Disclaimer: Characters, settings, or basically anything you recognise are Derek Landy's, not mine. I make no money from this.
Of all the times for Skulduggery to take his Bentley for repair… Right after he'd left, Tanith sent another taunting text to Valkyrie. This time it was a map grid reference.
She should have waited. She knew that. But by the time repairs had finished on his precious car, Tanith would have got bored and left.
Presuming Tanith was even there. Maybe she'd left a present instead. Like poor Fletcher's body…
In dense forest with only the GPS on her smartphone to guide her, Valkyrie wondered how she'd find Tanith or whatever she'd left.
It turned out that she didn't need to worry about that, as Tanith had left a trail to follow, of trees daubed with what on first glance looked like blood, but was in fact red paint. Still wet. And stinky.
After a few minutes of slow progress – she was careful to avoid stepping on any twigs or anything else that might make more noise than her muffled footsteps – she heard voices. Familiar voices.
Valkyrie ducked behind a tree as she almost walked right into the clearing where Tanith and Billy-Ray Sanguine stood. She peeked out to watch, hidden by leaves.
"Can I kill her, honey bunny?"
'Kill? What? I thought…' Valkyrie choked back a gasp. Didn't they wanted her alive because of Darquesse? Unless…
"Yes, but not with that." Tanith snatched his razor.
"Hey! I need to get her back for this!" Sanguine gingerly poked himself where Val had attacked him all those years ago. "What better way than to scar her for life?"
"Sweetie, use what passes for your brain. She'd kill you if you did, and you can't come back from it like we've learned she can."
"Oh. Right."
Oh indeed. That explained why they wanted to kill her. To free Darquesse. But how did they know killing her would do that? Apart from Skulduggery, no one else knew. Unless Melancholia had woken up and put the pieces together? But if she had, Tanith and Sanguine would be the least of her problems, and they'd hardly be the first to know from that source. Most likely Sanguine had been lurking around last time Darquesse came out to play.
Although it didn't explain why they thought Darquesse wouldn't kill them anyway. Hadn't Tanith said that she had no intention of being anywhere near? Unless that was why Sanguine got to kill her, so Tanith could get a head start in running for her life.
"Here." Tanith handed him her sword.
"Oh, wow. You really do love me!"
"You do have your uses."
She should wait for Skulduggery, she knew. But Tanith was here. By the time he got here, she'd have vanished again, with her creep of a boyfriend.
Instead she'd walk into the trap they'd obviously set. It wasn't as if Sanguine had ever succeeded in killing her before…
She stepped out of her hiding place and ran into the clearing. Valkyrie clicked her fingers to throw a fireball, only to remember where she was – she couldn't risk starting a forest fire when she might not have time to put it out. Sanguine might not be anything to worry about, but Tanith?
Sanguine lunged for her.
Valkyrie let the flames die back and went for throwing shadows instead. But switching talents cost her too much time. If Sanguine was using his razor, she'd be fine, but Tanith's sword struck—
She sprawled on the ground, leaf litter all she could see. Something had hit her. Not the sword. Something from the side.
Sanguine cried out, briefly, before he trailed off with a wet rasp.
Valkyrie pushed herself up on her elbows and twisted around to see Sanguine fall back, blood spurting from his throat.
Tanith stood there for a moment, holding his bloodstained razor. She flung it aside, both hands moving to the hilt of her sword—
"Tanith!" someone screamed. From the ache in her own throat, Valkyrie had done it.
Tanith fell to her knees and collapsed to the ground, biting back a scream when it jarred the sword impaling her. She clutched at her wound, blood welling up between her fingers.
Without even being aware of moving, Valkyrie was at her side.
"Why? Why'd you do it? If I'd been killed, you'd have what you wanted: Darquesse."
Tanith's body jerked. The black stain of the Remnant was briefly visible on her skin before it did what should have been impossible: it finally left, a shrieking dark cloud polluting the air before it shot off. No doubt in search of a new host.
Val stared. Whatever happened to the four day rule? That after that, Remnants couldn't be removed from their victims, even if the Remnant wanted to leave? Either that infernal Remnant was special, or they didn't know as much as they thought they did about Remnants…
Tanith gripped her hand, bringing Valkyrie's attention back to her. "Managed to break free. The Remnant wanted that, but me? Never…"
Valkyrie pulled her hand away and frantically searched through her pockets, then more carefully through Tanith's for anything that might help, that might stop the bleeding. Removing the sword wouldn't help, Tanith would only bleed to death all the faster.
Suddenly grateful for the chill air, she took off her scarf and pressed it against the wound, wincing when Tanith flinched.
"Val… You can't stop this. It's too late."
"I know!" Tanith wasn't bleeding too badly on the surface, especially now with the scarf, but internally? "You shouldn't have done it. Skulduggery has managed to get Darquesse to go back. I would have lived, Darquesse can heal from that…. and Darquesse probably wouldn't have taken over – I don't have the tattoo from the Sensitives' vision yet. You wasted your life."
"To save you? …never wasted."
"Weren't you listening? I would have healed like that"—Valkyrie clicked her fingers—"but I can't heal you. And I can't get you to Nye in time. You made sure of that."
"Fletcher… the Remnant was in control. I didn't want to kill him."
"But you can remember—"
Tanith shook her head. "Don't have time to argue about it. I can remember all of it. Maybe because the Remnant left me like it just did. The only thing that was my own will was just now."
"A waste. You could have spared Fletcher instead. I didn't need saving."
"I love you, Val. Enough to break the Remnant's control."
"Funny way of showing it, killing my boyfriend."
"I failed, okay? I tried and I tried to break free, like you did, but… I wasn't strong enough."
"Yet strong enough to save me when I didn't need it."
"You don't know that. Skuldug…" She choked, blood trickling from her mouth. "He's not here. He can't stop Darquesse if… he's not here."
"He's a phone call away."
Tanith laughed. And coughed. More blood stained her teeth. "Like you'd have time to call him. Not as if Darquesse would."
"She'd find him. She, er, likes him."
"Whatever. Saving you is never a waste."
"It is when I won't die!"
Tanith shook her head. "Dying hurts. Don't want you to go through this."
"Tanith—"
"Tell Ghastly I'm sorry."
"Tell him yourself." Valkyrie pulled out her mobile and scrolled through her contacts' list. The dialling tone sounded. Again and again. "Come on, Ghastly, pick up… or just go through to a voice message."
"Too late," croaked Tanith. She reached over and ended the call. Her hand fell slack.
"Damn it, Tanith." Valkyrie's throat felt tight as tears stung her eyes. She closed Tanith's eyes with shaking fingers.
Ever since the Remnant had taken Tanith from her, she'd hoped… dreamed for it to leave. Instead it was the stuff of nightmares. Now Tanith was taken away for good. It wasn't fair. First Fletcher, now Tanith.
Wherever that Remnant was now, it had to die.
She dialled the only number she had on speed dial. Unlike Ghastly, he picked up almost before his phone started ringing.
"Valkyrie?"
"Skul…" She looked away from Tanith's body in the hopes that she wouldn't sound like she was crying. "Skulduggery, I need you."
AN: Tanith is my favourite character in Skulduggery Pleasant. I can only blame the plot bunny for this... or perhaps it was a way of preparing for the worst, as Derek Landy does have a habit of tormenting poor Tanith.