The deep blue velvet sky enveloped Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain as they kicked down a second set of doors blocking their way to the bleak castle ahead of them.

'They have a thing for defences, don't they?' Valkyrie said, leading the way to another lock waiting to be picked. Skulduggery nodded his skull in agreement.

'Indeed. No one would try to break in anyway, would they?' He said, stooping down to pick the lock.

'I know-who would even dream of doing that?' Valkyrie replied, a small smile creeping across her jaw. The skeleton shrugged, waiting to hear the faint click of the lock.

'Quite; it's not like it's a controlled base of thieving operations or anything like that.' Her smile turned into a grin, as Skulduggery nodded to himself and stood up, giving the door a gentle shove open. He turned to her.

'-But then again; who could resist doing your job?' He said, a boy-ish mischievousness in his voice. Valkyrie rolled her eyes and followed him. They walked quickly across to the next set of doors. Skulduggery bent down to unpick it. Valkyrie sighed.

'Can't we hurry this up a bit?' She complained.

'Well, so sorry for trying to be discreet so we don't get tied up and killed.' He said. She sighed inwardly, and slammed her boot into the door. It gave a groan, buckling slightly on its hinges. Skulduggery stood up and sighed.

'Fine then.' He said, and threw his shoulder into the door. It opened with a grinding of splintered wood. They walked forward, until Skulduggery felt something sharp on the back of his skull. He stopped walking, as did Valkyrie.

'I don't think we're alone anymore.' Valkyrie said quietly. Skulduggery nodded, neither of them moving.

'Can we help?' He said to whatever was holding the sword to him.

'Who are you, why are you here, and what are you doing?' Came a female's voice from behind them. Skulduggery stiffened.

'No...' He managed to say. Valkyrie frowned.

'What's wrong?' she asked him.

'That's...that's impossible...' He turned his head oh-so-slightly. 'I want to see you.'

'Why? And why do you sound so familiar?' the voice asked.

'Please. I need to see what you look like.' There was a pause, and then something shuffled behind them, until a woman in her early 30's was standing before them. Her hair was medium-length in loose ringlets, her clothes resembled something between something that Tanith Low would wear and something a pirate would wear. Her eyes were an intense blue, her skin was pale and the sword she held did not waver. Skulduggery shook his skull slightly.

'How can...how can you be here?' He breathed. The woman frowned.

'Why do I recognise your voice?' she asked.

'...Elizabeth...' Skulduggery said quietly. Valkyrie blinked, and then looked at the woman.

'That's...that's Elizabeth!'

'That...I...' Elizabeth's eyes narrowed.

'How do you know my name?'

'Elizabeth...oh, Elizabeth Pleasant...' Skulduggery sighed.

'Answer me-how do you know who I am?'

'Don't you recognise my voice?'

'Answer me!' Skulduggery fell silent, hesitated, and then took off his left glove. He held up his skeletal hand so Elizabeth could see the ring on his finger. She stared at it, and then at him.

'I'm your husband, Elizabeth.'

'...You're-'

'-I'm Skulduggery Pleasant.' She stared into his eye sockets, and lowered her sword.

'Skulduggery?'

'Hello.' She smiled gently and stepped forward.

'You're my Skulduggery?' He nodded.

'And you're my Elizabeth.' She stepped even closer, inches away from his teeth.

And then she slapped him.

Skulduggery reeled back slightly.

'Ow!' He complained. Valkyrie pointed at Elizabeth.

'I like her!' Elizabeth jabbed a finger into Skulduggerys chest.

'What the hell have you done to yourself?'

'Wha-?'

'Look at you!' Skulduggery tilted his skull, and looked at his hand.

'Oh, that.'

'Yes, that!' He dug his hands in his pockets like a naughty school-boy.

'Well, I didn't plan to become a skeleton.'

'Right, great.' She glanced at Valkyrie, and then back at him. 'Who's she?' Skulduggery looked at Valkyrie.

'Valkyrie Cain, she's a friend, just a friend, and I have some questions for you, Liz- how the-'

'I don't know; but something tells me that I'm in the wrong time.'

'Well, yes; you're meant to be dead.'

'Am I? I'll look forward to it-anyway, one minute I was talking to you, the next I'm here.'

'But that's impossible.'

'Exactly-so, we need the help of someone who knows things about time.' Valkyrie frowned.

'Like who?'

'Like me!' Came a male's voice from out of nowhere. Skulduggery and Valkyrie glanced around, trying to find a body to go with the voice.

And then a man in his mid-twenties wearing a tweed jacket and bow tie dropped down from the castles roof, landing in front of them, on his face.

Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Elizabeth stared at him. He groaned, and miraculously, stood up. He looked at the three of them, and grinned immensely, pointing at Skulduggery.

'Hello, Mr Skeleton.' He said.