Skulduggery looked around. “I think we’re going the wrong way,” he said, and turned. Valkyrie followed as he walked back the way they came, Xena trotting happily ahead of her.

“It’s not like you to get lost,” Valkyrie said.

“I have many things on my mind. And, judging by the long periods of silence you sink into, so do you.”

“I don’t have to be talking every moment we’re together, do I?”

“No,” he said. “But that’s never stopped you before.”

She shrugged. “The world is a scary place, and it’s only getting scarier. The American president is a narcissistic psychopath. Fascism, racism, misogyny and homophobia are all on the rise. We’ve ruined the environment. Animals are going extinct faster than I can name them. Bullying is everywhere. Nobody talks to anyone who doesn’t share their views. Everyone hates. Everyone shouts. Everyone cries. There is literally no escape for the human race unless someone steps in and orders them to be better. But the only people who could do that are sorcerers, and that would bring about the war with the mortals that Cadaverous Gant and these anti-Sanctuary nutjobs so desperately want. So … y’know. Rock and a hard place.”

“You think cheery thoughts, don’t you?”

“Can’t help it. I’m a naturally optimistic person.”

They reached the Bentley and it unlocked with a beep.

“How’s the headache?” Skulduggery asked.

“Fading,” Valkyrie said. “Are we not sticking around? I thought we had to find The Mage’s Lament.”

“I’ve decided that I don’t like long shots. They’re annoying, and rarely work out. Besides, it’s the middle of the day – I doubt there’s anyone interesting there right now. A better use of our time might be to take a drive up to Cassandra Pharos’s cottage.”

Xena jumped in the car and Valkyrie got in after her. “You really want to take a detour?”

“You never got a chance to say goodbye when you left for America,” Skulduggery said, shutting the door and starting the engine. “Maybe some of your reluctance about committing to coming back stems from a lack of closure.”

“Wow.”

“What?”

“Closure. Wow.”

They pulled out on to the road and started driving. “Closure is important,” he said. “You moved to Colorado and assumed that people like Cassandra and Finbar would be here when you got back. You never said goodbye.”

“You think I feel guilt about that?”

“You don’t?”

“No,” Valkyrie said, giving him back his hat. “And the only people who should are the people who killed them.”