Tanith looked surprised. “You know about that?”

“I overheard you talking to Sanguine about it. Or Darquesse did.”

“Who’s Moribund?” Stephanie asked.

“This guy who has a Remnant bonded to him,” Valkyrie told her. “But he decided not to be evil. He decided to be good. He said all Tanith has to do is pretend to be a good guy for long enough, and then she’ll be a real one.”

“Will that work?”

“I don’t know,” Tanith said. “I haven’t really tried it yet. But now that Darquesse is gone … Is she gone? Really gone?”

“Uh,” said Valkyrie, “I really don’t want to make you decide to kill us again, but … she’s mostly gone. Finbar said that untethered entities like her can only last for so long in that state before they just … evaporate. She’s being driven by the need to survive, but that’ll only sustain her for so long.”

“And is there a way she could survive?”

“She could possess someone, someone open to possession. But that wouldn’t last long. An ordinary body wouldn’t be able to withstand her level of power without burning out. All the Sensitives are sleeping in protective circles tonight in case she tries to sneak in.”

“But she’s still alive? In a way? Hmm.” Tanith stood up.

Valkyrie and Stephanie got to their feet quickly.

“Are you going to try and kill us again?” Valkyrie asked.

Tanith sheathed her sword. “Naw. I don’t know what I’m going to do. The apocalypse seemed like a really good idea a few years ago. Now … I don’t know. Maybe I’m just not that into it any more. You should remember to lock your doors, by the way. I just walked in here.”

“Yeah,” said Valkyrie. “Thanks.”

Tanith gave them a smile. “I think I’ll leave through the front.”

When Tanith was gone, they tidied the living room and locked the patio door. Then they went back upstairs, and looked in on Alice, who had slept through the whole thing.

Stephanie went to the bathroom while Valkyrie went into her room. She stood there for a while before walking out. The door to the bathroom was open, and Stephanie was examining herself in the mirror.

“You OK?” Valkyrie asked.

Stephanie probed her cheek with her finger, and winced. “Ow. Look at that. That’s going to swell up something fierce by the morning.”

Valkyrie went back to her room, took a clot of dirt from a bundle of tinfoil, and ran it under the cold tap.

“Let’s see,” she said. Stephanie turned to her, and Valkyrie rubbed the mud into her skin. “That feel better?”

“It’s starting to,” Stephanie said.

“Did you think Tanith was going to kill us?” Valkyrie asked.

“For a moment. Well, a long moment. What about you?”

“At first, yeah. Hey, thanks, by the way. You probably saved my life.”