Disclaimer in Chapter one.

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Ignis Recreant: YAY! I'm happy you liked it, I'm trying to figure out a story line which is different but not too impossible haha. UNDER MY BED... Oh... My cupboard? I wondered why I could hear turkey noises it's been freaking me out for days! XD

Guest: I'm sowweh! I hope it wasn't terrible haha. Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it :) Smiley Face!


Chapter seven.

Skulduggery raised his palm, reading for any displacements in the air. Valkyrie could feel it from here. There was a struggle but all of a sudden it stopped, she didn't know if someone had been injured or the fight was over – either way they needed to find out, it could be Grace.

Without notice, the detective walked forward into the darkness and it swallowed him. For a few moments she stood there encased in the orange glow of the street lights – reluctant to follow but in the end she did, she always did; Valkyrie fumbled in the darkness until her eyes adjusted to the gloom. Skulduggery was standing with his arms crossed, facing her; she knew he was staring at her but she didn't care. "What are you looking at?" Her tone was blunt as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"What took you so long?" He asked before raising his hand. "Never mind, I don't care." He walked passed her and stepped back into the orange haze which bounced off the wet road.

Valkyrie raised her arms and growled, what was the point in that she thought to herself before she walked back towards the Bentley. "Well? Did you see anything or were you just checking up on the growth of the potatoes?" She questioned, rather irritated.

"Potatoes? Dear god Valkyrie, don't be so silly potatoes don't grow this time of year." Skulduggery shook his head and slid into the car before she could reply. He really was irritating her, he is normally always like this but she hated it when he didn't tell her something he just discovered. Swiftly she slid in and the soft click of the seat belt notified her it was in place.

"So? Did you find anything? Was it Grace?" She asked, rather impatient.

"Oh yes. I believe she has been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? By who…?"

"Ah see I'm not sure who it was exactly, but my bet is on the man who attacked her earlier. A van drove off but I couldn't see the driver – their heading back to Dublin."

"Well we best get going then." She replied and they began to drive, the darkness consuming them again.


Grace shuffled in her seat and the lights of the city lit up the roads as Ruess began to drive into an abandoned warehouse estate next to the river. Graffiti covered every wall, the buildings were crumbling and the windows were shattered, even vines and bushes began to grow up the walls. When the van stopped her fists clenched, she knew this was where the torture would happened, he said so himself on the journey over. Ruess opened the door and slammed it shut, her gaze locked on him as he walked around the front of the vehicle; Grace shuffled to the other side but he grabbed her ankle and yanked her out, her head slamming into the concrete causing a deep wound to open above her eye brow. She moaned and he gripped the back of her jacket and pulled her onto her feet, dragging her into the warehouse where his little pack of snarling idiots waited.

"This is a mistake… You have this all wrong…" she pleaded, gazing at him as her feet struggled to keep up with her, the blood running into her eye and down her cheek.

"Will you be quiet… There is no point even trying to talk your way out of the situation, it's not going to work." He was annoyed, she could tell but still how did he have this… Power over her? Not even her adoptive parents could make her do as she is told.

"How…" She hesitated but resumed. "How are you making me do this…"

"Making you do what?" He looked down at her as he shoved her into a chair. "Sit there and do not move."

Grace did as she was told, again and she looked up at him with her eyes and sighed. "This… You making me do things, there is no way I would do this but you have cast some sort of spell or something magical like that…"

Marcus Ruess laughed and shook his head, his scar wrinkling as he smiled. "You really are oblivious aren't you? Well I guess you would be without any parents to teach you."

"I have parents…"

"Not biological ones. I should know, I killed them remember." He crossed his arms and pulled up a chair, they were in a small study now and it smelt of damp and mould. Dark stains covered the walls and floors and the only source of light in here were a few candles and a lamp that stood lonely in the corner.

"Yeah I remember… I also remember giving you that scar." Grace snapped and she knew she would instantly regret it. Ruess stood and clenched his fists, leaning his face in close to hers.

"This scar is nothing to the pain you will be feeling… When they come… They will make you scream, they will make you bleed and cry. And guess what, I will be standing there watching." His eyes narrowed and he didn't move for a few seconds before he sat back in his chair, crossing his arms across his chest.

"If I could punch you right now… I would." She muttered and she let her sapphire gaze drop onto his boots. He wasn't a tidy looking man, he wasn't exactly unattractive; he was handsome in that rugged way. His clothes were clean but his jeans were ripped and his shirt sleeves were pushed up to his elbows.

"Well you can't, so get used to it. Until you have a taken name there isn't a hope in hell of getting your own way."

"Taken name?" Grace glanced back up at him and raised an eyebrow.

"It's the name that seals your given name..." Ruess instantly regretted that comment, he just gave her information that could help her escape, if she gave herself a name then he wouldn't have any control over her – he would have to use force and his bosses wanted her with little injuries as possible.

"It seals my given name?" Grace thought about it for a moment and a smile caressed her face, this could be her way out – if she escaped then whoever the people were that wanted to torture her, would have to drop that idea and move onto something far more interesting.

"Don't get any ideas; It would ultimately lead to bitter fights and strife." He muttered standing up, raising his arms into the air to stretch off.


Skulduggery drove sensibly but still with a hint of urgency, if Grace had been abducted by this gentleman she didn't have a chance if she didn't have any control over her body. The power over the name is unbreakable until it is fully sealed and Valkyrie knew that, she experienced it with China when she first stepped into the magical world and she hated it. Every bone in her body wanted to walk out that apartment that day but she couldn't it was as if she was had strings attached to her body and China was manipulating her as if she was her own personal puppet. It was horrible but it gave her the strength to find out her name and when she did, the weight on her shoulders that forced her down was lifted and she was free to leave.

"Do you think they will kill her?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Kill her? No, he would have done that in the street. Whoever took her needs her alive but there is still the threat that she could be hurt and we need to get her back." The detective pressed on the speed a little and the dark narrow roads had been traded for the luminous orange of the street lights. The buildings and homes blurred past as they drove through Dublin, stopping at some traffic lights.

"So… Where do we look first?"

Skulduggery tapped his fingers on the steering wheel and thought for a moment. "I don't know; they will be in a place which is unoccupied by civilians and away from public attention."

"Well… they would be taking her to an old industrial estate then or an abandoned house? Right? That would be the logical thing to do." Valkyrie leaned forward in her chair and turned to him. "Turn left and drive towards Bridge Street, there is an old set of abandoned warehouses there – next to the river."

Skulduggery turned his head and looked at her. "I always knew it was a good idea to bring you along with me." He pressed his foot down as the traffic light beamed green. Swiftly he turned left and powered on down the street at a fast but reasonable pace.

Valkyrie grinned and rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up and drive."