Red.

How many times had Valkyrie and I been captured? The whole "fear" aspect of it had almost worn off. Almost being the key word. It's still there, of course. But dulled with use. So here we are, shackles around our wrists and ankles, pinning us against the wall. We're on opposite sides of small room, facing each other. The shackles around our wrists pull us upright, stretched. The height is perfect for me, I can stand without difficulty. But Valkyrie is barely touching the floor, and I can see that her arms are hurting.

"Lean against the wall," I tell her. "Let it take part of your weight." I watch her shift backwards. It's an awkward position, twisting her arms, but it takes the pressure off, and she sends me a grateful smile.

"So, how are we getting out of this one?" She asks. They took her Necromancer ring, and jacket. She's wearing a plain black T-shirt, black pants, and her boots. They've taken my gun and my hat. They will pay for that. Whoever 'They' is. I shift my hands inside the manacles, testing their size and strength. I can't break them, or get out. They're bound, I can feel that without even trying magic.

Valkyrie begins pulling at her metal cuffs, then tries snapping her fingers. Nothing works, and after a minute she leans back against the wall. "I'm bored," she complains. "Where's our captor?" She looks around the room, and I mirror her action. We're in a classic dungeon. Stone walls, rusty shackles, and a barred door, like a cage. There's one addition, a security camera in the corner. Valkyrie makes a face at it. I tilt my head, letting her see my amusement.

Then the door swings open, admitting a man with long, black hair. Shadows flicker under his dark robes. Necromancer. He looks at me for a few seconds, hazel eyes curious, like I was a bug under a microscope. Then he looks over at Valkyrie, sweeping his eyes over her slowly. She stares back at him steadily, but a faint red spreads across her cheeks, revealing her discomfort. The man notices and smirks, before turning back to me. "Detective," he says, inclining his head in a formal sign of respect. I wait quietly.

He meets my gaze, his eyes piercing into my eye sockets. "I'm sure you're wondering why you are here. Who I am, who I'm working for, and what we want. I have no doubt that there are hundreds of questions and theories, bouncing around in that empty skull of yours. However, I will answer only one of them. We want to know where you've hidden the armor of Lord Vile."

I shift my focus to Valkyrie without moving my head. Her expression is guarded, but her eyes betray her surprise. The surprise becomes fear. If one person knew that I had the armor, other people knew. And if that news got around to the wrong people, they would have all the puzzle pieces to put together. They would know who I had been.

The man is getting impatient, the shadows swirling in mini-tornadoes around him. I can see his power source, a delicate bracelet in the shape of a snake. "I don't have it. The Sanctuary has it," I try. The shadows settle.

"Don't play games with me, Detective. Your secret is out on this side. It's only a matter of time before it spills into the other." There is nothing to say to that, so I wait for him to continue. "Where is it?" He asks, when it's clear I have no intention of speaking. I stay quiet. The man sighs. "Very well."

Shadows creep from the floor, from the wall behind me. I can feel their cold touch as they spread across my bones. They curl around my ribs, and reach into my chest. Then the Necromancer makes a gesture, and they're inside my head. Blackness fills my vision, and my whole body is freezing. It has been a long time since I had felt the cold as pain. Then I can feel pressure, like a headache. The shadows are pushing outwards, against the thin bone of my temples. The pressure builds, becoming painful. I hear my bones creak, a desolate, hopeless sound. And there is another sound, somebody screaming. It isn't me.

"Skulduggery! Stop it! Stop hurting him!" The voice shouts. Valkyrie. Suddenly the pressure is gone, the blackness is gone, and I can see her. She's twisting against the chains, her wrists red. I lift my head, and she stops, watching me. "Just tell him," she says. "Please." I shift my weight, subtly leaning against the wall. The Necromancer smiles at her, and turns to me.

"I'll give you some time to think it over," he says. "I'll be back." Then he walks out of the room, shadows trailing dramatically behind him. I stay standing for Valkyrie. My bones hurt down to their marrow, but I have to be strong while she is watching. She tugs against the manacles again, then gives up.

