lost without me.”
“I managed fine for five years.”
“You were just recharging your batteries. Now you’re ready for phase two.”
“I don’t think that’s right.”
“You gave me twenty-four hours. Give me another twelve.”
“You’ve actually had another twelve.”
“I mean give me another twelve starting from tomorrow morning. You can’t leave now. We’ve just had our first breakthrough.”
“I’m not up to it any more, Skulduggery. Come on, you must be able to see that. We were outmatched. Lethe pulled your jawbone off, for God’s sake.”
“Which was painful, but useful.”
“How the hell was that useful?”
“When I could no longer speak, he filled the silence. He told us what they were after.”
“He did?”
“To breathe life into the lifeless. That’s why Melior is so important to them – he’s the vital piece of this puzzle. That’s how he differs from other Vitakinetics – if I am interpreting Lethe correctly, the good doctor can actually bring someone back from death.”
Valkyrie frowned. “You’re serious?”
“Deadly.”
“So they’re … they’re going to resurrect someone? Like actually resurrect them? Who? This Princess of the Darklands woman?”
“Possibly.”
She frowned. “Do you know who she is?”
“No,” he said. “I know who she might be, but I don’t want to say just yet. Trust me on this. For the moment, we need to focus on Richard Melior. He’s the key. If we can stop the anti-Sanctuary at this early stage, then their plans for war will never be set in motion.”
“And if we find Melior, but Lethe and the others are still with him?”
“We’ll run away.”
She thought for a moment. “That’s honestly the best plan you’ve ever come up with.”
“I thought you’d like it. So you’ll stay with me? For just a little while longer? Give me tomorrow.”
“You know, you’re probably better off on your own.”
He tilted his head. “I disagree most vehemently.”
She sighed. “Tomorrow, then. One more day.”
“Excellent.” He swept his arm wide, inviting her to carry on walking. “How is China, by the way?”
“Um …”
“Valkyrie?”
“I’m just trying to find the right word for it. She was … regal.”
“Regal?”
“Worryingly regal.”
“You think the power may have gone to her head?”
“This is what she’s wanted all along, right? She was never satisfied with the other Grand Mages when they were in charge. She was always complaining about how they were blocking her attempts to do this or to do that … Now she’s in control. Finally.”
“And she doesn’t even have a Council of Elders to balance her out.”
“She doesn’t have a Council? Really?”
“Well,” Skulduggery said, “she has what she calls her Council of Advisors – two Grand Mages that she put in power herself, from England and Germany, and the American Grand Mage, who succeeded the old one after he tried to overthrow her.”
“So they just agree with whatever she says?”
“Essentially.”
“Is there anyone in a position to argue with her?”
“Not really.”
“Isn’t that hugely, amazingly dangerous? What do we do if she starts abusing her power?”
“We hope her better nature triumphs.”
Valkyrie frowned. “Does China have a better nature?”
“I suppose we’ll find out, won’t we?”
China Sorrows entered the chamber and immediately the three men rose. Two of them almost knocked their chairs over in their eagerness to offer due respect. The third was decidedly calmer. China took her seat at the north corner of the triangular table and waved at them to sit. The chamber was dark and bare, at odds with the extravagance that defined much of the rest of the High Sanctuary. She had no throne here. No mirrors. This was where the decisions were taken. This was where business was handled.
“The bank,” she said, directing the words to Grand Mage Aloysius Vespers of the English Sanctuary. “We’re behind schedule.”
Vespers, an overfed man with long white hair, gave a combination of a nod and a shrug. “We are, but we’re picking up speed. Co-ordinating between the Central Banks of the world was never going to be a straightforward process, yet I am happy to report that we have overcome significant hurdles in the last week alone.”
“And how close are we to a bank the citizens of Roarhaven can actually use?”
Vespers smiled, like he was delivering good news. “Two years. Maybe eighteen months.”
“You’ve had five years,” China said, and she watched Vespers’ smile falter. “We have the money – we have more than enough capital – but where has it languished since I first tasked you with this operation?”
“In, uh, in the First Bank of Roarhaven—”
“No,” said China. “The First Bank is a building. That’s all. It’s a building where we keep, relatively speaking, a very small amount of money. Cash for day-to-day requirements. No, Aloysius – I’m talking about the vast amounts of wealth that sorcerers have at their disposal, accrued over centuries. Where is that money?”
Vespers reddened. “Mortal banks, Supreme Mage.”
“Mortal banks,” China repeated. “Where our people risk constant exposure and the magical community at large in no way benefits from all of the investments they make. I asked you for a bank, based in Roarhaven, which all sorcerers around the world could use. A bank that is protected, private, but operates on a global scale. I asked you to slip
