Valkyrie stumbled backwards and landed hard on the padded floor and Tanith's training room. Her stick flew from her grasp and she sighed. Pulling herself up, she picked up her stick. She stood and grinned at Tanith Low, whose curly blonde hair was tied back. She held a wooden sword in her grip. Her waistcoat was open, showing the black vest beneath, and she stood with a smile on her face, gently leaning on her fake sword.

"C'mon Val you can do better than that." she said with a grin.

Valkyrie rolled her eyes and wiped a thin sheen of sweat from her forehead. Her hands went to remove her jacket and when it was off she tossed it out of the way. She stood with the stick out in front of her, her knees bent slightly, and her eyes not leaving Tanith's sword. Tanith smiled and stepped forward, bringing her sword up. She took another step forward. Valkyrie didn't move but she readied herself. Tanith took a step left and Valkyrie mirrored her. Tanith took another step forward so they were close. She wanted Valkyrie to attack first, but Valkyrie knew what would happen if she did.

Without warning, Tanith's sword swung towards Valkyrie's side and instead of diving out of the way like last time, Valkyrie moved her stick so it prevented the sword from touching her. She pushed the sword to the side like Tanith had shown her and darted out of the way, bringing her stick in an arch towards Tanith's belly. Tanith avoided that easily and she moved her sword as if to cut Valkyrie's head from her shoulders. Valkyrie, who reacted instinctively, stumbled backwards instead of ducking and Tanith rolled her eyes. Valkyrie stuck out her tongue. When Valkyrie had recovered, she faced Tanith and held the stick out in a strong two-handed grip. They began to circle each other, both of them smiling. Tanith did not attack, so Valkyrie assumed it was her turn. She lunged forwards, swinging her stick for Tanith, not really caring where it would land because she knew it would never touch Tanith. Tanith batted the stick away with annoying ease and she twisted around Valkyrie. Valkyrie spun, her stick already swinging. Tanith blocked that, of course, and Valkyrie's frustration began to creep through. She began to attack wildly, not caring about technique all that much but just concentrating on winning. She swung and Tanith blocked, again and again and Tanith was laughing now. Valkyrie felt a smile beginning to slip out but she forced it down, trying to keep a look of seriousness on her face. Tanith grinned and blocked one of Valkyrie's swings with more force this time and she pushed against her stick. Valkyrie stumbled backwards and Tanith ran towards her. Tanith flipped over her and before Valkyrie had time to turn, she kicked Valkyrie's backside and she went sprawling in a heap.

"Ow, my ass." said Valkyrie, laughing. Tanith reached down and pulled her up in a fluid motion.

"I didn't kick you that hard." said Tanith, rolling her eyes. Valkyrie was about to say something, possibly a witty retort, but stopped when she heard the sarcastic clapping from behind her. Valkyrie closed her eyes and imagined a peaceful place before turning around.

Skulduggery was standing there. He was in his usual suit and hat. He was clapping, but not in a genuine way. His head was tilted. The clapping stopped.

Valkyrie folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you had stuff to do today?" she said. "Important things."

"I have down my important things. I've found us a case."

Valkyire sighed and said, "I was supposed to train today. We agreed I would train today."

"I know we did." he said. Valkyrie could hear the sigh in his voice. "But Grand Mage Sorrows has asked for us."

"Grand Mage Sorrows always asks for us."

"That's because she knows, and we know, we're the best."

"I know. Still. Why can't you go by yourself?"

"She asked for us not just me."

Valkyrie sighed, already feeling as if the battle was lost. "Fine." she said, "Go wait in the car, I'll be a second."

Skulduggery nodded and walked out.

"Sorry" she said to Tanith as she pulled on her coat.

Tanith smiled. "No problem, duty calls."

"One day I'll just have a normal day." Valkyrie said almost wistfully.

"Yes." said Tanith, "And you'll get bored."

Valkyrie smiled. "Yeah, probably." she said. She picked up her stick and placed it on her back. "I best go, I don't want to keep China waiting."

Tanith nodded and Valkyire gave her a brief hug before walking out. Tanith didn't bother escorting Valkyrie out of her front door.

