Last Stand of Dead Men

Last Stand of Dead Men
Derek Landy

The eighth instalment in the biggest, funniest, most thrilling comedy-horror-adventure series in the universe - and the follow-up to 2012’s number-one bestseller, Kingdom of the Wicked…War has finally come.But it's not a war between good and evil, or light and dark – it's a war between Sanctuaries. For too long, the Irish Sanctuary has teetered on the brink of world-ending disaster, and the other Sanctuaries around the world have had enough. Allies turn to enemies, friends turn to foes, and Skulduggery and Valkyrie must team up with the rest of the Dead Men if they're going to have any chance at all of maintaining the balance of power and getting to the root of a vast conspiracy that has been years in the making.But while this war is only beginning, another war rages within Valkyrie herself. Her own dark side, the insanely powerful being known as Darquesse, is on the verge of rising to the surface. And if Valkyrie slips, even for a moment, then Darquesse will burn the world and everyone in it.

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2013

Reissued in this edition in 2017

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Skulduggery Pleasant rests his weary bones on the web at:

www.skulduggerypleasant.co.uk (http://www.skulduggerypleasant.co.uk)

Derek Landy blogs under duress at

www.dereklandy.blogspot.com (http://www.dereklandy.blogspot.com)

Text copyright © Derek Landy 2013

Illuminated letters copyright © Tom Percival 2013

Skulduggery Pleasant

Derek Landy

Skulduggery Pleasant logo

HarperCollinsPublishers

Skulduggery Pleasant ©

Derek Landy

Cover design © blacksheep-uk.com (http://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: 9780007489237

Ebook Edition © ISBN: 9780007489244

Version: 2017-05-25

This book is dedicated to you.

Whether you are a Minion or a Skuttlebug or just, you know, a normal person, it’s because of you that I get to do what I love and laughingly call it work.

I know some of you by name and some of you by sight (and some of you by smell, but let’s not get into that) but there are still countless others I have never met, and to all of you I say thank you for your support, your passion, and your lunacy.

Now please, for the love of whatever god you pray to, leave me alone.

Contents

Cover (#u13d6cbdd-7cc1-5ce7-8267-d7694619144a)

Title Page (#uaf76a7e1-86e9-5518-92a2-e95369f3c7d8)

Copyright (#u5891d267-df91-5450-a51c-97a006db8a41)

Dedication (#ud581ae69-8f4f-5e2f-8405-64f99081998c)

Five Years Ago (#u8ac9e59f-e20a-5152-a9f2-f83513a3536b)

Three Months Ago (#ue31065a5-261d-5f58-80d0-78ec2cc45f05)

Chapter 1: The Witches (#u9fac4346-2123-5ae9-903b-c0badc172045)

Chapter 2: Back in Roarhaven (#uc08ec275-3818-52bd-ab6b-23fc146087cf)

Chapter 3: The Big Day (#u7944c375-6bf9-5741-9225-07e259964514)

Chapter 4: The Secret Origin Of … (#u9c67301d-b407-5c2a-9fc2-c4443cee9247)

Chapter 5: Unfair Advantage (#ued2c0b5d-03de-5979-b9d1-e8cbc7a69cfe)

Chapter 6: Stark Realities (#ub8c36501-7ffa-5986-9f9e-98ea7a46d260)

Chapter 7: Saracen (#uf870724b-64d9-500a-a92a-95fcc5284efa)

Chapter 8: Searching the Aisles (#u4292a4e5-c759-52ba-93d9-76ffb43ac517)

Chapter 9: Roarhaven’s Number One Public House (#u023ee903-f7b5-5f57-921f-b6d768979a0a)

Chapter 10: The Thirteenth Floor (#u0c3af144-a22e-5ad9-9076-4c6c756f354c)