The Dying of the Light by Derek Landy

that.”
    “Stephanie, I’m insulted. I would never fib to you. I can’t tell you where she is, but I can help you stop her. Would you be interested in such a deal?”
    Pleasant’s head moved slightly, casting a deeper shadow over his jaw. “What could you possibly offer us?”
    Sanguine gave him a smile. “Gifts. Gifts that you would find very useful indeed.”
    “Oh,” said Pleasant. “You mean the God-Killers.”
    Sanguine’s smile faded. “What?”
    And now Sanguine noticed the blanket on the couch beside Stephanie. She pulled it back, revealing the sword, the dagger, the spear and the bow.
    “You found them.”
    “Yes we did,” said Pleasant. “Very good hiding places, by the way. Took me all of six minutes to find all four. These are your gifts, I presume? You’re gifting these to us?”
    “Uh, yeah. Kinda. They weren’t easy to keep a hold of, let me tell you. See, the weapons I told Tanith I was melting down were—”
    “Forgeries,” Pleasant said. “Yes, we figured that out, thank you.”
    “No problem,” said Sanguine. “However, I’m just gifting you with
three
of these weapons. I’m actually keepin’ the dagger for my—”
    Sanguine made to take a step towards the sofa and all at once Pleasant was on his feet and across the room with the barrel of the gun pressing very firmly against Sanguine’s forehead.
    “Woah.”
    “I told you not to move,” Pleasant said, his voice dangerously quiet.
    Sanguine licked his lips. “I thought we were over that. I thought we’d moved on to being buddies. Compadres. We got a common enemy, after all.”
    Stephanie hadn’t budged from where she was sitting. “Do you always treat your enemies like they’re your boss?”
    “I don’t have a boss. I’m a free agent, dammit.”
    “You’re a lackey. Just like Tanith.”
    Sanguine went to shake his head, then thought better of it. “We ain’t lackeys. She’s following Darquesse because she’s had this notion for a while now that Darquesse is her messiah, and I’m following Tanith because we’re in love and we’re gonna get married. But be that as it may, I am a practical man, and I see only advantages in my fiancée’s messiah getting killed, so … common enemy.”
    “How romantic.”
    “I take it,” said Pleasant, “that Tanith doesn’t know that the God-Killers haven’t been destroyed.”
    “No, sir, she doesn’t. She’d likely kill me if she found out. And while you may think I’m saying this just because you have a gun to my head, these weapons really are for you. Let’s be straight about this – I wish I didn’t have to give them to you. I was counting on you to figure out a way of taking down Darquesse on your own, but I guess I overestimated your competence, now didn’t I? So here I am, riding in to the rescue, a cavalry of one.”
    Pleasant lowered the gun, and Sanguine took a step backwards.
    “If you want Darquesse dead, why don’t you do it yourself?”
    Sanguine grinned. “Because I ain’t the hero in this scenario. The hero does dumb things like go up against the pretty girl-god, and is liable to get himself killed in the process. Me, I have every intention of surviving the next few days. If I see an opportunity, sure, I’ll take it, but I’m not gonna go looking for it. That’s your job.”
    “What are her plans?” asked Skulduggery. “Where will she be?”
    “You think I’m privy to those details? To Darquesse, I’m the hired help she hasn’t even hired. She won’t even tell Tanith what her plans are. Seems she thinks Tanith’s faith ain’t what it used to be.”
    “Is that true?” Stephanie asked.
    “To talk to her, my fiancée is just as determined to bring about the end of days as she ever was. But I don’t know. Closer it gets, the more the doubts seep in. Cold feet, as it were. Of course, when she finds out that I betrayed her, she’s gonna want to kill me. So I’m keeping the dagger.”
    “You think so, do you?” Pleasant