Tanith did up her waistcoat and picked up the wooden sword. She placed it in the umbrella stand which had various other wooden weapons in it. Her training room was large and sqaure, with padded floors and wooden walls. There were airconditioning units on the ceiling, and heaters on the floor. In cupboards on the wall there were towels, spare t-shirts, blindfolds, and other weird things. Her coat and her real sword was on a hook on the wall, and she removed them, keeping hold of her coat but sliding the strap on her sword around her chest. She walked out of the training room and went to her living room, placing her coat on the arm of the couch. She sat down for a minute, wondering what to do with her day, before she sighed and lay down on the couch. She lay for a while, trying to sleep, She wasn't really tired, she was just bored with nothing to do. She sighed and sat up again, tapping her fingers against her thigh, thinking. She got up. Walked into her kitchen. Put the stuff that made the coffee into the coffee machine. Waited. Got the coffee. Sat down again. Drank the coffee. Another boring day.

Tanith didn't know what to do. She felt constantly bored. Ever since Darquesse had been stopped and the apocalyse averted, everything seemed mundane. It was okay for Skulduggery and Valkyrie, they had excitement that came in the form of hitting people. They were told of things that needed to be sorted out, and they had purpose, a job. But Tanith had nothing. Nobody really trusted her anymore, not even Ghastly, and she had no clue why. What had she done as a remnant exactly? Was it something so bad that even being possessed couldn't excuse it? Tanith was lonely and confused and she hated the feeling of uncertaincy that she couldn't escape. She felt an overwhelming urge to run away, to find out what she had done as a remnant, but at the same time she just wanted to stay inside not knowing. She could remember fragments, and sometimes she had dreams about it. She remembered hints of her obsession with Darquesse. She remembered parts of The Midnight Hotel with The Monster Hunters.. She remembered cutting off Mercy's head to save Valkyrie, which was probably the only decent thing she'd done whilst possessed, but it still haunted her. She remembered him. She remembered Billy-Ray Sanguine.

Tanith remembered him loving her, but she did not remember loving him. She remembered the way he would look at her sometimes with something that could be described as admiration, but her remnant self, which was without empathy, could not see it. It chilled her. What kind of person was she during those two years that made a serial killer fall in love with her? The Sanguine she remembered was a crazy psychopath, but the Billy-Ray Sanguine she had met when she "woke up" was a different person. Scared. Almost shy. He had been timid to approach her but yet hadn't stayed away from her. He never forced himself on her and tried to hide the fact that he was in love with her. It was confusing, it was all so confusing. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't escape one fact:

Billy-Ray had died for her.

Tanith rememered the surprise on his face. He never wanted to die. She rememered the way he choked and spluttered as he clutched the slash on his throat, something that he had done to other people multiple times. She remembered seeing something in face as the holes where his eyes should be fixtated on her. Something that wasn't regret but something else, something that shouldn't of been in a serial killer's eyes. It was an apology. And it had broke something inside of Tanith.

Tanith rubbed her eyes. She did not love Billy-Ray Sanguine. She still didn't. But she was sorry. Sorry that he died thinking he loved her.

She felt wrong. So wrong. Like when Darquesse was stopped everyone was okay again except from her. She felt alone despite the fact that Skulduggery and Valkyrie had left little under twenty minutes ago.

Tanith groaned and lay down on the couch again, her face in a pillow and she tried to make sense of her own mind. She didn't freak out. She didn't scream and cry and punch a wall like she wanted to. She remained calm and quiet, and chewed her lip.

The doorbell rang. Tanith got up, frowning. Her house was in a mortal village and not many sorcerers knew where she lived. She never got visitors, except Skulduggery and Valkyrie, and she didn't get much post because her house was sustained by magic. She walked quielty towards the door, her sword strapped perfectly on her back, making no noise. She wondered if Valkyrie had forgotten something, but she couldn't hear the purr of the Bentley. There was no noise outside and for a second Tanith wondered if she had missed the noise of a car pulling up and stopping. She doubted she had. A hopeful thought crossed her mind, was it Ghastly? Nevertheless, Tanith took out her sword. She placed her hand on the door handle, waited for a few seconds, and ripped the door open. Stood on her front step was a mortal postman, holding a package wrapped in brown paper and string, adressed to her. By the gate of her house was a bike, which explained why she hadn't heard a car pull up. Tanith frowned and put her sword away, conjuring a smile from nowhere to assure the postman. The postman looked shocked.

"I'm just here to...you have a parcel..?" he stammered, holding the parcel out to her.

