Ghanith – Knocking at my door
Thanks to everybody who reviewed last chapter. Oh my god, my mam tried to get me to make tea and when I said no she told me she needed me to do it because she had to get my uniform ready for Monday. I told her that this chapter wouldn't write itself then I told her I had the day off because I went in on the Saturday. Her face was priceless. I was in stitches.
(set a few months after KOTW, Tanith is still possessed)
He wasn't in a relationship.
She was.
He was longing for her.
She wasn't.
She broke his heart.
He lost her to a psycho.
He used to look out the window everyday and hope he'd see her coming into the shop.
She didn't.
He still had the steak in the fridge that he was going to cook one day for her.
She had forgotten about it.
The steak had started to smell, but he still kept it, clinging onto the memory of her.
She had Sanguine.
He had nobody.
The cracks in the wall of the jail cell had been Sanguine's doing. But the head on the floor, that was due to Tanith.
She had no guilt of the doing, as the Remnant didn't. Maybe deep below where Tanith's consciousness was stirring, there may be guilt in her mind.
Or maybe he was being too optimistic.
Ghastly shook his head, hauling himself out of his daydreams, back to reality. He looked at the case file he had been studying for the last half an hour. It was yet another murder. It was committed by Tanith and Sanguine. Every case file he had to suffer through was about them. That Remnant was worse than what anybody had ever heard of, if Ghastly could've ripped it out of Tanith by now, he would have. His heart broke every time he heard her name. He knew Val was taking it hard, harder than him probably because she had seen her, spoken to her. Just like old times, Tanith had saved her life. And there it was, the girl he loved, a wanted woman. Ghastly slapped himself, pulling his thoughts together he focussed in on the report.
Arrest Warrant for Tanith Low
Appearance- Brown leather, tousled blonde hair.
Magic – Adept, can run up walls; skilled swordswoman and combat fighter.
Age – unknown, looks about 20
Accomplices – Billy Ray Sanguine
Do not approach alone. This woman is dangerous, if seen report to the Irish Sanctuary at once.
Ghastly sighed, the least Tanith was going be locked up for when she was caught was for life. No chance of him them ever being a couple now.
He rested his head on the desk and in no time at all, exhaustion and stress overtook him and he was fast asleep.
Ghastly awoke a few hours later to a knock at the door. He heard two girls laughing as they ran away from his office. He opened the door. "Xanthe, Valkyrie do you have to? Some of us actually want peace and quiet to sleep in."
"Awhhh ickle baby Ghastly is taking his afternoon nap." jeered Valkyrie.
"That is it! You and Xanthe, Where is Xanthe?" He yelled.
"For once I really don't know, delivery for you, bye!" Valkyrie shot off down the corridor.
The delivery was a huge cardboard box. Ghastly decided to leave it for a while and finish his paperwork. As he turned around, the box exploded open in a blur of white and a figure stood before him. "Lucilia Venom! Get out of my office before I have you forcibly removed!" He yelled.
"Bye baby Ghastly," Lucilia laughed as she legged it for the door.
Ghastly sat at his desk a few hours later, he was organizing what cases were going to what detective and checking what clothes orders were pending and figuring out how to fit them around his never-ending schedule of meetings. A knock at the door tore him from his work. "Come in," He shouted.
The door opened and Staven Weeper shuffled in. He stammered out, "E,E,Elder B,B,Bespoke they want you down in the infirmary."
"Why?" Ghastly asked him "Is it important?"
"They won't tell me but Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Doctor Nye seem very concerned. The Grand Mage and Madame Mist have been alerted and are making their way down now. Tipstaff told them. He knows what is going on too. Most of the Sanctuary knows. Why is it me that never knows what is happening? The Cleavers are there too. It's pretty serious." Weeper rambled on. But Ghastly was already on his way down to the infirmary, leaving Weeper to talk to himself.
When he arrived there the crowd gathering outside the hospital doors parted to allow him past. He ran into the ward where Skulduggery and the rest of the important Sanctuary members were gathered.
There on the bed lay a blonde woman with tousled hair. She was unconscious. She was handcuffed. It was Tanith! Obviously, they thought the Remnant could still possess her. But with the Remnants's enhanced speed and strength, why would she have lost a fight?
The sleeping woman began to mumble in her sleep. "She's stirring," Nye stated in his high pitched voice. Ghastly gritted his teeth, was that not obvious? Tanith's eyes fluttered and finally opened. When they locked onto Ghastly, Skulduggery shouted for Geoffrey Scrutinous and the eccentric looking Sensitive came running through. "We need you to make sure she isn't possessed."
Geoffrey looked into Tanith's eyes and after a short conversation confirmed that she was herself and it was okay to remove her handcuffs.
Valkyrie gave Tanith a hug and then motioned for everyone to leave. "Let's let them talk." The rest of the party moved for the door, leaving Ghastly sitting next to Tanith's bed.
"Ghastly I am so, so sorry." Tanith started.
He stopped her by pressing his lips to hers. Before long, she was kissing him back.
There will be another chapter, it's going to be quite hard to understand but I will explain it in a AN.
Xanthe Mutare xx