Valkyrie pulled up outside her parents’ home, struggling to wrench her mind away from thoughts of Abyssinia and Caisson and all this history that was suddenly starting to infect the present. So many secrets. So many hidden lives. She was no stranger to that, of course, but she had to keep it separate, had to keep it away from Alice.
Valkyrie tried smiling. Tried again. On the third attempt, it took.
She got out, entered the house.
“Hey,” she called. The house was quiet. Omen sat alone in the living room. “Thanks for this,” she said, walking in. “Seriously. Was she any trouble?”
Omen stood. It was pretty clear he’d been crying.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. Then she looked around. “Where’s Alice?”
“He took her,” Omen said.
Valkyrie took a step forward. “What?”
He hesitated before answering. “Cadaverous Gant.”
She was on him before he’d finished speaking, her hands curling into his shirt, forcing him back, pinning him to the wall. “What?”
“I’m so sorry,” Omen said, crying again. “He was going to kill me. He said I’ve to give you this.”
He had a phone in his hand. She released him, grabbed the phone. The screen lit up. There was one number, ready to be dialled. She hit the button and waited.
“Hello, Valkyrie,” said Cadaverous.
“Bring her back,” Valkyrie said, walking away from Omen. “I’ll do whatever you want, just don’t hurt her, and bring her back.”
“You’ll be wanting to shut up now,” Cadaverous said. “I hear one word from you that isn’t an answer to a question, and I’ll end this right now by killing her. Is that understood, you arrogant brat?”
She stiffened. “Yes.”
“For the duration of this phone call you will refer to me as sir. Is that understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’s much better. As you have probably guessed, I took your sister in order to lead you into a trap.”
“You don’t have to lead me anywhere. I will willingly go wherever—”
“I didn’t ask a question.”
Valkyrie froze. “Sorry,” she said.
“Sorry what?”
“Sorry, sir.”
“OK,” Cadaverous said. “That’s your first and only warning. You do that again and I’ll kill her and throw her body in a ditch. We’re going to play a little game, Valkyrie. Do you like games? I hope you do. This is a fun game. I call it Let’s Save Alice. The objective is simple. You’ve got to find her before midnight. That’s it. The rules are: you have to do this alone. Omen didn’t factor into my plans, but let’s face it – even if you take him with you, you’re still basically alone. So, when this call ends, you leave your own phone where it is, you leave those little shock sticks of yours behind, you don’t tell anyone – especially not the skeleton – and you and the Darkly boy get in your car and you drive. Are you with me so far?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. I’m not going to tell you where your sister is – that’s for you to figure out. Your first stop will be to see a man called Palter. He’s waiting at The Iron Bar, in Roarhaven. He’ll let you know what you have to do once you get there. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“If I find out that you are cheating, or if you fail to retrieve her by midnight, your sister dies. What time is it, brat?”
Valkyrie checked her watch. “It’s almost six, sir.”
“Then you have just over six hours. We’ll be waiting.”
He hung up. She stared at the phone.
“I’m so sorry,” Omen said.
Valkyrie turned. She’d forgotten he was there. “Did he say anything? Anything about where he was taking her or what he was going to do? Anything at all?”
“No,” Omen said. “He just told me not to call anyone. He said Alice’s life depends on it.”
“Yeah, I got that part.”
“I’m so sorry. I let him take her. I didn’t even fight him.”
“He would have killed you.” Valkyrie pulled her keys from her pocket. “OK, come on.”
She stalked out of the house. He followed.
“I’m coming with you?”
“You’re part of this now,” she said. “Close the front door, then get in.”
She got in. Started the engine. Her hands gripped the wheel. Her heart was cold and pounding. She wasn’t sure if she was thinking clearly.
Omen got in beside her. She pulled out on to the road as he was buckling his belt.
“Was she scared?” Valkyrie asked.
“I don’t think she knew what was going on,” Omen said. “He was controlling her, telling her not to be afraid and to keep calm.”
She nodded. That was good. The idea of her sister being out there, alone and terrified, would have been too much for her to take right now.