"Oh" she said, and took the parcel. "Thank you." She looked at the postman. He looked young, maybe twenty. He looked normal, but that's the best way for someone dangerous to look.

"Sorry about the sword thing..." she continued, "My nephew is a little obsessed with swords at the moment. He's two."

The postman blinked. "Your two year old nephew is obsessed with swords?"

Tanith forced a grin. "Yeah. He's an oddball." Tanith glanced around her, as if looking for her nephew. "I'm watching him" she explained, "We're playing a game. The sword's fake of course."

"Oh, okay" said the postman, smiling a little. "Of course." he said. "Would you sign please?" he held out a clipboard. Tanith took it.

"Okay..." she murmured. She put the soft parcel under her arm. She didn't write her own name. She signed the name Tabitha Low with a fluorish, and gave it back to the postman. The name Tabitha had come from nowhere, but she knew she used it before, Tanith fought back a sigh.

The postman frowned. "The parcel's adressed to Tanith Low? Not Tabitha?"

"She's my sister. I'm Tabitha."

"I'm Sam." said the postman, putting the clipboard beneath his elbow and holding out his hand. Tanith shook it politely, and was about to say goodbye when Sam began to speak again.

"I've just got this job" he began. Oh dear god no, thought Tanith. "I thought it would be boring, but it's really fun."

"Oh okay." said Tanith.

"Yeah it's better than it seems. I've just moved here actually,"

Spare me, thought Tanith.

"I know everyone because it's a small town, but I don't know you. If I saw you, I'd remember you." he smiled. Please don't. I am way to old for you. By about sixty years.

"Right." she said, folding her arms. Go away.

"Yeah. Has anyone told you you're really pr-"

"I can hear my nephew crying." said Tanith. She'd had enough. "I should find him."

"What?" said Sam, "I can't hear him?"

"I can."

"Oh. Okay, Tabitha. See you around?"

"Maybe." said Tanith. "Bye." She shut the door and shouted "Billy!" just so Sam wouldn't feel too insulted. She waited a minute and peeked out of the window. He was gone.

Tanith went into her living room with the package, and collasped onto the couch. The parcel was soft and light. It was adressed to her in a messy scrawl. She looked at it for a second and shook it. It made no noise. Tanith put it down on her lap and pulled at the string that was tied around it. It came undone pretty easily. She unwrapped the pacel, suddenly very curious, and pulled out what was inside.

Clothes. That was her first thought. Nice clothes. Like the ones she was wearing but made out of a stronger material. There were trousers, dark brown almost black that looked like leather but weren't. There was a buckle built into them, and they had a peculier stitching down the side. There were boots, which were black and thin soled, but strong. They were light and had a good grip. There was soft fur on the inside. Tanith reckoned they'd reach just below her knees. There was a waistcoat, brown and tight just like the one Tanith was wearing now. It had small buttons and no pockets. There was also two tops; a tight vest and a low cut long sleeved top, both black.

Tanith looked at them, and smiled a big goofy grin. She rubbed her thumb against the soft fabric. Ghastly, she thought. Gathering her clothes up in her arms, she ran up to her bedroom, a huge smile. He didn't hate her. He wasn't angry with her. Happiness swelled up inside Tanith like a balloon. Rushing slightly, she undressed. She took the sword off her back and tossed it on her bed. She pulled on her new clothes and marvelled at how perfect they were. They were a perfect fit. They were tight, just like she liked them, but not tight enough to restrict her movement. The boots warmed her cold feet. The trousers made the goosebumps on her legs melt away. She looked in the mirror and liked what she saw. They were perfect. She couldn't make the goofy smile go away.

She wanted to call Ghastly. Thank him for her wonderful clothes. She jumped down the stairs and went to her coat, which was still on the armrest of the couch. Tanith smiled. Ghastly knew she loved that coat. That's why he didn't make her one.

Tanith took out her mobile from her coat and called Ghastly. After waiting for a moment, a female voice said Number is no longer in service.

Damn, thought Tanith, putting her phone back into her coat pocket. An idea occured to her. She put on her coat, went upstairs, got her sword, slid it onto her back, went back downstairs, got her helmet, and walked outside, closing the door behind her. She walked to new black motorbike. Her old one was lost, nobody knew what happened to it. Her new one was exactly the same. Tanith put on her helmet and clambered onto her motorbike. She set off for Roarhaven.

