Adedayo opened his eyes.

It was dark. Oh, God, he’d failed. He’d failed and the Apocalypse Kings had destroyed everything and everyone was dead and the world was in darkness all because of him and his stupidity and his … no, wait – it was night.

He was lying on the roof of the Old House, and it was night-time. Yes. That made sense.

“There you are.”

He sat up as Skulduggery walked out on to the roof. “What happened?”

“You did it,” Skulduggery said. “The Deathless came back down and the fighting stopped. He explained to the other two what you talked about up here and made them understand. They’re quite a reasonable bunch – for gods, I mean. They abandoned their plan, retrieved their energies from the orb, and agreed to return to the box until they decide what to do with themselves. We can’t lock it like the Faceless Ones did, but when you’re dealing with beings like the Apocalypse Kings, you take what you can get.” He stood beside him. “Well done.”

“Thank you,” Adedayo said, getting up. “How long have I been out here?”

“About five hours.”

“Oh.” His eyes widened. “My parents are going to kill me!”

“Probably.”

“What about Lorna? And Mr Elliot?”

“Both fine,” said Skulduggery. “They’re mortals, so they won’t remember anything about what happened. That’s always best, I find. Things like this tend to traumatise mortal minds.”

“You found him,” Valkyrie said, walking on to the roof. She was wearing all black. “Wow, it’s chilly up here.”

Adedayo suddenly realised how cold he was, and crossed his arms. Valkyrie slipped off her jacket and handed it over.

“Go on,” she said. “Until you warm up.”

He accepted it gratefully.

“This is a moment, Adedayo,” Skulduggery said. “In life we are offered so very few moments to truly savour – so, when they occur, you must take the opportunity to sear them into your memory. This would be, I imagine, your first time saving the world?”

“I saved the world?”

“We all did, which means the three of us can say both We saved the world and I saved the world. Go ahead. Say it.”

“Uh …”

“Don’t be shy.”

Adedayo cleared his throat. “I saved the world.”

“Yes, you did,” said Skulduggery. “I want you to stand here on this rooftop, Adedayo, and reflect on those words. Do you know what makes a hero?”

“Bravery,” said Adedayo. “Or … maybe fear. You can’t be brave unless you’re feeling scared, right? So bravery in spite of fear? Is that what makes a hero?”

Skulduggery shrugged. “I was going to say punching, but sure, yours is OK too.”

“What do I do now? Like, do I go back to my normal life and forget about all this, or do I abandon my normal life and focus on learning magic?”

Skulduggery took a moment before answering. “I don’t care,” he said.

“Oh,” said Adedayo.

“It’s up to you,” Valkyrie said. “Skulduggery can’t tell you what to do. It wouldn’t be right.”

“And also I genuinely don’t care,” Skulduggery said.

Valkyrie ignored him. “When I found out about magic, that was it for me, I couldn’t let it go. I wasn’t about to return to my old life, not after what I’d seen – but everyone’s different. Do you like your life?”

“I mean … I suppose.”

“Do you ever feel as if something’s missing?”

He was quiet for a bit. “Not before now.”

“It’s up to you, dude. You get involved in magic, and it can be really, really dangerous. You could get killed doing this.”

“Or you could get killed in your bedroom playing video games,” Skulduggery said. “A meteor could come through your window and take your head clean off. I’ve seen it happen.”

“You have not,” Valkyrie said crossly.

“Yes, I have.”

She folded her arms. “You’ve seen a meteor take someone’s head off in their bedroom, have you?”

“Maybe not exactly that,” he responded, somewhat grudgingly. “OK, fine, it wasn’t a bedroom, it was a kitchen, and it wasn’t a meteor, it was a rock, and it didn’t take their head off, but it left a bruise.”

“Skulduggery, did you throw a stone at someone while they were standing in their kitchen?”

“I did, yes.”

She sighed, and turned her attention back to Adedayo. “It’s your choice. I’m gonna leave a number with you for a place called the Sanctuary. If you decide you want to explore magic, they’ll be able to help. Oh, and take a name, all right? If you become a sorcerer, you’ll need a new name.”

“OK,” said Adedayo. “Sure. What name should I take?”

Valkyrie smiled. “I can’t tell you that. If you decide to learn magic, if you’re capable of putting in the work and the practice, you’ll be a new person. You’ve just got to decide what this new person will be called.”

Skulduggery checked his pocket watch. “And now we must be off. I have a tailor friend who has a new suit waiting for me to pick up, and he gets unreasonably grumpy when I’m late.” He stepped right to the edge of the roof and turned. “Adedayo, it’s been a pleasure working with you. Maybe we’ll do it again sometime. Maybe not.”

He let himself fall backwards off the edge, and disappeared.

“What a show-off,” Valkyrie muttered.

Adedayo passed her back her jacket and shadows flowed from her ring, enveloping her. “See you around,” she said, and, when the shadows dispersed she was gone, and Adedayo was alone on the rooftop.