Going to try to keep a weekly update schedule. Saturdays/Sundays if I can.

Also bad puns for chapter titles.

Chapter 2 - Harbouring Secrets

The scowl on Valkyrie's face was easily one that could halt an entire army. Perhaps even the ocean she was glaring at.

"Geez, if looks could kill."

Valkyrie didn't even glance at Tanith, walking up next to her. They were at Dublin port, waiting for Clarity Veil to arrive with Ravel. Or rather, the Dead Men were; they were just tagging along.

"I'm hoping that if I look angry enough, the ocean will sink the boat Ravel is on," Valkyrie growled.

The grin on Tanith's face was quickly replaced with a scowl of her own.

"Remind me why this 'Clarity Veil' person thought it was a good idea to take custody of him?" she grumbled.

"No idea."

"Well, then."

They both proceeded to stare in silence with faces of absolute thunder. No one went near them.

Eventually, a ferry could be seen rolling in through the early morning fog.

"Right on time," Valkyrie muttered, glaring at the ship. She could just make out small figures on the upper deck.

"How much are you willing to bet that Ravel's smug arse is up there?" Tanith said bitterly.

"Thirty euros says I can get away with shooting him," Valkyrie sneered.

"I'll double that just for attempting it."

In the end, Valkyrie decided not to risk such a stunt. She could punch Ravel when they were out of the public eye. When they went back inside to find the Dead Men, they found them lurking in the corner of the Arrivals lobby. Skulduggery's façade had a beaky nose, angry grey eyes and short red hair. Bushy eyebrows scowled at anyone who go too close, and none of them seemed particularly concerned with finding anyone.

"Tanith," Ghastly called, waving the two women over. "How are you, sweetie?"

Tanith smiled, draping her arms around Ghastly's neck. "I'm good, babe."

"Good to hear." The smile on Ghastly's face became strained. "Look… try not to be too hard on Clarity, okay? They're a good person, just… sometimes they make choices that only make sense to themselves at first."

Tanith frowned. "We'll see when they get here," she said simply.

"Thank you."

Saracen's head suddenly shot up like a bloodhound on high alert.

"There they are," he announced, pointing to the last two stragglers in the crowd.

Valkyrie couldn't help but gape. Striding towards them was a frighteningly tall individual, pale as the grave and icy blue eyes trained on them behind sleek black glasses. Dressed in a black jacket, jeans, and turtleneck, heavy boots thudded against the tiled floor in a fierce, steady rhythm. They were slim in build, with narrow shoulders and long limbs, with sharply defined facial features framed by choppy, jet black hair.

"Oi! Clary!" Dexter shouted, catching the stranger's attention. A grin alighted on their face, showing off neat white teeth. "There you are! How's my favourite nibling?"

Clarity Veil glanced over their shoulder before quickening their pace, eagerness putting a spring in their step.

Valkyrie, after having gotten over the shock of Clarity's height, ignored the cheerful buzz of the reunion before her, and looked behind them to see Erskine Ravel lurking in the background.

She felt her fist clench at the sight of him. He should not be allowed to walk so freely, custodian or no.

Skulduggery had expected Ravel to be standing proud and smug, with his head held high as he strode towards them. Instead, the man had his eyes on the ground, shoulders hunched in an attempt to make himself smaller. Wrapped up in a thick ski jacket and navy turtleneck, his presence didn't project itself like it used to, and he bore a ragged appearance, in desperate need of a shave and a haircut.

Scowling, Skulduggery looked away in disgust and turned to look over at Clarity. They hadn't changed all that much. The thin layer of stubble that covered their jawline was new, but that was about it. They still had the same smile, and greeted the men they called family with clasped hands and foreheads bumping against each other. It was a warm, intimate act, born from years of trust that he wasn't privy to.

After greeting their family, Clarity drew themselves back up to their full height and turned to face Valkyrie and Tanith. Something about their eyes seemed… off… fake… Valkyrie couldn't put her finger on it.

"And to whom do I owe the pleasure of meeting?" they enquired, almost innocently. But Valkyrie could sense the wary suspicion in their voice. Both women were tense as they exchanged terse introductions with the cryptid, whose posture was straight-backed and rigid. There was no trust.

"You're not… quite what I expected," Valkyrie murmured.

