Lucent Ebon was simply prickling in trepidation with the pain he was so readily prepared to inflict. He could barely contain his lopsided smirk as he stalked through the dark halls of his manor, his malicious steps echoing and gradually announcing his presence to his captive. He liked to think his approach was sending shivers down her spine, petrifying her to the point of a break down, but then again he wasn't foolish enough to underestimate her or, in fact, to overestimate himself.

Lucent took a glance out of a window as he passed. He decided to pause. Give the girl some time to hope. He stared out over the manor gardens and beyond to the rolling hills. The sky was singed at the horizon, blazing orange and pink and yellow. Above, the darkness was devouring the light little by little, the stars materializing and glinting like mischievous eyes. Lucent was fond of nights like these. In the end, darkness always won out. With a contented sigh he carried on ambling along the corridor, inwardly congratulating himself on his impeccable décor.

Then finally he came to the penultimate door and Lucent stopped as he pulled out a key from the inner pocket of his jacket. Absent of any attempt of haste, he slipped it into the keyhole and turned the rusted metal. The lock clanked loudly. Lucent nudged the door wide open with his foot and revelled at the sight before his obsidian eyes.

The girl's wrists were shackled and chained to the walls. Her bare, sullied and bloodied feet could scarcely reach the floor. She was slumped with the guise of a dead body, her dark hair dangling in matted strands over her pallid face. She didn't look up as he took dawdling steps toward her. The magic-binding shackles at her wrists had cut into her repeatedly, reopening healing wounds and Lucent noted the blood oozing from the scabs, streaking her muscular arms with crimson. The clothes she wore were stained dark with her own gore and were ripped and torn beyond recognition.

Lucent chuckled and in one swift manoeuvre seized her neck and jerked her face upward, forcing her to look at him. She didn't even resist anymore, the girl simply let him support her head. Oh, but how those dark eyes glared.

"Hello again," Lucent hissed. "Valkyrie Cain."

• • •

There'd been a fourth murder and this time it was a mortal. The sky was grey and the clouds loomed oppressively. Drizzle blurred the street and Valkyrie looked on as Skulduggery entered the crime scene alone — she'd been ordered to stay by the Bentley. Valkyrie was never one for orders but this time she thought it would be for the best.

She awaited Skulduggery's return, her vision at no time deviating from the door of the cottage. She picked at the skin of her nails absent-mindedly. They started to bleed. A Sanctuary agent recognised her and offered a wary 'hello' and Valkyrie nodded in response. She could feel the rain damping her hair gradually but she didn't care. She waited and not once did she consider following the skeleton detective.

In no less than ten minutes, Skulduggery exited failing to regard the Sanctuary official who cursed at him for barging past and knocking him over. When Skulduggery joined his partner, his head was tilted to the ground and he was silent.

"Skulduggery?" Valkyrie murmured.

"It's the same," he replied softly, finally looking at her. "It's you. But not you, obviously."

Valkyrie nodded and got into the car. Skulduggery followed suit.

"How was this one?" Valkyrie stared at the cottage.

"Her name was Tasha, 18, mortal as you know," Skulduggery replied. "Found by her friend who happened to be of the magical community – she was aware of the previous murders and contacted the Sanctuary."

Valkyrie hissed as she tore the skin at her nail away rather viciously. Blood beaded immediately and she stuck the stinging finger into her mouth. The taste of iron saturated her taste buds and her face contorted in disgust.

"How did she die?"

"She bled to death from her wounds, as the others," he answered quietly. "Her whole body was a wound really, not a patch of clear skin…" Skulduggery broke off.

"So this guy, Ebon, is killing – no, torturing – lookalikes of me from both magical and mortal communities with no apparent motive, carving your name into their arms and then disappearing off the face of the bloody earth, leaving no clues at all! What the hell is going on?" Valkyrie snapped, staring at the blood flowering from her torn skin, letting it bleed out.

Skulduggery watched her. The rain began to strengthen, pattering loudly on the roof of the Bentley.

"We know almost everything trivial about this guy, but not where he is."

"Don't worry, we'll find him Valkyrie. We're detectives after all, we're hired to detect things," Skulduggery said as he turned the key in the ignition, the Bentley roaring as it stormed into the road.

"What does he want though? Does he want me? Or you? It just doesn't make any sense?"

"He's most likely a psychopath, he doesn't need a reason. He's just latched onto me, or you or both of us and killing for the sake of it," Skulduggery muttered as he took her through the winding roads.

"Does that mean he's coming for us, Skulduggery?"

"It does seem the logical assumption."

"Well then, he's chosen the wrong gal to mess around with."

• • •

They arrived in Haggard and rolled to a stop at the pier. The evening had drawn in and the grey sky had burnt to black. Valkyrie and Skulduggery were silent for a moment, only the beat of the waves against the shore fracturing the quiet. Skulduggery tilted his head to Valkyrie. She was looking out of the window, thinking.

"Would you like me to stick around?" Skulduggery questioned, his voice quiet, calm. Valkyrie had always appreciated his voice. It was velvet, always there to calm her, placate her. Her calm island in the midst of a raging sea.

"Hm?" she murmured as she was pulled out of her reverie. "What did you say?"

"I said, would you like me to stay?"

"What purpose would that serve?"

"I can look out for you, make sure Ebon doesn't get to you."

Valkyrie smiled gratefully, but patted his arm.

"I'm a big girl Skulduggery, I can look after myself."

"There are many instances that do not concur with that statement," he replied, receiving a playful smack on the shoulder. If he was wearing his facade, he would have been smirking. A comfortable silence fell.

