The Dying of the Light (20 page)

China looked at the others. “Requests? Anything you’d like to see at this party? Balloons? A trapeze act? Elephants? We have to make a big deal out of this. People need reassurances that things are getting back on track. We’ll invite every Council from every Sanctuary around the world. It will be wonderful. It will be fabulous.” Her eyes settled on Skulduggery. “And you will deliver the invitation to Zafira Kerias personally.”

Skulduggery’s head tilted. “I was wondering how long this respite would last.”

China waved her hand again, and Tipstaff went away. “We had three problems,” she said. “Darquesse was the first, but she’s no longer a threat. You’ve saved us all and you have our thanks. But we still have two problems left – the renegades and the Remnants. Fortunately for us, I’ve been keeping my ear to the ground, and the latest reports suggest that the American Sanctuary is hiding the renegades. You’ve solved the first problem – now I want you to take Vex and Rue and the Monster Hunters, and solve the second problem. When the renegades are in shackles, you’ll tackle the third.”

“When you say you’ve kept your ear to the ground …”

China smiled. “This information came to me from a confidential source.”

“One of your spies from the old days?”

“Precisely. Their information has always been accurate, and I see no reason why it should be any different now.”

“Fletcher,” said Skulduggery, “you’re teleporting back to Dexter in a few minutes, aren’t you?”

“Now, actually,” Fletcher said. “I want to help them search the next town on our list. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or so.”

Skulduggery nodded. “Good. When it’s done, we’ll all pay Grand Mage Kerias a visit.”

“I’ll tell them,” Fletcher said. He gave Stephanie’s hand another squeeze before dropping it and disappearing.

China turned to Valkyrie. “Now that all that pesky business is taken care of, it really is good to have you back with us. How are you feeling?”

Valkyrie smiled grimly. “Tired. I’m not entirely sure what’s been happening, but … but I’m OK. I’m quite surprised to see you making house calls, though. I thought they weren’t your style.”

“I felt I could break that rule for you. You saved my life, you know. Do you remember that?”

“I remember you burning up.”

China nodded. “You could have let me die. Darquesse could have let me die. But she didn’t. There was enough of you left in her to save me. I won’t forget that.”

“I’m just glad I was stopped before I could hurt anyone else.”

“We’ve all done things we’re not proud of. We’ve all done questionable things. Some of us have even done terrible things. But you’re back with you now, and you’re safe and you’re well, and you’re going to get better.” She looked round as Synecdoche walked in. “Isn’t that right, Doctor?”

Synecdoche read the monitors. “Absolutely,” she muttered. Then she looked up. “Yes. Perfect health. There’s no reason why Valkyrie can’t walk out of here in the next few minutes. May I see the Soul Catcher, please?”

Skulduggery held it out, and Synecdoche ran her hand round the glass. Her hand glowed. Even from where she stood, Stephanie could feel the radiating warmth and the welcoming comfort.

“What are you looking for?” Skulduggery asked.

“Energy readings,” the doctor said. “Erskine Ravel is still being tortured. With Darquesse shut away like she is, that link should have been broken. I don’t understand why he’s still in pain.”

“You think the link is still active?” China asked.

“It looks that way,” Synecdoche said. “Although I can find no traces of it here.”

“Maybe we’ll need to reinforce the Soul Catcher before the link will break.”

Synecdoche murmured something, then nodded. “Yes. Maybe. We’ll need to isolate the Soul Catcher, though. If the link is still active, Darquesse may still have some other tricks up her sleeve. May I take it?”

Skulduggery handed it over. “Try not to drop it. It contains a god.”

“I’ll do my best.”

China watched Synecdoche walk off, carrying the Soul Catcher in both hands, and she said, with only a hint of malice, “I do hope Tanith Low isn’t too distraught at losing her messiah. Are we any closer to finding her, by the way?”

“We’ve sent Cleavers to the safe house Valkyrie told us about,” said Skulduggery, “but there was no sign.”

China looked at Valkyrie. “Do you have any idea where she might be headed?”

“I don’t know,” Valkyrie said. “Now that Darquesse is gone, she’ll be desperate. Maybe …” She faltered.

“Yes?”

