“But if you’re asking if there’s such a thing as the Judeo-Christian God, the one spoken of in the Holy Bible, I’m afraid I have no answer for you. To me, death was darkness and stillness with no sign of an afterlife.”

“My wife and I go to mass every Sunday,” said Fergus, visibly angry. “Don’t you sit there and tell me there’s no God.”

“I would never presume to do any such thing,” Skulduggery said calmly. “I believe in logic and reason, but I’ve seen wonders that defy explanation. I have had the pillars of my own belief shaken again and again as new truths come to light. Just the other day, your daughter and I saw a dragon. I had no idea those existed.”

“A dragon?” repeated Valkyrie’s dad.

“A big one. I could never tell you that what you believe is wrong, any more than I could tell you that what you believe is right. It seems to me that the universe holds far too many secrets to trade in absolutes, and anyone who tries runs the risk of being found out a fool. I am many things, but I like to think that a fool is not one of them. As I said, the circumstances surrounding my death were unusual, so my experience should not be held up as an example of what happens to us after we die. Desmond, Melissa, would you like to rejoin us at the table?”

Valkyrie’s parents looked down, as if they’d only just realised they were standing. They pulled their chairs back to the table, and sat.

“So it’s real,” said her dad. “But then that video … What we saw on that was real. What that man said about Stephanie was real …”

“But we saw her die,” her mum said, her voice shaking.

“May I?” Skulduggery asked, holding up his skeletal hand. The laptop spun and slid across the table to him.

“Wow!” her dad said, then caught himself. “I mean … cool.”

Valkyrie leaned in to Skulduggery as he moved the video forward. Scenes of battle were intercut with interviews. She glimpsed footage – grainy and out of focus – of the Haggard pier in darkness, recognised it as the night Caelan had died, and then Skulduggery let the video play as normal. The battle raged in Roarhaven and Kenny Dunne spoke over it.

“… abandoned my plans to make this footage public. What would the world do if they knew about people like this? But I couldn’t ignore the sacrifice made by your daughter.”

The terrifying figure of Charivari fired a stream of energy at Saracen Rue, catching him full in the chest.

“Stephanie was a hero. She didn’t ask for thanks, she didn’t ask for recognition. But as her parents, you need to know what she lived for, what she fought for …”