“I’ve always thought so,” she agreed, then glanced back at the footsteps in the lawn, at the blades of grass that were slowly springing back into shape. There were only her footsteps though. To the blades of grass and the world around then, Gordon was something less than even a ghost.

He started naming the birds they heard in the trees, and she was pretty sure the last four or five were names he’d completely made up. Valkyrie didn’t mention it though.

“What are you looking for?” he asked absently.

“There’s a Remnant inside Kenspeckle Grouse and we want to get it out.”

“Ah. You’ll need China Sorrows and her symbols, and a few other bits and pieces. How long has it been inside him? If it’s possessed him for more than four days, I’m afraid that means it has permanently grafted itself to its host. It couldn’t leave even if it wanted to.”

“It hasn’t been four days.”

“Well then, you should be fine. It’s all in those notes.” He looked up. “Do you hear that birdsong, the particularly sweet one? That’s a Wallowing Twite, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Is there anything you don’t know, Gordon?” Valkyrie asked as she flicked through.

“Nothing of any importance.”

She sighed. “I can see why you and Skulduggery got along so well.”

“Planet-sized egos do tend to form an orbit around each other. So what does that make you, I wonder?”

“I have no ego.”

“Then you’d probably be a moon.”

“I’m not a moon.”

“Maybe even a gaseous giant.”

“And I’m not gaseous. I’m the sun, how about that? The pair of you can orbit around me for a change.” She closed the notebook. “Thanks for this, Gordon. I’ll come back when I actually have time for a chat, OK?”

“I’ll look forward to it. Take care of yourself, Niece Number One.”

“Always do.”

41 THE EXORCISTS

41
THE EXORCISTS

They had Kenspeckle tied to a chair in the middle of the room. His wrists were shackled behind him, and Skulduggery was securing his arms and legs with a thick rope. Kenspeckle was grinning at them.

The Remnant inside him wasn’t bothering to hide any more. Dark veins spread beneath Kenspeckle’s suddenly pale skin, turning his lips black and his gums grey.

“You’ll never get him,” Kenspeckle said in a voice that was not his own. “He’s mine now and I’m not giving him back.”

Skulduggery didn’t answer. Kenspeckle’s eyes flickered to Valkyrie and he leered at her. Spittle flecked his chin.

“You’ll release me,” Kenspeckle said. “Won’t you? After everything I’ve done for you? All the times I’ve helped you?”

“Kenspeckle helped me,” she said. “Not you.”