Skulduggery watched from the armchair as his partner rolled over on his sofa, snuggling deeper into the cushions and pulling the covers higher up over her body. Valkyrie Cain mumbled something that sounded like a name. He saw a smile curl across her lips.

"Morning," he called to awaken her. She stretched happily and yawned. All of a sudden she sat bolt upright and shrieked, eyes wide open. She noticed Skulduggery and shrieked again.

"What the heck are you doing here! Get out of my room! Why are you watching me!"

He tilted his head in a smile. "You just happen to be in my living room in my house."

She looked around. "Oh. I thought I was at home. Sorry."
"That's okay. Good dream?"
"What? Oh," she said, voice dropping. She looked down and didn't answer, instead climbing off of the couch.

"What are you wearing?" he asked in an incredulous voice.
"This?"
He stared at her.
"That's my dress shirt."
Valkyrie shrugged. "I needed something to sleep in."
"Those shirts are exquisite though. They're of Egyptian cotton. Very expensive."
"It was lying on the floor of your closet."
"I was going to fold it."
"I promise I didn't drool too much on it." She winked and began to walk away to the bathroom.
"I can't believe you're walking around wearing only my shirt."
"Stop staring, you perv," she called over her shoulder.
"I wasn't -"
"You're acting guilty. I know you were."
He sighed.

Inside the bathroom, Valkyrie leaned back against the door. Her whole body shook. She buried her head in her hands, grinding her palms into her eyes.

That damn dream. Valkyrie closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, trying to clear away the images.

Caelan.

Damnit.

Why did he come back in this dream? And so vividly. A sudden wave of horror and nausea hit her. What if it wasn't a dream? She gagged and ran to the mirror, checking for any sign that it was physical.

Her mind turned back to the dream. She had been lying with him, their bodies tight together, and his cool hands stroking her skin. She had shivered with pleasure, and turned to kiss him, feeling his strength under her fingers as she touched his chest. Caelan had smiled lightly, and kissed her back.

She had been so deliriously happy.

Valkyrie's stomach heaved with revulsion at herself. She lunged at the toilet bowl and hung there, retching.

"You okay?" called Skulduggery through the door.

"I'm fine," she yelled back.

Valkyrie got up with a groan and washed out her mouth. She dropped Skulduggery's shirt on the ground and stepped into the shower. Valkyrie turned to face the water, closed her eyes, and let the water stream down her body. She ran a hand through her hair, then reached down and turned the water temperature to maximum, letting its searing heat burn away the memory of his cold skin against hers.

Skulduggery grabbed a bowl, spoon, and package of cereal and laid them out in a line on the counter. As an afterthought, he added a package of powdered milk. Then he pulled out a stool from the other side of the island and sat down.

The electric light shone into his eye sockets. As he adjusted his hat, he thought of Valkyrie. Her strange behavior was concerning him. First the screaming, then the retching and the fake way that she reassured him that she was alright. He also realized that she had never actually told him what her dream was about. When he asked her, she had looked sad and...scared.

Maybe he was overreacting. Maybe none of this meant anything. Skulduggery sighed again.

"What are you sighing about?" asked Valkyrie as she poured the cereal he had put out into the bowl. She scowled at the powdered milk but cautiously added a few spoonfuls.

"Just was sighing about how satisfied I am to be as amazing as I am." Valkyrie snorted. "How are you feeling?"

She turned to the sink and ran some cold water into her bowl. Her voice was tight as she spoke. "I'm fine."

Skulduggery pushed further. "Not feeling nauseous anymore?"

She reached for a spoon and stirred the cereal. "No." Valkyrie supported the bowl with one hand and continued mixing as she walked to the island. Skulduggery noticed that her hand shook slightly.

"What do you think caused that -"

"God, Skulduggery, stop!" She slammed the bowl down on the counter. A little cereal slopped over the edge onto its surface.

Angrily, she shoved a spoonful in her mouth. "This is disgusting," she mumbled around the sludgy mess.

"The proper milk went off about a week ago."

Valkyrie grumbled a little.

Skulduggery watched her in silence for a few minutes as she ate. Finally, he broke the quiet by briefing her on their next case. "Ghastly called this morning, early. There've been some strange reports coming in. We wouldn't necessarily have been involved, but these are unusually regular, around a thirty mile perimeter - with its epicenter in Haggard."

He watched her tense up. Valkyrie pushed her hair back behind her shoulders and her face took on a look of intense concentration and wariness. "So let me get this right. They're in a ring around my hometown? Right where my family lives?" she clarified in a dark voice.

"Indeed. Nearly an exact semi circle touching the sea at both sides and encircling the village."
"What kinds of reports, then?"
"Writing. Words, scratched into the walls of mortals' homes. Certain specific items going missing. Men and women, gone for days and then returning with varying stages of amnesia."

Valkyrie frowned, a small crease appearing between her eyebrows as she took in all of the information.

"Oh, and also vampires."

