Ok, next chapter.

I don't own anything Twilight or Skulduggery.

Enjoy!

Edward P.O.V

For an entire week, Stephanie hadn't shown up - it was just the thing I knew wasn't her. I had told all my siblings of my theory, and we all watched out for little signs that something was up. It was Friday again, and 'Steph' had just walked into the gates.

"Steph, over here!" Alice called. The imposter turned around and smiled at us - knowing it wasn't Stephanie, made it kind of eerie. She walked over to us.

"Hey guys." We headed off to class, but I had a feeling someone was watching. I looked around, and dove into peoples minds.

God, Emmett's ass is fine!

Dammit! I forgot my homework...

Who the Hell is that blonde chick? She's got a fucking sword! I looked at the boy who'd thought that, and followed his gaze - sure enough, Tanith Low was hidden half-covered in shadows. Our eyes met, and she glanced at the fake 'Stephanie'.

"So you know, then, vampire." She whispered, I flinched, and my family turned to look. "Meet me behind the gym at lunch - I need your help. Bring her." She nodded at the fake Steph. And then, she was gone. Completely dissapeared.

"Well, I guess we're meeting Tanith Low in person." I told my siblings at vampire speed, before ducking into my first classroom. 'Stephanie' had her first lesson with Alice - so we could keep tabs on her.

At lunch, we found Tanith hanging upside down from a tree behind the gym. She spotted us, grinned, and flipped down. She landed with the elegance of a vampire, and left us gawking at her flexability.

"Stephanie, come here." Tanith said sternly. 'Steph' walked over to her, and Tanith smiled.

"Do you know where Valkyrie is?" Valkyrie? Who is that, and what does she have to do with this?

Steph blinked. "She left with Skulduggery, so I took her place, as usual."

"Wait, what?" I blurted. Tanith groaned.

"How the Hell am I suposed to explain this?" She grumbled. "Look, Stephanie is Valkyrie's given name. Valkyrie Cain is her chosen name. No one knows their actual name, consciously." (Umm, theres no Darquess stuff in this, sorry.)

"Then, who is that?" Rosalie asked, eyeing the imposter.

"This is Valkyrie's Reflection." Tanith said with a childish grin similar to Emmett's. "Val has to skip school to fight bad guys all the time. So, she uses this, as copy of herself - kind of."

"What do you mean, fight bad guys?" I demanded, suddenly extremely worried for Steph-Valkyrie.

"This is where it gets good. The great Valkyrie Cain is a detective, along with me, Skulduggery Pleasant and Ghastly Bespoke - Well, kind of. Ghastly is also a tailor, and I just help. Skulduggery is Val's tutor in all things magic."

"Magic? No such thing." Emmett barked.

"Damn, this would be easier if I was an Elemental. I'm an Adept, and I can do stuff like... this." Tanith walked over to the outside wall of the Gym, and jumped. Her feet landed securely on the brick and she walked up the wall calmly. Then she turned around and walked backwards. "No such thing as magic, eh?"

"Thats awesome! She's like Spiderman!" Emmett boomed excitedly. Tanith jumped down and landed expertly.

"We have a friend, Fletcher Renn, who can teleport, Ghastly, Val and Skuldugger are all Elemtentals - controling the Elements - Oh and Valkyrie can do Necromancy, death magic." We nodded, still confused.

"Magic." I breathed. Got this is just odd.

"You see, Valkyrie and Skulduggery went on a case last Saturday, and never came back. I need to find them, before one of them ends up decapitated - or worse." She shuddered.

"Wait - What case did they go on?" I asked.

"Chasing Billy-Ray Sanguine, a Texan hitman. He's been trying to get Valkyrie for some time now, since when she was about thirteen - just starting out at being a detective, really - she took his straight razor. He's had a vendetta against her and a creepy crush on me ever since. "

"We have to help her." Alice chimed.

"Yeah... You see, it's dangerous - if we do find them, Val could dead, or bleeding out. Your vampires, and you could kill her." Tanith said hesitantly.

"I won't go." Jasper said, we all turned to look at him.

"I have the worst control - I could kill her, Edward, and I know how much she means to you." Ok - if I could've blushed, I would have.

"Oh great, another vampire after her heart." Tanith muttered humourlessly.

"Another?" Me and my siblings asked incrediously.

"Yeah, theres a different species of vampire over here - their a Hell of a lot more dangerous at night, but pretty much normal during the day. One vampire, Caelan, has been her personal stalker for a few years, after kissing her in the park and confessing his 'un-dying love' for her." She snorted.

Emmett smiled. "That sounds like something Eddie-boy would do!" He said around laughter. I glared at him, and he eventually shut up.

"Well... Stephanie, go back to class - be Valkyrie, whatever it is that you do, and how about, Bronze Adonis, Pixie and Blondie come with me? Muscle Man can stay with Curly Hair." There was several growls as Tanith handed out nicknames, whilst Emmett grinned childishly. The Reflection just walked away, blank-faced.

"God that things creepy." Tanith muttered. "Alright you lot. Follow me, I'll take you to Stephanie's uncle's house. We can think up a battle plan. I'll call Ghastly, too." Me, Rosalie and Alice followed her out of the school, and we walked until we were just out of town.

"Where are we going?" Alice chimed.

"Well, when Gordan Edgley died - thats Val's Uncle, by the way - she enherited his mansion, fortune and royalties. He was an author, ever heard of him?" Tanith explained.

"I have." Rose said, smiling smugly. "He wrote fiction novels. I'm guessing he knew about magic, considering what he wrote. Did he tell Valkyrie?"

"No. He was murdered, and the same person who murdered him tried to kill Val whilst she was at his old mansion. Skulduggery saved her, and she joined him on inspecting the killing. Me and Valkyrie nearly got killed. She got tortured, and I got stabbed with a scyth. Fun times." She finished jokingly. How the Hell can she joke about stuff like that? "I'm gonna call Ghastly, get him to come over. I'm sure he can help."

"Alright." We agreed. Tanith pulled out her cell phone and speed dialed someone.

"Hey Ghastly." She greeted.

"Hello Tanith, I've been meaning to call you - any news on Skul and Val?" A male voice answered.

"No - well, kind of - meet at Gordan's. Hell, maybe the old man will have some insight on this." She told him. I looked at my siblings, confused - wasn't Gordan Edgley dead? Tanith hung up, and then we turned onto a street, with a huge house at the end. Tanith led us up to the front porch and tried the door. It was locked. She sighed in annoyance.

"We could knock it down." Rosalie suggested.

"Nah, I'll just do this." Tanith checked over her shoulders - the street was deserted. She crouched down, closed her eyes and placed her palm flat against the door knob. There was a click, and the door swung open. "Ah, the joys of being an Adept."

I blinked. "Wow." We walked into the mansion, and Tanith jogged up the stairs - we followed at the same pace. She swung open a door and we walked into what seemed to be a study. Tanith opened a secret door and dissapeared for a moment before coming down with a stone in some sort of holder. She placed it down, and a middle-aged, balding man apeared, floating in the air.

"Where is my neice?" He asked.

So this, was Gordan Edgley.

Hehe.

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- INDIGO FATE