now. Why is that?”
“It’s a family matter.”
“A family matter involving Nye? Yowch.” He chuckled. “Ever think that maybe it don’t wanna be found?”
“We don’t much care,” said Valkyrie. “We’re going to find it anyway. We’ve heard you might know where it is.”
Reign shook his head. “I don’t associate with the Crenga. They may talk like they’re kinda human, but they’re not. They’re monsters. Intelligent monsters, hell, yeah, but monsters. You can’t trust a monster.”
Valkyrie put a square piece of paper on the table. It had a sigil drawn on it.
“I don’t know what that is,” said Reign.
“Of course you don’t. People are calling it a Splash.”
“Oh,” said Reign. “Oh, I heard about this. Little jolts of magic shared between friends, am I right? Just enough to make you feel good?”
“Sure,” Valkyrie said. “Completely harmless fun, if you don’t count the potential side effects.”
Reign’s smile widened. “Side effects, Miss Detective? Oh, you’re talking about those mages who lost control for a bit, right? Hurt a few people? Such a shame.”
“Yes, it was,” said Valkyrie. She tapped the piece of paper. “This is one of yours, isn’t it? One you’ve sold?”
“What a positively outrageous accusation. I am deeply, deeply hurt.”
“We talked to some people,” said Valkyrie. “We did our homework. These little Splashes started appearing six weeks ago. We traced them right back here.”
“Back here?” Reign said, eyebrows rising.
“Back here,” said Valkyrie, nodding.
“Wow. I mean, I’m assuming you have evidence …”
“You’ve been watching too many mortal cop shows, Christopher. We don’t need evidence. All we need is a suspicion, and then we let our Sensitives take a peek inside your mind.”
“That would be worrying, if indeed I was involved in a criminal enterprise, and I didn’t have the best psychic barriers that money can buy.”
For the first time, Valkyrie smiled. “I’m a bit of a Sensitive myself,” she said. “I’ve only just started to find out what I can do, but I bet I could break through those pesky barriers of yours.”
“I think I’d like to see you try.”
“How’d you do it, Christopher?”
His face fell. “Have we stopped flirting already?”
“Oh, that wasn’t flirting. See, we know you don’t have anyone in your crew who could come up with these Splashes. Something like this is relatively easy to replicate, but not at all easy to create. We think you had outside help.”
“Ah,” said Reign. “You think Doctor Nye is responsible.”
“That’s what we think.”
“And so you’re hoping that I still know where that gangly, no-nosed freak might be hiding out.”
“That’s exactly it.”
Reign finished his drink and a waitress appeared, taking the empty glass and replacing it with a fresh one.
Skulduggery watched her hurry away. “Do you have mortals working in your bar, Mr Reign?” he asked.
“Sure do. I got a few of ’em. It’s perfectly legal, and they’re cheaper than hiring one of us. No mage wants to wait tables or scrub toilets, you know?”
“Back to Doctor Nye, Christopher,” said Valkyrie.
“I told you, I don’t associate with Crengarrions. I’m a business owner. I run a bar. I’m not a criminal. I don’t deal drugs, magical or otherwise. I am a law-abiding citizen of Roarhaven, and I pay my taxes, the same as everyone else. Now, I just met you, and I like you, but right now I’m feeling … what’s the word? Harassed. I feel like you’re harassing me. You’re welcome to buy yourself a drink and stay, chat, make new friends. I would love to see you loosen up. But I’m afraid I’m gonna have to call a halt to the interrogation.”
“You don’t have much of a say in it,” said Valkyrie.
Reign’s gym buddy came over then, the tall woman with all the muscles.
“This is Panthea,” said Reign. “She’s one of the door staff here. She is well within her rights to throw you outta this bar. All she needs is an excuse.”
Valkyrie sighed, and stood. The chatter stopped. Only the music continued. Skulduggery started to rise, but Valkyrie put a hand on his shoulder as she stepped round him.
“You want to take the first swing?” she asked, looking up at Panthea.
Panthea sneered. “So you can arrest me for assaulting an Arbiter?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t arrest you for something like that.”
“So … I could knock you the hell out and I wouldn’t land in a jail cell?”
“I doubt you’d be able to,” said Valkyrie, “but sure.”
Panthea smiled.
“So how do you want to do this?” Valkyrie asked. “Want to go outside, want to clear a space, want to just throw each other over tables?”
“I can do whatever you want.”
“Not the third one,” said Reign, “please. These tables cost money.”
“I’ll give you the first shot,” Valkyrie said. “One clean shot, right across the jaw. See if you can knock me out.”
Panthea grinned. “A shot like that, you’ll be eating through a straw.”
“If I could just interject,” Skulduggery said, attempting to rise again.
Once more, Valkyrie put a hand on his shoulder, keeping him down. “Not right now,” she said. “I’m having a conversation with the pretty lady.”
Panthea arched an eyebrow. “You think I’m pretty?”
“You have gorgeous eyes.”
“Compliments won’t stop me from beating you up so bad you crawl home to your mammy.”
“I wouldn’t expect them to, beautiful.”
Panthea folded her massive arms. “OK, well, you can stop, because I am many things, but beautiful is not one of them.”
“Are you kidding?” Valkyrie said. “With your bone structure?”
