“I won’t sit on Alice.”
“Well, you say that, but it’s a surprisingly easy thing to do. She’s soft, like a cushion.”
Valkyrie’s mother walked in. “Did you sit on our child?”
Her dad shook his head. “No. I did not. Not recently. You ready to go?”
“I am,” said her mum. “Steph, sorry for dumping you with Alice on your first night back, but that’s what you get for staying at Gordon’s place all week. Alice is wonderful, she is a wonderful, wonderful child, but we really need a break. If I’d remembered how tiring it was to raise a kid, I’d have probably got someone else to do it.”
Her dad nodded. “Outsourcing. Clever.”
“She’s ready for sleep, so just give her a bottle, tuck her in, and then go to bed yourself. You look tired.”
Valkyrie smiled. “That sounds nice.”
She walked them to the door.
“Don’t open the door to strangers,” said her dad. “Unless they’re selling something. Then open the door and see if I’d like it. If I’d like it, buy it for me. But nothing cheap. I have standards. Nothing too expensive, either. My standards aren’t that high.”
“Have a good time,” Valkyrie said, closing the door behind them.
She went back into the living room, put the guard in front of the fire, and scooped Alice into her arms. She climbed the stairs, put her sister in the cot with her bottle and tucked her in. Alice looked up at her until her eyelids began to close, then Valkyrie sneaked out. She crossed the landing to her bedroom.
Stephanie was sitting on the bed, her backpack beside her. “Enjoying being back?”
Valkyrie’s smile faded a little. “I am, actually, yes. It’s good to come home.”
“I know what you’re trying to do.”
“And what is that, exactly?”
“You’re trying to replace me.”
“I’m trying to replace you? You are my substitute.”
“Was!” Stephanie said, springing to her feet. “I was your substitute! And now you’re threatened because you’ve realised that I’m a better daughter to them than you ever were.”
Valkyrie’s lip curled. “You’re insane. But then we all knew that when you murdered Carol. You really think I’d be comfortable with you living with them full time? How do I know you won’t slip up and have to kill someone else? How do you know you won’t do it?”
“Because I’ve changed. I’ve evolved.”
“You can’t be trusted.”
Stephanie laughed. “And you can? We both saw a future where you killed our parents, where you killed our sister. I’ve evolved from a killer. You’ve been evolving into one. Tell me again which one of us can’t be trusted, and then tell me which one of us is trusted. It’s not you. I’ve been working very closely with Skulduggery these last few weeks. Seems like I can replace you in every aspect of your life. I’m a better daughter, a better partner, a better girlfriend …”
Valkyrie frowned. “What?”
“You shouldn’t have cheated on Fletcher. I’d never do that to him.”
“You’re … you’re with Fletcher? You can’t be. You’re a copy of me.”
“That’s what I used to think. Now I realise that I’m an improvement.”
Valkyrie stared at her. “Stephanie, this isn’t going to work out. I thought it could, but it can’t. You’re going to have to leave.”
“I’m sorry?”
“What are you, deaf?” asked Valkyrie. “Leave. Leave the country.”
“And where do you suggest I go?”
“Anywhere. I don’t care. Go to America, get a dog, find a life.”
Stephanie took a step towards her. “You think I’m the one who’s going to run away? Seriously? You’ve already run away once. You ran away and let Darquesse take over. We both know you’re the weaker one. So here’s my counter-proposal, Valkyrie. You take off. What use are you to anyone now? You don’t have any relevance. You’ve failed everyone. You don’t even have any magic any more, do you? Don’t look so surprised. I can see it in your eyes. At least I have this.”
She reached for the backpack, pulled out the Sceptre, and Valkyrie stepped back involuntarily.
Stephanie’s eyes narrowed. “Wow.”
Valkyrie felt the heat rise to her face. “I wasn’t—”
“Wow,” Stephanie said again. “You thought I was going to kill you, didn’t you? You actually thought I was going to do it.”
