“You can look at it like this, if it helps. For a few moments, your power drove you insane, made you a sociopath with glowing red eyes who wanted to kill millions of people. But you got better.”

“I wasn’t insane.”

“You were a little.”

“I think I’d feel OK about killing you.”

“Don’t worry,” Valkyrie said, looking back, “that’ll pass.”

“My eyes were really glowing red?”

“Yep.”

Melancholia nodded to herself. “Cool.”

They walked on for another ten minutes, until Melancholia’s leg buckled under her and she fell against the wall of the tunnel.

“I can’t go on,” she said. “I just can’t.”

“You’re sure?” Valkyrie frowned.

“Of course I’m bloody sure.”

Melancholia was pale and sweating, and her hands were shaking. Valkyrie took a leaf from her jacket pocket, and handed it over. “Chew this. It’ll numb the pain.”

Melancholia stared at it. “You had this? You had this in your pocket the whole time and you waited until now to give it to me?”

“It’s the only one I have, and it wouldn’t have lasted for the whole journey.”

“I’ve been in agony!”

“So get chewing.”

Melancholia stuffed the leaf into her mouth, and staggered back against the wall. Valkyrie sat on a pile of small rocks.

“I hate you,” Melancholia said, still chewing.

“I know.”

“I’ve never hated anyone so much.”

“Is it working yet?”

“Yes,” Melancholia snapped. “But I still hate you.”

“You’re allowed,” said Valkyrie. The pile of rocks shifted beneath her, and when she put her hand down to steady herself, they scattered and she slid to the ground. Her first instinct was to laugh, but the rocks swarmed her, a chattering mass of legs and teeth, dozens of them. She swiped three of them off her chest, realised she was moving, they were carrying her, and she tried to gain some purchase, tried to get up, but there was nothing to hold on to.

“Help!” she shouted to Melancholia, who stood there, open-mouthed. “Help me!”

Valkyrie twisted, glanced at where the things were taking her, saw nothing but the tunnel wall with another pile of rocks at its base. That pile came alive too, and parted, revealing a dark hole, and they carried her through. She clicked her fingers, summoned a flame, saw smooth rock passing above. The creatures, whatever they were, remained unaffected by the light. All she saw were legs and teeth beneath those rock-like shells, no eyes. They didn’t need eyes down here.