"I don't think that's a solid reason. It's hardly a reason."

Skulduggery turned left, and Valkyrie slumped in the seat. Had they turned right, maybe Valkyrie could have visited her parents and Alice, swum in the pool, cleared her thoughts.

"You know," Valkyrie began, "it probably doesn't have to be investigated right now. We could go and swim. Well, you could stand around and yell insults while Alice and I swim. It... It could be fun, you know?"

Skulduggery didn't look at her. "So, you're not concerned at all?"

"I didn't say that."

"You're not concerned that a man literally disappeared."

"We haven't ruled out he's a teleporter yet."

"You're not concerned that this man, who disappeared, is able to sneak into the Sanctuary undetected and steal the Resurrection Stone? Steal the Resurrection Stone with no discernable motive that we can fathom."

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "You're just angry you didn't notice the paper."

"No, that's another thing you should be concerned about. Why didn't I notice the paper? I notice everything; I daresay my observational skills are above average, perhaps even in the advanced range. What did the paper have to do with the Resurrection Stone?"

Valkyrie kept her gaze outside the window. She watched the Bentley overtake the mirages hovering over the pavement, but when the smug silence became too much for her, she looked at him.

"But it's hot."

"You didn't want to swim yesterday. You had the day off, and you just hung around my house and kept talking about the moth and what else the riddle could mean."

"Roarhaven gets so hot now, though. It's like the concrete just tries to bake you. It's awful."

"So, you would rather procrastinate than investigate the strange circumstances surrounding this case? Valkyrie?"

"No. You know I do. But I also want to swim."

"The sacrifices we must make are great and many."

Valkyrie grinned and he tilted his head toward her.

As they neared Roarhaven, Valkyrie looked out her window, watching as the sigils on the trees and pavement glowed as they whipped by them. Skulduggery had refused to have the matching symbols carved anywhere on his car; the sigils that lit up for the Bentley were especially made for them.

Roarhaven loomed. The wall had been dismantled, but another ring of sigils had been burned into the ground. Countless others, China had told her, were carved into numerous buildings. It was China's city, and she controlled every aspect of it through those looping designs.

Vampires looked down at the Bentley as they passed through the streets. Skulduggery clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

They had caught up to the van, and Skulduggery led one of the grunts down into the interrogation rooms. They hadn't originally been interrogation rooms, but Skulduggery had commandeered them, painted them white, and bought two very uncomfortable chairs for the table.

The grunt sat before them, back to the door, hands cuffed behind him. He did not look very intelligent. In Valkyrie's opinion, he looked like a statue had been given just enough life to walk around, but not enough to actually know what living entailed.

For instance, he probably didn't make good jokes. The most he could probably manage on a good day was a subpar knock-knock joke.

Skulduggery observed the man. Valkyrie stifled a yawn. Even in the cool of the Sanctuary, the heat still robbed concentration from her.

"What's your name?" Skulduggery asked. "I figured I would start out with an easy question. Something to get the ball rolling, get good grasp of your IQ. Do you think you can answer that?"

The man blinked once, slowly.

Valkyrie sighed. "I don't think he can."

Skulduggery shook his head. "I don't think you should count him out so quickly. You need to give us your name. We'll find it out, anyways, but it would make this whole process a little quicker. We have Sensitives waiting, and they're a lot less polite than us."

The man didn't even blink this time.

"Oh my God."

"Alright, then. What were you doing in the cave system?"

A hint of recognition flashed across the man's features. "The stone."

"What about the stone?"

"I have to guard it."

"From who?"

"You."

"Who are we?"

The man struggled for an answer. "The enemy. You want the stone. He told us to stop you."

Valkyrie frowned. "The man who disappeared? What's his name?"

A blank stare.

Valkyrie didn't roll her eyes, so that was a good thing. "Did he hire you to guard the stone?"

A stare.

Skulduggery leaned forward. "When were you born?"

Nothing.

"What was your mother's name? Where do you live? What was your first pet? What was your last meal? What's your friend's name? What was the net for? What is the last thing you remember?"

The man's features twitched, and he nodded at Valkyrie. "I was supposed to stop her from getting the stone. But then he left, and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to keep her from stopping the stone or just let him get away." He blinked. "She kicked me."

"I did. Why are you willing to tell us about your plans, but not your name?"

"No one told me not to."

Skulduggery pulled out his phone, sent a quick text, and within a few minutes a psychic entered the room. Valkyrie recognized her, but she had chosen a confusing name, and despite being on friendly terms with her, Valkyrie had no idea who she was.

Valkyrie had taken to calling her Janet in her head. It was too far gone to ask for Janet's name, now, and Valkyrie was—

"Nothing."

Valkyrie blinked, tuning back into the conversation.

