I

Skulduggery hunkered over on a curb, with his fedora dipped low and his suede shoes dabbling in a puddle of rain. Droplets cascaded from the grey sky, and landed on the even greyer cobblestone roads.

Footsteps clacked on the pavement behind him and he whirled, straightening his suit jacket. Valkyrie stood, clad in a silky black dress, under the drippy awning of a pub. Her dark hair shimmered and her complexion was dewy. Her legs and arms were toned, and glowing, and the outline of her hip bones were visible through the tight fabric.

Skulduggery loosened his tie.

"Well?" Valkyrie blurted. "Where are we going and why did I need to be dressed like this?"

"The Bentley's around the corner," Skulduggery's voice was gritty. "Allow me," he took her hand and guided her forward. Her ankles were tender under the strappy heels, and they forced her body to move in interesting ways as he guided her over a puddle. Her heels clicked and hips swayed as they crossed the street.

He made small talk; where were her parents, and how was her sister, and Tanith was nowhere to be found. She smirked politely and wrapped her arms around herself. She felt dew sheen her skin, and caught Skulduggery glancing every time she fingered her hair, and her body felt exposed against the misty twilight. What was worse, she thought quietly, was that she liked it. She had never been a good girl, no; and the darkest part of her drew some perverted delight from the feeling of being bad. She let her hands drop to their sides.

The truth was, nothing had been the same since Skulduggery had seen her reflection unclothed. He handled it like he didn't give a damn, and it made her wonder why he wasn't more uncomfortable. She'd wanted to make him awestruck of her, ever since.

They turned the corner and there was the Bentley, sleek and gleaming. He opened her door, and she sank into the leather seat. She saw his slight frame through the windshield, as he readjusted the gun under his belt and opened the driver's door. She'd grown to find his chiseled cheekbones uncannily attractive, and the way his knuckle bones looked under tight leather was nothing less than inviting. His chest was solid and firm, and indestructible.

The engine flared, and Skulduggery turned the wheel. The Bentley blazed over tar and cobble, and the sun was just beginning to rise when Valkyrie spoke up.

"I think there's something you're not telling me."

He tilted his head. "Oh?"

"Yes. Like for example, what we're doing at this hour, where we're going, and what exactly it is that we're doing today. I didn't catch any of that in your phone call last night."

Skulduggery said, "No, you didn't."

Valkyrie swooned. He was clad in black, he was a lethal weapon, and he was witty as hell. He looked in the rearview mirror and caught her eye. She looked down immediately.

"And now suddenly the carpet is intriguing," he muttered. "We're here."

"Here? But, we're in the middle of nowhere. Are we even still in Ireland?"

Skulduggery laughed once. "I daresay. Come out and meet me near the trunk."

"Alright." Valkyrie nodded. This was all so strange. She was used to Skulduggery's mysterious plots and schemes, but this time it was different. Different in a way that she just couldn't pinpoint. "You know," she laughed, opening the car door, "Skulduggery, besides, like, being your name, means unscrupulous behavior or trickery. So I always wanted to ask you," she crossed over to the trunk and saw him shifting some material around. "Why did you pick that as your chosen name? If you're going to be a trickster, shouldn't people not know it? Doesn't that make it harder to do the, uh…tricking?"

She heard a thud, and saw the trunk slam closed. Skulduggery raised something dark to her face, and before she could protest, it was wrapped around her eyes.

"Not really," she heard him say as he knocked her forehead against the car. Everything went dark.