Valkyrie looked out to the sea. The night was clear, the stars twinkling, the moon set aglow, its light rippling upon the surface of the waves. She thought about the girls who had died and she couldn't help feel at fault. Ebon was obviously targeting her or Skulduggery and these girls were dying horribly for nothing. She'd rather Ebon just get to her already.

"If you're thinking of baiting yourself, Valkyrie, you must know that I won't let you," Skulduggery spoke again, this time in complete sincerity.

She looked at him.

"Ebon's far too smart and unpredictable."

"No, I just... I'm just thinking about all those girls. They're dying for nothing; they're dying because they look like me. It's wrong and stupid and I hate it. I feel like it's my fault."

"You can't think that, Valkyrie. It's illogical."

"Well I do," she replied a little snippily. "And if his finding me stops this, then I'd rather him just get to me already."

Skulduggery sighed. "Valkyrie, we'll find him eventually. But we're not going to do that by doing anything rash. Of course we're going to stop him, but I'm not going to let him get to you."

"He could be targeting you for all we know. He's addressing the bodies to you."

Skulduggery shook his head, "No, that is just him trying to get at me, perhaps a warning? He knows you're important to me, but that means the killing of these girls is just leading up to him doing the same to the intended victim."

"Me."

"You."

Valkyrie smiled weakly, and found herself leaning forwards toward Skulduggery, resting her head on his shoulder. She closed her eyes as she felt his bony, almost weightless arms envelop her.

Valkyrie felt him - almost hesitantly - begin stroking her hair. It was soothing. They rarely got so emotionally affected by a case, but this one was different. Every turn taken in this case led them nowhere, every clue concluded to be hardly worth chasing up, simply because they were so pathetically trivial. They didn't know where Lucent was and most worryingly, couldn't attempt to predict what he was going to do. They were blind. And they didn't like being at a disadvantage. They knew something was coming, but they were helpless to stop it. Lucent was cunning, he was a ghost, there one minute gone the next, uncatchable smoke. It seemed almost daft, to Valkyrie, that this was more affecting than the likes of Serpine or Vengous or the Faceless Ones.

Reluctantly, she eased out of Skulduggery's embrace and smiled. She put her hand gently upon his, then decided to pat it.

"Now, go home you. If I found out you've been staying here, I won't talk to you, ever again."

With a wink, she stepped out of the car and walked home.

Skulduggery watched her until she was out of sight, then put the Bentley in gear and sped off.

• • •

Valkyrie swept herself up to her window ledge and climbed in. Desmond and Melissa were out at a friend's leaving the reflection alone. Stephanie glanced up at Valkyrie, no smile of welcome or a hello. Valkyrie asked her whether anything important had happened. No. Valkyrie slung her jacket onto the floor, thankful again that it couldn't be creased and lay down on the bed.

She was worn out and frustrated. She hated this case. It was all too difficult and unsolvable and nothing was happening. It was like walking through thick mud. She huffed. Why had Skulduggery left, why had she made him leave? Her parents weren't home, he could have stayed, they could have played a game or something. Done something to cheer them both up.

Valkyrie chuckled at the thought of Skulduggery playing Cluedo. He'd likely be a really bad loser. She thought about their hug, and she missed it. Why didn't they hug more often, it was nice although devoid of warmth on his part.

She picked up her phone and dialled Skulduggery's number. He wouldn't be more than a mile or so away. He answered on the first ring.

"Valkyrie, what is it? Are you all right?"

Valkyrie's lips were tugged into a smile as she noted the worry tainting his words.

"Valkyrie?!" Her silence caused his voice to become strained and nervous.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! I was just thinking, seeing as my parents are out, maybe you staying wouldn't have been such a bad idea."

A sigh. "This is why you listen to me in the first place, I know best."

"Do not," Valkyrie smirked, motioning her reflection to step into the mirror.

And then suddenly her reflection was thrown into the wall with a sickening crunch, and fell limply to the floor. Valkyrie spun and screamed in pain as a heavy ornament collided with her nose, which instantly began pumping blood. Through the dazed images in front of her, she could see a man stood casually in the doorway - dressed in a suit, his dark hair slicked back.

With a lazy flick of a wrist, her bedside table rushed her, careening into her chest knocking all the breath out of her. Gasping on the floor, she could hear the faint whispers of Skulduggery shouting her name through the phone. She couldn't muster up any energy, and she was almost heaving with the effort of trying to breath after such a brutal attack.

The man was leaning in the door way, actually leaning as if what he was doing was of no hardship whatsoever. It probably wasn't.

Was that the ghost of a smile upon his lips? Whether it was or not, his expression was vacant and emotionless as he sidled up to Valkyrie. She managed to click a flame into life and threw it ferociously at him as he neared. But with what seemed a twiddle of a finger, water droplets condensed in the air, swallowing the flame and fizzling into death in flurry of steam.

He stepped hard on her phone as he passed - it crunched and the faraway voice of Skulduggery cut off. His hands in his pockets, he leaned down and leered into Valkyrie's face.

Then suddenly she couldn't breathe and she couldn't move. The air was holding her down, and her head was in a bubble devoid of oxygen.

She was going to pass out.

Then die.

Everything darkened. She heaved for breath, her body twitched in eagerness to move. She could feel her eyes bulging.

She probably looked laughably unattractive.

The world swirled into blackness, the last image on her mind one of Lucent Ebon smiling psychotically down at her twitching body and the last thought,

'Not such a big girl now are we, Valkyrie?'

| NOTES

Okay, one - I'm really awful at summaries, so if you're reading this you are probably easily intrigued.

Two - don't shout at me if I don't update it soon. Trust me, I'll try!

And three, I hope you like what I've already done and come back to read future installments if I get to them.

Reviews greatly appreciated.

thanks x