A/N: I don't own Valkyrie, Skulduggery, Tanith or Ghastly. The story is set after book nine but since only book seven is out you'll have to excuse any errors. Somehow Tanith is Remnant free and back with Ghastly, yay! Val is about 24 or so, and the story is her POV. Note: Excuse my mess as I edit. 2/14/16

Skulduggery had been gone for several weeks, but so had Ghastly and Tanith. I was agitated, there was nothing to be done, the Sanctuary said. What they meant was: your friends are collateral damage, too bad. They weren't dead, but would be soon. The mirror I'd found in Uncle Gordon's attic, a large oval thing showed me that much. It showed me an ancestor too. Mine. My great grandmother to some generations back. A fiery beauty even in her old age. Her grey hair swept up in a bun, her long grey dress trailing over grey boots.

She showed me what had happened, how my friends were stuck in the world the mirror could take me to. Now I had only one chance to get them back. "You'll have to go through the mirror." She said gently. "As I did, hundreds of years ago, and be willing to fight, but it comes at far too high a price for most."

"What price?" I asked, my mind immediately leaping to thoughts of loosing Skulduggery and I cringed in guilt. As if Tanith and Ghastly weren't my good friends as well.

"You need to watch something, to understand." She said. A wave of her hand and an image of her as a young woman appeared. Her friends had been abducted too, into a world of knights and magic. She had had the same choice I had, to put on the armour of the women of our magical family line. It wasn't much to look at, just a dull sliver colour, and plain, but then, many magical objects looked mundane. "But it was a terrible thing, the armour." She said, sadly. It not only gave me power and abilities I didn't have, but it took on the form of my one true love. Do you know what it is like, seeing his face when you rescue him in armour that looks just like him?" She smiled sadly.

I put my hand on her arm, still surprised she was real. "What happened? Please tell me?"

"I never told your grandfather it was me. He wasn't magical so it was easy to hide the truth from him. Besides in our time a lady knight wasn't normal, not in Ireland at any rate, at least not where I was from. But the armour is your only hope. Your friends don't have much time. You'd have to choose now, but know that the armour will reveal all."

I almost laughed at how that sounded, but managed a polite "I don't love anyone, not that I know of. So the armour shouldn't be a problem." She smiled sadly at my lie, told me to take hold of the armour and simply will it on, the mirror and armour would do the rest. I took hold...

I was racing along city rooftops now in the mirror world. The armour was a living thing, molded exactly to me. Well, more than exactly, but I tried not to think about the form, but reveled in the freedom. I had been running for hours but wasn't tired. The clothing that had formed over it was warm, a good thing since the armour was as sensitive as human skin.

I came to a roof edge and stopped, staring down. There they were, facing only one opponent. A vampire. I frowned and felt the armour frown too. He should have been easy to defeat, for any of them. Then I saw the shackles and could dimly make out the low posts behind them the shackles attached to. Something didn't make sense. How had he managed to trap them all, unless it was-

"A trap?" Shrilled a high-pitched voice behind me. "Very good for one as ugly as you. But now, now you die." A female vampire has spoke these words, and who was she calling ugly? Even her human form was hideous. And that cheap dress! I wouldn't have been caught dead in it. Suddenly she ripped off her dress along with her skin and sprang at me, the force carrying us off the roof. But I had gotten an upgrade with the armour, and we hacked and slashed at each other in midair. I felt her claws rending my duster into tattered ribbons. She went for my eyes and I slapped at her face in a blind rage.

He head snapped back, the neck broken, but she still came at me, screaming. I managed to push her away with air, tried to manipulate it to hold her tight. But though I now wore the form of the man I loved my skills weren't his equal and she lunged in close, holding her own head upright by the hair, biting my neck.

I felt the armour harden, heard her scream of terror as her teeth snapped. I threw fire at her and she caught, screaming in agony. But it still wasn't enough. I drew my sword and beheaded her, watching the flaming bit go sailing towards the cobblestones below. Her body collapsed as well, landing with a satisfying splat. I grinned. Turning, I leapt to the ground from midair, landing in a low crouch. The male vampire hissed at me. With his slicked back hair, overly formal tuxedo and cape looked like a reject from a Castlevania game.

