The Blond Assassin.

That's what they called her. You'd think mages could come up with a more creative name than "The Blond Assassin", but I guess it's not too bad, she thought, straightening her blond ponytail.

The Blond Assassin smiled, remembering the exact words Mevolent said to her.

She walked through the door, blood on her hands, sword in her clenched fist. Mevolent smiled at her.

"There she is," he said, wiping a speck of blood from her forehead. "Just in time. I have another task for you." He took her sword, gave it to a man with dark hair and eyes, and said, "Clean it. I want it spotless."

Mevolent smiled and handed her a Manila file folder. She opened it, revealing a series of pictures of different men. "Who are they?" She asked.

"The Dead Men," Mevolent replied. "Names are Skulduggery Pleasant, Ghastly Bespoke, Erskine Ravel, Anton Shudder, Dexter Vex, Corrival Deuce and Saracen Rue. They take on suicide missions and come back alive, hence the name 'Dead Men'. They're working for Grand Mage Meritorious, and go against the Faceless Ones's religion."

They'll be known as the Dead Men alright…when I cut their heads off and bring them back as an offering to the Faceless Ones. She smiled at that thought. They'll praise her. They'll love her. She can live the life she always wanted.

"How soon do you want me to begin?" she asked.

"As soon as you get cleaned up."

The Blond Assassin checked the room through her binoculars. The Dead Men were talking. The one called Ghastly Bespoke looked up, directly at her. She didn't even breathe. He looked away, and said something with a smile to Skulduggery Pleasant, a skeletal man in a nice suit. The Blond Assassin relaxed. That would have sucked, she thought.

She saw Ghastly, Anton, and Skulduggery leave the room and exit through the front door. They walked to the building she was in. The Blond Assassin's jaw clenched and her stomach tightened. They found her.

The Blond Assassin looked around for a place to hide. She found a large wooden dresser. She dove behind it, handgun held tightly, her sniper rifle laying off to the side, just as the door flew open.

"He was here," came a voice.

Footsteps.

She looked around. The skeleton, Skulduggery, walked to the rifle. "He's tracking us. He's looking to kill us."

"An assassin?" Anton Shudder asked coolly.

"Looks like it," Skulduggery replied, looking around. He saw her just as she tried to sneak away.

"Who's there?" Skulduggery barked. "Come out!"

The Blond Assassin heard a gun hammer being pulled. She cursed to herself, then turned to run.

A gunshot sounded, and the Blond Assassin fell to the floor, screaming in pain at her left ankle. She turned to fire, but Ghastly kicked it away.

"Good God," Skulduggery said. "You're a woman."

"Not a woman," the Blond Assassin winced, then cried out again. "A young lady."

Skulduggery walked forward, grabbed her arm, and hauled her to her feet. She screamed as pain shot up her leg, and Skulduggery caught her as she almost fell. Then he threw her over his shoulder and walked out the door to the building across from them, with the Blond Assassin still screaming her protests.

When the Blond Assassin came to, she was tied to a metal chair in a brightly lit room. There was a large metal table in front of her, and Skulduggery Pleasant was standing against the wall across from her, arms folded across his chest, staring at her. She could sense his anger, his frustration seething from his clenched jaw.

"Who are you? Who do you work for?" he asked.

The Blond Assassin just sighed before smiling at him and saying, dodging the question entirely, "What's it like? Being a skeleton, I mean."

Skulduggery walked over and asked again, leaning in close to her face, "Who do you work for? Tell me, now."

"It must be weird, not having flesh and muscle," she continued, ignoring him.

Skulduggery, clearly getting tired of her shenanigans, slapped her so hard the chair tipped, and she landed on her back, knocking the wind out of her. The Blond Assassin gasped like a fish out of water, desperately trying to breathe.

Skulduggery stared at her, motionless, until she finally caught her breath and laughed. She just laughed at him.

"Is that all you got?" she managed.

Skulduggery untied her restraints in a flash, hauled her to her feet, and punched her in the cheek. The Blond Assassin fell to the floor and laughed harder. He kicked her, shattering her knee, and she kept laughing like she was being tickled senseless.

"Skulduggery! Stop!" someone else yelled.

Skulduggery cursed aloud, just as Ravel and Bespoke rushed in and held him back until his temper cooled. She got to her feet, giggling, and dried her eyes.

"Ah," she managed. "In answer to your questions, Skulduggery Pleasant, they call me the Blond Assassin, and I work for my master, Mevolent!"

Anton Shudder stepped up, glaring at her.

