Skulduggery clapped his hands once. “OK, speeches are over. Darquesse’s ghost, because I refuse to call it an untethered entity, is still out there. It’s up to Valkyrie and myself to track it until it dissipates. Fletcher, you take Stephanie home – she’s earned a rest from all this craziness. Then get back here. The search for the Remnants continues. If anyone finds themselves with a spare moment, as unlikely as that sounds, you can lend a hand in the hunt for Doctor Nye. It was broken out of prison early this morning by a person or persons unknown. Nye is not an immediate threat, though, so keep your priorities straight. Let’s get to it.”

Chairs were pushed back and people stood up, and Skulduggery put his hand on Valkyrie’s back and they were the first ones to leave.

She walked with him to the car. Moments later, the Bentley emerged from the brightly-lit car park into the darkness of Roarhaven’s streets.

“Before we go wherever we’re going,” she said, “could we stop by Haggard? I haven’t seen my family in, y’know, ages, and I just want to check in on them and … I just didn’t think I’d ever see them again.”

“Haggard is where we’re going,” said Skulduggery. “I would have asked Fletcher to take you, but I wanted to talk to you without anyone else around. How are you?”

Valkyrie put her head back, closing her eyes. “I’m good,” she said. “I’m … good. I probably shouldn’t be. I should be traumatised. When I was Darquesse, I did all these horrible things. I killed people. Murdered them. I can’t blame her for that. It was me.” She turned to look at him. “But now that she’s gone, now that I’m back in control, all those doubts and fears and bad thoughts have just … evaporated. Everything that led me down that path towards giving in, letting her take over … it’s gone. All of it. Isn’t that brilliant?”

“Yes,” Skulduggery said. “It’s brilliant.”

“Then why are you saying it like it so clearly isn’t?”

“Why do you think?”

“I don’t know, I’m not you, am I?” She watched the streets they drove past. “I suppose it might be because you think this is all some kind of repression. I’m not ready to face up to everything I’ve done so I’m pushing all the bad stuff away. Is that it?”

“And if it is?”

“Then I suppose I can only repress it for so long before it all comes crashing down on me.”

“Are you ready for that?”

“Probably not,” she admitted. “Were you ready for it when you took off Lord Vile’s armour?”

Skulduggery was silent for a moment. “No,” he said. “And I’m still making up for the things I did.”