"Hey Skul, how are you?" Valkyrie asked smugly as she walked to the window.

"Annoyed. You have been sitting on the bed watching me for the past hour. It's very uncomfortable on this window ledge, and may I please remind you this is my house!" Skulduggery whined, shifting his weight to his other leg. Valkyrie wandered over, her smug smile turning into a smirk and then a laugh.

"OMG, I totally forgot!" Valkyrie giggled.

"What? What did you forget?" Skulduggery questioned, scared by Valkyrie's laughing.

"The window opens outwards!" Valkyrie screeched as she pushed the window open and grabbing Skulduggery's hat. She looked down to see Skulduggery floating a metre of the ground just as Tanith's bike stopped in front of him.

"Jesus Skeletons! I almost hit you!" Tanith screamed, dismounting and looking for Valkyrie. "Val? Where are you?"

"Up here, Tan. I was having a little fun and locked Skul out so he was sitting on the window ledge for an hour while I stared at him, then I opened the window and he fell!" Valkyrie said between laughter. "You should have seen it! Come on up; the doors unlocked. You too, Skul." Val said as she saw Skulduggery's…'face.' She was getting better at reading his body language.

"We will be with you in a few moments!" Tanith shouted up, grabbing Skulduggery by the arm and pulling him inside. They entered Skulduggery's apartment to find Val sitting on the sofa and Skulduggery's hat cello-taped to the ceiling fan which was spinning impossibly fast.

"I thought I would practice my magic whilst I was waiting." Val said as Skulduggery dropped a load of water on Val's head before grabbing his hat of the fan.

~30 minutes later~

Tanith was sitting next to Val on the sofa with Skulduggery and Ghastly, who had arrived 10 minutes after Tanith, opposite them.

"Anyone want some coffee or tea?" Tanith asked, looking at Val and Ghastly.

"Yes please, coffee; two sugars and one of the biscuits on the top shelf. Thanks," Val said, not taking her eyes of Skulduggery's hat.

"I'll help you. Best to leave before Val tries anything to get that damn hat," Ghastly replied walking into the kitchen with Tanith just behind him.

"Ummm, Val? I need to tell you something," Skulduggery mumbled, barely audible.

"The great Skulduggery Pleasant, stuttering!? I never thought I would see the day! I need to tell you something as well. You first." Val replied, not breaking eye contact with the hat.

"Well, I don't know how to put this…but Val I" Skulduggery started to say.

"I love you Skul." Val interrupted, turning bright red and staring at the wall.

"I love you too Val. I have ever since our last case, I never realised it until now." Skulduggery said, feeling like he could open up now he knew Val felt the same. Just then Tanith and Ghastly walked back into the room. Ghastly putting his phone away.

"You two have a case. Group of rogue vampires spotted near Dublin, and seeing as you're the only two to have killed vampires and survived – you have to go," Ghastly said, grabbing his coat. "I have to get to the sanctuary to deal with Erskine. It seems he went walk-about and none of his paper work was done. That man is useless!" Ghastly said, as all four of them walked out the door.

"I'll go to the gym and annoy the other girls with my physique," Tanith decided, a devilish grin spreading across her face. Val and Skulduggery got into the Bentley as the others left the drive and went their separate ways.

~1 hour later~

"So, do you really love me? As in like really-really or is this a Skulduggery Pleasant joke that has no humour?" Val asked, looking at Skulduggery.

"I really do love you. I promise and I never break my promises! Now… Vampires, why is it always vampires?" Skulduggery replied, turning into a parking space.

"Probably because they love us so much, they want to see our beautiful faces," Val joked, following Skulduggery into the park.

"Shhhh. I hear them," Skulduggery whispered to Val.

"Yes, and they see us so it's a bit late to tell me to be quiet. Now, you take the three on the left and I shall take the other three," Val muttered as they sprang into action.

~30 minutes later~

"Don't worry, Skul. I'm sure Doctor Nye can fix all 206 of your bones. Look, the van has arrived," Val said comforting Skulduggery, who was muttering about the immense agony he was in, "Oh, and they brought Ghastly. Just our luck…" Val muttered as Ghastly jumped out of the van and stormed over to them.

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE AS TO GET ALL OF YOUR BONES BROKEN!? HOW DID YOU, ANYWAY?" Ghastly asked, causing Val to jump.

"Well, we were fighting the vampires, as we were told to do, when another ten appeared and attacked me and Skul. They broke all his bones, but did nothing to me, oddly," Val explained, "We should probably get him to the sanctuary Ghastly; he really is in pain," Val reminded Ghastly.

Ghastly picked Skulduggery up, whose broken bones were still being held together. He put Skulduggery in the back of the van and looked around to see Val staggering after him.

"Val, are you sure they didn't hurt you?" Ghastly asked, running towards her, a worried expression appearing on his face.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. I'm just tired that's all," Val murmured, collapsing to her knees, coughing. Blood landed on the ground a few centimetres from Ghastly's feet. He ran to her and saw the gaping wound in her back, grabbing her shoulders as she fell unconscious. Ghastly picked her up and placed her on her front in the van, and yelled at them to drive as quickly as possible to the sanctuary otherwise Val would die.

~2 hours later~

Skulduggery paced in front of the door to the surgery, ignoring Ghastly telling him to sit. Tanith sprinted down the hall and came to a stop in front of Skulduggery.

"How is she? Is she O.K.? Can I see her? How did it happen? Why are you out here?" Tanith asked, saying everything in under ten seconds.

"Here, have a seat. You're going to need it," Ghastly said as Tanith finished, "To answer your questions: Val's in critical; no one is allowed in as she is still in surgery; a vampire attacked her." Tanith burst out crying. Val was like a sister to Tanith. She couldn't imagine anything like this happening to her. Just then, Nye walked into the corridor and addressed everyone.

"She is still in a critical state and I am doing everything I can, however I have bad news."

Tanith started another round of sobbing, as Skulduggery and Ghastly stared at him, Skulduggery's fingers hovering over his gun.

"She was bitten by a vampire and I managed to remove the majority of the toxins, but some were left behind. I cannot remove them without killing her," Nye finished, turning around to see the barrel of Skulduggery's gun pointed at him.

"What does that mean? I mean, what does that mean to Val – is she now a vampire?" Skulduggery asked in a deathly quiet voice that screamed, 'say the wrong thing, and you're dead.'

"It means that now, she has some of the properties of vampires. She will be faster, and stronger, however will not turn into a vampire at night, if that is what you wanted to know. Now, if you don't mind, I need to check on my patient," Nye said as he walked back into the room.

~30 minutes later~

"She is now in a stable condition. She can have one visitor now and another in an hours' time," Nye said as he left the room to find Clarabelle.

"You go, Tanith. You deserve to see her first; she is your sister," Skulduggery said, sliding down the wall and slumping on the floor.