“Why the hell would kids get toys at Christmas?” Serpine said. “And why are you still here? Don’t you have a dimension to get back to?”

“We don’t rendezvous with our Shunter for another twenty-six hours,” Skulduggery said.

“Well, that’s just annoying, isn’t it? Do yourself a favour and stay out of everyone’s way.” He tossed the magic-sucker to one of his men. “And you. Get this working. I’ll be in my chambers.” He stalked away, shouted Harmony’s name. She emerged from a doorway and hurried after him with a scowl on her face.

Peregrine passed a small key to Valkyrie. “For the shackles,” he said. “I’m assuming you’ve arranged to meet up with your Shunter in Roarhaven? Whenever you need to go, come find me.”

“We will,” she said. “Thanks.”

Peregrine and the other sorcerers dispersed. Valkyrie ignored Ravel and unlocked Skulduggery’s shackles.

“You OK?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Skulduggery said, adjusting his cufflinks. “That is a very useful weapon they’ve just stolen.”

“It is,” said Valkyrie. “It’s called a magic-sucker.”

“That the technical term for it, is it?”

“Yep.”

“You know … taking down Darquesse would be a lot easier with that weapon.”

She nodded. “I was just thinking that. But Serpine’s not going to let us simply take it. We already have a Sceptre from this reality. Taking the—”

“How can you stand to talk to him?” Ravel asked, his voice dripping with disgust.

Skulduggery turned to him slowly. “I’m sorry?”

“Serpine,” said Ravel. “For hundreds of years, hunting down that man was what drove you. What drove us. We chased him across the world to make him pay for what he did. He killed our friends, Skulduggery. He killed your—”

Skulduggery moved, and all at once they were standing so close that Skulduggery’s hat brim was touching Ravel’s forehead.

“I know what Nefarian Serpine did,” Skulduggery said in a low, quiet voice. “And the Nefarian Serpine who killed those people is dead.”

“They’re the same man.”

“In a lot of ways. But the Serpine who just walked away from us is not the one who killed our friends. I carried around that anger for long enough. I let it change me. Do you really want me to pick it up again?”

Ravel hesitated. “He’s the enemy.”

Skulduggery didn’t say anything to that. He didn’t have to. Ravel took a step back, and looked away.

Skulduggery turned back to Valkyrie. “Serpine thinks he has twenty-six hours in which to get paranoid. But we can take the magic-sucker, steal some horses and get to Roarhaven in ten – just in time to make our actual rendezvous with Signate.”

Valkyrie smiled. “You are sneaky.”

“When I have to be.”