Valkyrie frowned as the bright yellow Canary zoomed through the streets of Haggard. It had been a blissful eight years at least since she'd seen the awful little car. It made her want to puke. Skulduggery had managed to crash the Bentley the week before in pursuit of the third rogue cleaver that week. It was abnormal for a cleaver to go berserk every eighteen months, let alone several a week. It put Skulduggery in an even fouler mood than usual.
Valkyrie rapidly became bored on the silence. Tension was in the air as Skulduggery could snap any minute. She pulled out her iPod and started fiddling with it. She'd recently taken to listening to music as she fought or trained. She used the rhythm of the music as a rhythm for her power. Skulduggery sighed and shook his head.
"Do you ever put that bloody thing down?" he asked, irritatedly. Valkyrie simply put her headphones in and pressed play. Skulduggery said something in the background, but she couldn't hear. Scowling, she removed the headphones. "What?" aggravated. He knew that she couldn't hear him. He did it just to irritate her. He would've smirked, if her could. But he just chuckled from behind his scarf.
"I said, what kind of music are you crazy cats into these days? Steps? S-Club 7?"
Valkyrie stared at her partner in horror. Steps? S-Club 7? She was nineteen, for god's sake. Not eight.
"I have taste, thank you very much. Steps, my arse. I like Skillet and Hollywood Undead!" she grinned at the memory of seeing them live last year.
"Skittles and who?" asked Skulduggery, puzzled.
"Skillet! Skillet and Hollywood Undead. Y'know? Dead In Ditches? Open Wounds?" she looked at him helplessly. Skulduggery scoured his mind for any source of them.
"Nope. In my day it was Iron Maiden, and Guns 'N' Roses," he said with nostalgia in his voice. "Of course, even then I was behind the times,"
Valkyrie furrowed her brow. Guns 'N' Roses was 80's...he was older than that, surely? She put it out of her mind and simply put her headphones back in and crossed her arms. Steps, indeed. She listened to her music so loud that Skulduggery could hear the thrash metal quite clearly. He chuckled himself and concentrated on his driving. When they reached the art museum, Valkyrie turned off her music.
"So, is this one a traitor as well?" she asked him.
"No, she's Tanith's mother. I knew her in the war," Valkyrie sat in awe. She was still alive? Tanith was 80 years old herself. Jesus Christ.
"Does that mean she's ancient, like you?" Valkyrie said teasingly. Skullduggery opened his door and said
"I'll have you know, I'm only twenty-eight," and he exited the car. To be fair to her, Valkyrie did attempt to compose herself. But a twitch in the corner of her mouth let her down. She burst into laughter.
"Twenty-eight? Maybe twenty years ago!" she continued laughing as she exited the car. She was still laughing as they walked into the gallery. She was still laughing as they approached an empty room. She was still laughing as they entered and spoke to the portrait of the maid milking a cow. She was still laughing as Skulduggery stated their names and business. Her laughter began to die down into a trickle of chuckles as the portrait swung open and they entered an elevator. She wiped the tears away from her eyes and looked at him with amusement. He stared at her with his arms crossed. She smiled awkwardly. "You're not joking, are you?" he simply shook his head.
"I died at the age of 28. I don't age. I don't live. I simply...exsist," he spoke quietly and full of sadness. Valkyrie looked at him with undying sorrow.
"Oh, Skulduggery, it's not that bad, is it?" she put a hand upon his shoulder. Skulduggery's shoulders began to shudder, and Valkyrie wrapped her arms around him. "Don't cry!" it was only then she realised he was laughing at her. She punched him in the shoulder and walked into the Sanctuary.