Valkyrie got changed into her black clothes, and zipped her jacket all the way up. On her way downstairs she glanced through the window, saw Never and Omen standing beside her car. Never was looking irritated, and teleported away while Omen was still talking.
Valkyrie waited until Omen knocked before opening the door. She waved him in.
“Hey,” she said. “Thank you for doing this. Seriously.”
“Of course,” he said.
“Is everything OK between you and Never? He seemed annoyed. Is it me? I know he doesn’t like me a whole lot.”
“No,” Omen said. “No, it’s definitely not you. OK, it might be, just a little, but mostly … I don’t know. He’s been acting a little odd lately, that’s all. Keeping secrets, maybe.”
“We all have secrets.”
“I suppose.”
Alice poked her head out of the kitchen.
“Alice, come over here,” said Valkyrie. “She’s not usually this shy. Alice, this is my friend. His name is Omen.”
Alice hesitated, then hurried over, and Omen waved.
“Hi, Alice.”
Alice waved from behind Valkyrie’s leg.
“There’s food and drink in the fridge,” Valkyrie said, grabbing her car keys, “and probably some snacks somewhere in the kitchen. If you want a pizza or something, I think there’s a menu floating around, but I’ll only be gone for two hours or so.”
“I’ll be fine,” said Omen. “We’ll be fine.”
“Just put the TV on,” Valkyrie said. “Or, I don’t know, she might want to do homework. Could you help her with that?”
“I think I can manage,” Omen said, trying to sound confident.
“Right,” said Valkyrie, “OK. I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t important, so thank you.”
“No problem.”
Valkyrie bent down to Alice. “I won’t be gone long. Omen will take care of you – he’s really nice, you’ll really like him.”
“Is he magic, too?” she asked.
“We don’t talk about magic, remember?”
“Yeah, but is he magic, too?”
Valkyrie sighed. “A little. Omen, don’t show her any magic.”
He nodded. “Probably wise.”
“You’re going to be nice to Omen, aren’t you? You’re going to behave and do what he tells you?”
“Yes.”
“When I get back, we’ll go to my house and I’ll show you your room, OK? That sound cool?”
“Yes.”
“And when you speak to Mum and Dad about this tomorrow …?”
“I’m not to tell them you left,” Alice said.
“Good girl. That’s very important.” Valkyrie straightened up. “Right. I’m off. Be good.”
She left the house, got in her car, and drove to Roarhaven. She met Skulduggery in the High Sanctuary’s lobby and together they slipped away from the sorcerers who were not doing a good job of keeping a surreptitious eye on them. Using their personal cloaking spheres, they passed between the Cleavers standing guard, and waited at the double doors to China’s Room of Prisms.
Skulduggery checked his pocket watch. “Any moment now,” he said.
Valkyrie heard footsteps on the other side, and the handle turned and the left door opened. She dodged back, avoiding the man who came through. He went to close the door after him, but Skulduggery put a hand to it and Valkyrie slipped under his arm. The sorcerer frowned, but Skulduggery was already following Valkyrie in. The door closed behind them.
They deactivated their cloaking spheres as they walked between the hundreds of thin columns of mirrored glass. China, reading through a file as she sat upon her throne, gave no indication that she saw their shifting reflections, until she closed the file and leaned back, a single eyebrow arched. “Arbiter Pleasant. Arbiter Cain. To what do I owe the etcetera …?”
“It’s been a while, China,” Skulduggery said. “We were almost thinking you were avoiding us.”
China smiled, and stood. Her dress was an extravagant affair, a low-cut thing of purple and indigo, tight everywhere but the sleeves and studded with beading that slowly changed its colours. Her dark hair was longer than Valkyrie remembered, and arranged in deceptively simple braids.
“Nothing quite so dramatic, I’m afraid,” China said, coming down the steps. “I’ve just been busy. It’s not easy running a city and overseeing practically every Sanctuary around the world. Every hour brings fresh challenges. Disputes, power struggles … even violence. And then we get challenges no one could have prepared for, like those poor people from the Leibniz Universe.”
