Skulduggery Pleasant: Books 1 - 12. Derek Landy

apart. Wreath watched, fighting the urge to suck the foul creature back into its prison.

      Finbar tried to scream as the Remnant, no more than a streak of twisted darkness, clambered its way down his throat. The scream choked and the throat bulged. Finbar’s body thrashed, but Wreath’s restraints held. Finbar suddenly went limp. A moment passed, and dark veins spread beneath his skin and his lips turned black. Then his eyes opened.

      “Why is it,” Finbar said, “that every time I’m set free, I have to share a body that isn’t in the peak of physical perfection? Last time it was an old man. Now it’s … this.”

      “I didn’t release you for a casual conversation,” Wreath said. “I just want to know what I want to know.”

      “And why would I help you dig up information on my good buddy Valkyrie?”

      “She isn’t your friend,” Wreath said. “She’s Finbar Wrong’s friend.”

      “And there you go, man, making the mistake that everyone makes. I am Finbar Wrong.”

      “No, you’re a Remnant.”

      “To be honest with you there, a Remnant isn’t really much more than intent. It flies around being angry and doesn’t think too much about anything, y’know? It doesn’t have a personality, or a real consciousness to speak of. But when it inhabits a body, that all changes. It’s whole again. I am Finbar Wrong, but I’m also the Remnant inside him. We’re very happy together, as you can see.” He smiled, and the black veins receded and the darkness disappeared from his lips.

      “It’s easy for you to pass for normal, isn’t it?” Wreath asked. “To hide the tell-tale signs that mark the possessed?”

      “We can hide it when we need to, yeah.”

      “And it’s good to be out of the Soul Catcher, yes?”

      “Oh, yeah,” Finbar laughed. “That thing is even worse than being in that room in the Midnight Hotel where they kept us locked up.”

      “Now that you’ve tasted freedom, do you want more? I can give you more. I can let you go.”

      “A few moments ago you said you were gonna separate us immediately after.”

      “I’m a Necromancer. I lied to make it easier on … you. The old you. Look into the future for me, and tell me what you see.”

      “And what makes you think I’ll be able to see anything new?”

      “Because you and I both know that Sensitives are wary about pushing themselves too hard. Seeing the future is a dangerous line of work. Minds can snap.”

      “That they can.”

      “But your mind is reinforced now, isn’t it? It’s stronger. So you can look further, and harder, until you see what you need to see.”

      “This is all very true,” Finbar nodded. “But why should I trust you? The last people to ask me a favour put me in an old man’s body. Now, I’m not denying I had fun being Kenspeckle Grouse for a day, especially when it came time to hammer nails through Tanith Low’s hands, but they cheated me. They wouldn’t let me go when they said they would.”

      “Scarab has never been a trustworthy man.”

      “And you are? You’re a Necromancer.”

      “Then how about this? You look into the future for me, or I’ll kill you. Remnants can’t survive in something dead, am I right? So the moment Finbar’s body dies, the Remnant inside him dies too. Do you want to die? Either of you?”

      Finbar smiled. “You’re talking like there are two of us in here, man. There’s not. You had Finbar, you had the Remnant, and when you put them together, you get me. And I happen to think that the world would miss me too much if you killed me.”

      Wreath smiled back. “I thought you’d see it my way.”

      “I’m gonna need a few things before I start, though. Herbs, potions, a backrub …”

      “You have three seconds to begin.”

      “A very quick backrub, then.”

      Wreath raised the cane, and Finbar laughed. “OK, OK! I suppose I could do without the luxuries, just this one time. You’re gonna have to back off – I’m not gonna be able to attain the required level of relaxation if you’re hovering over me.”

      Wreath nodded. “Get it done, Remnant, or you’re going back in the bottle.”

      “Chill,” Finbar breathed, closing his eyes. “My old buddy Val,” he murmured. “Are you going to show me why everyone’s so interested in you, are you? Are you going to show me what’s in store for you …?”

      Wreath suppressed a sigh while Finbar prattled on, his voice growing softer and softer. He’d never had much time for Sensitives. They’d deliberately chosen a branch of magic where you reached out with your feelings instead of your fists. They were, in his opinion, a bunch of spaced-out, peace-loving hippies, and he’d never liked hippies. The 1960s and 70s had been particularly annoying times for him.

      “There she is,” Finbar said, a slight smile on his face. “Found her.”

      “How far ahead are you?” Wreath asked quickly.

      “Hard to say, man … She looks a little older … She’s got a tattoo …”

      “Is she a Necromancer?”

      Finbar’s brow creased over his closed eyes. “Don’t know …”

      “What’s she doing?”

      “Walking …”

      “Where?”

      “In the ruins.”

      Wreath shook his head. “That’s with Darquesse, right? I’m not interested in that. You need to find out if Valkyrie is the Death Bringer.”

      “I can only see what I see,” Finbar said in a sing-song voice. “My sight is drawn to the big moments …”

      “Then look away,” Wreath snarled, but his impatience went unnoticed.

      “I’ve never seen this much detail,” Finbar continued, deep in the trance. “I’ve always flinched … But now I can see it all … So many dead … It’s wonderful …”

      Wreath held his tongue.

      “I’m looking at Darquesse now … She’s magnificent … She’s striding through the city, death all around her … You’d like this, dude. So much death …”

      “I didn’t ask for a vision of Darquesse, I asked for a vision of Valkyrie.” Wreath’s eyes narrowed. “Unless …”

      Finbar smiled in his dream-state. “Unless?”

      “Is Valkyrie still there? Can you see her?”

      “I can sense her presence, but all I can see is Darquesse.”

      “Maybe that’s it,” Wreath said, sudden excitement burning through him. “Maybe that’s how she does it. If Valkyrie is the Death Bringer, maybe she’s the one who steps up and fights. Maybe she’s the one who stops Darquesse and then this, her victory, is what leads to the Passage. This is how she saves the world.”

      “I don’t see any of that,” Finbar said. “All I see is Darquesse.” His smile was replaced by a grimace. “This is painful, by the way …”

      “Keep looking.”

      “It hurts my head.”

      “Keep looking or you’ll lose that head.”

      “I’ll keep looking then.”

      Blood dripped from Finbar’s nose. Wreath said