Hi! I'm Adrasdos Dark, and I am here to introduce my story:

The Payment.

I don't own Skulduggery pleasant, or anyone else that is fantastical like him. Except for Ferrus and his Brothers. And Adrasdos.

Please enjoy, and read my other stories, please don't forget to REVIEW!

In the beginning...

I was sitting on the white couch in Fletcher's apartment, wearing my usual black jacket, comfy leather boots, and black pants. Oh yeah, they all are my protective clothing. Ghastly Bespoke had made me a new pair for my birthday.

I crossed my legs, and sighed. My hand was just full of rubbish. I glanced at my boyfriend, Fletcher Renn, who was glaring at his hand.

He was wearing an aviator jacket, jeans, a Led Zeppelin t-shirt, which has been his favorite band since I introduced it to him, and some black sneakers. His usually spiky hair was tousled, since I had messed up his hair gel a few minutes earlier. Fletcher scowled even more.

"What you got?" he asked me, throwing his hand on the table. I smirked, and laid my hand on the table. I leaned back into the couch, and grinned at my boyfriend, who was sitting across from me in a comforter.

"Four of a kind." I announced.

"I only got a pair." Fletcher growled. I laughed at his competitiveness.

"Fletch, it's only poker." I enunciated the last word. Fletcher shrugged, and stood up, stretching his arms. He sighed, walking to me, and kissing my lips softly.

"I'm getting something to eat." he told me, and teleported. He disappeared, but appeared in the same spot, a few seconds later.

"Damn it." he stomped his foot on the ground, and uttered a few foul words.

"I told you not to mess with China. Now she's gone and put a binding spell on your apartment. You just have to figure out where, now." I figured, walking into the kitchen behind Fletcher. He opened the fridgerator door. I smiled, remembering the days when I had searched constantly for Skulduggery.

But that was three years ago. I was now seventeen, as was Fletcher. I had just gotten my first car, a new Bentley, courtesy of Skulduggery. It was a present for my birthday. It was the new 2010 version, and if I'm ever driving behind Skulduggery, EVERYONE stares.

Fletcher got a Bugatti Veyron, a new one, and he uses it purely for showing off. Egotistical little twit. Fletcher tossed me an apple, while he took out an orange. I sat on the counter, and Fletcher sat next to me. We sat in silence for a few minutes, until Fletcher made small conversation.

"So... Any new cases for me to help with?"

"Nah. Ever since my run-in with Archaic, things have been pretty quiet." I assured.

"Yeah, but you know what that means..." Fletcher trailed off.

"Something big's going to happen. Fairly soon."

"And it's going to be HUGE."

"Gargantuan."

"Enormous."

"Goliath."

"Behemoth."

"Colossal."

"Pretty much your annual thing, right?" Fletcher questioned. I nodded. "Well, you're going to have to be careful. You don't want to have the bad guys hands on you. One minute, your life is bright, blinding, adventurous, and the next thing you know, the light go off."

We were suddenly surrounded in darkness. The bulbs had flickered, and died. Every once and a while, the light would turn on for a millisecond.

"Fletcher?" I asked, feeling around. I felt his coat, and clung to him. I felt for my necromancy ring in my pocket. Then I remembered- this apartment is bound. I wouldn't need it anyway.

"Right here." Fletcher confirmed

"What's happening?" I wondered. I put my head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around my waist. I slid my arms around his neck. I could feel his heart thumping in his chest.

"It's just an ordinary power outage. It happens, you know." he breathed.

"In the magic world, things just don't happen. Things happen for a reason." I recounted. I took a small step to the side, and Fletcher moved too. I took another small step. We were soon dancing softly. Fletcher spun me around suddenly, and I laughed with glee.

He brought me back to his chest, and he backed up, until my back hit the corner of the kitchen counter. He looked down at me, and began to lean forward. His lips touched mine, and I closed my eyes, and stood on my tip toes.

The lights flickered back on. I kept on kissing Fletcher, but I heard a soft noise over at the couches. I opened my eyes slightly, and gasped against Fletcher's lips.

Surrounding the kitchen and the bar counter was fifteen men dressed in black, with scythes strapped to either side of their bodies