“Are they all through?” Valkyrie asked.
“Thankfully,” said China, kissing her cheek. “Our technicians shut down the portal device this morning. Astonishing thing, apparently. Discovering how it works will be quite revelatory.”
“What’s going to happen to the mortals?” Skulduggery asked.
“That has yet to be decided. I wish there were an easy option, I wish we could allow them to assimilate with the mortals of our world, but I’m afraid they pose a substantial risk to our continued safety. Come,” she said. “You look like you have things on your minds. I have to rush off to my next meeting, but we can talk as I get ready.” She led them away from the throne.
“I’ve heard the First Bank of Roarhaven is about to open its doors,” Skulduggery said. “Congratulations. I know you’ve been working at this for years.”
Valkyrie caught China’s thin smile reflected in the mirrors.
“Thank you,” China said. “All my hard work is finally coming to fruition.”
“I have to admit,” Skulduggery continued, “I didn’t think Grand Mage Vespers was going to pull it off. The last I heard, the entire enterprise was floundering. Where did he find new investors at this late stage?”
“There will always be people willing to take a chance on something they believe in.”
“I heard some of the names of these investors,” Skulduggery said. “Familiar names, actually. People with, shall we say, a history.”
The wall opened before them, and they stepped on to a raised platform. It slowly began to rise into the darkness.
“You went to Arch-Canon Creed for help, didn’t you?” said Skulduggery. “The members of his Church are some of the richest sorcerers in the world. The bank was about to fail before it had even got started, and he convinced his flock to invest and swooped in to the rescue. What did he get in return, I wonder?”
“The Religious Freedom Act,” China said, turning to face them. “We’ll be announcing it next month, but it’s already in effect.”
“I see. Can I assume that the Act allows people to practise whatever their faith demands, no matter how murderous it might be?”
“It gives churches autonomy, yes.” Something new flickered behind China’s eyes. Doubt, maybe. “It makes the grounds of every church sacred, and according to our laws—”
“Sacred ground remains outside everyone’s jurisdiction,” Skulduggery finished, “Arbiters included. You’ve given him free rein to do whatever he wants.”
“Actually, we’re keeping a very close eye on him,” China said. “We have insisted that Grand Mage Vespers be allowed to oversee all Church practices. Nothing happens without Vespers’ consent.”
“And you’ve got your precious bank.”
“Roarhaven needs it if we ever want to reach our true potential.”
The platform came to a gentle stop and the doors opened. They walked out into China’s chambers, a luxurious apartment on the very top floor of the High Sanctuary.
“Is that why you want to talk to me?” China asked as she walked towards the bedroom. “Finance and investments?”
“Actually, we want to talk to you about Abyssinia.”
She opened the clasps of her dress and let it fall just as she walked out of sight. “Go on,” she said.
Skulduggery and Valkyrie stayed at the doorway.
“Abyssinia has spent the last seven months searching for her son,” Skulduggery said. “A man named Caisson. He, in turn, has spent the last few hundred years being experimented on at Serafina’s pleasure. Last night, we believe mother and son were reunited.”
There was no answer from the bedroom.
Irritated, Valkyrie walked in. China stood with her back to her, looking at clothes in her vast wardrobe.
“Caisson is the King of the Darklands,” Valkyrie said, “the one in the Darkly Prophecy. Abyssinia’s father was the Unnamed. China, this is serious, and Skulduggery and I are the only people investigating. We need Cleavers. We need you.”
China turned. Her face wore a slack expression Valkyrie had never seen before. Unguarded. “He’s still alive,” she said softly.
Valkyrie frowned. “Who is? What?”
China stood taller, became more alert. She pulled an outfit from the wardrobe, threw it on the bed, began to dress. “When the Diablerie teamed up with the Dead Men,” she said, “were you told about this?”