“She might go after Argeddion,” Valkyrie said, sitting up straighter. “Darquesse wanted to use the grimoire to track him down – she reckoned peeking inside his brain would be a shortcut to fulfilling her potential. If Tanith finds him, she could use him as a hostage, remind him who he really is unless we hand over Darquesse.”

“Darquesse will not be exchanged for anything,” said China. “Even so, Argeddion is in too fragile a state to withstand someone as annoying as Tanith Low. One word from her could snap him out of the illusion he’s under, the consequences of which would be … disastrous.”

“Then we make sure Tanith never gets to him,” said Skulduggery. “Who knows where he is?”

“As far as I am aware,” said China, “only Erskine Ravel and Deacon Maybury know anything of Argeddion’s new life. We’ll protect Maybury, and Ravel is too busy with his agony to say anything about it, so I think we’re reasonably safe for now. In the mean time, I need you to take care of this renegade problem.”

“I’ll call Dexter now for an update,” said Skulduggery. He looked at Stephanie. “What are your plans?”

Stephanie blinked. “What do you mean?”

“You’ve held up your end of the deal. You helped us stop Darquesse. We could get someone to drive you home.”

Yes. She wanted to say yes. She wanted to say yes and walk out of here and never look back. Only …

Only Valkyrie was sitting right there, and Stephanie felt something twist in her gut when she thought about walking away from a situation that Valkyrie was happy to walk into. Ego. That’s what it was. Pride and ego.

“I’ll stay until we take care of the renegades,” she said. “I’ve got the most powerful weapon, after all. I’ll help you one last time, then I’m gone.”

“Your help is appreciated,” Skulduggery said, turning to leave. Stephanie started to follow and Valkyrie went to get out of bed, but he glanced back at them. “Stay here, both of you.”

“What?” Stephanie said. “I said I’d help.”

“You are not leaving me out of this,” said Valkyrie

“I don’t intend to,” Skulduggery said, “but I don’t want you two arguing the whole time.”

Stephanie frowned. “We’ve only said one word to each other!”

“Exactly. I want you to talk. You have a lot to sort out, and the faster you do it, the more use to me you’ll be. We’ll be teleporting to America in an hour. I expect you to be friends by then.”

He left, China by his side. The Black Cleaver followed.

Stephanie looked at Valkyrie. Seconds dragged by. “So what’s going to happen now?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” said Valkyrie. “Maybe—”

“I’ll tell you what’s going to happen now. You went away. You gave in, and you gave up everything you were born into. They’re my family now.”

Valkyrie’s eyes narrowed. “We could have sorted this out, you know. You didn’t have to attack me. You didn’t have to try and kill me. We could have
talked
.”

“You wouldn’t have talked,” Stephanie said. “You wouldn’t have even considered a compromise.”

“So let’s compromise. I’m still going to need a reflection to—”

“I’m not your reflection.”

Valkyrie held up her hands. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I meant, now that I’m back, I’m still going to be heading off with Skulduggery every day, so I can’t do without you. I need you to keep doing what you’re doing. I think we should share my – our – family. When I’m at home, you spend the night somewhere else, and for the rest of the time, you’re there.”

Stephanie shook her head. “It’d never work, not without the mirror. What if we get different haircuts? Or one of us gets a pimple? What if you put on weight?”

Valkyrie frowned. “How come I’m the one who gets fat in this scenario?”

“Without the mirror, this won’t work. And there is no mirror any more. And even if there were, I wouldn’t get back into it.”

“It’ll be a learning process,” said Valkyrie. “We’ll settle into a routine. We’ll come up with ways to work round problems. Does that sound agreeable?”

Stephanie grunted. “Maybe.”

“We can co-exist, you know.”

Stephanie grunted again, and put the bag she was holding on the bed. “Here are your clothes.”

Valkyrie looked surprised. She opened the bag, peered in. “You don’t want them?”

“I don’t want people mistaking me for you. I have my own outfit now anyway. The shock stick’s in there, too. You can keep it. It doesn’t recharge for me, and I have the Sceptre.”

“OK. Well … thanks, I suppose.”

“So, are we friends now? Can I leave you alone without Skulduggery berating me for it when he gets back?”

“I won’t tell him if you won’t.”

