He tilted his head. "You think we're different from everyone else?"

"Aren't we?"

"Every human being who has ever lived has the same potential in them for good and evil. Mortal or sorcerer, it doesn't matter. Power has a way of bringing out the worst in people. Mevolent. Serpine. Hitler. Lord Vile. Darquesse. We're all the same."

"You just put me on a list with Hitler."

"You're going to start sulking again, aren't you?"

"Hitler, for G.o.d's sake."

"Power corrupts, Valkyrie. You're better off learning that now, so you can prepare for later."

"But Hitler."

"We may need to focus here."

"Right. Yes. OK. Turn round."

"Are you going to throw something at me?"

"What? No, I'm getting out of bed."

"Ah," he said, and turned.

She swung her feet to the floor, stood up and adjusted the sheet, then walked out of the room. "So what are we dealing with? Is Lord Vile your subconscious, or is it your old Necromancer power with a mind of its own?"

Skulduggery followed her on to the landing. "I think it's both, to be honest."

"Was he hiding inside you this whole time?"

"It certainly looks that way. I didn't see him, of course. When you can turn to shadow, it's easy enough to find places to hide, even in a skeleton. It's all very unsettling, to be honest."

She went into the bathroom while Skulduggery waited outside.

"And did you notice that he's terribly unruly?" he asked through the door. "He completely ignored my commands."

Valkyrie dropped the sheet and got in the shower, talking loudly over the water. "So how do we stop him? Do we just send you to a psychiatrist or something?"

"Excuse me?"

"Hey, it's your subconscious that's attacking people."

"I don't need therapy."

She turned her face up to the showerhead. "Have you ever tried it?"

"Talking about one's feelings defeats the purpose of having those feelings," she heard him say. "Once you try to put the human experience into words, it becomes little more than a spectator sport. Everything must have a cause, and a name. Every random thought must have a root in something else. This is all missing the point."

"But if you can confront your inner demons-"

"I did confront my inner demon. I punched him in the face and he exploded."

Valkyrie had to laugh. "But now he's back."

"Of course he's back. He's resourceful. He is my inner demon, after all."

"But he ignored your commands. He, it, whatever, ignored you. He doesn't need you. He's become a... a being, a person."

"Completely independent," Skulduggery said. "An individual. I'd be proud, if I wasn't so disturbed. Does this mean I don't have a subconscious any more? If my subconscious is up and walking around and calling itself Lord Vile, then what do I have left?"

"Skulduggery, now you need to focus."

"Yes. Of course. Besides, that's more of a conversation to have with Gordon. Conversations I have with you, Valkyrie, revolve around finding solutions and saving the day."

"That's what I want to hear," she said as she turned off the water. She got out of the shower, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. "So how do we stop Vile?"

She opened the bathroom door and Skulduggery tilted his head at her. "Very simple," he said. "We don't."

Valkyrie frowned. "That is very simple. In fact, it's a little too simple." She walked back to her room.

"The Sanctuary is going to say the same thing," he said, following behind. "Vile is after Melancholia, so we should leave him alone, see how far he gets. He might get lucky."

"He might kill her."

"That's what I mean."

Valkyrie got back inside her room, turned and held up a hand to stop Skulduggery from coming in after her.

"Ah," he said, and nodded as she closed the door.

"Skulduggery, it's Melancholia. I know I hate her, and I know she tried to kill me, and I'm well aware that she plans to kill billions of people, but we can't just let her die."

There was a pause before Skulduggery responded. "I have to admit," he said, "I did not think that sentence was going to end where it ended."

"I'm just sick of everyone killing everyone else. When I heard that Mum had been hurt, I went to Moore's cell with the intention of killing him. I wanted to actually kill him. I don't like that. I don't like that I wanted that. There's too much killing, I think." Valkyrie scrubbed herself half dry, then had a better idea and straightened up, went back to the door and opened it. "Hat in front of your eyes," she said. "No peeking."

He did as he was told and raised his free hand. She held the towel away from her as the moisture drifted from her body.

"You should be able to do this yourself by now," Skulduggery said from behind his hat.

"I can do it," she said. "But I always leave my skin too dry." She stepped back inside her room and closed the door again, then she went to the mirror and tapped the gla.s.s. Her reflection blinked, and stepped out.

"Why can't we arrest Melancholia?" Valkyrie asked, taking her black clothes from the wardrobe. "Put some shackles on her, send her to prison for a few years, then let her out and tell her to be good?"

"Because she's the Death Bringer," said Skulduggery.

"She's Melancholia. She's the annoying girl I used to laugh at. I don't want her dead."

The reflection shrugged. "Melancholia doesn't share that compunction," it said.