“Yes,” said Valkyrie. “About ten years after Vile betrayed Abyssinia, she turned up alive. Started killing people on both sides of the war. The Diablerie and the Dead Men decided to co-operate, tracked her down and killed her.”
“We killed her eventually,” said China, pulling on trousers, “after battling her for days. She had somehow become extraordinarily powerful in the intervening years. During the course of this battle, I became separated from the others. I didn’t stand a chance against her alone. But she didn’t kill me. I suppose, in our way, we had been friends. So we talked.”
“About what?”
China buttoned her top. “Her son. I knew her well enough to recognise genuine love when I saw it. She may have been able to withstand our attacks, and maybe even defeat us, but the boy was vulnerable. I offered her a chance to spare his life.”
“How?”
“By sacrificing hers,” said China. “She would allow herself to die, and her son would live. A fair trade, I thought. Abyssinia, being Abyssinia, had a condition.”
“Which was? China? What was the condition?”
China looked at her. “That I raise the boy in secret,” she said.
Valkyrie stared. Skulduggery walked into the room behind her.
China continued. “Naturally, if I’d had any choice in the matter, I would have laughed and walked away, but my life was being threatened, so I assured her that it would be an honour to care for her child. I miraculously escaped her clutches, she told the boy what was about to happen, and he allowed himself to be captured.”
“After which,” Valkyrie said, “Abyssinia surrendered and Skulduggery cut out her heart.”
“And I took Caisson in,” China said. “I passed him off as my servant’s child, but I was the one who raised him.”
“I’ve never pictured you as a mother,” Valkyrie said as China put on her shoes.
“I can be nurturing. I nurtured you when we first met, didn’t I?”
“You forced me to do nothing when Serpine was torturing Skulduggery.”
“I meant after that. I’m sure there were moments of nurturing.”
“You might be thinking of someone else.”
“Perhaps,” said China.
“Did Abyssinia tell you who his father was?” Skulduggery asked.
China looked at him. “She said it was Lord Vile. But I never believed it.”
The pain from Valkyrie’s injury was starting to nag at her, so she took a leaf from her pocket and started chewing. “What kind of a mother were you to Caisson?”
“A wonderful one, I should imagine,” China said, crossing to the dresser to change her earrings. “I was educational, informative and succinct.”
“All the hallmarks of a great mum.”
“Thank you.”
“What was he like?” Skulduggery asked.
China paused. “Troubled. I was part of the group that killed Abyssinia, after all, so there was a sustained period of adjustment. Nevertheless, he proved himself a capable young man, so I kept my promise, as dangerous as it was. If Mevolent had known that the son of Abyssinia was in his own castle, he’d have had him killed without even thinking about it. But it was getting harder and harder to stop Caisson from drawing attention to himself – and his hatred of Mevolent was growing. So I took him away. We sneaked out under cover of night. I sent word to my brother, who arranged a meeting with Eachan Meritorious. It was agreed that I would provide the Sanctuaries with vital information in the war against Mevolent, and I would be allowed to return to Ireland – under strict conditions, of course.”
“Caisson is why you defected?” Valkyrie asked.
“Essentially.”
“Huh. I never would have thought it’d be because of someone … else. Someone that isn’t you, you know.”
China nodded. “Because I’m so legendarily selfish.”
“Well … yeah.”
“So it surprises you, to know that I’m capable of sacrificing so much for someone else?”
“It does. I’m actually impressed.”
China’s smile dropped away. “Don’t be,” she said. “In this story, I may have come to love the boy, but I revert to my selfish ways eventually.”
“What happened after you defected?”
China pulled on a jacket. “Despite my very best efforts, Caisson grew into an angry young man. He hated Mevolent, because he thought Mevolent had forced his father, Lord Vile, to attack his mother, and he hated Skulduggery for subsequently killing her. Sorry about that, Skulduggery.”
“Understandable,” he responded.
“Mevolent was beyond Caisson’s reach for the moment, but Skulduggery proved an easier target. Or so he thought.”
