do.”
“So are Neoterics more powerful than regular sorcerers?”
“Not necessarily. Our training makes us strong. Their unpredictability makes them strong.”
“They have a guy who can mess with time,” she said. “Any idea who he is?”
“I found no mention of him in the Neoteric Report, so I don’t know where Parthenios Lilt found him.”
“Lilt,” she said. “I’m assuming now is the time to go after him, yes?”
Skulduggery adjusted his hat slightly. “He has already been arrested,” he said. “Commander Hoc saw to it personally.”
“Have you interviewed him yet?”
“I doubt I’ll be able to.”
She frowned. “They wouldn’t stop you … would they?”
“Hoc is a smart man, and a good investigator, but when I was Commander we had our differences. Now that he’s in charge, I feel he would be disinclined to grant an interview request, even to an Arbiter.”
“But China would allow it.”
“No,” he said. “She wouldn’t.”
“Skulduggery, why did you quit?”
He took a moment before answering. “Politics.”
“China said you couldn’t handle being stuck behind a desk all day.”
“That was part of it.”
Valkyrie didn’t press it. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to know.
“Shall we go back?” he asked. “You look cold.”
“Sure,” she said. “Come on, girl.”
She motioned ahead of them, and Xena ran on.
“So,” he said, as they followed the dog, “are you going to redecorate?”
“Sorry?”
“The house. You may have taken ownership, but it looks like Gordon still lives here. All those dramatic paintings. All that Gothic sensibility.”
“I like it,” she said. “It reminds me of him. I still miss him like crazy. At least I got to say goodbye the second time he died. And I know what you’re going to say. I know the Gordon in the Echo Stone was just a recording of his personality, but I don’t care.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything of the sort.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“But he left you his house, Valkyrie. I think it’s safe to assume that he expected you to update it a little. It might be nice for you to make your own mark.”
“Honestly, Skulduggery, I don’t even know if I’m staying.”
He stopped walking.
She turned to him. “The nightmares came back last night,” she said. “I woke up and I couldn’t breathe. A panic attack. I haven’t had a panic attack in … a while. I thought I was over them. I don’t think I can go on with this.”
“You said I had twenty-four hours.”
“You’ve had twenty-four hours.”
“I didn’t think you literally meant twenty-four hours. I thought it was more of a metaphor than an actual measurement of time.”
“Well, I meant twenty-four hours.”
“But we’re only getting started, Valkyrie. We’ve just had our first life-or-death encounter. This is how things go. It’s how we do what we do. We have a life-or-death encounter, we stay on it, and then at the end we win and walk away triumphant.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I don’t know if that’s going to work this time.”
“Stay with me. See it through. I need you, Valkyrie. And you need me.”
“Do I?”
He stepped closer. “You’d be lost without me.”
“I managed fine for five years.”
“You were just recharging your batteries. Now you’re ready for phase two.”
“I don’t think that’s right.”
“You gave me twenty-four hours. Give me another twelve.”
“You’ve actually had another twelve.”
“I mean give me another twelve starting from tomorrow morning. You can’t leave now. We’ve just had our first breakthrough.”
“I’m not up to it any more, Skulduggery. Come on, you must be able to see that. We were outmatched. Lethe pulled your jawbone off, for God’s sake.”
“Which was painful, but useful.”
“How the hell was that useful?”
“When I could no longer speak, he filled the silence. He told us what they were after.”
“He did?”
“To breathe life into the lifeless. That’s why Melior is so important to them – he’s the vital piece of this puzzle. That’s how he differs from other Vitakinetics – if I am interpreting Lethe correctly, the good doctor can actually bring someone back from death.”
Valkyrie frowned. “You’re serious?”
“Deadly.”
“So they’re … they’re going to resurrect someone? Like actually resurrect them? Who? This Princess of the Darklands woman?”
“Possibly.”
She frowned. “Do you know who she is?”
“No,” he said. “I know who she might be, but I don’t want to say just yet. Trust me on this. For the moment, we need to focus on Richard Melior. He’s the key. If we can stop the anti-Sanctuary at this early stage, then their plans for war will never be set in motion.”
“And if we find Melior, but Lethe and the others are still with him?”
“We’ll run away.”
She thought for a moment. “That’s honestly the best plan you’ve ever come up with.”
“I thought you’d like it. So you’ll stay with me? For just a little while longer? Give me tomorrow.”
“You know, you’re probably better off on your own.”
He tilted his head. “I disagree most vehemently.”
She sighed. “Tomorrow, then. One more day.”
“Excellent.” He swept his arm wide, inviting her to carry on walking. “How is China, by the way?”
“Um …”
“Valkyrie?”
“I’m just trying to find the right word for it. She was … regal.”
“Regal?”
“Worryingly regal.”
“You think the power may have gone to her head?”
“This is what she’s wanted all along, right? She was never satisfied with the other Grand Mages when they were in charge. She was always complaining about how they were blocking her attempts to do this or to do that … Now she’s in control. Finally.”
“And she doesn’t even have a Council of Elders to balance her out.”
“She doesn’t have a Council? Really?”
“Well,” Skulduggery said, “she has what she calls her Council of Advisors – two Grand Mages