"I never am," was all Clarity said before turning back to Ghastly. "How've you been?"

Ghastly smiled, his expression deeply fond. "I've been great, thank you. How've you been holding up these past few weeks?"

To Skulduggery's bewilderment, the question was aimed towards Ravel. But he'd zoned out, staring at the floor with a blank expression, and he didn't respond until Clarity cautiously nudged his shoulder, snapping him out of his… trance. Ghastly had to ask him the question for a second time.

"I… I'm… I-I'm fine, Elder Bespoke," he stammered, drawing a look of surprise from Ghastly and a muted frown from Clarity.

"Right," Ghastly began. "Umm… let's get… home, I suppose."

Dexter and Saracen both immediately got into a scuffle over who would take Clarity's bag, which continued even after Anton took it for them. Once that was over with, everyone left the building and made their way to the car park, where Clarity and Ravel got into Ghastly's van with Tanith, Dexter and Saracen. Anton got into his own car and left for the hotel, whilst Valkyrie and Skulduggery got into the Bentley. They all drove off into an awkward silence.

Ghastly's van had played host to a number of awkward silences over the years. There was that time he'd had to drive a very drunk Saracen and Dexter home after a bar fight, and that other time when the Bentley had been completely smashed once again and he'd offered to drive Valkyrie and Skulduggery back to the Sanctuary. Something had happened, and it had been a very tense silence for all of them.

This had to be one of the worst. Tanith was next to him in the passenger seat, arms crossed and staring out onto the road. Behind him, Erskine was listlessly gazing at nothing, with Clarity reading something on their phone next to him. In the back of the van, Saracen and Dexter were both glowering at the back of Erskine's head, their murderous expressions not boding well.

"So what did you get up to in Europe?" Ghastly asked, wincing when Erskine jolted into alertness with panic in his eyes and pain twisting his features.

"We mostly just stayed in Austria," Clarity said, switching off their phone. "Roamer let me use her cabin there."

"That's nice," Ghastly nodded. "Who's Roamer again?"

"Elemental. Helped me with my documents that one time sixty years ago. She works in the US."

"Oh, her. Are you two still..?"

"We were never involved to begin with. We just said that to get her ex off her back. She's engaged to this nice guy called Klóra Dyr now."

"That's good to hear. You going to her wedding, if they do get hitched?"

"She said she'd like me to walk her down the aisle if it happened."

"Aaw, that's sweet!" Dexter interjected, grinning over at them. No one noticed Erskine flinching away from him. "Roamer's a sweetie."

"So what about you?" Clarity asked. "Anything interesting happen recently?"

"Tipstaff ran right through China's office door last week. He was freaking out about something and didn't realise how fast he was going. Sent it right off its hinges."

A short, strangled laugh burst out from Erskine, drawing a look of surprise from Clarity and Ghastly. Tanith, Dexter and Saracen just scowled at him, and he immediately closed up, shrinking in on himself.

"Sounds like something Tipstaff would do," he said quietly.

The van descended into silence once more. Glancing sideways, Ghastly saw Skulduggery's Bentley overtaking them, and Valkyrie pulling faces through the window. He knew he should have been the mature one, being over four-hundred years old, but he stuck his tongue out at her anyway.

Throughout the drive to Roarhaven, Saracen had noticed a number of things about Ravel. He curled in on himself and clutched his chest because of seven broken ribs, all in various stages of healing. There was an ugly scar just above the small of his back, the result of being… burned… over and over… It hurt to breathe, and he suffered frequent headaches, but Saracen was unaware of the cause. His short burst of laughter earlier had hurt him, he knew that. He hadn't known he'd sound so sickly.

When they drove into Roarhaven city, there was no pride in his eyes. Saracen only saw a dull melancholy that made the bags under his eyes look heavier as he gazed up at the parseing buildings.

They parked outside the Sanctuary and went inside. Clarity drew a number of stares, but some were directed at Erskine, curious.

The man kept his eyes lowered to the ground and the lower half of his face hidden beneath the collar of his turtleneck, sticking close to Clarity's side. He was nervous and on edge; shying away from anyone who got within three feet of him. No one seemed to recognise him yet. 'Yet' being the key word.

The group was soon joined by Skulduggery and Valkyrie, who had stopped to buy donuts upon the latter's insistence that she was in desperate need of them.

