“You didn’t kill her? Then who did all this?”

Darquesse looked around, then back at him. “I did.”

“Then you did kill her.”

“No. Well, I stopped her heart beating and her brain functioning, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“That’s what I’m asking.”

“But I didn’t kill her. She’s still here. They’re all still here, Billy-Ray. I wouldn’t just kill them. How cruel would that be?”

“Yeah,” he said. “That’d be pretty cruel, all right. So when you say they’re still here, what exactly are you talking about?”

Darquesse fluttered her fingers. “They’re still here. Around us.”

“You mean like ghosts?”

“In a way,” Darquesse said, smiling. “I mean their energy. Can’t you feel it?”

“Have to be honest with you, Darquesse, I cannot feel that. That must be one of your special abilities, because to me, it looks like you just killed a whole bunch of people for no reason.”

“Oh,” said Darquesse. “That’s so sad.”

“It’s a little depressing, yeah. So is that what you’re investigating, this energy?”

“I’m seeing how it works.”

“Found out much?”

“A fair bit. I might need to talk to some experts, though. Maybe scientists. I need to know how things work before I can play with them, you know?”

“That makes sense,” said Sanguine carefully.

“You know what’d be handy? Remnants. Lots of them. They take over the experts, the experts tell me what I want to know. Doesn’t that sound handy?”

“Uh, it sounds more trouble than it’s worth …”

“Nonsense,” said Darquesse. “The Remnants are lovely. Aren’t you engaged to one, after all?”

“Tanith’s a special case, though. And how are you even gonna find them? The Receptacle has been hidden away—”

“No it hasn’t,” Darquesse said happily. “There were plans to relocate it. Great plans. Plans that got sidetracked. Forgotten about. Quietly abandoned. The Receptacle is still in the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks, guarded by a few sorcerers and a squad of Cleavers. No problem.”

“You really think this is a good idea? Last time those Remnants were loose, you killed a whole bunch of them. Remnants have long memories.”

“You don’t think they’ll like me?” Darquesse asked, and frowned. “Maybe we should ask Tanith.”

She walked out and Sanguine hesitated, then followed. They found Tanith in the kitchen, sipping from a mug of coffee.

“I’m going to set the Remnants free,” Darquesse said. “What do you think about that?”

Tanith paused, then took another sip and shrugged. “Don’t really care one way or the other, to be honest. Some of them will be happy to see you. Some won’t.”

“Want to come with me? Say hi?”

“Sure,” said Tanith. “Let me drink this and I’ll meet you on the roof.”

Darquesse grinned, went to the window and flew out.