Bedlam. Derek Landy

keep thinking that, too.”

      “Isn’t that odd? How we think that? How we’re almost ready to … to do that? For no reason other than the people we associate with.”

      “It is strange, yes.”

      Caisson’s eyes dipped. “You’re friends with the skeleton,” he mumbled.

      “I am.”

      “The skeleton murdered my mother.”

      “He killed her, yes. But she came back.”

      His eyes flickered up, and he gave another faltering smile. “I’m very confused,” he said.

      “I don’t blame you.”

      He was seized, all of a sudden, by an intensity that made Valkyrie want to step back. “The skeleton took my mother away from me!” he raged. “When I needed her! He hurt her! He killed her! She’s only alive today because he was too weak to finish the job! I hate him and I want to kill him and everyone he knows!”

      And, as suddenly as it had arrived, the rage passed.

      He started crying.

      Valkyrie waited a moment. “What can I do for you, Caisson?” she asked softly. “Why are we here?”

      It took him a moment to answer. It was a moment he spent wrestling with thoughts she’d never be able to understand.

      “My mother,” he said eventually, “she has spies. I heard one of them say that you’re looking for someone. Something. A Crengarrion.”

      She frowned. “Doctor Nye. Yes.”

      “I know where it is. I heard my mother say.”

      Valkyrie forced herself to wait.

      “Is it important that you find this creature?” Caisson continued. “If it’s important, then I’ll tell you, but you need to tell me something first.”

      “It’s important. I need Nye to help my sister. What do you want to know?”

      “Greymire Asylum,” Caisson said. “Where is it?”

      “I’ve never heard of it.”

      “But you can find out, can’t you? You’re a detective. You can ask someone. Maybe the skeleton knows.”

      “I can find out, sure. You tell me where Nye is and I’ll find where—”

      “No!” Caisson screamed. “You tell me where Greymire Asylum is and then I help you! You first! You!”

      Valkyrie held up her hands. “OK! OK, I’ll do that. I will.”

      Caisson hugged himself and shook his head, muttering.

      “What’s in there that’s so important for you?” she asked.

      Caisson tapped his forehead. “It’s for my mind. My mind is … I can be quite erratic, and …”

      “And there’s a cure for you in the asylum?”

      He nodded. “A cure, yes. A cure for me in Greymire. K-49.”

      “I know some really good doctors I could introduce you to. So does China, for that matter.”

      Caisson blinked. “China …”

      “China Sorrows. She raised you, right? She took you in and she raised you like you were her own child.”

      His face contorted, hatred etched into every line and hollow. “China betrayed me. China gave me to Serafina to torture. She lies. She is nothing but darkness and coldness and lies. I’m going to kill her. We’re going to hunt her down and kill her, and kill anyone who stands with her. We’re going to tear her apart. We’re going to make her scream. We’re going to make her bleed. We’re going to—”

      He stopped, breathing quickly, forcing himself to calm down. “No,” he said. “My only hope is K-49. My only hope is in Greymire Asylum. Find out where it is, and I’ll tell you where the Crenga is working now. Meet me here in two days. But … at night. I don’t like the day, it’s too … Meet me at night.”

      “Monday night, then,” she said. “When it’s dark? Ten o’clock?”

      “Yes. Yes, ten o’clock. At ten o’clock you will tell me what I need to know, and I will tell you how to find the creature you seek.”

      

      All things considered, that had gone pretty well.

      Valkyrie checked the time. Serafina wasn’t due to arrive for another ten minutes, and the High Sanctuary was only five minutes away. She’d make it over there by noon, no problem.

      China had told her to dress formally, but she hadn’t quite known what that meant in this instance. She wasn’t going to be wearing a dress, she’d known that much. Nothing with heels, either. In the end, she had decided that black jeans and a smart coat were formal enough – plus, they allowed her to fight to the death if the situation called for it. Which was always a bonus.

      This was a good day, Valkyrie decided. She hadn’t walked into a trap, and she’d managed to strike a deal with a guy who looked like he was barely keeping it together. If Skulduggery had been with her, she just knew he’d have said the wrong thing and it would all have imploded.

      It was a good thing she hadn’t told him. It was definitely a good thing, and he would totally understand.

      Totally.

      She came round a corner, and braked.

      There was traffic. There was actual traffic.

      “No, no, no,” she muttered, craning her neck to see past the line of cars.

      This was unheard of. For one thing, apart from Oldtown, the streets of Roarhaven were designed to flow unimpeded. That had long been a bragging point, another area where mages could feel smug when discussing their mortal cousins and their constant traffic woes.

      For another, Valkyrie hadn’t even known that there were enough cars in Roarhaven to form a traffic jam. Most people here used the tram system.

      “Why didn’t you all take the tram?” she shouted, even though no one could hear her.

      People walked by. People crossed the road, darting between Valkyrie’s slow-moving car and the slow-moving car in front. Large groups of people. Very large groups. Some of them held signs.

      She finally got closer, and a City Guard officer checked her Sanctuary tags and waved her into the Circle zone, and she sped down the ramp to the parking area beneath the High Sanctuary, then sprinted for the elevator tiles.

      She rose up, into the foyer, looking around for someone she recognised. There were City Guard officers and Cleavers everywhere. Sanctuary staff rushed to and fro. The air had a nervous energy to it.

      Cerise, holding a clipboard, saw her immediately, despite the chaos, and swept over to her, taking her gently by the arm. “You are required outside,” she said, the calm at the centre of this storm. “The High Superior is approaching Shudder’s Gate.”

      “I’m so sorry I’m late,” Valkyrie said. “I didn’t expect the traffic. There are a lot of people out there.”

      “Yes,” said Cerise. “There are.”

      The doors opened and a blast of noise hit them. It looked like the entire Circle zone was filled with people, divided by a thin line of Cleavers. More people joined either side. They waved placards. They shouted.

      Cerise