A/N: I don't own Valkyrie, Skulduggery, Lord Vile, Darquesse, Serpine, Anton, Saracen, Dexter, Ghastly, Erskine, Mevolent or Gordon. Thanks go out to Bestlauren for the fave, follow and review. Also to 'Rumpelstiltskin' for the review and welcoming me back home. And to mysteryHuntress for the reviews, fave and follow. And to
The-empty-masquerade for the fave and follow. Thanks to everyone for reading and the great welcome back.
Valkyrie sat in her car, caution catching up with her at last. It had been a giddy and wonderful drive here but now as she looked at the wall and the castle beyond reality sank in. She'd come here based on a dream. A dream of all things. She started to feel a little foolish, but took the time to think things through for once.
Either the dream was just that, a dream, and she'd find nothing in the castle. Or it was real. In which case, either Serpine was the good guy and she'd be reunited with him at long last. Or this was just a really clever trap and she'd be going to her doom. What had Skulduggery said? He'd come back as a vengeful ghost?
Valkyrie felt confused and then she felt angry over being confused. She was going in that castle. If she was crazy, fine, she'd deal with it. If it was a trap she'd deal with that too.
And if Serpine's actually in love with you?
"I don't know." Valkyrie admitted. The harsh sun was beating down as she got out of her car and closed the door softly. She wished Skulduggery was there then. Because this was just like her, wasn't it? To rush headlong into danger.
Pretty much.
Valkyrie smiled to herself, took a running leap towards the wall and pushed down on the air to shoot herself up and over. She landed on the other side and stared at the castle. It seemed to be waiting, anticipating her next move. But she wasn't going in guns blazing. She was going to be smart for once and not just shadow walk into the hidden room she'd seen in her dream.
So she started to run instead. She started to run and her eyes narrowed as her emotions and thoughts raged inside her. Part of her hoped it was a trap, that she'd have a reason to start hitting Serpine. And another part wanted it to be real. And that part, somehow, she suddenly knew, was fueled by the pendant that she was wearing. Valkyrie tried to stop, tried to turn back, but she kept running in the same direction, picking up speed and she couldn't stop.
Incoming.
Valkyrie looked up in alarm as she ran and tried to stop as the Midnight Hotel suddenly loomed up in her path, but she couldn't and she hit the porch awkwardly as the front door opened and Skulduggery rushed out to drag her inside. Valkyrie fought and screamed, tried to break free as he drug her inside and then the Hotel shook ever so slightly and they were far away from the castle. "No! You have to let me go to him!" Valkyrie snarled as she tried to twist free of Skulduggery's grasp.
Skulduggery simply grunted in response and drug her into the common room and forced her into a chair. Anton and the other Dead Men were there and they held her in the chair as she fought and raged and Skulduggery dug inside her tunic and found the pendant. He tugged it free and the cord snapped and as soon as she was free of its influence Valkyrie sagged in her chair. The men let her go, Anton bringing her coffee that she accepted with a grateful nod.
Valkyrie flushed in shame as she drank, Serpine's influence over her broken. "How could I have been so stupid?" She asked and Skulduggery patted her shoulder in sympathy.
"Happens to the best of us." His mobile rang and he answered with a grunt then rang off to stare at her. "Serpine's castle just went up in a massive explosion. I'm not sure how he managed that without help, but now we know how he planned to take his revenge."
Valkyrie frowned. "What triggered it? I didn't make it inside."
"Timer, maybe. Remote. Or the Grand Mage not being quite as stupid as he looks and sending in some nifty bomb defusing robots before you got there to have a look around." Skulduggery said kindly. Valkyrie flushed in response.
"I've been a total idiot, I put us all in danger."
"Is that what you think?" Skulduggery asked with a head tilt. "Because what I see is someone who went up against one of Mevolent's top generals. The man might not be able to fight worth a damn but he's a good tactician. He got you off balance Valkyrie, it happens."
"Because I underestimated my opponent."
"Yes, it happens. Luckily, as has been previously stated, Lord Vile is rather fond of you. And the better general. The moment Erskine said something I knew what was going on behind the scenes. Well, before that actually, when you asked me if I was missing chunks of time. At first I thought you weren't happy about being with me, then I figured out his scheme."
"Wow."
"I thought you'd be impressed. Sorry to leave you out in the open but he's been quite good at not leaving cover up until now."
"But he should have been nearby to see me die, right?"
"He should have been and we had sensitives in place watching over you remotely, but they sensed nothing. We know by now he seems to not be able to be bound in a Soul Catcher or a cell."
"So how do we destroy him?"
"That's my girl." Skulduggery said then shrugged. "We'll find a way, we'll keep traveling for now so we can plan and find his weaknesses, but we'll find a way."
