“Right,” said Finbar. “Yeah. Darquesse is … she’s what people call an untethered entity right now. She won’t survive long outside the … outside Val’s … um, outside the body.”

“Could she take over any other body?”

Finbar frowned. “Maybe a Sensitive, if they were willing or, I don’t know, taken by surprise. But if she did, she’d burn out that body within hours.”

“No ordinary sorcerer could withstand Darquesse’s level of power,” Synecdoche said. She stood up, reluctantly leaving Skulduggery on his knees alone. “Valkyrie is … was … a descendant of the Ancients – that made her special.”

“My family,” Stephanie said, her eyes widening. “They share the same bloodline. Darquesse will be going after them!”

China looked at her. “Your family is safe. I have my best Cleavers protecting them, each one armed with a new and improved Soul Catcher. If Darquesse even goes near them, she’ll be trapped. We’re not going to let her gain even the tiniest of footholds. Valkyrie will not have died in vain.”

“She’s not dead yet,” Skulduggery snarled without raising his head from the CPR, but of course she was. They all knew it.

The fact remained that Stephanie had warned them not to trust the miracle of Valkyrie’s communications, and they hadn’t listened. Maybe if they had, they’d have been able to plan a little better, maybe prepare a little more, and maybe Valkyrie would still be alive, Stephanie would not be crying these hot tears, these awful tears, maybe they would not have had to rely on some magical defibrillator, on the Sunburst thing that Gracious O’Callahan was still fiddling with, to bring her back to life.

Gracious closed the back of the Sunburst, screwed it shut with his penknife, and tossed it over to Skulduggery. “Try it now.”

Skulduggery pressed it into Valkyrie’s chest. It lit up. The symbols flashed red.

The Sunburst beeped.

And Valkyrie sucked in a deep breath and opened her eyes.

29

THOSE WHO LIVE IN DARKNESS

our days after Gant and Jeremiah Wallow had visited Danny’s store, Etta Faulkner comes in to convince him to protest against the plans for the proposed Starbucks. He listens and nods and murmurs where appropriate, but makes sure not to commit to anything. He knows how easy it is to get sucked into someone else’s struggle, and he’s determined to sit this one out. When she has exhausted herself of her righteous fury, Etta collects a few essentials into a basket and brings them up to the till to pay.

“Terrible thing, what happened in Giant’s Pass,” she says as Danny rings up her purchases.

Giant’s Pass is a small town about six hours north. It’s just like all those other towns that are just like Meek Ridge, except it’s even further from civilisation. Danny has never been there. “What happened?” he asks as he packs Etta’s things into a bag.