mostly me,” Fletcher said.
“Scarab is still alive,” said Skulduggery. “Marr has taken him into custody.”
Guild’s face slackened for a moment. “Then she will learn the truth.”
“She might keep quiet about it,” Ghastly offered.
“No. No, she won’t. And she shouldn’t. After today, after what I was prepared to do, I think I deserve to be held accountable for my actions. If I am brought up on charges, so be it.”
“Thurid,” Skulduggery said, “we’re talking about possible jail time.”
“I am aware of the implications, Detective. But as for right now, I must go to my family. Thank you again, all of you.” He walked away.
“But mostly me,” Fletcher called after him and Valkyrie punched his arm. The moment her fist made contact they teleported.
She looked around. They were in Kenspeckle’s Medical Bay.
“I thought you might want that bite looked at,” Fletcher grinned as he rubbed his arm. His hair was flattened and spiky in all the wrong places.
“Your hair looks wonderful,” she said.
He laughed and was about to retort when she grabbed his collar and pulled him into her. She clamped her lips around his mouth and mashed her face into his. He took a step back in surprise and she went with him, stepping in a patch of wet floor. Her legs went from under her and she flailed as she fell, whacking him in the throat on the way down. She looked up at him as he gagged and coughed, and from across the corridor she could hear Tanith laughing hysterically.
“I think I need practice,” Valkyrie muttered.
“I don’t think you’re joking,” Valkyrie offered.
“A vampire bite,” Kenspeckle continued. “You’re a victim of a vampire bite. Do you really think this is an appropriate injury for a young woman to have?”
“Probably not, though now I’m curious as to what is an appropriate injury.”
“You got yourself bitten, Valkyrie. Your magic clothes didn’t stop that from happening, did they? Your sharp tongue didn’t fend off those sharp teeth, did it? You could have died, you silly girl, or at the very least be turned into one of those things.”
She looked at him and said nothing.
His craggy face softened. “The cure for a vampire bite is radically different depending on how long the victim waits before seeking treatment. You’re lucky you came to me immediately afterwards.”
“I’m cured?”
“You’re cured.”
“Does that mean you’ll stop referring to me as a victim?”
He sighed. “Sometimes my bedside manner leaves something to be desired. I don’t mean to lecture you all the time.”
“I don’t mind it.”
“But I just wish you’d be more careful.”
“So do I.”
“And how is the headache?”
“Almost gone. I don’t know what’s causing them. Maybe my brain is leaking.”
“For a brain to leak, you would first need a brain.” Kenspeckle smiled, and his smile wavered. “I think Tanith Low is scared of me.”
“Tanith’s not scared of anyone.”
“Fear and hatred are easily confused.”
“Just give her time. She knows it wasn’t you who hurt her. How are you doing though?”
“I’m fine. A nightmare or two, but that’s to be expected. It’s a blessing actually, the fact that I can’t remember a thing that happened. I think that would be too much for me to handle. I never wanted to hurt anyone else ever again.”
“You didn’t hurt Tanith,” Valkyrie said as firmly as she could. “The Remnant did. You’re you now, the Kenspeckle who lectures me while he heals me. He’s the only one that’s real.”
“You are wise beyond your years.”
“I’ve always thought so.”
Kenspeckle kept her confined to bed for two days. Tanith was transferred to the bed next to her. Skulduggery called by a lot and Ghastly visited on the second day. Fletcher was always around and China, true to her word, didn’t put in an appearance.
By the time she was leaving, Valkyrie’s wounds were healed and the scars were fading. Marr called to tell them that Thurid Guild had requested that Skulduggery and Valkyrie be the ones to transport him from the Sanctuary’s holding cell to the prison. Skulduggery had agreed, more out of curiosity than anything else, and he picked Valkyrie up on the street outside Kenspeckle’s building.
“We’re early,” she said as she buckled her seatbelt.
“I doubt Guild will care too much,” Skulduggery responded, his sunglasses in place over his scarf and his hat pulled low. “He’s looking at close to 300 years for his part in the Vanguard assassination and the cover-up. I don’t think ten minutes is going to make that much of a difference to him, to be honest.”
“Why do you think he asked for us anyway? Surely there are friendlier faces to see him off?”
“You would think so, wouldn’t you? Maybe he wants to thank you again for saving his family. Or maybe he has something to tell us.”
“A secret?”
“Confidential information perhaps. He is Grand Mage, after all.”
“Was.”
“Oh,” Skulduggery said. “Yes.”
“I wonder who’ll take over. I wonder who’ll want to. In the past three years one Grand Mage has been murdered and the other