The other Dead Men looked concerned but also faintly amused. Saracen of course, looked greatly amused. "Look at it this way, Val. You got to date a maniac."
"I did not date him!" Valkyrie said as she flushed again and he laughed.
Skulduggery shook his head at the pair. "Lord Vile intends to rip his soul into shreds when he catches him. That man has a history of taking things from him." Valkyrie just nodded in reply, remembering Serpine's side of the story. Serpine had likely been lying, but still.
The Dead Men relaxed in the common room, the excitement of their adventure over. Most of them had checked on Valkyrie several times and now she was flanked by a protective Ghastly and Anton. Anton looked at her. "Now it's truly personal." He murmured in that quiet voice of his.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
Ghastly looked at her. "It's OK, Val. It's happened to all of us and it's a trap you don't sense until it's been sprung on you once. You had a natural distrust of the man and I'd like to know how he managed to keep it together to court you like you said."
"There's every possibility the lunatic is actually in love with her." Skulduggery said as he joined them. He crooked a finger and Valkyrie got up to follow him. They had the same rooms as before and Skulduggery naturally followed her into hers. Valkyrie put coffee on, realizing she'd picked up the habit from Ghastly's tea ritual and smiled to herself.
"I don't actually love him, you know that, right?" She asked and he nodded.
"When you went from the young woman who punched him in the face to trying to prove the story he was feeding you I knew something was going on. The shift was gradual; he's clever and he's picked up the ability to pass himself off as normal. That part actually scared me."
She went to him and he hugged her close then kissed her chastely before releasing her. "It scared me too. I didn't recognize him. He's a good actor, I'll give him that. And the thing was, I didn't believe him, not completely. He just looked so pitiful, so lonely, like I felt."
Skulduggery nodded and motioned for her to sit as he saw to her coffee. "It's how he works. When all else fails Serpine will change strategies. But we know he has a back up plan, he always does. Any ideas?"
"Well, he didn't possess you, so you're safe."
"And the others are wearing necklaces. We'll keep an eye on them but perhaps all this courting wore him out and he'll have to go recharge for a few centuries."
"You don't really believe that, do you?" She asked.
"Not really." He admitted.
Valkyrie thought of something over dinner that night. None of them knew if the memories were just a Necromancer's trick or him trying to rewrite her personality but she remembered something she doubted he'd have wanted her to. And whether it was a dead woman's memories she was remembering or her own from a past life it didn't really matter. "He's a pathological liar." She murmured and Dex glanced at her.
"Could have told you that. You remember something else?" He asked and she shrugged. "Ah, got you, private stuff." He nodded and tucked back into his plate but the other men were staring at her.
"He was unbalanced, back when he was alive. His worship of the Faceless Ones is what cost him his impending marriage. She kept watching him slip farther and farther away from her. Those letters? He was loving towards her, at first. And then his obsession took over and her barely paid any attention to her. It was like the man she'd fallen in love with had died. That and he just seemed to never be able to hold it together for long except around her."
"The old Valkyrie?" Anton asked gently and she nodded. "True. You hear things during a war and Serpine, believe it or not, was fairly balanced until she left him."
"So I created Serpine?" Valkyrie and Skulduggery asked as one.
"He created himself." Ghastly said then looked at Valkyrie. "Careful, Val. As far as you know this is just one more piece of his arsenal. You said yourself he was enjoying the pain you felt as he forced those memories on you. Never mind the fact that the maniac, if he's telling the truth, killed you once and just tried to again hours ago."
"Because that was his plan to get her back." Skulduggery said softly. "He planned on killing her all along. Then he'd have her back."
In her dreams that night Serpine appeared and held up his hands before Valkyrie could rush at him. "Those fools only delayed the inevitable. You will return to me, Valkyrie."
"I thought it was Darquesse you wanted." Valkyrie said, remembering the first time she'd seen him and Serpine smiled.
"Yes. While you were protecting your flank I could circle around to my true objective. I've told you before that I love you. And I'll do whatever it takes to get you back."
"Including imitating Gordon?" She asked and he smiled slyly.
"Whatever it takes. Vile might have been the most powerful. He had all the flash and dark style, but me? I always got what I wanted. I never went down in defeat."
"I seem to remember you being obliterated by the Sceptre." Valkyrie snarled but Serpine only smiled serenely in reply.
The next morning Anton was way too quiet when he found out Serpine had again appeared to Valkyrie. "With the wards it isn't possible. Even if he'd rode in inside someone it still wouldn't be possible, they couldn't enter."
"Then how is he doing this?" Valkyrie asked.
"Necromancy has many branches." Skulduggery said helpfully. "There's the shadow magic we use, raising the dead, and other paths. Dream magic, a dark version suited to us, is possible. But I don't see what he hopes to gain now that you've come to your senses."
