Skulduggery nodded. The laws of energy conservation, he knew, would be upset - not just by the stone, but by the whole city. Someone like Raine could do very well studying exactly why that was, and perhaps discovering an entirely new law. Maybe she already had.

"I would rather be alone," he said slowly, "which means you should probably be there. I don't trust Malicant to stay dead, and I certainly don't trust when objects from my world conveniently appear right where I happen to be walking."

The crowd was almost nonexistent this far out along the field. A few kedan still passed by - a couple out on a romantic walk, a mother comforting a tired child. The Foreigners' strange antics were usually ignored, so Skulduggery ignored them right back, and stopped underneath one of the larger trees.