don’t tell us that bit because they’re afraid we might try something similar with our own reflections. Which is a bit of a laugh, to be honest. I mean, why would we want to copy something that murdered so many innocent people?”
“I never meant for any of it to happen,” Valkyrie said.
Never nodded. “That bit they do tell us. They say that Darquesse became Darquesse because of a series of totally random circumstances that Valkyrie Cain had no control over. But I think you did have control – you just decided not to use it.”
“That’s not true.”
“Wasn’t there a prophecy, or something? Didn’t the Sensitives have dreams about Darquesse, years before it all kicked off?”
Valkyrie stood up a little straighter, though it looked like something was twisting in her gut. “Yes,” she said.
“But when you found out that Darquesse was your true name, that you were Darquesse, you didn’t stop, did you? You didn’t walk away and never use magic again – even though you’d had warnings that Darquesse would, at some stage, kill the world.”
“I thought I could stop it from happening.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
“You failed.”
“Yes.”
“You should have walked away, but you loved it too much. You loved being the hero. You loved hanging out with Skulduggery Pleasant and Tanith Low and the Dead Men … you loved hanging out with people like Billy-Ray Sanguine, a known murderer. You loved the adventure.”
“I did.”
Never nodded. “My mum met you once. You wouldn’t remember – it was only for a few minutes. It was at the Requiem Ball. She says you were one of the most arrogant people she’d ever talked to. She said you were so young and full of confidence, and you looked at all the other sorcerers like you were so much better than them. She said she knew right then that you were trouble. Just trouble, waiting to happen.”
“I’m not going to argue with you, Never.”
“Could you argue, even if you wanted to?”
“Yes. Some of your points I would very much argue. But not the main point. The main point is that I’m responsible for what Darquesse did. That I failed to stop her in time. That haunts me. She haunts me. I’ll never be able to forget that.”
“You should just kill yourself.”
“Never!” Omen said, shocked.
“I thought about it,” Valkyrie said quietly. “When it would get too much for me, I’d think about it.”
“I wish you’d done it,” Never said.
“I hated myself too much. I needed to suffer. Ending my life would have ended my pain, and I couldn’t allow that to happen.”
“I hate you, too.”
“I can see that. But I need your help.”
Never laughed. “You really are as arrogant as my mum said.”
“I’m trying to help people. I’m trying to save lives. I don’t know if Omen has told you anything about what’s going on, but Skulduggery Pleasant is no longer on our side.”
“I heard.”
“Then you know what’s at stake.”
“If you need a Teleporter, go to the High Sanctuary.”
“I don’t trust them.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Do you trust me, Never?” asked Omen. She looked at him and he saw the anger in her eyes. “I don’t know what it’s like to lose a brother. If I lost Auger, I don’t know what I’d do. So I don’t know what you’ve been through, or what you’re going through now. But this isn’t about Valkyrie. This is about saving people. If the anti-Sanctuary succeed here, they’ll be one step closer to war with the mortals.”
“You want me to help her?”
“I want you to help me help her.”
“So you’re going, even if I don’t?”
“If Valkyrie will let me … yes.”
“You can come,” Valkyrie said, “and help me search. But, if anything goes wrong, you’re out of there. No arguments.”
Omen nodded, and looked at Never.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll come. But only because she’ll probably get you killed without me.”
“Do you know San Francisco?” Valkyrie asked.
“Mr Renn has taken us to all the major American cities,” she said. “I’ve been there before so I can get there again.”
“We’ll leave in ten minutes, if you want to change out of your uniforms.”
Never shrugged, and walked out. When the door was swinging closed again, Omen spoke.
“She’s a really good person,” he said. “She’s just angry.”
Valkyrie gave a sad smile. “Thanks, Omen, but you don’t have to explain. She’s entitled to how she feels. Go on now, grab a change of clothes and I’ll meet you back here.”
Omen nodded, and left the room. He hurried to the dorms, got changed into jeans and a hoody, then swapped that for a shirt and pulled on a heavy jacket, and ran back.
He didn’t get far before Jenan stepped out ahead of him.
“Where are you skipping off to?” he said, stepping closer.
Omen backed off. “Just … Just down there.”
“Just down there? What’s just down there? Eh? Why are you out of uniform? Where are you going, Darkly?”
Omen stopped backing away, and puffed his chest out. “None of your business, Ispolin.”
Jenan charged, got a hand round Omen’s throat and slammed him back against the wall.
“Get off me!” Omen gasped, trying to pull the hand away.
“I know it was you,” Jenan said, right in his ear. Omen stopped struggling. “I should kill you. I really should. I don’t know, I haven’t killed anyone before. The idea … it’s kinda scary. I’m just being honest with you here, Darkly. It’s a big step to take. But I think killing you would be easier than killing someone that matters. I mean, I doubt your folks would even notice. Your brother would be sad, so that’s another reason to do it, to ruin the big shot’s day. Killing you would be easy. How would you feel about that? How would you feel about being my first?”
Omen tried to bury his fear. “They’re using you. Lilt and Lethe and the others. They’re using all of you. They’re telling you that you’re special and they’re making you feel like you belong, but they’re lying to you.”
“This is weird,” Jenan said, his voice soft, almost dreamlike. “It feels … freeing. I’ve made the decision, you know? I’m going to kill someone. I’m going to kill you. I’ve been waiting my whole life to get to this point. I have, I don’t mind saying, fantasised about what comes next. I have imagined so many scenarios, so many situations, so many faces … But, since the first time I met you, I think I’ve known it would be you. I think I always knew it’d be your face. I just want to thank you. I’m sorry I was so mean to you. I’m sorry I picked on you. I shouldn’t have done it. It was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
Both hands now, wrapped round Omen’s throat. Squeezing.
“I should have tried being friends with you,” Jenan whispered. Tears were in his eyes. “Thank