me?”
“Of course I can see you. There’s nothing wrong with us, Valkyrie. We’re just trying to do the right thing. I’m not like Tanith. I don’t have some evil parasite nesting inside me. I’m still me.”
Valkyrie frowned. “How do you know about Tanith?”
“Argeddion speaks to us. He opens his thoughts, lets us see what he sees. When he read your mind, we saw it all. We know about your guilt, and your fears, and your loves...” Her voice dipped. “And we know about your secret. We know it’s been awful for you, living with the knowledge that you’re going to kill your own parents. But that doesn’t have to happen any more, Valkyrie. Argeddion has helped you. He’s imprisoned Darquesse inside you. He’s changed the future.”
“He’s going to destroy the world,” Skulduggery said.
“Please,” said Lament, “have a little faith.”
When they reached the force field, it dimmed for a moment and they stumbled through, falling against the sorcerers collected beyond it. Lament and the others stayed on the inside, eyes closed and hovering off the ground.
Ravel pushed his way to the front, and looked at them. “Let me guess,” he said, sighing. “You’ve got fantastic news.”
Not that she wanted the fight to take place. Of course she didn’t. But if it did happen, she wanted to be as strong as she could be. She wanted to beat anyone who stood against her. She wanted to crush them. There was nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with wanting to survive. To win. To feel that power coursing through her.
She missed that power. She’d grown used to having it there, ready for when she needed it. She missed the voice in her head. No matter how much she ignored it, how much she fought against it, its presence had been reassuring. Facing down a werewolf? Three thugs kicking her half to death? None of that had bothered her because she knew, she knew, that all she had to do was give in for just one glorious moment, and she could feel that power again.
She didn’t tell Skulduggery that. It wasn’t that she didn’t think he’d understand – it was that he’d understand all too well. And Valkyrie didn’t want that.
But he was busy elsewhere in the Sanctuary. The force field had bisected some of the detention cells, short-circuiting the binding sigils that kept the prisoners’ powers down. Eight of them had escaped, including Silas Nadir. Skulduggery was not happy about that one, but he had more pressing concerns.
Valkyrie saw Tipstaff and followed him because she had nothing better to do. He led her into a room with a large table, at which sat the Elders with Strom and Sult. Tipstaff gave them all a cup of tea and a biscuit. No one spoke.
“Why is Argeddion’s plan such a bad idea?” she asked, breaking the silence. They looked at her blankly. “I mean, I know it’d be different, and the world would change in huge ways, but who are we to say that it wouldn’t change for the better?”
Quintin Strom stirred his tea. “If everyone in the world was suddenly capable of using magic,” he said, “there’d be a frantic scramble for dominance. We’d be looking at a new world order, and humanity would be decimated as each nation struggled to assert itself at the top.”
“Millions would die,” said Ravel. “Billions. There’s a reason Sanctuaries exist. We regulate our people. Keep them in line. Many sorcerers have the potential to be weapons of mass destruction. And in a world as fragmented as this one, with as many religious and political beliefs as it does? A small group of extremists could bring about our end.”
“So just explain all that to Argeddion,” Valkyrie said.
“The man’s been living in a bubble for the past thirty years,” said Ghastly, “and before that he was living in a different sort of bubble, where no one wants to hurt anyone else. He’d never be able to understand the mindset of violent people.”
“What,” said Valkyrie, “you mean people like us?”
Ghastly looked at her. “If we could live in Argeddion’s paradise, we would. And maybe it’s possible – it’d be wonderful to think that it was. But we’d have to step over a generation of dead bodies to reach it. The cost, Valkyrie, it’s just too great.”
“We can’t afford to be idealists,” Ravel said without looking up. “It’s our job to keep the world spinning. We let the mortals change it. As clumsy and as corrupt as they are, this is still their world. We’re just protecting it.”
The door opened and Skulduggery came in. He stood beside Valkyrie, and took his hat off. “Nothing,” he said. “No sign of Argeddion. No idea where he materialised and no traces for the Sensitives to follow.”
“We need to find out who his surprise guest is,” Ghastly said. “If his plan hinges on this guest and the Accelerator, we have to take one of them out. The Accelerator is still behind that force field, but the guest may be vulnerable. How much time do we have?”
“Tomorrow’s Thursday,” Skulduggery replied. “We have until Saturday before his tests are complete. He infected the mortals downstairs to find the best way to infect everyone. I’ve just checked with Doctor Synecdoche, but there was no change in their condition when Argeddion awoke.”
“And what about this Greta Dapple?” Ravel asked. “If he planned this out to coincide with her birthday, which is a sweet but psychotic thing to do, then maybe she plays a bigger part in this.”
Skulduggery nodded. “Maybe she does. She isn’t at her house and she isn’t answering her phone. I have people looking for her. If we can find her, she could lead us straight to Argeddion.”
“And what do we do when we find him?” Sult asked. “What can we do?” He looked to Strom, Strom looked to Ravel, and Ravel looked to Skulduggery.
“I’m working on it,” he said.
The drive back to Haggard seemed to take for ever. Valkyrie fell asleep twice, and woke up both times by bouncing her head against the window. “Ow,” she said.
“Sorry,” said Skulduggery. They were on country roads, and his skull was in complete darkness. “How are you feeling?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “My head feels empty. He just... cut her off from me. I don’t have her any more.”
“If it’s permanent, that could be a cause for celebration.”
“But Darquesse and Vile might have been our only weapons against him.” She sighed. “What are we going to do? This
