is that?â
Valkyrie swung herself gently towards the tower, planting her feet against a small buttress. The fear started to work through her and she felt herself freeze up. She closed her eyes against the oncoming wave of paralysis.
The man was Vaurien Scapegrace, currently wanted in five countries for various counts of attempted murder. He hunkered down at the edge and smiled happily.
