The young couple attacked. Skulduggery dodged their clumsy grabs and threw them into each other’s way. Dusk blurred, and in an eyeblink was beside Valkyrie, pulling her to her feet.

***

She saw Skulduggery and Dusk. Now that he could no longer be taken by surprise, Dusk's supernatural grace and athleticism were keeping him away from Skulduggery's strikes. He swept out of range of the punches and kicks, and every hold Skulduggery tried, Dusk eased out of before it was even completed.

***

He brought his hands to his shirt, and then, like Superman, he ripped the shirt open. Unlike Superman, however, he took his flesh with it, revealing the chalk-white skin of the creature underneath.

She darted toward him, and his eyes widened in surprise. She dived, snatched the syringe from the ground, and plunged it into his leg.

Dusk roared, kicked her onto her back, his transformation interrupted. He tried to rip off the rest of his humanity, but his human skin tore at the neck. This wasn't the smooth shucking she'd seen the previous night. This was messy, and painful.