In 2011 Derek ran a competition for German fans to come up with a new character who would feature in a one-off Skulduggery short story. The response was staggering, making it especially difficult to pick a winner – however, there was something special about Myosotis Terra that made her stand out from the rest.

Here is how Alena Metz described her character’s abilities:

“… Her magical quality is more of a curse than a gift. The ability to make everyone forget her immediately after meeting her makes her feel very lonely. However, it is a very useful gift for spies and thieves, and at least it helps her to earn her bread and butter. People will only be able to remember Myosotis if they have got an item which belongs to her or if they get the chance to touch her. However, dementia sufferers are able to remember her perfectly.”

aves,” Valkyrie Cain muttered. “I hate caves.”

She reached the bottom of the stone steps, stepping into the light cast by the flame in Skulduggery Pleasant’s hand.

“This isn’t a cave,” he told her. “At least, not a natural one. This has been carved out of the rock. Manmade. From what I can gather, we’re about to enter a series of interlocking caverns that could stretch on for as much as tweleve miles. Quite impressive when you think about it.”

“And do I have to think about it?”

“Well, no, not really…”

“Good,” she said. “It’s freezing down here. Far too cold to be thinking about things.”

She clicked her fingers, summoning her own flame, and started walking through the darkness. “So we’re here on a rescue mission?”

He sighed as he walked after her. “Yes.”

“What was that? What was that sigh? Why are you sighing?”

They walked side by side. “Do you remember who we’re here to rescue?” Skulduggery asked.

“Yes,” she said. “Wait. No. I mean, I do, it’s on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t… I just can’t…”

“We’re here to rescue Myosotis Terra.”

She shook her head. “No, we’re not. That’s not the name. I’ll know the name when I hear it, but that’s not it. I’ve never heard that name before.”

“That’s not strictly true. She’s actually a friend of yours.”

“Nope. I think I’d know if I had a friend called Myo-Something Whatsit.”

“Myosotis Terra. And you wouldn’t know, actually. Or to be more precise, you wouldn’t remember.”

“You’ve lost me.”

“I’m used to it.”

Rock walls appeared in the gloom around them, signalling the narrowing of the cavern. They headed for a gap and Skulduggery went first, squeezing through.