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Dexter went to open the door, followed by Valkyrie. Skulduggery and Ghastly hung back.
"He's on her already," said Ghastly, keeping his voice low. "He'll break her heart."
"I'll talk to him alone, and give him a strict warning," muttered Skulduggery. "I won't let him hurt her."
Ghastly sighed. "He won't give up without a fight, Skul," he said, then walked off towards the door.
"It's Skulduggery, not 'Skul'," he sighed, then followed.
Dexter flung open the door, and greeted Saracen with a hug. "Ahh, my fat little blob, what brings you here?" he teased.
"I could ask you the same thing, Mr Mentality-of-a-four-year-old," Saracen retorted. He turned to Valkyrie, and flashed her a cocky grin, then pulled her into a hug. "I've missed you," he whispered into her ear, in a seductive tone. Valkyrie's spine tingled, and it didn't help when he soothingly rubbed her lower back, below her burns so it didn't hurt, clearly knowing exactly where to avoid thanks to his mystery power. His hand slowly made its way lower down her back, and reached her rear, where it rested for a second, before Skulduggery cleared his throat.
"Saracen, you made it in one piece, I see," he commented dryly.
Saracen reluctantly released Valkyrie, although he left a hand on her waist. "Yup, my days of missing flights and losing things are over," he confirmed, then started patting his pockets and his head.
"Uhhh..." frowned Erskine.
"Aha! Here they are," said Saracen, and he pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket, and hooked them on the front of his shirt. "What were we talking about...? Never mind," he said, then gave the men quick hugs, except for Anton, who quickly backed away. It turned out he hated Saracen's hugs even more than Dexter's.
"Got anything to eat?" he asked them. "Oh yeah, you were making sandwiches, right? Got any spare?"
"I think you've had enough to eat, Saracen," teased Erskine, patting Saracen's stomach.
"How did you know we were making sandwiches?" Dexter asked.
"Oh, y'know, I just know things," Saracen casually replied.
"How?"
"By knowing them," he grinned, and with that, he sauntered off into the kitchen. Grumbling, Dexter followed, as well as Ghastly, Erskine and Anton. Valkyrie was about to go, too, when Skulduggery gently pulled her back.
"Be careful with Saracen," he said into her ear. "He may seem all charm and easy smiles, but as soon as you think you're getting somewhere, and that he really loves you, he'll leave you with a broken heart," he warned.
"I think you're overacting, he's just looking for some fun," said Valkyrie defensively, and she walked into the kitchen. Skulduggery sighed, then followed.
"So, let me get this straight," Saracen was saying as they walked in, "between the six of you, the only food we have are ingredients of other dishes?"
"It's Erskine's fault," they all said, whilst Erskine stood there looking embarrassed like last time. Not wanting a repeat of something that had happened mere moments earlier, and had led to her getting no food, Valkyrie quickly stepped in.
"How about we all have sandwiches now," she said, "then later, as a proper dinner, I'll make us all something out of whatever stuff Erskine's brought. Including a dessert."
"Sounds great, thanks Val," said Erskine.
Dexter grinned, and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, looking forward to it," he agreed.
"I'm sure it will be delicious," said Ghastly, and Skulduggery tilted his head thoughtfully.
"If only I was still able to eat..." he mused.
"If you need a hand with it, I'd be happy to help," offered Anton, smiling warmly.
"Me too," said Saracen lastly, flashing another grin.
Valkyrie smiled, "Well, it looks like I'll be cooking tonight! And you'd better all enjoy it, or else," she threatened, still wearing a brilliant smile.
"So... what's the current situation?" Dexter asked.
"Well," began Skulduggery, whilst Ghastly and Valkyrie rolled their eyes. Whenever Skulduggery began a sentence with 'Well' it usually meant that a long speech was in store. And, sure enough, it was.
"Fletcher Renn is still being held by the Irish Sanctuary, so we need to get him out of there as soon as possible. Not only because he is an ally, but because he could prove to be useful later on. Also, Billy-Ray Sanguine has been broken out of prison recently, by a person or persons unknown. It is likely that this person or persons has or have also liberated the Black Cleaver. Also, Palaver Graves of the British Sanctuary is now in charge of Ireland. Therefore, our next moves will be based around attacking the Sanctuary, breaking out Fletcher, and staying out of trouble, but getting into trouble deliberately in order to ensure that we avoid trouble in the long term, simply by getting into trouble now to work out what we need to do to do what we need, and that will probably involve quite a bit of getting into trouble, so we are technically getting into trouble for no apparent reason, and, judging by your confused, blank and, in Valkyrie's case, angry faces, I think that I am getting in quite a bit of trouble myself, so maybe I should stop talking..." Skulduggery trailed off.
Six angry people were staring at him. Six angry, hungry people, who were in no mood for Skulduggery's nonsense.
"So we simply just need to get Fletcher out of the Sanctuary?" Anton asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, yes," began Skulduggery, flustered, but both Valkyrie and Ghastly noticed that he had said 'Well' again, meaning that he was about to launch into another monologue. Ghastly quickly interrupted with, "Anyone want a sandwich?"
Skulduggery promptly closed his mouth, annoyed that the spotlight was now off him.
"Yes, please, I'm starving. I think I've only eaten, like, two pizza slices in the past 24 hours," said Valkyrie. She took a sandwich, and bit into it gratefully, wondering what the hell she was going to make for dinner that evening, now that she had promised them a five-star meal... not to mention dessert, as well.
Me and my big mouth.