"Skulduggery, please, just tell him. This is horrible. I can't see that again." She lets herself fall, held standing by the wall and the shackles. Her eyes are full of pain, and I don't want to make her watch if it hurts her. But I can't let the first death bringer's power fall into the hands of… Whoever's hands were waiting. It's too unpredictable, dangerous. There had to be another way. I focused on the chains that held me, running a series of calculations in my head. It could work. But if it didn't, it would hurt.

I slide my feet up the wall, letting the cuffs around my wrists support me. In one abrupt motion, I shift my weight, tangling the chains and then letting myself fall. My weight, strength, and a very little bit of luck shatters the chains. I fall to the floor, catching myself in a roll at the last second. The cuffs are still around my wrists and ankles, my power still bound. I jump and use a fist to shatter the security camera's view, but we have to move fast.

I help Valkyrie break her chains in the same way, and catch her when she comes free. I steady her, then head for the door. I let her kick it down. I can see anger glittering in her eyes, and letting her take it out on a door is probably the best thing to do. We had just stepped into the hallway when the Necromancer shadow-walked into the room behind us.

"Shit," Valkyrie says, and then we're running. A shadow curls around her ankle, and she falls. I reach to help her up, but other shadows follow the first, dragging her back into the room. She yells and grabs for my hand, but too late. I take a step, following her, and then the shadows catch me too, slamming me against the wall. Back where we were, this time held by shadows instead of metal.

The Necromancer sweeps his gaze over both of us, shaking his head like a disappointed father. "So, now that your escape plan has failed, are you ready to give up the information?" I hesitate, and then shake my head. If he starts torturing me with shadows again, he might lose his focus on Valkyrie's bonds. Then she'd be free, at least. The man frowns. He turns to look at Valkyrie. "I was told that you'd be able to convince him, if you saw him hurt. Now I see that you are altogether useless. I suppose I can get rid of you now."

The shadows turn sharp, and Valkyrie looks at me with panicked eyes, and I shout "No!" The Necromancer turns back to me, surprised.

"What?"

I shift slightly in the grip of the shadows. It had been stupid, but it had been the only thing to do. I let my distaste flatten my voice, and I speak slowly. "Don't touch her. Don't hurt her. You can't kill me, and you can't keep me imprisoned forever. At some point I will escape, and if you hurt her, I will kill you in the slowest, most painful way I can think of. And I am a creative individual."

They're both staring at me. In the moment of silence, my words ring true. And then the Necromancer starts to smile. "I see," he says. He looks at Valkyrie again, and then at me. "I was told that you didn't care for her the same way she cares for you. I see that was false." I was right. That shout was the stupidest thing I could have done. I feel cold around my bones, and it has nothing to do with the shadows. Now they will use her against me, and I know that I won't be able to watch. Too close to the heart.

The man flicks a finger, and a blade of shadow flashes across Valkyrie's cheek. A drop of blood escapes from the cut and falls to the floor. I keep very still. She presses her lips together and mirrors my stillness, keeping her eyes on my face.

"Where is Lord Vile's armor?" The man asks. My mind is running through endless possibilities, discarding each plan as it appears. I nearly miss the question, and I have no answer. The man takes my silence as a reply in itself. He makes a larger gesture with his hand, and the shadows whip across Valkyrie's chest. The black T-shirt offers no protection, and through the rip in her shirt, I can see her blood. She flinches but keeps her eyes on my face, clenching her jaw, but not crying out. I slowly curl my fingers into fists, trying to sort through my thoughts, that are getting all disorganized at the sight of her blood.

Shadows flash across Valkyrie's arm, and this time she did cry out, once. The blood runs down her arm, falling to the floor. I flinch against the wall, staring at the brightness of the red. "Stop," I say finally.

The Necromancer turns to me, raising an eyebrow. "Where is the armor of Lord Vile?" I hesitate. No going back now. I begin to focus inwards, letting my awareness flow into my bones.

Then I hear Valkyrie's voice. "Skulduggery!"

