China waved her hand dismissively. “I am allowed to pity myself, Valkyrie. You are not. So tell me how you have been.”
“You don’t know?”
“These days I only hear whispers about the impending war between the Sanctuaries – nothing fun. My sources and informants now report to Eliza and her Church of the Faceless. I have been deprived.”
Valkyrie gave a little shrug. “Well, I’m doing grand. I’m doing OK. So is Skulduggery. We visited an alternate reality, did you hear that?”
China raised an eyebrow. “When was this?”
“Just a few months ago, around the beginning of May.”
“Weren’t you dealing with Argeddion back then?”
“This was part of it.”
“You have been busy. What was it like, this alternate reality?”
“Horrible,” said Valkyrie. “Mevolent is still alive over there, and from what I saw he basically rules the world. Mortals are slaves. Serpine’s still alive, too. So was Vengeous – until he died.”
China sat forward. “Oh, you lucky thing. That must have been astonishing.”
“We met you over there.”
China clapped her hands and laughed with delight. “Another me! Tell me, what was I like?”
“You led the Resistance.”
“I did? Me? I’m sorry, I’m one of the heroes over there?”
“You were,” said Valkyrie. “Kind of. You betrayed us a few times, and then you died.”
China’s face fell, and she sat back. “Typical. Who killed me?”
“Serpine.”
“That sneaky little toerag.” She went quiet for a moment, then looked up. “My brother?”
Valkyrie shook her head. “Mevolent had killed him a long time ago.”
“Dead in both dimensions, then. That’s unfortunate. How did Skulduggery handle talking to me?”
“Honestly? He was fine. He got on with the job.”
“And what is his attitude towards me? This me, I mean. Not that me.”
“His attitude towards you is … unknown. We don’t talk about you much. He doesn’t insult you, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Insults are one of the lesser things to worry me, my dear. So are you going to tell why you’ve visited, or are we going to keep skipping around it?”
“Oh, yes, of course. We’re after a guy that nobody can quite remember. They don’t remember his name, his face, anything about who he is. Do you know anyone who could make you forget who they were?”
“I know a few Sensitives who could dislodge some things in your memory if given enough time.”
“No, I get the feeling this is an instant thing. Like, you’re talking to him and then you walk away and you can’t quite remember who he was.”
“Interesting,” said China. “There is a German mage, a Sensitive again, whom you forget the moment you lose sight of her. Myosotis Terra.”
“Never heard of her.”
“The only other thing I can think of is a type of amethyst crystal with certain psychic properties. I’m sure if treated correctly it could induce that level of amnesia. I’d need my books to make sure but, unfortunately, I no longer have them.”
“So it’s not a discipline of magic, then? Anyone who holds that crystal could be the person we’re looking for?”
“I’m afraid so.”
Valkyrie sagged. “Wonderful. Any ideas where a person might find such a crystal?”
“Most of them have been locked carefully away. There used to be one in the Repository of the old Sanctuary, if I remember correctly. It might even have survived the relocation to Roarhaven.”
“I see. Well, thank you, China. That’s very helpful.”
“Oh, think nothing of it,” China said, smiling. “Now then, what’s the real reason you’re here?”
“Sorry? What do you …?”
At China’s raised eyebrow, Valkyrie faltered, then took a deep breath, and settled back. “I need advice.”
“On what subject?”
“My future.”
China waited for Valkyrie to continue.
“My parents expect me to go to college. I did really well in the exams – or rather, my reflection did really well – and now I have all these offers from places I don’t want to go to. I thought once school was over I wouldn’t have to run around like this any more. I have everything that Gordon left me so I don’t have to do anything, but then my folks are going to think I’m just taking the easy way out.”
China nodded. “And you’ve come to me because obviously I know your parents really well.”
Valkyrie had to smile. “I came to you because Skulduggery’s being weird about it. I don’t think he wants to influence me one way or the other.”
“That’s probably wise. Where you go from here should be your decision and yours alone.”
“But this is what I want,” Valkyrie said. “I want to keep working for the Sanctuary and doing everything we’ve been doing. This is where I belong. But at the same time, I don’t want to end up like every other sorcerer.”
“And how do we end up?”
“Isolated. I don’t want to cut myself off from ordinary people. I don’t see why I should have to.”
China smiled sadly. “It’s inevitable, I’m afraid.”
“I don’t accept that.”
“They have a name for it these days. They have a name for everything these days. They call it Second Lifetime Syndrome, and it happens when a sorcerer watches her family and friends age and die around her. You’ll latch on to other mages from that moment on, because what’s the point of going through all that pain again? Valkyrie, there are some stark realities you have to face. You’re going to look the way you do for the next eighty years. In two hundred years, you’ll look twenty-five. You won’t be able to form attachments to mortals. They will start to notice something is different about you when they’re lined and saggy and you’re still young and perky. You’re going to have to say goodbye to your parents before they start to ask questions.”
“Or I … I could just tell them.”
The smile left China’s lips. “That is never advisable.”
“Why not? They wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“Your job as a sorcerer is to protect them from the truth, not share it with them to make your life easier.”
“I can’t just walk away from them. They’re my parents. They’d come looking for me. And what about Alice? I can’t just abandon her.”
“You fake your own death.”
“No,” Valkyrie said. “No way, I’m not doing that to them.”
“You don’t have to do it today, Valkyrie. But you will have to do it.”
“What’s wrong with telling them? I’d make them understand and they’d keep the secret.”
“Is that why you’re really here? You’re trying this out on me first before mentioning it to Skulduggery? He’ll react the same way. If you