Her face blanched. Her spoon stilled on its way to her mouth, and she hung there for a moment, gazing at him in horror.

Then she dropped her spoon into the bowl with a clatter. Valkyrie swept it up, dropped it in the sink and practically ran out of the kitchen, yelling a vague excuse about having left an unidentified object somewhere.

Skulduggery tilted his head curiously. He knew that Valkyrie was still sensitive about vampires being mentioned due to her past relations with one, but that one was dead now. Skulduggery growled at the thought of Caelan and his attack on Valkyrie just prior to his demise.

More logically, her fear might be of Dusk. He had nearly killed her multiple times, and was still on the loose.

That didn't change the fact that something was up with his partner.

Valkyrie sat on the ground by the couch and watched her fingers tremble. This couldn't be happening. First the dream, the oh-so-realistic dream. And now the sightings of vampires.

She rested her head against the sofa and tried to think logically. It could just be a coincidence, only by chance. That was most likely what had happened. Almost certainly. No matter how much her dream with Caelan had seemed real, it wasn't...it couldn't be.

She heard footsteps in the hall and made a pretense of searching under the couch.

"Any luck?" came Skulduggery's voice. She hid her face in what she was doing. "None yet."
"What are you looking for?"
"My uh...my uh...necromancer ring," she fumbled.
"It's on your finger," he pointed out suspiciously.
She mentally kicked herself. "Ha. Ha. I didn't notice that."
She felt him sit down next to her. Valkyrie pulled her head out from under the couch reluctantly.

"I'm not going to pry. If you want to talk to me, I'm always here for you. If you don't, I'll respect your privacy. I'll try to. At least for a while. But I'm going to give you time."

She peeked at him through her hair. He was looking at her, seated with his hands on his bent knees.

She felt her heart melt for him, and she leaned against him, resting her head against his shoulder. His arm went around her waist.

They stayed like that for a while, not speaking, just sitting.

Finally, she stood up. "Well, we should start up if we're ever going to get there." She walked to the front door and stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. She looked scared and tired and small.

Skulduggery joined her. She watched him through the mirror. "Can I ask you a question?" He nodded. She took a deep breath. "I was here all night, for sure?"

He looked at her strangely.
"Yes."
"Definitely?"
"As sure as I can be given the fact that I didn't watch you all night."
Valkyrie took a breath. "Okay." Immediately, she could feel herself relaxing.

*************
Skulduggery got into the Bentley and closed the door softly. He slid his hands across the leather and admired the sleek, flowing shapes. No matter how long he had this car, he always would appreciate its spectacular beauty.

Valkyrie slipped into the passenger seat and buckled up. Skulduggery pulled away from the curb and accelerated down Cemetery Road. He reached into the door compartment, pulled out a map, and tossed it at Valkyrie. She unfolded it and studied the markings of the reports, noticing the perfect arc that they followed, and the dot centered over Haggard.

"I never asked," she wondered aloud, "what are these words and missing objects you mentioned earlier?"
"The same few items have been taken from every house: electric light bulbs from all of the sockets in the house, silver cutlery...oh, and flowers either hacked out of the window boxes or snatched from vases."

Valkyrie shook her head incredulously. "We always get the oddest cases, don't we," she mumbled.

Skulduggery continued. "As for the words, we're not sure what they mean. Both individual words and phrases appear carved into walls of the homes of the victims, and apparently by hand. Or rather by claw."

She shivered. Vampire claws. Those things were nasty and didn't feel good when they were raked across your skin. "And they say?"

"Seemingly random things." He pulled his phone out of his suit jacket and passed it to her. "In the photo gallery." Valkyrie opened up the app and browsed through a series of photos detailing the evidence.

The first picture showed a small child's bedroom. A cot covered in a variety of stuffed animal toys appeared in the corner of the frame. The wall paint had a border depicting Peter Rabbit. She smiled, then turned her focus to the wall in question, zooming in the photo.

Something had gouged long, vicious swipes into the drywall, wrecking the sweetness and innocence of the scene. The two words carved this way read 'good doggy.' Her brow creased, and she swiped to the next image.

A similar level of violence had been turned upon the steel garage door, renting the metal all the way through: 'my.'

Valkyrie continued moving through the photos as Skulduggery accelerated onto the motorway. She scrolled through a few more. As she came to the last one, the air around her seemed to turn icy, and expanded, choking off her air supply. Valkyrie stared in horror as she pieced together the three words that screamed at her.

'My sweet agony.'

So here goes. Chapter One of my next story. Credits and thanks and a hug go to justrockzyxxx for this idea! (:

OK. This story? I hope you've read Death Bringer. 'Good doggy,' and of course 'my sweet agony' are all ripped from conversations that Valkyrie and Caelan had while she was cheating with him on Fletcher. Bad idea, Val, bad idea.

Well I hope you enjoyed this... btw I don't own any of these characters. You know that ;)

Please rate&review, PM me, favorite/follow, or review! Let me know that I have an audience! Anything you say means so much to me. xx