Stephanie shrugged. “Suits me,” she said, walking to

the door, and then she left, and the room was quiet. All the tests had been run, and the Sensitives had been in, and the questions had been asked, and Darquesse had fooled them all.

She got off the bed and dressed. Black trousers – tight. Black jacket – zipped. Black boots – awesome. She’d missed these, the clothes Ghastly had made for her. Well, for Valkyrie really, but what was the difference?

She caught herself, and laughed. Actually, now there
was
a difference. Now that Valkyrie was trapped in that Soul Catcher, Darquesse was alone in her own head for once.

It felt good.

She just needed to remember how Valkyrie behaved. She needed to remember the things Valkyrie cared about. Family. Friends. Hitting people. She didn’t know how long she could keep up the act, but she didn’t need an exorbitant amount of time. Just long enough to find out who and where Argeddion was, and to take a look at the
Hessian Grimoire
, and maybe have a little mischievous fun while she was at it.

She left the Medical Wing, and went for a walk.

The Sanctuary had changed since she’d been here last. It reminded her of Mevolent’s Palace in that alternate dimension. In fact, Roarhaven itself now resembled that entire city, even down to the great wall protecting its borders. She wondered if this little coincidence bothered Skulduggery. It probably did.

Mevolent. Now he had been fun. He had been a challenge. He hadn’t even discovered his true name, and yet he’d stood toe to toe with her and very nearly beat her.

She looked forward to the rematch.

She wandered the corridors, smiling at everyone she passed, until she glimpsed Deacon Maybury rounding a corner. She followed, hanging back whenever he was around other people. When he was finally alone, she stepped into the room behind him.

“Hi there,” she said.

Deacon looked up. She could see the surprise on his face. He was used to being despised – especially by Valkyrie. He wasn’t expecting a smile.

Darquesse wandered in, all casual. “Looks like I’ve got you to thank for pulling Darquesse out of my head.”

Deacon blinked a few times before answering. “I suppose,” he said. “I mean … there was a team of us …”

“But you were the key ingredient, weren’t you? No one else could have separated our personalities like that? No one else has the skill? At least that’s what China said.”

“She said that? Well, yeah, I mean …”

Darquesse laughed. “You’re just being modest.”

He laughed along with her. “That’s not something I’m used to.”

She let his little joke turn her laugh into something more heartfelt, and saw how much he beamed at her reaction. That beaming smile told her everything she needed to know. Poor little Deacon Maybury – all he’d ever wanted was for someone to show him a bit of affection.

“Thank you,” she said. “Genuinely, I mean that. You don’t know what it was like, to be in here and not able to control anything, not even able to speak. Then I felt your hands on my head and I heard Skulduggery’s voice and I focused, just like they told me to. And I hung on while she was dragged out, kicking and screaming …”

“It must have been awful.”

“But it was worth it. Now I’m free of her, and it’s all thanks to you.”

“Well, like I said, there was a team of us, but …”

“But it was mostly you,” she finished, and he laughed again.

“So what was harder,” she asked, “separating me from Darquesse or rewriting Argeddion’s personality?”

Deacon bobbed his head from side to side, weighing up the answer. “They each had their challenges,” he said at last. “With you, the problem was isolating two sets of thoughts, and setting it up so that the other Sensitives could pull one set out. I’d never done that before. No one had. The problem we faced wasn’t exactly a common affliction. With Argeddion, it was a complete personality overhaul, with false memories and a false identity thrown in. But even though I’m more familiar with that kind of work, it still took some doing.”

“Did you at least give him a cool identity? A rock star or a billionaire or something?” she asked.

“That’s what I wanted to do! But they wouldn’t let me. They were right, of course. If we’re lucky, this overhaul will last his whole life. The key to ensuring Argeddion never resurfaces is to make him boring, and give him a boring existence. Don’t include anything that could set him off.”

“So what is he?”

“A secondary school teacher.”

Darquesse laughed. “You honestly think that’s the best career for him? Every teacher I’ve ever met has been stressed and overworked! If anything is going to set him off, it’s being in a class full of insolent teenagers!”

Deacon grinned. “I never thought of that. It was a choice between a teacher and a librarian, but at the rate libraries are closing down he’d probably be out of a job already and that would certainly have kicked something off.”

“Why a teacher or librarian?”