Hi guys. I'm back. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Dear Dulce Imaginatio, thesparrowfliessouthforwinter and Snowfrost/Ponybird21,
Your characters will be in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy this.
Dulce- How old is Madison Queen?
From M.E.
2ndday of classes – September 20th Tuesday
Valkyrie groaned when she woke up in the morning. Her back ached and she couldn't sit up. Rolling onto her stomach she grabbed one of the leafs Kenspeckle gave her. Popping it into her mouth she chewed on it and sighed in relief when the pain began ebbing away.
Pushing herself up Valkyrie sat on her bed and went to check her phone for the time but glared at the empty place on her bed side table where her phone should have been. She hoped Gordon would hopefully find a phone for her and soon. She didn't want to end up in another situation without a phone.
Deciding to get up she got changed into some jeans, a t-shirt, pumps and a black leather jacket. Walking out of her room Valkyrie went into the living room and found no one there. Looking at the clock on the wall she noted it was only 7:30am and breakfast didn't start till 8:00.
Dropping down onto the sofa she turned on the T.V and found a film she began to watch. Somewhere through the film Merit, Harmony and Tanith had joined her. Harmony sighed.
"When are we going for breakfast?" Harmony asked.
"What time is it?" Valkyrie asked sitting up from her slouching position.
"8:13am." Harmony answered.
"Now?" Valkyrie said standing up.
"Sure." Harmony said standing up and going to grab her jacket from her room.
Valkyrie watched as Tanith stood up and put her sword in the cupboard by the door and Merit stand up and stretch.
When Harmony returned they all began their way towards the canteen for breakfast.
Lunch
By the time lunch had rolled around Valkyrie's back had become to hurt again and she struggled to sit down and stand up. Sanguine, Harmony, Tanith and Saracen were already sat at the table. When she sat down in the canteen with her food she winced.
"You okay Val?" Sanguine asked.
She shook her head. "I forgot to bring my leaves down with me."
Harmony looked up from her food. "I'll go get them for you." Harmony offered.
"No, I'll get them." Valkyrie disagreed, going to stand up but dropping back down into her seat when the pain became too much.
"I'll be quick." Harmony said, standing up and disappearing through the floor.
"Hey guys." Dexter said as he came and sat down next to Valkyrie.
"Hey." Val muttered, clenching and unclenching her fist under the table. She groaned when someone knocked into her back.
"Shoot. Sorry Val." Merit said.
"It's f-fine." Valkyrie muttered. Val wandered why it was so painful now. Why not after the attack? Then she reasoned that it was the adrenaline.
"Where's Harmony?" Merit asked sitting down on the other side of Dexter.
"She's gone to get Val's leaves." Tanith explained looking worriedly at her friend.
"Valkyrie, are you okay?" Skulduggery asked as he and Anton came and sat down.
Valkyrie grumbled. She really wished Harmony would hurry up. It really shouldn't take her this long.
"Something's wrong." Saracen suddenly spoke up. He was frowning and his eyes had a faraway look as if he was concentrating on something. "Harmony." He suddenly gasped.
Merit's P.O.V
Merit eyes widened when Saracen said Harmony's name. Her thoughts went back to when Valkyrie was attacked. She looked around and saw Fletcher. Standing up she rushed to him. Merit grabbed his collar and turned him towards her.
"Teleport me to the dorms, now!" Merit growled. Fletcher swallowed and nodded quickly. The two disappeared.
As soon as they were teleported in front of the dorm building Merit let go off Fletcher and ran through the door. She growled in annoyance as she saw all the stairs she had to go up. Merit shifted into an eagle and began flying up, trying to go as fast as she could. She kept her senses open in case she could hear or smell something.
As she made it to her dorm, she shifted back and landed on the floor. The door was kicked and as she entered the room slowly she found signs of struggle. The sofa was tipped over and the TV had been smashed. Going into the kitchen she found some knifes on the floor. Merit eyes glared at some splashes of red liquid. Blood. She checked the bedrooms and bathroom but they were okay.
Merit knew who had done this. Mevolent. He had had Dusk attack Valkyrie. She hadn't told anyone because she didn't want to worry them. Now, she wished she had, so then they would be wary and be ready for a fight if needed. Her phone began ringing from her back pocket of her jeans.
Grabbing it she checked who it was. Anton. Answering the call she put it to her ear.
"Merit! Where are you?" Anton's voice was panicked and he seemed out of breath.
"At my dorm." Merit kept it short and precise. She walked into the kitchen and pulled a chair out from the table. Sitting down she looked around the room. There was blood and knifes. Obviously it got serious.
