“Keep it there for three or four minutes, until the tingling stops. Do not flex your fingers, do you hear me? Once you’re done, wash your hand in the sink. And wash it well – I don’t want you ruining the towel. There will be some mild bruising, but by this afternoon you won’t even know it was broken.”

“You’re going?”

“I have a date, Valkyrie.”

“Right. Yes. Sorry. You go on, I’ll be fine.”

“Your medical opinion means so much to me, you have no idea. Detective Pleasant, please make sure she doesn’t break anything else while she’s standing there.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I can ask.”

He bowed to them both and swept from the room.

“He’s in a good mood,” she said.

“He is,” Skulduggery agreed. “It’s disconcerting.”

“And a little gross.”

“That too.”

Her phone rang and she answered with her free hand. It was Fletcher. She told him where they were and Fletcher said he was going to get Tanith. A minute later Fletcher and Tanith appeared beside them.

Tanith arched an eyebrow at Valkyrie’s sludge-covered hand that she was washing in the sink. “What happened?”

“Vampires,” Valkyrie said. “We learned that Dusk’s lair is a castle.”

“How did you do?” Skulduggery asked.

“I couldn’t find Remus Crux anywhere near Haggard,” Tanith told them, “and none of the seals had been broken, so he hasn’t been trying to break through.”

“Myself and Ghastly went looking for friends of Sanguine,” said Fletcher. “Turns out he doesn’t have any. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“So our only lead is a castle,” Skulduggery said. “Well, at least it is a lead.”

Then they heard Clarabelle shouting for help. She ran in.

“They’ve taken the Professor!” she cried.

Valkyrie and Tanith gripped Fletcher’s arms and Skulduggery put a hand on his shoulder.

“Outside, Fletcher,” he said and then they were standing in the rain beside the Bentley as Billy-Ray Sanguine threw Kenspeckle into the back of his car.

Something moved overhead and Skulduggery grunted and went flying over the bonnet of the Bentley. A man landed in front of them and immediately flipped, catching Tanith with a kick that sent her crashing back into Fletcher.

Springheeled Jack whirled to Valkyrie, smiling. He doffed his hat and leaped backwards when she pushed at the air. He dropped on to the top of Sanguine’s car and slid in through the open window, and the car sped out of sight.

The Bentley beeped as the alarm deactivated and the locks sprang open. Fletcher and Tanith got in the back seat and Valkyrie clicked her seatbelt into place. Skulduggery turned the key and stomped on the accelerator. The Bentley roared out on to the road.