MIRRORS OF TIME
Disclaimer: I do not own Skulduggery Pleasant or any characters or events, even though I wish I did!
Ok, this story is just something I pieced together really quickly, so I apologize if it's terrible. And it probably won't make a lot of sense. This is meant to be set somewhere between books 1 and 2 by the way.
CHAPTER ONE CAPTURED
Valkyrie Cain groaned as she slammed into the firm concrete wall, rebounding off the uneven surface and falling to her knees and plaster crumbling into her hair. She had time to feel the first bruises well up on her elbows and back before a fist rammed into her sight, and she cried out in pain as the hard knuckles hit her between the eyes. Her eyesight failed her for a while, and through blurred vision she could see a trickle of red caught in her eyelashes, and realize that her opponent had cut open her head.
She stumbled to her feet and snapped her fingers, trying to ignite a spark, but nothing came and she ducked as her adversary threw a blow at her head. She felt the air whoosh over her head as it missed her by a milometer.
The thirteen year old girl leapt to one side out of harm's way and scrambled up the rusty scaffolding, trying to get out of range, but she was dragged down again by the ankles, and cried out as she was thrown to the damp, dusty wooden floor.
They were fighting in an old, isolated manor that overlooked Ireland's rugged coastline, the building teetering off the edge, on the verge of falling into the ocean's embrace. The government had tried to restore the old thing, but their work had been abandoned and now it was a hollow, treacherous corpse.
Valkyrie rolled aside as a foot slammed down where she had been a few moments before, and she felt where the air connected with her hands and thrust her palms out, displacing the air as it rippled forwards.
Her attacker was thrown of her feet with a surprised yelp, and she growled in frustration as Valkyrie tentatively approached the fallen assailant, prepared to attack in case she tried to move.
"Huh?!" exclaimed Valkyrie as suddenly her opponent disappeared in a flash of transparent smoke, vanishing literally into thin air. She looked around, trying to see where they had got to, and found the gloomy room empty. She frowned in confusion.
"Where did she go" muttered Valkyrie.
She gasped for air as her windpipe was suddenly cut off. She was thrown against a cracked wall, held in place by seemingly nothing. A strained squeak escaped her lips, her feet kicking out wildly as she struggled to break free.
There was a laugh edged in malice, and her attacker reappeared in front of her, her hands grasped firmly around Valkyrie's throat.
Valkyrie cursed her stupidity, remembering that her foe was an Adept, and the report she had read at the Sanctuary told her that Phoenix's power was the ability to become invisible, as well as remarkable agility and strength due to rigorous training.
Instinctively, Valkyrie but deep into her attacker's arm, and heard a satisfying scream as she drew blood. She dropped as the hands holding her against the wall were removed, grunting as she fell on her backside. She attempted to run away, opening her mouth to call out for Skulduggery, but suddenly as weight that felt like the world crashing upon her colliding with the back of her head.
The world paused a while, and then the black fog fell like the curtains closing at the end of a theatre production over her mind. Bugger was her final though before she knew no more.
Slowly but surely, her consciousness returned, and she moaned as the ache of her injuries reminded her of what had just happened. She made a quick metal note that if she got out of this, she would go straight to Kenspeckle Grouse and get patched up.
She could feel a rough, long thing binding her hands, and she registered it as rope. She had been tied up.
The girl opened her eyes, and blinked hard as she strained through the gloom. She was in a different room to the one she had been fighting in. She could feel a breeze tickling her face as it flew in through one of the missing walls. She could see the sea from here, dark and angry as it threw itself at the rocks. But now wasn't the time to enjoy the dramatic view.
She turned her head awkwardly behind her and saw she was tied to the post of a creaky old bed. She could see that the mattress was soggy and had springs piercing through the squishy material. She guessed this was once a bedroom. A door was located on the far wall to her right, but it was locked, of course. Looking around, she saw nothing that could be of use to her or anything interesting. Except one thing.
A full length mirror dominated the far wall, and as she turned her head to get a better look at it, she was surprised to find no reflection, just a glassy, dull surface, bleak as moorland in winter.
Valkyrie tensed when she heard a noise from downstairs. Her heartbeat raced as she heard footsteps approached. She prayed it was Skulduggery, and dreaded it to be her attacker, back to inflict more pain.
An everlasting moment passed.
The footsteps faded.
She breathed out a sigh of relief. She knew it wouldn't have been Skulduggery: his footsteps would have been lighter, and maybe he wouldn't have made any noise at all.
She sighed. It would be a long wait before the Skeleton Detective found her. She had no idea where he was, and she had last seen him sneaking around the back of the decrepit old mansion.
"Go in through the side exit," he had told her as he briefed her on the mission under the grounds' thick shrubbery. "I'll try and corner her and keep her distracted. When I give the signal, catch her by surprise."
"What's the signal?" she asked.
"This" he said, and gave a little nod of his head.
"Very original" she commented drily. "What if the plan doesn't work?"
"It won't," replied the living skeleton, a touch of hurt in his voice. "Keep an eye out for her and any accomplices she might have. This woman's a dangerous, not to mention an absolute lunatic."
Valkyrie made a small noise and shifted uncomfortably.
"Sure you can handle this?" he asked softly.
"Of course I am," said Valkyrie jutting her chin out defiantly. She looked determinedly into Skulduggery's infinite, empty eye sockets. "It will be a piece of cake."
Valkyrie was supposed to be keeping an eye on one of Ireland's most wanted criminals, a difficult case and a lot of responsibility for such a young girl. But she and Skulduggery were an efficient team, and her mentor and friend had decided that she was up for a challenge. I mean, it's not as if she was going up against someone as ruthless as Nefarious Serpine, right? She thought she could handle it.
She now realized her mistake. Her target had sneaked up on her, not the other way around.
Where the hell was Skulduggery!? He was mean to have distracted their target, but he had left her to be savagely hurt and tied in up in a decaying old mansion with a madwoman. She hoped he was alright. There must be something wrong. Skulduggery was never caught unawares.
She leaned back and yelped in pain as her hand touched something sharp. Looking down, she saw it was a half-rusted nail, and that specks of blood had appeared on her palm.
Her eyes widened as she though of a plan.