son and that Boy was made that night 15 years ago, when Valerian bet on his life. Valerian, shocked, willingly walks into the vortex, and the demon claims him. Boy questions Kepler about his real father, and Kepler says that Valerian is not really Boy's father, that he just said that to save Boy. The book ends with Boy and Willow returning to the City with Kepler. Main characters Boy was Valerians helper. Willow is an orphan who served a theatre's singer, also the one who declared Willow with 'perfect pitch.' She used to work in a gentleman's club, before she ran away, as a servant who carried their cloaks. She is described as small and having mousy brown hair. A few flashbacks reveal Willow used to live with her parents. She explains to Boy while they are imprisoned that her aunt sent her to the orphanage. She is quick-witted and often asks people too many questions. She and Boy develop a romance in The Dark Flight Down. The love that Boy and Willow share is significant throughout the books because it helps Boy, who has known only violence and hardship, to regain his spirit. Valerian employs Boy as his 'famulus'. He tries to save himself by sacrificing Boy, but could not kill him when he thought Boy was his son. While he is described (mostly by Willow) as rude, ungrateful, unpleasant, foul-tempered, he does have a softer side, particularly toward Willow. He is the driving force of the book, and while he claims he is not a magician, he does seem to use some form of hypnosis, for instance over the Master of Burials' secretary. He is described as tall with silver hair. Kepler is Valerian's friend from their time at the "Academy". He pretends to be working to save Valerian but ultimately realises that Valerian must die. He and Valerian fought a long time ago over a woman named Helena, and Kepler has held a grudge against Valerian since. He is described as a small, thin man with a few gold teeth. Sequel The book has a sequel, The Dark Flight Down. It explains many of the mysteries in The Book of the Dead Days, such as the Phantom. It also takes the budding romance between Boy and Willow hinted at in The Book of Dead Days to another level, with the two confessing their love for each