Skulduggery tilted his head. “He came after me?”
“And you beat him, easily and emphatically. You almost killed him, in fact.”
“When was this?”
“I doubt you’d remember. So many people have tried to kill you over the years. Caisson would undoubtedly have died of his injuries if a woman named Solace hadn’t discovered him on my doorstep and nursed him back to health. They fell in love.”
“How sweet,” said Valkyrie.
China walked out of the bedroom. They followed. “For a long time, I thought the love they shared was enough to heal them both. Not of physical wounds, but the invisible wounds we all carry around with us. Solace was, in her own way, as troubled as Caisson. She had been one of Serafina’s handmaidens before fleeing that wretched place. I actually thought they had found their peace within each other. Almost a hundred and sixty years went by. I didn’t see much of either of them. And then another one of Serafina’s handmaidens happened to glimpse Solace on a quiet street. A chance encounter that changed everything.”
“They grabbed her?” Valkyrie asked.
China nodded. “And took her back to Mevolent’s castle, where Serafina planned to torture her for her disobedience. Serafina has a long memory, and does so love to torture.”
“And Caisson went after them.”
“Of course. He’d spent his teenage years in that castle – he knew every secret it possessed. He sneaked in, intent on his mission to rescue his lady love … but I don’t think he could resist the opportunity when it presented itself.”
“What opportunity?” Valkyrie asked, frowning.
“Caisson killed Mevolent,” Skulduggery said.
“He did,” said China. “Stabbed him repeatedly to weaken him, and then drained his life force. Then he rescued Solace and they returned home. A happy ending … until Serafina came knocking on my door, full of questions and accusations. She thought it was Solace who had somehow killed Mevolent, you see, and demanded to know where to find her. I told her the truth, however, that it had been Caisson who’d done the dreadful deed, and I told her where to find him.”
“You … you betrayed him?” Valkyrie said.
“I warned you that I would revert to my selfish ways.”
“But you raised him like he was your own child.”
“But he wasn’t my child,” China said. “Remember that.” She looked at her watch. “I have to go.”
She walked by them. Skulduggery had his head down, as still as a statue.
He looked up suddenly. “You’re the Supreme Mage,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about being late for an appointment. Who are you meeting that’s so important?”
China smiled coldly. “It was so nice to see you both again,” she said. “Do keep me updated, won’t you? And, if you need any help, just ask.” The doors slid open silently and China stepped on to the platform and turned. “You can let yourselves out,” she said. The doors closed.
Valkyrie and Skulduggery looked at each other.
“Say it,” she said.
“You say it.”
“She’s changed.”
“Yes, she has.”
They walked out on to the balcony, and Skulduggery took Valkyrie in his arms and they dropped slowly down the side of the building to the street far below.
“I’m just thinking,” Valkyrie said, her head resting on his shoulder.
“I did recommend more of that.”
“There is a possibility, as weird and unlikely as it may be, that you and China are kind of …”
“Parents,” he finished.
“Yes. She may not be Caisson’s mother, but you could definitely say she’s his stepmother. A wicked stepmother, which I think would surprise no one. Does this change anything in how we go forward?”
“It might,” Skulduggery replied. “China’s emotional reserves may never have been overflowing, but they do exist. Her connection to Caisson may affect her decisions in this matter.”
“So we can’t rely on her.”
“If we ever could.”
“And what about you? What about your connection?”
“So we’re believing Abyssinia now, are we?”
“No, not believing her. But not not believing her, either.”
“I don’t know, Valkyrie. I don’t know what to think.”
They touched down on the street. Passers-by gave them guarded looks as they veered round them. “Go home,” he said. “Spend time with your sister. Tell her I said hello.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Temper has promised me an update on the preliminary examination of the portal device.”
“Ooh,” Valkyrie said, “that sounds like fun.”
“I know you’re being sarcastic, but I’m quite looking forward to it.”
“Such a nerd.”
“That’s why you love me.”
She shrugged as she walked off. “One of the reasons.”