"Stay there. We'll be there in a minute." Anton's voice cut through her thoughts. Merit nodded but then remembered he couldn't see her.
"Okay." Merit sighed. She was too young for this crap. She ended the call and laid her head on the table and closed her eyes.
Merit didn't know how much time had gone but she heard people talking and footsteps. She jumped when a hand was put on her shoulder.
"Merit?" Tanith said, sounding unsure.
"I should have known something was happening. That my brother was planning something." Merit growled out, glaring at her hands on her lap. "He got Dusk to attack Val. I should have said something."
"Hey! It's okay." Tanith reassured sitting down in a chair next to Merit. "We'll find Harmony. My cousin is strong."
Merit nodded and stood up. She needed to begin looking and finding clues. She wouldn't let her brother get away with it. Not this time. Hurting one friend was over the line but kidnapping another was way, way over that line. It was in another league.
"Merit." Ghastly said holding a piece of paper. "I think this is for you."
Merit walked over and took the piece of paper off if. Turning it around the first thing she noticed was her name at the top, scribbled in her brother's writing.
'Merit,
It has a million stories but cannot tell them. You have 36 hours to find us.
Your least favourite brother
Mevolent.'
A riddle. Merit hated riddles. That's why she never signed up for the detective class. Looking around the room she looked for Skul and Val because they were good at riddles. But they weren't in the room. Looking back at Ghastly she gave him a questioning look.
"Where's Skul and Val?" She asked, folding up the note and putting it in her pocket.
"Still at lunch. Valkyrie never got her leaves." Ghastly explained.
Merit nodded. "I'll go give them to her."
Walking out the kitchen and towards the bedrooms. Merit got to Val's door and went in. She had been in there a few times but Val still hadn't painted it yet. They were supposed to do it this weekend. It might not happen though. Seeing the leaves on the bedside table, she grabbed them and left. Going back into the kitchen she looked at Tanith.
"Will you be okay here?" Merit asked looking around. Ghastly, Dexter and Saracen were looking for more clues while Anton and Fletcher were trying to tidy up. Main word, 'trying'.
"Yes." Tanith nodded, reassuring Merit. Merit nodded and went towards the door but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Don't do anything crazy." Tanith said.
"I won't." Merit said, this time reassuring Tanith.
"I'll go with her to make sure." Anton said coming up behind her.
Tanith nodded and went back to trying to clean all the knives off the floor. One was stuck deeply into the wall. Merit waved at Tanith and her and Anton made their way back to the canteen.
"Are you okay?" Anton asked once they were away from the dorm.
"Apart from my best friend being kidnapped, yes, everything in the world is fine." Merit said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.
"So what's your plan now?" Anton asked as they left the dorm building. People were walking and sitting outside enjoying the warm weather.
"I'm gonna see if Val or Skul can work this riddle out." Merit explained, getting the note out her pocket and handing it to Anton. Anton read over the note and handed it back to Merit.
"That's not really very helpful." Anton said.
"No kidding. Mevolent always did love riddles." Merit explained as they walked into the main building. Walking down the corridor and turning a few corners, they made it to the canteen.
Skulduggery, Valkyrie and Sanguine were all sat around the table, but none of them were talking.
"Here." Merit said, putting the leaves down in front of Val. Valkyrie opened the bag and put one in her mouth, slowly chewing it.
"Thanks." Val sighed happily. Merit watched as Val looked her over. "What's wrong? You look tense."
Merit sighed and pulled the note out, placing it on the table. Skulduggery picked it up and began reading. Merit and Anton sat down.
"Harmony's been kidnapped." Merit whispered.
"What?" Sanguine hissed, looking angry.
"As I said, Harmony's been kidnapped." Merit repeated. "Ghastly found that note somewhere. It's got a riddle on it. I thought Skul or Val might know what it means."
"It has a million stories but cannot tell them." Skulduggery said thoughtfully. Merit watched as Skulduggery passed the note to Valkyrie.
"It says 'least favourite brother'." Valkyrie said, looking at Merit. "Does that mean you have another brother?" Val passed the note to Sanguine.
Merit thought for a moment. What could she tell them? They are her friends. Anton already knew and he took it fine. "Yes, I do." Merit admitted. "He's thirteen, two years younger than me. I'll have to tell you the story that goes with it if you want to know about him."
"Can you tell us?" Sanguine asked intrigued.
Merit nodded. "It was two years ago….."
Cliff hanger. Hope you enjoyed it. If you have any ideas on what I could do next please send it to me. Also, you can ask about the characters if you're confused about them but I might not be able to tell you some things.
Reviews are always welcome and if you have any questions I will answer them at the top of the next chapter.
