Amid the flames

by Ester Nightshade

What if Mevolent came back along with his terrible army? Skulduggery and Valkyrie must fight against the past as well as Mevolent. Betrayal will unfold and death will roll out. Better than it sounds my fourth fanfic so please give it a try. Slight Valduggery not much though. Violent after KOTW (Caelan is still alive and in love with Valkyrie)

1. Chapter 1

Her feelings become numb, cut off by her fall, flames surround her and the screams of pure pain and terror block out the sound of war. The pieces place together forming her memory on how it began. She manages to pick up the solid figure of Billy-Ray Sanguine, striding towards her, his straight razor in his left hand, whilst his right hand forms a curled fist.

How did this start? Well it was just another day when any type of evil tries to bring back Darquesse and destroy the world, (Remnants can never be classed as un-evil).

The Bentley swerved around the corner, forcing Valkyrie Cain to dig her nails into the passenger seat. Had it not been her mentor Skulduggery Pleasant behind the wheel, she would have been screaming curses.

The dilapidated building stood ahead, all they had to do was arrest Sanguine, stop the Remnants, all whilst keeping the Elders in safe hands. No pressure. Cautiously, they entered the house, Skulduggery held his gun in his right gloved hand. Valkyrie was caught off guard by the odd sounds filling the room straight ahead.

Drip, drip, drip

Tap, tap, tap

She motioned towards the sound, bit her lip and silently made her way towards the cause of the drip. It had stopped. Valkyrie peered round the corner, shock and nausea hit with such impact that she could hardly stand. In front stood none other than the Vampire assassin Dusk, his human form made no difference to the flecks of scarlet at his feet. The cause of the drip was, a simple leak from the ceiling. The tap caused by his pale fingers against the wall. Silently, the next assassin entered: Billy Ray Sanguine, he walked past Dusk not giving a single glance his way.

Only then did Valkyrie realize, their presence hadn't gone undetected, before she could react Dusk lunged her way. Skulduggery was too busy with Sanguine to hear her struggle, that's when an unbearable pain coursed through her body, as if she had stuck her finger in an electrical socket. She brought her hands up to her eye, it came back with a bittersweet scarlet river of blood. Black spots danced in her vision, her knees buckled, the last thing she heard before she blacked out was Skulduggery calling her name, whilst Dusk's nefarious laugh echoed off the brick walls, followed by: "We're very concerned."