Skulduggery tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Janet frowned, taking her hands away from the man's head. She shook out her fingers, then tried again. There was a few moments of silence, Janet standing with her eyes closed, a look of deep concentration on her face. When she pulled away, she looked disturbed.

"There isn't... There aren't any memories. There's the van ride back, the cave, but before that... nothing." Janet started to reach up again, but she pulled away. "Either he's had his memory completely wiped, or these are some of the best mental barriers I've ever seen."

Valkyrie frowned. "There must be something before the cave. Is there anything about the man who was ordering him around?"

Janet shook her head. "No. Not even any emotions attached to the memory."

The man had settled his gaze on the far wall. Valkyrie wondered what he was thinking about. What did someone with no memories think about?

Skulduggery stood. "Check and see if his friend has a similar mind, though considering they both had the same intelligent look in their eyes, I'm assuming it's the same."

Valkyrie followed Skulduggery out of the interrogation room, nodding to Janet. They strode through the building, still so grand. China had toned down the feeling of pompousness, changing the suits of armor for tasteful sitting areas and practical work stations. A lot of the gold and jewels had been stripped away for abstract art.

Like her apartment, Valkyrie adored the changes.

"Psychic? Another Deacon?"

Skulduggery didn't answer for a moment. "I'm not sure yet."

"Maybe the disappearing guy was a really powerful psychic. That's how he got by us. He just made us forget he was there, and he slipped by."

"I still would have felt the disturbances in the air."

"Unless," Valkyrie said, "he made you forget you felt the disturbances. Or maybe he's just working for the psychic."

"Why didn't I see the paper, then?"

Valkyrie laughed. "Are you still upset over that?"

"Shush."

They entered the throne room. China greeted them with a nod. The vampire in front of her, a scrawny looking girl, glanced over her shoulder, saw Skulduggery and Valkyrie. The vampire gave a quick bow to China and walked by, head down.

"Valkyrie, Skulduggery." China smiled, easing back in her throne. Tipstaff handed her a cup of tea. "Please, tell me we have some good news? Hopefully nothing to do with moths."

The Resurrection Stone floated from Skulduggery's pocket to China, hanging in the air until she took a sip, placed the saucer down, and took it. She examined it, turning it over in her hands.

"Any look finding out how the breach in security happened?" Skulduggery asked, glancing at himself in the mirror and adjusting his tie.

"Unfortunately, nothing. The vampires don't have a clue. My students are going over the sigils in the Repository , but everything seems in order." China almost frowned. "Which is annoying."

"We found the cave. The password was lampshade," Valkyrie said.

"That's stupid."

"I know. There were three men, two of which we have downstairs. No memories besides what was in the cave and the van. No motives, names, nothing."

"And the third man?"

Valkyrie didn't answer, and Skulduggery adjusted his tie once again. China raised an eyebrow, taking another delicate sip from her tea.

"Don't tell me the mighty Pleasant and Cain didn't catch their quarry."

Skulduggery cleared his throat. "It isn't as simple as that. He was commanding the other two, and they attacked us. He seemed to have written plans, which were unfortunately lost with his escape. It only took a moment, but in that short span of time, the third man... He disappeared."

"He disappeared?"

"It appears so, yes."

"Just like that? He stole this piece of trash," China held up the Resurrection Stone, "and then disappeared right in front of you?"

Skulduggery nodded once. "Yes."

Valkyrie smiled. "We're, uh, working on it."

"I would certainly hope so." China sighed, examined the stone in her hand. "I've been meaning to have this shipped to storage. It was once useful, before the science of Echo Stones had been perfected, but now? Who would steal this?"

"We were thinking a very budget-conscious villain," Skulduggery said.

"Villain seems a little strong," Valkyrie muttered. "His password was lampshade."

"Evil-doer, then."

China smiled. "Well, that has been thoroughly unhelpful. No one seems to know how this man got in, why he took what he did, how he got away... I'm happy the trend of unhelpfulness seems to be exponential. I'll have someone call you if any new information decides to present itself. So, I won't be calling."

"Well, she's grumpy," Valkyrie said as they left the room.

"It's to be expected. Someone broke into the Sanctuary. More importantly, they got by her sigils. Her pride is at stake. I would be a little grumpy, too."

They sat in one of the simple yet elegant couches as they waited for Janet to get back to them. Valkyrie lost at a game of Scrabble, got a cup of coffee to ward away the late-afternoon weariness, lost another game of Scrabble.

"None of this makes any sense," Valkyrie finally said, playing a word.

Skulduggery took the phone back. "I told you. Something's wrong. Nothing's adding up. 'Ov' is not a word."

"Does this mean we have to research?" Valkyrie groaned. "We always research when we hit dead ends."

Skulduggery hesitated, played a word worth eighty points. "No."

"Really?"

"I'm lying. We're going to have to research."