The night was cold, and she stuffed her hands into her coat pockets. She was getting to know the land around Grimwood pretty well, and didn’t need a torch any more. Pretty soon she’d be able to navigate these trails and paths through the trees without even thinking about it, like she’d been able to do back in Meek Ridge. She thought about Colorado, thought about how much she’d liked it there. She couldn’t go back, though. That part of her life was over. If things didn’t work out here, she’d go live somewhere new. Maybe even somewhere warm.

“How about it?” she asked the dark shape that was Xena. “How’s Australia sound?”

Xena didn’t answer.

“Find a nice place on the coast, far away from everyone. We could go swimming every day, what do you think about that?”

Xena bounded in front of her, looked around and bounded off again.

“We don’t have to decide now,” Valkyrie told her. “Take some time. Think about it.”

Her phone rang. Skulduggery. She chewed her lip, then answered on the fourth ring. “Hey,” she said.

“Hello. I’m at your front door.”

“Ah. I’m close by, just walking the dog.”

“A wholesome way to spend your time. May I join you?”

“I’ll light the way,” Valkyrie said, and hung up. Energy crackled around her hand, but she hesitated a little before letting it loose, straight overhead. It lit up the night for a split second.

Moments later, Skulduggery strode across the sky. He saw her and quickly dipped, keeping pace with her as she walked.

“How are you?” she asked.

“You mean since I got beaten, fair and square?” Skulduggery asked, landing beside her. “I am chastised. Humbled. A better person because of it, I think.”

She raised an eyebrow. He shrugged.

“No, you’re right. I’m none of those things. I’m angry, and ready for round two.”

“That’s what I figured,” she said. “Any word on Fletcher?”

“He’s conscious. Dr Synecdoche is optimistic that he’ll make a full recovery. Give him a few days. He’ll be fine.”

They ducked under a low branch.

“He saved us,” she said.

“Yes, he did.”

“We shouldn’t have gone in there.”

“In retrospect, no, we shouldn’t have. But we couldn’t have foreseen what happened.”

“That’s the problem,” Valkyrie said. “We didn’t know what we were going up against. We didn’t know who the enemy were. I’m trying to remember if we were always so …”

“Brash?”

She glanced at him. “I was going to say dumb.”

He shrugged. “We’ve walked into bad situations before. It’s how we find out who the enemies are, so we’re better prepared the next time.”

“If it wasn’t for Fletcher—”

“I know,” said Skulduggery. “I know.”

Xena was somewhere in the dark. Valkyrie had lost track of her.