Valkyrie frowned at her mirror image.

"Either you're arguing with yourself," Skulduggery said from the landing, "or your reflection makes more sense than you do."

"Shut up," Valkyrie said to the door, and then looked back at the reflection. "And you, n.o.body asked for your opinion. And stop standing there all naked and stuff. You're distracting."

The reflection shrugged again, went to the dresser and started picking out clothes.

Valkyrie pulled on her underwear and trousers. "We can't just let Vile kill her," she said loudly. "We have to try and arrest her."

"We will," Skulduggery answered.

"But it's a race, is that what you're saying? If we get to her, we arrest her. If he gets to her, he kills her."

"If she resists arrest, we might have to kill her too. Don't forget that."

"So no one is going after Vile."

"That's correct."

She grabbed her boots, started putting them on. "And what about when all this is done?"

"If the Death Bringer, for whatever reason, ceases to remain alive, there's a good chance that the thing that is Lord Vile will simply... disappear. Whatever aspect of my subconscious that is walking around will come back to me, the armour will return to its inert form, and everyone will be happy."

"Except Melancholia."

"Except Melancholia, who will be dead."

Valkyrie stood up. "And me?"

"Hopefully, you won't be."

"But if Melancholia dies," the reflection said, still picking out clothes, "then won't the t.i.tle of Death Bringer switch over to Valkyrie?"

"Stop contributing to this conversation," Valkyrie said crossly.

The reflection gave another shrug.

"Well?" Valkyrie said loudly. "Will it switch over to me?"

Skulduggery hesitated. "That is a possibility, I grant you."

"And if it does, then Vile will want to kill me too, won't he?"

Another hesitation. "Perhaps."

"So we're going to have to figure out a way to stop him, no matter what happens," she said, her voice m.u.f.fled slightly by the T-shirt she was dragging over her head.

"Not quite," Skulduggery answered. "There is the possibility that he will go up against Melancholia and she will destroy him utterly, which will take care of the Lord Vile problem quite nicely but, obviously, add to the Melancholia problem. And it might also pose a problem for me, if someone manages to kill my subconscious."

"This is getting very complicated."

"Not if you pay attention."

"Do you think he can do it?" Valkyrie said, running a brush through her hair. "Do you think he has a chance?"

"I don't know. From what we've seen, her power ebbs and flows. If he manages to catch her when she's at her weakest, yes, he will kill her in an instant. But if he gets to her when she's strong..."

"And we have the same problem, which means we have to arrest her when she's ebbing, not flowing. How do we do that?"

"First, we have to find out where they're hiding her."

Valkyrie put the brush down, went to the door and opened it. "Can I ask you a question? And I don't mean this in a bad way, but are you insane?"

Skulduggery looked at her. "Would it make any difference if I was?"

"Probably not."

"Then why put labels on ourselves? That's a job for a psychiatrist. We punch people, Valkyrie. That's who we are. Embrace your inner lunatic. Fun times guaranteed."

She smiled. "You're a bad influence."

"I never claimed otherwise. Your reflection is still naked, by the way."

Valkyrie shrieked, shoved him back and slammed her bedroom door closed.

Chapter 39.

Killing Craven

reath never had a problem with killing people, but he always preferred it when he had right on his side, when they deserved it, and when he was sure he could get away with it. Today he planned to kill Craven, and while he was sure that right was on his side and that Craven thoroughly deserved what was coming to him, he wasn't overly confident he could get away with it. Still, he figured, sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do, and then sometimes you've just got to run like h.e.l.l after it's done.

Getting Craven alone was proving to be a problem, however. He had everyone convinced that he had all the answers, so now they flocked around him like he was the High Priest. It was a most disheartening sight. Necromancers were feared the world over. n.o.body trusted them, n.o.body liked them and everyone had a scary Necromancer story to tell around the campfire. Necromancers were supposed to be cold and weird, pale-faced and disturbing. It was an image that had been carefully cultivated over generations. And now, here they were, sycophantic and scared, gushing praise and mindless worship over a man who could very well be leading them towards a most inglorious end.

"I have just spoken with the Death Bringer," Craven announced solemnly. Wreath watched as an expectant hush spread through the crowd. "Last night, the souls of our dead brothers and sisters spoke to her in a dream. They thanked her for her actions, told her they had never felt more powerful." A woman appeared beside Wreath, her hood up to cover her face. She said nothing, just watched as Craven continued. "They explained that they were now a part of her, adding to her strength, adding to her wisdom, and that once the Pa.s.sage happens, they will return to us and guide us towards our destiny. They asked her to tell you all not to worry, not to fear. Cast your doubts aside, they said. Embrace what is to come."