“And, when we get to him, we start hitting him,” Skulduggery said. “That’s the beauty of this whole thing. It ends with us hitting him. In the face.”

“I do like that part,” Valkyrie admitted. “But the rest sounds a bit iffy.”

“He’ll never expect it.”

“I’m expecting it right now,” Lethe said.

“He’s lying,” Skulduggery whispered.

Valkyrie thought for a moment, and shrugged. “OK. Let’s do it.”

“You’re both insane,” Lethe said. “I love it.”

Skulduggery rolled his shoulders. “Ready?”

Valkyrie put a hand on his arm. “Wait a second. We’ll go on my mark.” She watched Darquesse walk up to Lethe, hesitate, and put a hand through his head. Lethe had no idea it was happening.

“Three …” Valkyrie said, “two … one.”

Darquesse’s hand crackled with energy and Lethe stiffened, and a moment later Skulduggery and Valkyrie slammed into him. They tumbled to the ground, Valkyrie falling through Darquesse, who sagged, drained by the effort. Skulduggery punched and Valkyrie dropped elbows, and then Skulduggery flipped Lethe on to his front and shackled his hands behind him.

“Will that do it?” Valkyrie asked, pressing her knee into the small of his back. “This is a necronaut suit. Do shackles work on these things?”

“They work,” Skulduggery said, pressing Lethe’s face into the ground. “Where did you hear about necronaut suits?”

“I’m not completely useless without you around, you know.”

“I never said you were,” he replied, amused.

“I can’t believe that worked.”

“There is genius in simplicity,” Skulduggery reminded her.

Darquesse lifted off her feet. She’d gone gravely pale, her forehead covered with a light sheen of perspiration. She caught Valkyrie looking at her and turned, drifted away from the dais and passed through the wall.

“Where is he?” Melior asked.

Valkyrie looked back, but Melior wasn’t talking to her or to Skulduggery – he was talking to Lethe.

He came forward, fists bunched. “Where’s Savant? Tell me where you’ve been keeping him.”

Skulduggery straightened up and held him back. “We’ll get all the answers you want, but give us space.”

“Space?” Melior repeated, almost laughing. “He’s had my husband for five years! For five years, he’s walked around with that knowledge in his head and I couldn’t say one thing about it because of what they might do. This is the first time I’ve ever seen this man beaten and this is my first chance to ask him and he is going to tell me what he knows. If he’d snatched someone you love, Mr Pleasant, would you be inclined to give him space?”

Skulduggery’s head tilted. “I suppose I wouldn’t. But I can’t let you near him. Sorry.”

Melior glared. “You really think you can stop me?”

Skulduggery didn’t get a chance to answer.