"You dun' come 'ere ovden, do you?" Valkyrie mumbled through a mouthful of donut.

"I come here every few years for a medical check-up," Clarity explained, apparently unbothered by Ravel, who was now clinging onto their jacket sleeve like a child. "I'm not normally this public about it."

"Walking through a hallway is your idea of public?" Valkyrie queried.

"Strangers irritate me."

"Do... I irritate you?"

"Not really."

"You're annoying. Have a donut," Valkyrie said, holding up the box of Krispy Kreme donuts. She then offered donuts to everyone else, and slapped Dexter's hand away when he tried swiping a second one.

She didn't offer one to Ravel, and Clarity, to her surprise, tore theirs in half and handed one to him. He glanced from one to the other, seemingly not knowing how to respond, before taking it with a mumbled 'thank you'.

Ghastly lead them to the Elders' lounge, which was guarded by a pair of Cleavers stationed outside the door.

Two scythes blocked Clarity's way, but the expressionless visors weren't directed at them. Rather, the cowering figure behind.

"Stand down," Ghastly ordered, earning looks from everyone. "He's not a threat."

Silent, the Cleavers raised their scythes, and Clarity walked past with Ravel clutching their hand. Everyone was staring at them.

The Elders' Lounge was full of potted plants and plush couches. A window covered the entire wall facing the door, looking out onto the street outside. In one corner was a table with a coffee machine and snacks, and there was a television on one wall over a fake fireplace. Someone had been in there already, if the tower of used coffee mugs on the snack table was anything to go by.

For some reason, Saracen frowned. "Why didn't we go to the-?"

"No," Ghastly interrupted, an unimpressed scowl on his features. "We are not going to the Graveyard."

"But it's so much nicer!"

"I'm not humouring Mesmer with that joke. I'll start using it when she lets us change the plaque."

"You're no fun," Saracen pouted. By now, pretty much everyone else had sat down. Tanith and Dexter were getting themselves coffee.

"Want some coffee, Clary?" Dexter asked. Clarity just shook their head.

Once everyone was settled, they all settled into easy conversation. Saracen was sprawled out on Dexter's lap, taking up an entire couch as he did so. Skulduggery assumed command of the armchair in the corner closest to the door, and Valkyrie, Tanith and Ghastly took another couch whilst Clarity and Erskine took the one by the window. Erskine was pressed up against Clarity's side, eyes glazed over and staring into the empty space between his knees. He went completely ignored. He didn't speak a word, or even make a sound. Jokes seemed to go unnoticed until you saw the weak chuckles that he was attempting to hold back. He looked exhausted and sickly in comparison to Clarity, who, despite their seemingly calm demeanour, held themselves like a pillar of stone next to him.

At some point, Clarity's focus turned to Ghastly.

"Did you manage to find a place that would take us?" They asked. "Or did our... situation keep putting people off?"

Ghastly winced. "You're right. Sorry about that."

Clarity's expression didn't change. "It's fine. I can ask Jakobi and Mark if we can stay with them."

"Where do they live?"

"Baltimore."

"Clarity, that's all the way on the other side of the country. Four hours' drive."

"Oh."

An uncomfortable silence descended upon them, and it was only broken when Valkyrie spoke.

"You can stay with me."

Clarity's eyes immediately snapped towards her, and that was when she realised that their glasses were gone. Their eyes weren't blue like China's anymore. The sclera were a deep, inky black, and the irises were rings of violet amethyst that burned into her like hot pokers.

"In Edgely Manor," Clarity said. Not asking, but stating. "Are you sure that's okay?"

Valkyrie nodded. "I've already got Saracen freeloading off me."

"Hey!" Saracen protested. Valkyrie ignored him.

"Two extra people won't be much of a bother," she continued.

Clarity stared blankly at them for a little while, their mouth a thin line. "Thank you," they eventually said. "That'll save us a lot of trouble."

Valkyrie shrugged. "No problem."

And honestly? It wouldn't have been. If it weren't for the fact that Erskine also had to stay. That was the main reason she was making this offer; to keep an eye on him. Speaking of which, she shot him a glance. He was leaning against the arm of the sofa, looking dazed and half asleep. There was something off about him, but she couldn't pinpoint what exactly.

She'd have to keep an especially close eye on him.