She smiled and continued. "I'm sure you all have heard of the stories. How with just a sword, I can slaughter an entire ballroom full of people." The Blond Assassin grinned from ear to ear. "I gotta go, so if you will excuse me." She started to the door, but Shudder grabbed her arm.

"Why are you spying on us?" Ravel asked.

"All the details are classified, but I'm sure I can slide this out. Um, you see, I was sent to kill you. Rumor has it you have been taking missions that people deemed suicidal, and come back alive. Mevolent told me to stop you, so here I am. But it seems I'll have to try again next time, so…bye for now."

She threw down a smoke bomb, which showered them all in a cloud of green, foul-smelling gas, and she ran out.

About a hundred years later...

Raina Mystique sat in the interrogation room, hands bound in magic-binding cuffs, waiting. Finally, the door opened, and a tall man in a nice, navy blue business suit, a matching Borsalino hat, and black gloves entered, head lowered. He sat down in front of her and lifted his head, revealing to a surprised and now very nervous Raina a skeletal head.

"Skulduggery Pleasant," Raina smiled. "Well, I thought you died in the war. But I guess I should have—"

"So, why'd you do it?" Skulduggery interrupted, throwing a Manila file folder onto the table. "That's a folder of all—"

"The people I killed?" Raina offered. "They had it coming, the blasphemers." She leaned forward, speaking low. "They defied the Faceless Ones. They said they were monsters. Ruthless murderers who would kill anything in sight."

"Drop the act," he said sternly. "I'm not in the mood."

Raina sighed, dropping the scared act. "You're no fun," she said coolly. "Anyway, I killed them because they insulted Mevolent."

Skulduggery tilted his head. "Well, that's a bit extreme."

"Isn't it?" she asked with a smile. "I never worshipped the Faceless Ones. I thought they were the worst. In fact, I'm still indecisive about my religion. I haven't been to a church since I was a kid, before my parents died and Mevolent took me in."

"Huh," Skulduggery said.

"Now tell me," Raina said, crossing her arms. "You obviously aren't here to talk about my murders, so what do you want?"

"I want to make you an offer," Skulduggery said, getting straight to the point. "One that you might find interesting."

"I'm listening," she said slowly, almost hesitantly.

Skulduggery leaned in close and continued. "I want you to become my partner."

Raina's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Me? A murderer? To be your partner? Why?"

Skulduggery tilted his head. "You're strong, you're smart, and you're fast. You didn't try to kill anyone important, like a Grand Mage. In fact, Meritorious and myself both think you could be quite useful to me."

Raina laughed. "You're off your rocker, right? Why would I ever want to work for people who despised and killed Mevolent?"

Skulduggery stared at her hard. "Because I know you don't really support him. You were forced to."

That struck a chord. Raina stiffened. "How did you know that?" she squeaked.

"Because we were looking for you, too." Skulduggery threw another file onto the table in front of her and she opened it. "You were reported missing, along with your family."

Raina looked at the photos, tears springing to her eyes. "They were killed," she said, her voice breaking into a small sob on the last word. "Right in front of me."

Skulduggery nodded. "The day you disappeared, people started dying. The same way your old self, 'The Blond Assassin', used to kill. I knew it was you, and I also knew how to bring you back."

Raina looked at him. "Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"Because I know how much potential you have, and I know that you can use it correctly, with my help," Skulduggery said calmly.

"What's the catch?"

"No strings attached. You become my partner, and Grand Mage Meritorious will set you free."

"I'll do it." Raina was confident that doing something right for once would make her feel like she was making her parents proud of her.

"Okay," Skulduggery said, standing and pulling out a phone.

"Um," Raina held her wrists out to him, smiling. "Do you mind?" she asked, shaking the cuffs.

Skulduggery removed the cuffs, helped her to her feet, and made a call. Raina heard the phone ring and a voice picked up.

"She's accepted," Skulduggery said into the phone. "Yes…alright…yes…understood, Grand Mage…now, no promises…understood…yes…goodbye."

"Meritorious?" Raina asked.

"You're a free girl," Skulduggery replied, and Raina followed him out and to his black car out front.

"Oh, my god," she breathed, marveling at the car. "It's a beautiful 1954 Bentley R-type Continental!"

Skulduggery stared at her. "What?" he asked, amazed.

"There's only two hundred of these left in the world," she continued.

"Well," Skulduggery said, opening the car door for her, "this is going to be a very interesting partnership."

"Oh, Skulduggery," Raina smiled. "Just wait until you get to know me."

He chuckled, started the car, and drove away.