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and caught hold of the rope ladder several crewmen were attempting to haul up.
    “Oi!” screamed the golden-toothed pirate. “Get the hell off my shi—”
    “It’s OK, it’s OK!” Effigy spluttered, staying the man’s arm. “He’s with me.”
    “AND?”
    “And you can let him aboard, thank you, Captain,” Vanya finished, smiling sweetly. “Dullitch has become an extremely dangerous place, and a few extra passengers will not noticeably slow our progress.”
    The captain nodded, but somewhat reluctantly.
    “Right you are, little miss,” he growled, eyeing the disheveled, breathless figure with nothing less than total disdain.
    “O-o-obegarde’s fighting the …”
    “I guessed.” Effigy hung his head. “He and Nazz have saved us both. May the gods spare them pain.”
    As the ship moved slowly out of the harbor, Effigy turned and slumped onto a nearby barrel.
    “Jimmy Quickstint, I’d like you to meet Vanya Visceral, daughter of the Earl of Spittle. She’s going to help us, if she can.”
    Jimmy nodded at the girl briefly, then put his head in his hands and moaned.
    “It’s been a rough day,” Effigy explained. “And we’ve lost two very good friends.”
    “I understand,” Vanya said, turning sympathetic eyes away from Jimmy. “I totally underst—who’s that?”
    As Effigy and Jimmy both turned, the girl pointed to the upper deck … where a vampire had landed, upside down, in the rigging.
    Obegarde unhooked his foot and crashed to the deck, rolling sideways to avoid several sword-strikes from the alarmed crew.
    “Easy! Easy!” he yelled, jumping to his feet. “Give me a break, here … I’ve just fought a pair of zombies and two ruddy great dragons—can I have a few minutes’ break?”
    “Leave him alone!” Jimmy shouted, his face flushed with relief. “That’s our friend!”
    The captain turned to Vanya.
    “I appreciate your charitable nature, miss, but how many strays are we expected to take on board, here? This one’s a flamin’ gravewalker!”
    “Only on my mother’s side,” Obegarde added, avoiding the swords and staggering toward the group. “But I’m really quite harmless, unless I get peckish. Call me Obegarde.”
    “Um … hello,” said Vanya, nervously.
    Jimmy’s face was all smiles.
    “You’re amazing!” he said. “Absolutely amazing.”
    “That’s me.”
    “One thing I’ve always wondered, though: what happens with the clothes …?”
    “It’s a concentration thing,” Obegarde informed him, with a smirk. “If your mind wanders, so do your trousers.”
    Effigy smiled at the conversation, but quickly moved to change the subject. “Vanya, your father is on the High Council of Illmoor, isn’t he?”
    The girl nodded, causing Obegarde to make a face at Jimmy, who quickly mouthed the word “visceral” to him.
    “Yes. He has a special seat on the permanent council, along with Viscount Curfew and Prince Blood,” said Vanya.
    “Viscount Curfew is dead.”
    “D-dead? No he isn’t! I mean, how? When?”
    “It’s a long story, but the High Council needs to know that a dark god has been unleashed upon Dullitch. If something isn’t done soon, all the citizens will die … and there will be more than dragons hunting the streets …”
    Gordo helped the dazed Gape to his feet, then lowered his axe and went into a sort of voluntary trance.
    There was a noise like a miniature thunderclap, and a fiery image of Groan appeared, hovering on the air and making the raindrops sizzle.
    “The ogre has been eliminated,” said the voice within. “My pets made short work of him, yet I detect that you do not have news of equal success …”
    Gordo bowed. “Indeed, master,” he said solemnly, his voice echoing with ethereal resonance. “The vampire and his friend have temporarily eluded us …”
    “Do not think you bring me news, servant. My pool of second sight shows me all of Dullitch, and I observe everything within it. Enemies within these walls have no way