"Wearing me down?"
"Maybe. I can't remember him being any good in a prolonged siege, but he won't stop fighting, I'll grant him that much."
"Is this where I go Darquesse on him and destroy him once and for all?"
"Not yet. We aren't seeing something here, Valkyrie. He's acting obsessed and you were loosing it and yet he was still calm, still acting like a man besotted, correct?"
"Yes..."
"So either he has a use for you, most likely connected to his masters, or he is after revenge."
Or in love.
The problem was, even with all the Dead Men there, they were at a loss of what to do. Serpine seemed impossible to catch and contain so they'd need a way to destroy him. And for the briefest moment Valkyrie pitied him. Then she shook the feeling off, reminding herself that this was likely just one more scheme of Serpine's. What could be more pitiful than the rejected lover?
That gave her a flash of insight. It was a dangerous, stupid plan and one she didn't dare tell Skulduggery about and she'd have to be careful. Serpine wasn't a fool. But she was the only one who had a chance of finding out his real plans. And if he wanted her dead or for another reason, he was apparently too weak or couldn't do it in her dreams. Yet, at least.
So that night when he appeared she knew Serpine sensed a change. "Been thinking, have we?" He asked.
"Yes."
"Good. That means you're coming around to my side at last. You always got thoughtful before it happened. We had our differences, you could say they were religious differences, but if I'd had enough time you'd have come round to my side again."
Valkyrie watched him. He wasn't lunging at her and they simply were standing in the garden. "Let's say what you say is true, it all happened. You still killed me. How do you kill someone you love?"
"You spurned me. You spat in my face and told me you'd rather be dead rather than be back with me so I obliged you. I trusted you, Valkyrie! I gave you everything decent in me and you rejected me!"
Valkyrie looked away, confused.
Stay calm, he loves you. Play it to your advantage. Use the memories against him. Tears would be a nice touch.
And since she was close to tears in frustration anyways Valkyrie started to cry. Serpine was close to her immediately, cradling her against him. he kissed her softly and Valkyrie told herself to pretend that it was Skulduggery and returned the kiss. They parted and he held her head to his chest. "You left me." Valkyrie managed in a small voice. "You said you loved me and then you got obsessed and I fought to save you but you left me." She started to cry again and she wasn't entirely sure if it was just acting or not and the thought scared her a little.
Serpine stroked her hair with his gloved hand. "I was trying to do the right thing, Valkyrie. To build a better world for us. One where you and I would bask in the terrible glory of the Faceless Ones and you would be my queen." Valkyrie shivered. She'd seen the Faceless Ones and they weren't they type of beings to think much of putting kings and queens in place.
"And if you had succeeded..."
"I know. But that's in the past now. And the explosion your friends activated? A nice touch. You can tell Skulduggery for me that his pathetic attempts at making me look like the villain are most amusing."
"You can tell him yourself." A voice laced with an artic chill said and then Vile was there and he walked into Serpine, throwing a shadow punch that caught him square in the face. The punch lifted Serpine off the ground and he went flying backwards. Serpine sprawled in the dirt, seeming to have trouble rising. Then Vile was holding up the same pendant that Valkyrie had worn, only now it was an angry pulsing black and darkness spread from it and enveloped Serpine and he screamed in agony, and then he wasn't there any more.
Time stopped as Vile turned towards Valkyrie, awful in his dark majesty. He nodded to her and she sensed his dark smile behind his visor then he was gone in a burst of shadows.
Valkyrie awoke to find Skulduggery watching over her. "You're up early. Sparking didn't go well, did it?" He asked sweetly, then laughed.
"Lord Vile could have told me I was bait."
"He did. He did when he apologized for leaving you out in the open. He just didn't add that you were still out there."
"That sounds like something Wreath would do."
"Not anymore." Skulduggery said cheerfully and Valkyrie rolled her eyes and got up for a shower. As she showered Skulduggery knocked then came in as he used to and Valkyrie thought he'd always had poor ideas about personal space and smiled as she lathered up her hair.
"So it's over?" She asked, raising her voice to be heard over the shower.
"Indeed. And to save you asking there's no way to prove if you were who he said you were, sorry."
"It's OK, actually." Valkyrie said as she finished up and his gloved hand snaked in with a towel. "Thanks, for everything."
"Not a problem. Sorry you had to go through it, Valkyrie. In the end I don't know what he was after. If it was just one more way to make a death of someone I loved about me or he truly was insane enough to be in love with you."
Valkyrie wrapped the towel around her and got out. "You're in love with me." She reminded him.
"I'm also insane." He said and tilted his head in a smile.
That was fun! Well, I had fun. Did you have fun? Sorry it was so short but it seems as good a place to end it as any.