“In my defence—”
“In your defence what? I’ve already killed Carol – why not you, too? I’m not that person any more. I told you that. I told everyone that. They all know I’ve changed. Even Skulduggery knows. You’re the only one who’s still treating me like a thing.”
“Hey,” said Valkyrie, “if you want to have this conversation, let’s have this conversation. But let’s do it when you’re not holding the Sceptre, OK?”
Stephanie pointed it straight at her. “This? You’re scared of this? You’re scared of what I’ll do with this?”
“Don’t joke around,” Valkyrie said, her pulse thundering in her ears. “Your thoughts activate—”
“I know!” Stephanie said, almost shouting. She lowered her voice immediately, but the anger remained. “I know how to use this, and it’s not going to go off accidentally. I’ve been thinking about it since I got home, actually, thinking of all the people it can kill and the destruction it can cause, and you know what? I don’t want it any more. You’re back. You can go off and have adventures. That’s what you’re good for. But me? I’m done with all that. I quit. I never want to use another weapon. I never want to hold this thing again.”
Valkyrie watched her grab the backpack and stuff the Sceptre into it. She zipped it up and the zip got stuck and Stephanie cursed and muttered and Valkyrie reached out. “Here, let me—”
Stephanie yanked it back. “No. This has nothing to do with you. Amazing, isn’t it? Something that has nothing to do with you. This is about me. This is about my decision.” She stormed past Valkyrie, slamming the door.
The room was quiet without her. Valkyrie waited a few moments to see if she’d storm back in. When she didn’t, Valkyrie hung up her jacket and pulled her boots off.
Stephanie walked in. She wasn’t carrying the Sceptre any more.
“There,” she said. “I’ve put it away. Happy now?”
“Where is it?” asked Valkyrie.
“You don’t have to worry about where it is. You just have to worry about what you’re going to do with your life. Because this life is mine.”
“I’m not going to argue with you about this,” said Valkyrie. She sat on the bed and took off her socks.
Stephanie’s eyes widened. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Getting ready for bed, what does it look like?”
Stephanie put her hands on her hips. “And who says you’re getting the bed?”
Valkyrie laughed. “Seriously? Who says?” She stood up. “I say, because it’s my bed.”
“You haven’t been sleeping there for quite a while,” Stephanie responded. “It’s mine now.”
“Listen, Stephanie, here’s the way it is. My bed. My room. My family. My rules.”
“You gave up your family, Valkyrie. What is it the lawyers say? You’ve relinquished your rights. You gave in. You let Darquesse beat you.”
“And now I’m back.”
“But that’s got nothing to do with you. We brought you back. You did nothing.”
The anger rose. Valkyrie’s eyes narrowed. “Screw you,” she said, bumping Stephanie’s shoulder as she strode out.
She was halfway down the stairs when she realised Stephanie was following her.
“You didn’t overcome Darquesse with the force of your will,” Stephanie said. “Your true and noble self didn’t triumph over her evil. If we hadn’t risked our lives to get you back, you’d still be a tiny, insignificant voice in the back of her mind.”
Valkyrie walked into th
e living room and Stephanie followed, right on her heels.
“You don’t deserve this new freedom. Do you understand that?”
Valkyrie whirled. They stood toe to toe.
“You think you and Skulduggery share a lot, don’t you?” said Stephanie, a sneer on her lips. “He became Lord Vile, you became Darquesse. You both did terrible things. But here’s the difference. Skulduggery reasserted himself. He was strong enough, he fought hard enough, to push Vile down, and re-emerge as the Skulduggery we all know and love. But you? You weren’t strong enough.”
“Shut up.”
“You didn’t fight at all,” said Stephanie. “You needed us to pull you out. You say that bed is yours? No. You gave up your claim to all of this when you let Darquesse take over, and you haven’t earned any of it back.”
Valkyrie jabbed a finger into Stephanie’s chest. “You are not taking my family.”
“They’re not your …” Stephanie faltered, and then frowned. “Did you leave the patio door open?”
Valkyrie turned, just as Tanith Low stepped into the room.
