“Oh dear,” said Lorna, joining them in the attic, Elliot at her heels.

Adedayo backed up against one wall, keeping all three of the Apocalypse Kings in sight. “How long?” he asked.

Valkyrie’s smile widened. “How long have I been controlling her? Only a few minutes. I had attached myself to one of your school friends but, once I sensed Valkyrie’s sheer power, I couldn’t resist the – what’s the word? – upgrade.”

“We should eat their souls,” Lorna said.

“We agreed that we would keep the damage we inflict to a minimum,” Valkyrie responded. Her face, her voice, his words. “When they are dead, they will need their souls to move through to what comes next.”

Elliot nodded. “We will feed but not devour. It is what we agreed.”

“But that was before,” said Lorna. “You can feel it as I can. It will be better for us if we consume their souls completely. It will make us stronger.”

“This isn’t about strength,” Valkyrie said. “This is about punishing the Faceless Ones. And we are strong enough already – it is time to stand on our own.”

“I agree,” said Elliot.

Valkyrie stiffened, and the Deathless stepped away from her, letting her collapse. He stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists, rolling his shoulders, working his jaw – getting used to having his own flesh-and-blood body once more.

Mr Elliot grunted and then sank to the floor, as unconscious as he was ungraceful, and the Sathariel stood over him, his hand going to his brow as if the light was hurting his eyes behind his veil.

“I object to this,” Lorna said.

“I know,” the Deathless replied.

She arched her back and gritted her teeth, and her knees gave out and she fell – but the Cythraul caught her, and lowered her gently to the ground.

“This isn’t right,” Adedayo said softly.

“You will be treated fairly,” the Deathless said. “You have my word.”

“Well, you’re planning on killing everyone, so right now your word doesn’t mean much to me, no offence.”

“The Deathless sit in judgement,” said the Cythraul.

“The Deathless do not lie,” said the Sathariel.

“I would not mislead you, Adedayo,” the Deathless said. “The other races, the Faceless Ones among them, relied on my kind to be impartial, to be just. We even had the confidence of Those Who Slumber, Whose Name We Dare Not Speak Lest They Rouse to Waking. But that was before the Scourge, before the Great Betrayal.”

Adedayo frowned. “I recognise some of what you’re saying. Those Who Slumber, Whose Name We Dare Not Speak Lest They Rouse to Waking. They were in your mind when I looked into it, in the swimming pool of knowledge, but …”

“But I hid the details from you,” said the Deathless, “as I hid so much else. There are truths you are not ready for – truths that would harm you and tear you in two.”

“How very considerate of you,” said Skulduggery, walking in. His teacher’s robe and six-sided hat were gone – as was his face. He was just a skeleton now, and he wore his other hat, the one that went with his suit, dipped low over one eye socket. “So what is it going to be?”

The Deathless turned to him. “I beg your pardon?”

“How are you going to do it? How are you going to kill everyone? Plague? Pestilence? Are you going to snap your fingers and we’ll all crumble to dust?”

“No,” the Deathless said. “We’re going to die.”

“I see,” Skulduggery said slowly.

Valkyrie sat up, blinking. Mr Elliot and Lorna – mere mortals, without the benefit of magic in their blood – stayed unconscious.

“Our passing will cause our souls to reverberate,” said the Cythraul, “and those reverberations will shake this world to pieces.”

The Sathariel continued. “The ground will quake and the mountains will tumble. Fire will rain from the skies and the seas shall boil and reclaim the land.”

Skulduggery nodded. “So, bring your umbrella is what you’re saying.”

“Can you even die?” Valkyrie asked the Deathless as she stood.

“Do not allow our name to mislead you, Valkyrie. In our arrogance, my kind named ourselves, for we thought there existed no power that could rob us of life. We were, as in a great many things, wrong. By the time the Faceless Ones betrayed us all, we had already been thoroughly humbled.” He smiled. “But the name stuck.”

“They’re not here,” said Adedayo. “The Faceless Ones. You’re doing this because of them, because of what they did to your race, but they’re not even around any more. They’ve been banished.”

“Yet this world reeks of them,” said the Sathariel. “The air has grown stale with the stench of them. They have made their mark here and they wish to return.”

“They see this place as their rightful home,” the Cythraul said. “While they still live, they will seek to cross realities until they are worshipped here once again. But, when they arrive, we want them to set foot on the remnants of a barren land – a land devoid of humanity.”

“Then how about you help us?” Valkyrie said. “How about, instead of spoiling their home, you stand by our side if they ever come back?”

“There are but three of us,” said the Cythraul, “and the Faceless Ones’ numbers are immeasurable.”

The Deathless shook his head. “If we fight them, we may lose, and forgo our chance at retribution. Destroying their food source, however, destroying their homeland … that is guaranteed to inflict damage.”

“Fair enough,” said Valkyrie. “I mean, if you’re happy with merely damaging the Faceless Ones, instead of actually fighting and possibly destroying them, then hey, you do you.”

“You will not change our minds.”

“Nope. Looks like you decided what you’re gonna do a long time ago, and you’ve got no intention of changing.”

“Your attempt at reverse psychology will not work.”

“I don’t even want it to.”

“You are amusing,” said the Deathless, as he took a glass ball from his robe. Energy flowed from his hand into the ball, and Adedayo watched the Deathless sag. When he was done, he handed it to the Sathariel, who took his turn.

“Let me guess,” said Skulduggery. “That orb is your equivalent of loading a gun with three bullets, yes?”

The Sathariel slumped, and handed the orb to the Cythraul.

“Then what do you do?” Skulduggery continued. “It looks fragile, so I imagine you destroy it, releasing the bullets that will then seek you out?”

The Deathless smiled. “You’ve seen this before?”

“I’ve seen something like it, yes. A way to ensure you all die at the same instant.”

The Cythraul handed the orb back to the Deathless. The different-coloured energies flickered around inside like fish in a bowl.

“Something to hang on the Christmas tree,” said Valkyrie. “Cute.”

“You won’t have to wait long,” said the Sathariel. “Once the orb settles, we will end your suffering.”

Valkyrie rolled her shoulders. “Putting all that energy into the orb really took it out of you, didn’t it? Even the way you’re standing right now – you look dead on your feet. Don’t you think so, Skulduggery?”

“Yes, I do,” Skulduggery said.

“We are still more than strong enough to restrain you,” said the Sathariel.

Skulduggery tilted his head. “You think so?”

The Sathariel raised an arm, but Skulduggery flew across the room, smashing into him.

The Cythraul moved to help, but shadows leaped from Valkyrie’s ring and wrapped round him, binding his many tentacles.

The Deathless backed away from it all, then turned and ran out of the room.

“Adedayo!” Skulduggery called as he wrestled. “Stop him!”

Adedayo nodded. Then shouted, “What?”

The Sathariel slammed Skulduggery back against the wall.

“We can’t do it!” Skulduggery yelled. He punched the Sathariel, drove a knee into his leg, followed it with an elbow shot to the face. “We’re a bit busy! You’ll have to!”

“But I can’t use magic when I’m panicking!”

“It’s not about magic!” Valkyrie cried as the Cythraul broke free of her shadows. “It’s about trying your best, you muppet!”

The tentacles grabbed her, picked her up, hurled her across the room.

Adedayo hesitated – then ran after the Deathless.