Riding her motorbike always calmed her down, despite the fact that she was travelling fast. She loved the air against her skin and the sound of the engine on the quiet roads. Her amazing clothes kept her warm. The road to Roarhaven was one with many twists and turns, and that made it a good ride.

Tanith got there and the sorcerer stopped her, as per usual. She lifted up her visor so he could see her face, and he nodded, letting her pass. She slowed down as she approached the city. Tanith passed the ruined areas that Darquesse had destroyed. Soon after that, she parked up and left her helmet on the seat of her motorbike. She doubted that anyone would steal it, and if they did there would be trouble. Tanith walked towards the only entrance to the Sanctuary she knew. She stepped inside, suddenly sheltered from the wind.

She thought for a moment about asking the administrator if they knew where Ghastly was, but she decided against it. Tanith knew several important areas of this new and improved Sanctuary and she walked towards the one where she thought Ghastly would be at this time. Being an Elder was taking its toll, and because it was around lunch time he would probably be taking out his frustration on something. She walked towards the training center.

As Tanith neared, she could hear the unmistakable sound of fists pounding against leather. They had a steady, familar rhythm. She smiled and entered the training room silently. Ghastly didn't turn around. He was pounding the punching bag with so much force that the bar that it was hanging from trembled. Sweat was beginning to form on his t-shirt between his shoulder blades. He was wearing plain grey jogging bottoms.

Tanith cleared her throat softly. Ghastly stopped beating up the punching bag, and hesistated before turning around.

"Hey Ghastly." said Tanith, smiling.

"Hello Tanith" he said, walking towards her. The atmosphere was tense. Tanith couldn't put her finger on why.

"I just wanted to say thank you for the clothes, they're great. Really great." she paused, "I won't be able to pay you back immediatley, but after a while I-"

"Don't bother," said Ghastly, "It was no trouble."

"Oh." she said. Ghastly was within touching distance now.

Tanith hesistated, she needed to say it. "Look," she began in a rush, "I'm sorry for whatever I did as I remnant. I only remember fragments, but most of those fragments are...bad. I feel awful, I really do. Awful because I know what I did must of been bad but more awful because I haven't even bothered to find out what I did so I could make up for it. I'm a mess, I can't concentrate. There are feelings and memories that I can't shake, and I know that it wasn't me but and the same time it's hard to believe it wasn't me and everything is just hard to conprehend and I-"

Her voice broke. She wasn't going to cry. She hadn't cried in years. She would not cry.

Ghastly looked at her. She could tell he was stuck on things to say.

"I missed you, Tanith." he said.

Tanith hugged him then. She threw herself into his arms. Those arms wrapped around her waist and she fought back those tears. She could smell the sweat on his skin but she didn't mind. His arms were strong, and safe, and for a moment Tanith forgot about everything. But then it came back and hit her like a train. "I'm sorry." she whispered, "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't you, Tanith. It wasn't you." he said, and Tanith felt the tiniest tear slip out from behind her eyelids. She pulled away and spun around, brushing the tear from her cheek before Ghastly could see. She was so relieved. She was no longer alone.

Tanith regained control and turned back towards Ghastly. He looked concerned, but happy at the same time.

Tanith smiled, and Ghastly smiled back. And suddenly, without even thinking, she kissed him.

Ghastly froze, and for a moment Tanith she'd made a terrible mistake, but then his arms were around her and he was kissing her back and everything was finally good. The empty space in her chest that was weighing her down evaporated. All she could feel was him, his lips on hers, his left hand on her waist, his right on her neck. Her right hand was on the back of his neck, and she could feel the edges of the symmetrical scars that covered his head. Tanith had never minded the scars. She smiled against his lips, unable to prevent it and Ghastly smiled too. They broke away, both smiling broadly.

For a moment all was silent, and Ghastly opened his mouth to say something, but he never got the words out.

"Elder Bespoke!" called a nasal voice from the doorway. Tanith didn't recognise the voice. With a strained look of calm, Ghastly said

"Yes?"

"Sorry Elder Bespoke, Grand Mage Sorrows wants to see you."

"Of course she does." he said with a sigh. Ghastly turned to Tanith, "I'll see you later."

"Actually Elder Bespoke, Grand Mage Sorrows has requested to see the both of you."

"Has she now?" said Tanith, she gestured to the door. "Lead the way." was all she said.