“I can’t fly,” she reminded him.

“You’ve flown before.”

“I’ve hovered.”

“Hovering is the first step to flying,” he said as they touched down gently in the empty courtyard. He released her. “That’s what I tell people who ask for tips.”

“Do many ask?”

“More and more,” he said. “Apparently, there’s been a resurgence in people choosing Elemental magic as their discipline, all because they want to learn to soar above the clouds.”

The wind had messed up her hair, so she tied it back into a ponytail. “Even though none of their Elemental teachers can fly? This doesn’t suggest to them that maybe flying is harder to master than it would appear?”

“They don’t care,” Skulduggery said. “They just want to emulate their heroes.”

“You mean you.”

“As the only Elemental who can actually fly, yes, I mean me. Don’t you miss it?”

“Flying? The only times I’ve properly flown, Darquesse had taken over. The memory’s a little tainted.”

“I suppose,” he said, then took his pocket watch from his waistcoat and glanced at it. “There’s someone I need to talk to before we leave. Will I meet you back at the car?”

“Ah,” she said, “I kinda want to explore a little, see what’s what.”

“Oh. OK. And you’re sure you don’t want to head back to the car and wait for me there?”

“You’re worried that my dog will have peed on your seats, aren’t you?”

“The thought has occurred to me.”

“Xena will still be asleep, believe me, and she doesn’t pee in cars. You go talk to whoever you have to talk to, I’ll have a walk around and I’ll meet you out front in, what, twenty minutes?”

They split up, and she passed through the nearest door, found herself in a corridor just as the bell rang and students swarmed out, filling the spaces and jostling Valkyrie as they squeezed by. She sighed with irritation, kept her elbows down and didn’t hit anyone. After another few seconds, the crowd started to thin and she could walk without tripping over anyone.

Four kids with green ties stood in a group ahead of her. They started whispering. Valkyrie kept her head down and her eyes on the floor as she passed them. Out of the corner of her eye she saw them glance her way, and when they were behind her the whispering picked up again.

Valkyrie turned to face them. “What?” she snapped. “What is it that’s so fascinating about me? What?”

The kids froze. They actually looked scared. One of them snapped out of it, hurried away, and the others quickly followed. Valkyrie glared at them until they had disappeared round the corner. Then she started to feel stupid for overreacting.

She turned again, just as a young woman dressed all in black strode up to her with an arm outstretched.