Sorry this took a while/is short! The next one will be early to make up for it.

The way back to the beach was nowhere near as long as the journey there, though Skulduggery had to occasionally dodge out of sight when a helicopter passed overhead.

He let her down on the beach gently. She was reluctant to try standing again, and swooned a bit as she raised a hand to check if her cuts were still bleeding. They had stopped - thank God - and seemed rather shallow.

But she was still mad.

"And now I find myself understanding why you hate mermaids." She scowled. He dried himself off and then turned to do the same for her without prompting.

"Indeed. Are you alright?" He said, and seemed to wince a bit as he saw the water he had drifted away from her face was a diluted red.

"I'm fine. I'm just mad we didn't learn anything."

"But we did."

She frowned, pulling her hands through her beachy hair. Ick. "We did?"

"Indeed. Did you notice how calm they were when I mentioned the shipments? It has to be them. If it weren't, they'd be getting jealous, asking for information, trying to grab it for themselves. They've hidden it away somewhere. The only question now is where."

Valkyrie sighed. "We're not going to figure that out any time soon. There's no way we can go back. They despise you. And me by association. Thanks, by the way," she muttered as an aside. She found a hair tie in her jacket and pulled her hair up. "… Can I ask? Why they have such a grudge against you?"

Skulduggery sighed and sat on a rock, appraising her. "It's not much of a story."

"Tell me anyways."

"And it doesn't exactly paint me in an impressive light."

"Those are my favorite stories of yours. Go on."

The detective sighed again. He peered at her, as if waiting for her to waver, and she patiently stared back. He began speaking wearily. "When I was a boy, I would go down to the ocean with Ghastly. We would practice our magic and wrestle and coerce each other into doing stupid things."

Valkyrie tried to imagine Ghastly and Skulduggery like that, so young, and so close, but found she couldn't.

"I wanted Ghastly to talk to the mermaids; he refused. So I called him a coward and went myself. They came to the shore that night, beautiful and young and very happy to listen to whatever stupid thought that popped into my head. I thought I would be able to dodge them, be immune, and come out of the conversation with a story to tell and something to hold over Ghastly's head. I didn't. They dragged me down before I could even feel their hands on my ankles, giggling about a pretty new pet. I couldn't do anything. I was shocked and enamored and I couldn't reach my magic properly, like you. I thought I was dead. Dead, because of a dare. The next thing I remember, Ghastly was there, pulling me away from them, punching and hitting them relentlessly until they let go. They hadn't even paid him any notice. He was too ugly, too heinous for them to consider, or even remember. And we got away. "

She stared at him. "Damn. I take it they don't like Ghastly very much, either?"

"He won't enter the sea. A wise choice. Their hate for me is almost equal, because I got away. I lost value, I suppose, the next time I returned to their seas, like this, but they hold grudges collectively, and unfortunately for me, they last forever."

Valkyrie bit her lip. "I'm sorry I made you go down there. It was a really stupid decision. You were cautious for a reason, and I should have listened to that. I'm sorry."

Skulduggery shook his head. "We learned where the shipments are, didn't we? It was worth it."

Valkyrie hugged her arms around her, and nodded.

"Now," Skulduggery said gently. "Go home for a few days. You deserve it. I'll figure out what we're going to do."

She looked down at the sand and nodded. "Alright. But call me as soon as you figure something out, alright?"

"Of course. See you in a few days, Valkyrie."

"See you." She waved, and they parted ways. She found herself looking over her shoulder as she returned to her home, until she could no longer see him or the Bentley.

Valkyrie pulled herself through the window with no shortage of groaning. Her reflection wasn't there, and she went into her bathroom to find the ointments that Doctor Synecdoche had given her. She uncorked the bottle and spilt a bit onto her fingers. It smelt suspiciously of Fruit Loops, and she had a feeling Clarabelle was involved. She smoothed it into the skin of her face, covering the cuts entirely. As she did so, the sleeve of her jacket slipped down, revealing a nasty bruise already forming on her wrist.

She scowled and found a piece of the yellow healing rock, breaking it into smaller pieces and dropping it in her sink. She dropped her jacket onto the bathroom floor and soaked her wrist without looking at it. After a few minutes, she shook off her wrist sand toweled her arm absent-mindedly. Her shirt went flying over her head and she stepped out of her black trousers, which were slightly stiff from seawater. She changed into a grey tank top and dark jeans.

She heard footsteps - her own footsteps - and the reflection and bobbed its head at her, making sure not to open the door too wide. "You're home?"

"Yep. Finally."

The reflection smiled. "We're having pasta for dinner."

"Oh, God, that sounds so normal. I'm becoming excited whenever I get to do something ordinary. That's a bad sign, isn't it?"

"Probably." The reflection stepped into the mirror, and they exchanged memories. Valkyrie didn't bother with the lazy summer days, but she wondered what the Reflection would think of the mermaid attack and Skulduggery's story.

But she would ask later.

Now, all she wanted to do was run down to her family and enjoy a few days of normalcy.