Valkyrie screamed, sprinting toward Skulduggery.

He looked up and reached out to her, but it was too late.

If you've read the other Skulduggery books by Derek Landy (and you really should have read them by now), you've seen it all before: Some bad guy wants to bring about the end of the world, and Skulduggery and Valkyrie fight valiantly to stop it from happening. A few people get hurt, sure, but everything's all right in the end.

Well, not this time.

Derek Landy is the author of Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients, which was named a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association, appeared on the Oprah's Book Club Kids Reading List, and was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. He is also the author of the follow-up novel Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire, which hasn't won any prizes yet—but it's only a matter of time, we're sure. Derek lives in Ireland, where all magic begins.