The Necromancer turns, slashing his hand through the air. The shadows cut across her chest again, then split into multiple blades that lacerate her arms. She cries out and the tears finally escape her eyes, falling into her blood. I block it out and reach inside myself, then pull. Shadows fall from my sleeves like magician's scarves, congealing into puddles on the floor. I watch as they rise, hardening into a suit of armor. The Necromancer reaches out for it eagerly, and I watch as he puts his hand into the shadows. They curve around him, accepting him. He is enraptured, and I feel the shadows around me weaken.

I throw myself away from the wall, rolling so that I come up beside Valkyrie. I tear away her bonds, and she falls, unable to support herself. I turn to the Necromancer, whose hands are trapped inside the shadow-armor. He pulls at them, but they don't move. Then the armor suddenly bursts outwards, impaling the man on a hundred spikes of shadow. He collapses, and the armor stands there, empty. I can feel it like a physical pull. As though I am attached to it by a string, and it's pulling me towards it.

I take a step closer without meaning to. The shadows are soft now, waiting for me. My foot bumps against the dead Necromancer, and I look down. His blood is on my shoes, his face rigid in dead. For a moment, all I feel is satisfaction. Through the satisfaction comes a familiar joy, and for a moment I am Lord Vile. Then Valkyrie moans, and the moment is broken. I'm standing directly in front of the armor, with no memory of getting there. I reach out and touch the shadow-metal, feeling it flex beneath my hand. Then I crumple it, folding it into itself, until it's the size of a die. I reach into my empty rib cage and drop it inside, feeling the shadows spread into my bones, dissipating. Hidden.

Then I'm kneeling by Valkyrie's side, lifting her, and running. We are in a castle, an old castle that's been partly re-done. I see an armory, a parlor, a bedroom, and a workshop. I duck into that last and split the cuffs binding my magic. I head straight to the window and step out, bending the air to support us. I hold Valkyrie as tightly as I dare, and I fly as though the Faceless Ones are after me again. Her blood is warm against my bones.

I land outside the Sanctuary and run inside, paying no mind to the people who dart out of our way, or stop and stare. I kick open the doors to the medical hall and lay her down in a bed. Nye comes loping over. "What have you done now?" It asks, its voice high-pitched and nasal. It reaches for Valkyrie, but I stop its hands. It looks at me indignantly.

"I know what you tried to do. To Valkyrie. I will never forget, just like I've never forgotten the things you did in the war. You're going to fix Valkyrie, and I'm going to sit here and watch. And if you do anything wrong, or if you make one out of line comment, I will shoot you. And I will smile all the while." I watch Nye, noticing the fear and the hate that cross its face simultaneously. Then the expressions are gone, and it's smiling.

"Of course, Detective. I'm offended you'd doubt my new moral code, but I have no problem with supervision." It pulls out a needle and thread, then yanks Valkyrie's shirt off in one smooth movement. Caught off-guard, I freeze for a second. If she woke up right now, she'd want me to leave. But somebody has to watch Nye. Somebody has to make sure he does his job.

So I pointedly ignore her black lace-rimmed bra, and focus on the cuts that cover her. I watch as the thing that was our doctor sews her up with little black stitches, and covers her new seams with gauze. I pull the blankets over her when it's done, and I watch her sleep. Her blood covers my gloves, stains the white shirt I am wearing, and soaks through the gauze. Red.

Valkyrie opens her eyes and smiles at me. "Ouch," she says a second later. Nye hurries over and gives her one of the leaves that Kenspeckle used to use. She chews and swallows. The medicine slows her breathing and I can see it pulling down her eyelids. Before she falls asleep, she reaches out a hand and brushes my cheek-bone. "Thank you," she murmurs, and then her eyes close. Her lips part slightly as she sighs once. I had never really noticed her lips before, never noticed how perfect they were. How red.

A/N: Thanks to ticklethedragon1, my beta and Valduggery buddy.

I'd like to mention that it makes me really happy when you review. So take some time to say something, hopefully something kind of nice. I'd appreciate it!

Coming next-

Orange: In which Ghastly texts Skulduggery at an inopportune time, Valduggery watches a sunset, and Valkyrie falls asleep.