Skulduggery Pleasant

Chapter 4- Kidnappings in the night

They had done all they could for the day. Valkyrie and Skulduggery had spent the rest of their time at the Scene of the Crime and the Library in the Sanctuary- constantly swapping in between the two. Right now, they had no clue- there was nothing to give them an extra thought to give them more suspects. China was looking more innocent now as reasons for why she did it became rare and questions for why she did it became rarer. To Valkyrie, the whole process was exhausting. You would think she would be used to the whole process of a case, but the start of one just tired her out completely, no matter of how many times she's been through this cycle.

So at the end of the long, exhausting day, the two detectives made their way back to the Bentley with a comfortable silence between them. Sliding into the passenger seat, she settled down, her head resting against the cool window. A headache had sprung up. Sighing contently, her eyes closed.

"I'll drop you off at Gordon's Estate tonight. Make sure you get well rested because I will be calling on you early tomorrow morning." The skeleton was saying to her. She replied with hums and the occasional nod, too tired to open her eyes or attempt a conversation.

So when the Bentley pulled up in the driveway of the house, the engine's purr turned into a quiet chug.

"Get a good rest, Valkyrie."

"Yeah, stop telling me." She was sleep walking now. "Goodnight, Skul." She attempted, a tired but playful grin creeping onto her face.

"Goodnight, Valkyrie." The skeleton touched the brim of his hat and she knew he was giving her a smile. She climbed out of the car and shut the door, waving him off before stepping into her Uncle's home.

It was quiet inside, and cold. Shivering slightly, the girl turned up the heating before heading into the kitchen- turning on all the lights as she goes. Valkyrie was hungry and as she looked through the cupboards, she realised there was no food for her to eat. Humming with irritation, she picked out a pizza menu and ordered herself a pizza. An hour. Great.

So she decided to relax, take her mind off of the case that she had now. Even though it was proving to be difficult. She took a shower and dressed in her pyjamas and lounged around downstairs. When her pizza came, she found herself in her Uncle's study, flicking through the books- as if she was looking for some kind of help.

But there was none.

An hour later, she had had enough of everything. Flicking off all the lights, she crashed on the couch downstairs, her head becoming black instantly.

It was a click that woke her up. A click then a draft of cold air. She furrowed her eyebrows, her eyes open and her senses alert. There was a black, slim figure walking around the house. Skulduggery? He wasn't moving silently so she knew it wasn't. When the figure passed the room she was in, she was up in an instant, grabbing the nearest thing to her. A fork. Really?

Still, it was a weapon. Her feet were silent on the cold floor and she followed the figure around the house. He was searching, but not damaging anything, so what was he after. And then suddenly, he stopped- just like that. His body spun and he was upon her in a second.

"No! Get off!" She cried out, jabbing the fork into his arm.

"Ow, that hurts!" He pouted, hitting her and nipping at her skin. Snarling, she pushed him off. He was weak, that was good enough for her. Standing up, she clicked her fingers and her palm sprouted a ball of flame. Throwing it at him, he ducked but not before she singed his clothing.

"An elemental, huh?" He laughs and he rushed forward- not what she was expecting. His hands slammed on her shoulders, pushing her back with a force which had her flipping backwards, her head smashing off the window. She was dizzy now, but she scrambled defensively to get back up.

"No. You come with me now." His young voice was so smooth it was chilling. He picked her up over his shoulder and carried her out of the house.

Valkyrie Cain had put up a very good fight- so good that she was now exhausted. The sleeves on her pyjama t-shirt were ripped all the way down her arms, showing bruises and cuts.

She had no idea where she was, but she had travelled from the North of Ireland and she was now in the South, she knew that.

This was the countryside, a house or a village not in sight, there hadn't been one for an hour now. She was handcuffed to the backseat of a yellow fiesta. Really? It couldn't have been blue, or black. Something stylish and not looking like a flying custard.

Soon the car slowed to a stop. They were outside a school- a very old one at that. It's beige outside walls crumbling slightly- giving that crumbling down feature. It was huge, the windows smashed.

"Come on, Miss Cain." The man grumbled. He wasn't much older than her, maybe a year. He released her hands from the seat and she was out in an instant, scrambling away. He grabbed her t-shirt and pulled her back towards him.

"The master will not be happy if you carry on like that." He says quietly into her ear. She hummed in discomfort. He held her and forced her into the building, taking her through the dark corridors until they stopped by a room. He unlocked it with a click- his magic before someone pulled her and shoved her inside. She stumbled, her legs unable to get their bearings (there were steps, why couldn't they say 'Mind the steps') and she stumbled, her head cracking off the concrete floor.

"Ow…" She mumbled. A light flickered on somewhere and the room was lit up in a dim light. The person who had taken her from Gordon's was now hauling her up, her back slamming hard off the wall. A clink of chains was heard and her wrists were heavy.

"We have you now." The man laughs from the doorway. Her kidnapper joined him, grinning at her and they left, shutting the door. Her eyes widened and she ran, but she only got to sprint not even ten steps before her feet shot out from underneath her and her back met the floor.

"Well that was particularly clever of you." A familiar voice said from the opposite corner.

"Skulduggery!"