He must have read my thoughts, because he roared, yes, roared. Eyes glowing red he addressed me in an imperious tone. "How dare you kill my bride, you insignificant mortal? Do you think your visage frightens me? I am the lord of the vampires, nothing frightens me!" He ripped off his skin before I could retort, and was on me lightning fast. But I managed to bring my arm up to protect my neck, and he too howled in anguish when he bit metal. But then he slapped me, rocking me back. I staggered, feeling blood trickle out of my mask. The blood only enraged him more, and he came at me, getting me in a savage grip from behind.

I snarled in rage, and slammed my elbows repeatedly in his ribs, then cracked my head back savagely, the metal brim of my hat slicing deep into his ugly face. Howling, he released me. He wasn't healing from the cut, interesting. But he was gone before I could draw my sword, once again across the courtyard from me. I let loose fire, but he evaded easily, closing the distance rapidly. Too bad I snagged the air back, drawing the fireballs with it. They hit him from behind and the vampire went up with an explosive whoosh then splattered chunks all over the cobblestones.

Some of which landed on my lovely new black duster or what was left of it. And my hat, my lovely new hat. I took it off, trying to wipe the bits of gore off it. It was absolutely ruined. I snarled in disgust, not sure if I should keep it now or throw it away. A sound of a throat clearing caught my attention. Oh right, my friends. I slapped the hat back on, grateful my armour protected me from the now exposed bladed brim. I went to stand before them, unable to fight the urge to cross my arms and tilt my head. I was slightly taller now, and much thinner, somehow the armour had done that. Perhaps if I kept quiet they wouldn't know who I was.

After all, I wore all black and a duster not an overcoat... I set to work on the shackles, undoing Ghastly and Tanith first. Ghastly rubbed his wrists and stared hard at me, Tanith met my gaze once and turned away in revulsion. So I was ugly. I got Skulduggery free at last, his shackles would have to be jammed, and stood up. He looked at me, saying nothing. I knew they needed to get back home. I waved my hand and the mirror appeared before me. Seeing my reflection the second time was no treat. I was ugly. My armour made me a living skeleton, but one of deepest metallic black. My hollow eye sockets looked hateful, and my exposed bones through my ripped clothes looked wicked.

I snarled in repulsed anger at my reflection, throwing up an arm to shield myself from the vision. I gestured so they knew to go through. Ghastly and Tanith went first, linked hand and hand, Tanith still giving me a look of horror, but now mixed with pity. Skulduggery looked at me and hesitated. It had always been my greatest fear he would find out I loved him. Now, well, now it was apparent, wasn't it?

"Nice hat." He said. He stood arms folded, waiting for a response. I ducked my head refusing to meet his gaze.

"It was a nice hat, now it's ruined. Just look at it, Skulduggery. Well, maybe Ghastly can fix it." I heard a faint amused sound and looked up.

"I thought it was you. You did an incredibly brave yet stupid thing coming here. Even with that armour you should have given us up for dead. Why didn't you?" He had shoved his hands in his pockets was looking at me speculatively from under the brim of his hat. He knew the answer of course, he just wanted to see if I'd tell him.

"Because you were one of the people in danger. What else would you expect me to do? Just leave you here?"

"Yes, yes you should have. But did I expect you to? No, not really. In fact I'm surprised it took you so long to get here. But then, you aren't me, even if you do look like me. I like the jacket too, by the way, maybe Ghastly can make you a new one. It suits you. Well, it suits me." I looked at him, fighting the urge to wring his skeletal neck. But he laughed then, his laughter rich and deep, and held his arms out to me. I took the hat off, tossing it to one side and melted into his embrace.

"You do rescue me an awful lot, don't you?" He asked, one skeletal hand holding the back of my armored head while I nestled into his shoulder. "If I didn't know better I'd say you were in love with me." I gaped up at him, and he cuffed me gently on the chin. "You could do a lot better than me, you know. If you're so into skeletons maybe I can buy you a lovely new shovel and we'll go grave digging together." I punched him lightly in the arm, and he smiled at me. We walked towards the mirror together, but he stopped me before we went through.

I thought he was going to kiss me, he leaned in so close, but he only looked at me in bemusement. "Your hat." He whispered. He gestured and it flew to him. He caught it deftly, avoiding the blade. He placed it on my head, pulling the brim down too far.

He went toward the mirror, stopped with his hand on the frame. He looked slyly over his shoulder at me. "I'm not kissing you until that armour comes off. Well come along then, we haven't got all day." He said, then disappeared into the mirror. I paused to adjust my hat, my formerly good, but now ruined hat, and followed.