Stephanie lunged at her and Valkyrie grabbed the poker. Tanith kicked out, sending Stephanie hurtling over the couch. Her sword flashed and she spun, and Valkyrie blocked the blade with the poker, the impact jarring it from her hands. She grabbed Tanith, drove her back against the wall, got a knee in the belly for her trouble. The wind rushed out of her.
Her reinforced jacket was upstairs.
Tanith’s face was riddled with black veins, and her hand curled round Valkyrie’s throat. “Where is Darquesse?”
“Please,” Valkyrie gasped, “you don’t have to do this …”
Stephanie got back to her feet and Tanith’s eyes flickered, and Valkyrie saw her chance. She grabbed what she could of Tanith’s body, jammed her hip against Tanith’s and wrenched her body round, flipping Tanith into the armchair. The armchair fell and Tanith tumbled out of it, but came up immediately, still with the sword in her hand.
Valkyrie went left. Stephanie went right.
Tanith darted forward and Valkyrie stumbled, narrowly missing the sword. Stephanie went for the poker, but Tanith spun into her, sweeping her legs. Stephanie crashed to the ground and Tanith swung the sword and Valkyrie rammed into her from behind, wrapping her in the tightest bear hug she could manage and pulling her back over her outstretched leg. Tanith flung her sword away before she landed on it. She hit the ground and Valkyrie tried keeping her down there. But Tanith was a squirmy one, and she was stronger than Valkyrie even without the Remnant inside her.
She grabbed Valkyrie’s head with both hands, started to twist. Valkyrie felt the cartilage in her neck about to pop and she panicked, tried getting the hell out of there. Stephanie’s shoe came in, connecting solidly with Tanith’s jaw. There was a mad scramble for the sword, but Tanith got there first, swung round and the blade pressed against Valkyrie’s throat.
They all froze.
“Bring Darquesse back,” Tanith said.
“We can’t,” said Valkyrie.
“How did you do it? How did you regain control?”
“I didn’t. She’s not with me any more. She was thrown out. She’s gone.”
“Gone?”
“Cassandra called her an untethered entity.”
Tanith looked at them both. “A ghost?”
“Kind of.”
“Oh,” Tanith said. There was a long pause. Then Tanith sighed, and took the blade from Valkyrie’s throat. She went and sat on the couch.
Valkyrie and Stephanie looked at each other.
The black veins faded, and Tanith’s lips returned to normal. “Sorry,” she said.
Stephanie frowned. “I don’t get it. Are you going to kill us or not?”
Tanith hesitated.
“Please say not,” said Valkyrie.
“I don’t know,” Tanith said. “I mean … I should kill you. Killing you would make sense. You took away Darquesse, and I want Darquesse to destroy everyone. Or … I did.”
Valkyrie made a decision. She righted the armchair and sat in it. “You changed your mind?”
“I don’t know,” said Tanith. “The more I think about it … yeah, maybe. The Remnant part of me is, like, whoop, let’s kill everything. But the human part of me is all, why? Killing everything would make the world so boring. And to be honest, I think the Remnant part of me is also starting to think along those lines, even though it’d never admit it.”
Stephanie sat down slowly, rubbing her jaw. “So you’re not going to kill us?”
“Probably not. I mean, don’t let your guard down or anything. I don’t want to make a promise I can’t keep, but as of right this second, no, I have no intention of killing either of you. But I may change my mind.”
“Well, that’s progress,” Valkyrie said. “That’s something, isn’t it?”
Tanith nodded. “I think so. I mean, it feels like I’ve just taken a big step. That’s how it feels. It feels important.”
“Admitting you have a problem is the first step towards recovery,” Stephanie said.
“That’s what they say, isn’t it? And I do have a problem. I sometimes want to kill everything. I don’t have a conscience and occasionally I do things that could be labelled as, you know …”
“Evil,” said Stephanie.
“Right. Yes. Evil. Occasionally I do evil things. I don’t mean to be evil. I’m not evil just to be evil. But evil things happen and I’m responsible.”
“Are you going to take Moribund’s advice?” Valkyrie asked.
