Skulduggery Pleasant 06: Death Bringer by Derek Landy

Author:Derek Landy [Landy, Derek]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2011-10-07T01:21:24+00:00

Chapter 31

Fuel

ison Dragonclaw laid out his torture instruments on the table. Knives, saws, pliers, hammers, neatly arranged one by one. Valkyrie watched him.

When he was done, he hauled Skulduggery to his feet and shoved him against the wall, then went over to Valkyrie, did the same to her.

“You’re not so tough now, are you?” he asked, his smile revealing small teeth behind that wispy goatee. “I bet you’re really regretting the way you treated me. Now it’s my turn. Now I get to inflict some pain.”

She didn’t answer him. She barely heard him.

“We’ve not finished treating you badly,” Skulduggery said. “The moment we escape from these shackles, we’re going to do it all over again.”

“Even if escape were possible,” Dragonclaw replied, “you’d be too late. The Death Bringer is about to change the world.”

“You hope.”

“It is a scientific inevitability.”

“There’s no such thing.”

Dragonclaw stopped what he was doing, and looked round. “There is no such thing as a scientific inevitability?”

“Nope.”

“And what about, for instance, gravity? If I drop an apple, it will not fall?”

“Not necessarily.”

“You are ridiculous.”

“Just because an apple falls one hundred times out of a hundred does not mean it will fall on the one hundred and first.”

“I thought you were supposed to be a rational man.”

“I am a rational man, but haven’t you heard? I’m also insane. It gives me a unique perspective on things.”

“Here is what I am going to do,” Dragonclaw said. “I’m going to pull you apart.”

“Your High Priest doesn’t want me harmed.”

“He doesn’t want you dead. He was quite agreeable to my harming you.”

“If you separate my bones from each other, my consciousness could dissipate.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll leave most of you intact. The torso and the head, probably. Maybe I’ll remove the jawbone. It might stop you talking.”

“I wouldn’t like to bet on it.”

“Once you are incapacitated, I will then take apart your young apprentice.”

“I’m not his apprentice,” Valkyrie muttered.

“She’s my combat accessory,” Skulduggery nodded. “But you won’t get a chance to do any of that, I’m afraid. We’re going to get free in the next few minutes and then you’re really going to wish you had a few guards here for protection.”

“I see,” Dragonclaw said. “And do you mind telling me how you plan to get free?”

“I’m picking the lock on these shackles as we speak.”

“Those locks can’t be picked.”

“So says the prevailing wisdom.”

“And you know better, I suppose?”

“That is the usual state of things.”

“And what are you picking the lock with, may I ask? A toothpick? A hairpin?”

“The top of your pen, actually.”

Dragonclaw laughed. “I don’t have a pen.”

“Not any more, that’s true. But you had one in the pocket of your robes, don’t you remember?”

Dragonclaw’s laugh faded. He searched his robes. “You’re lying. I didn’t have a pen.”

“The metal clip on the lid is the perfect size,” Skulduggery continued, clearly enjoying the look on Dragonclaw’s face. Behind his back, his arms were moving ever so slightly. “I should be out of these in forty seconds or so, and then I’m going to hurt you.

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