“One of these days,” said Never, “the Chosen One will ask for our help, and we will prove ourselves and then we’ll be part of his gang. Wouldn’t that be something? You, me, Kase, Mahala and Auger, saving the school, saving the city, saving the world.”

“Ah, I don’t know,” Omen said, slouching.

Never arched an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing. It’s just … I’ve seen him save the school and save the city, and in a few years I’ll see him save the world … and it’s not really that glamorous. He gets hurt. Like, seriously hurt. A lot. Last year he almost died.”

“I heard about that.”

“I don’t know. Having adventures is fine and everything, but I’ve been around this stuff my whole life. It starts to wear thin after a while.”

“Yeah,” Never said, “maybe. Or maybe it wears thin when you’re watching it. Maybe if you were having those adventures yourself, it wouldn’t seem quite as bad.”

“Yeah,” Omen said quietly. “Maybe.”

Never’s phone beeped and she checked it, then slid her book into her bag and stood up. “OK, I’m off.”

Omen frowned. “Who was that?”

“Who was what?” she asked, walking to the door.

“Who was that messaging you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re talking crazy. Stop talking crazy now, you hear? All that crazy talk will land you in the crazy house, you crazy biscuit.” And then she was gone.

Omen stayed in his seat for another ten minutes, spectacularly failing to complete the work that Peccant had set for him. Once the allotted time was up, he hurried to his locker, dumped his bag and climbed the stairs to the fifth floor.

He slipped into the library. Lounging around in the seating area, Jenan Ispolin and his friends congregated and chatted – loudly. The librarian, a bald old man with an astonishingly white beard, like a skinny Santa Claus, was asleep behind his desk.

Omen darted behind the bookcases as more Arcanum’s Scholars joined the group. He got into a position where he could peek without being seen.

“Did you hear?” Colleen Stint said, talking in her usual breathless fashion. “Did you hear what happened?”

Jenan took his time looking at her. Everyone knew Colleen fancied him like mad, and Omen was sure that Jenan despised her for it.

“What happened to what?” Jenan asked, like he couldn’t be bothered hearing the answer.

“What happened to Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain,” Colleen said.

Omen crept a little closer, making sure he caught all of it.

“They were in the Narrows,” Colleen continued. “Went to arrest someone. Just the two of them, like. No Cleavers or back-up or nothing.”

Jenan sat straighter. “They dead?”

“No,” said Colleen, “but close to it. They got the crap kicked out of them.”