Tanith looked surprised. “You know about that?”
“I overheard you talking to Sanguine about it. Or Darquesse did.”
“Who’s Moribund?” Stephanie asked.
“This guy who has a Remnant bonded to him,” Valkyrie told her. “But he decided not to be evil. He decided to be good. He said all Tanith has to do is pretend to be a good guy for long enough, and then she’ll be a real one.”
“Will that work?”
“I don’t know,” Tanith said. “I haven’t really tried it yet. But now that Darquesse is gone … Is she gone? Really gone?”
“Uh,” said Valkyrie, “I really don’t want to make you decide to kill us again, but … she’s mostly gone. Finbar said that untethered entities like her can only last for so long in that state before they just … evaporate. She’s being driven by the need to survive, but that’ll only sustain her for so long.”
“And is there a way she could survive?”
“She could possess someone, someone open to possession. But that wouldn’t last long. An ordinary body wouldn’t be able to withstand her level of power without burning out. All the Sensitives are sleeping in protective circles tonight in case she tries to sneak in.”
“But she’s still alive? In a way? Hmm.” Tanith stood up.
Valkyrie and Stephanie got to their feet quickly.
“Are you going to try and kill us again?” Valkyrie asked.
Tanith sheathed her sword. “Naw. I don’t know what I’m going to do. The apocalypse seemed like a really good idea a few years ago. Now … I don’t know. Maybe I’m just not that into it any more. You should remember to lock your doors, by the way. I just walked in here.”
“Yeah,” said Valkyrie. “Thanks.”
Tanith gave them a smile. “I think I’ll leave through the front.”
When Tanith was gone, they tidied the living room and locked the patio door. Then they went back upstairs, and looked in on Alice, who had slept through the whole thing.
Stephanie went to the bathroom while Valkyrie went into her room. She stood there for a while before walking out. The door to the bathroom was open, and Stephanie was examining herself in the mirror.
“You OK?” Valkyrie asked.
Stephanie probed her cheek with her finger, and winced. “Ow. Look at that. That’s going to swell up something fierce by the morning.”
Valkyrie went back to her room, took a clot of dirt from a bundle of tin
foil, and ran it under the cold tap.
“Let’s see,” she said. Stephanie turned to her, and Valkyrie rubbed the mud into her skin. “That feel better?”
“It’s starting to,” Stephanie said.
“Did you think Tanith was going to kill us?” Valkyrie asked.
“For a moment. Well, a long moment. What about you?”
“At first, yeah. Hey, thanks, by the way. You probably saved my life.”
Stephanie shrugged. “Ah, you probably saved mine, too. That was a nice little flip you caught her with.”
“Saw that, eh? Yeah, it wasn’t bad. I’m really starting to miss my magic, though.”
Stephanie grinned. “I started to seriously regret not having the Sceptre with me.”
Valkyrie laughed. “I bet. The moment you put it down, bam – here’s Tanith!”
“Typical,” Stephanie said, drying her face with a towel. “There. Black eye averted, I reckon. Hopefully, that’s the last time I’ll ever have to do that.”
“Are you really going to quit?” Valkyrie asked as they walked back to the bedroom.
“Of course,” said Stephanie. “You sound surprised.”
“Well, yeah. I don’t know how you could leave it all behind. I mean, you’re me, essentially.”
Stephanie glanced at her as she got ready for bed. “What are you talking about? I’m not you. I just pretended to be you. The moment I became aware, really aware, was the moment I stopped being you and I started being me. I’ve got no interest in risking my life to save people I’ve never met. I would kill and die for my family and the people I love, but everyone else can take care of themselves, as far as I’m concerned.”
“So you won’t miss being Skulduggery’s partner?”
“Not one bit,” said Stephanie. “But that’s mainly because he was never that comfortable around me. There were times when he was fine, when he was like how he is with you. And then it was as if a switch were flicked, and he remembered who I really was. I’m not going to miss that at all.”
“And you’re not going to miss the adventure, or the excitement …?”