“Well,” Stephanie said, thinking it over, “I suppose we could … we could choose not to treat it any differently. I mean, if you’re cool with it, I’d spend most of my time here, and a couple of times a week I could stay in Gordon’s house while you take my place. It won’t be as easy as getting the memories straight into our heads, but we could just, y’know, tell each other what’s been happening before we switch places.”

“Tell each other,” Valkyrie echoed. “How revolutionary.”

“I know, right?”

“You realise we’re going to be arguing a lot, yeah?”

Stephanie shrugged. “I’m OK with that if you are.”

“Well, at least it’d be intelligent conversation.”

Stephanie rolled her eyes. “That’s such a Skulduggery thing to say.”

“Shut up,” Valkyrie said, laughing. “Well, I suppose if tomorrow is your last day risking your life, you should probably be the one to get the bed.”

“Maybe,” said Stephanie. “Or, y’know … it’s a pretty big bed, for a single. We could share it.”

Valkyrie smiled. “Cool.”

“But I get the good pillow.”

34

SAYING GOODBYE

atching Valkyrie and Skulduggery together, Stephanie was actually jealous of all the things she’d been denied. She envied that relationship, the confidence that Valkyrie exuded around Skulduggery, where she knew she would have his support and understanding no matter what. Stephanie didn’t have that kind of relationship with anyone. She was still treading with a light foot, even around Fletcher. She couldn’t afford to screw up. Not yet.

It’d get better, though. She knew it would. It was already better now than it had been at the start. The more she was around people, the more she changed their attitudes towards her. To Skulduggery, to China and Saracen and the Monster Hunters, she wasn’t just the faulty reflection any more. She was Stephanie. A person. An individual.

It was just typical that just as she was about to reap the rewards of all the work she’d put in here, all the things she’d done, she’d reached the point where it was time to leave it all behind.

But she was glad to go. Mostly. She wasn’t wired the same way that Valkyrie was. She wasn’t dissatisfied with life in Haggard, with life as a normal person. She wasn’t drawn to danger, or adventure, or darkness. Her original purpose as a reflection was to carry on with Valkyrie’s normal routine – was it really so hard to believe that she’d grown to love that routine? Her parents, her sister, her friends, her town, her future … these were all things that interested her. These were all things she needed. She certainly wasn’t going to miss hitting people. She certainly wasn’t going to miss being hit.

But even so … she was envious.