Following The Darquesse

by Kayli2509

Post Death Bringer. The Sanctuary find out about Valkyrie and want to arrest her. After a warning from Skulduggery Valkyrie goes on the run. Seven years later shes back but who has she turned into?

10. Chapter 9

A/N: Hope you enjoy this one and PLEASE if you like it review. It makes it a lot more fulfilling writing a fanfiction if your readers don't stay silent. Let me know what you think.

Following The Darquesse

Chapter Nine

Dexter and Saracen were sat in one of the only rooms Darquesse's playtime with the vampires hadn't destroyed. The room was a decent size but not too big. China used it as her own personal drawing room and the end wall was the picturesque scene of a calming beach at sunset, powered by the sigils on the wall adjacent. Saracen liked watching the waves. They soothed him when his mind was racing. He realised he would need it when he noticed four people approaching the room.

Both Anton and Dexter turned when their friends and China entered the room. Before any of the males could speak, the voices of the females rang out loud and clear.

"I can't believe you actually did that!" Tanith shouted aiming her disapproval at China.

"Oh, shut your mouth." She sniped back.
"You really are a little cow aren't you?" Tanith insulted.
"At least I am prettier than you are, you skanky troll." Tanith's lip fell open. With that China stormed out of the room, moments later Tanith did the same in the opposite direction.

The men stayed quiet for a short while before Saracen broke the silence. "What happened?"

Ghastly walked across the room and sat on the sofa next to Dexter. He looked exhausted. Skulduggery stayed by the door.

"Darquesse and Clyro have gone."

The three previously unaware men all shared the same look of surprise.
"Why?" asked Dexter looking from Ghastly to Skulduggery.

"Because I told them to go." Skulduggery finally replied. His tone was unsettling.

"So what happens now?" Anton's voice came from across the room.

"We have eliminated the Acid Battery as far as we know. So Mevolent or whoever is the culprit will need this time to recuperate." Skulduggery explained taking his hat off his skull and dusting lint off the brim before replacing it.
"I think that the hospital they took Darquesse to will be empty now, but it may give us some clues." he finished.

"Isn't that risky?" Ghastly asked.

"Certainly." Skulduggery replied without skipping a beat. "But it's the only lead we have now that Darquesse is gone."
"Are you sure you're ok with that?" Ghastly asked more concerned. "Are you ok with her leaving? I know you wanted her to be-"
"It was necessary." Skulduggery cut him off. "We should probably rest. I think time is on our side, for now." He left without another word.

The waterfall came into view when Darquesse made it to the top of the spiral steps. She stormed into the cavern, Clyro was walking calmly beside her, keeping up with her with ease. He was made from her after all.

"The vehicle?" he asked sideways glancing at her.

"Leave it." she growled without being distracted.

"We are flying then?" Clyro continued.

"I need something to crush."

They could hear the waterfall. The roaring water growing more potent with every step.

"Anything in mind?" Clyro sounded half amused. Darquesse opened her mouth to reply and saw a red flash beneath her feet. The ground swallowed them both before Darquesse could utter the curse that was brewing. Oh fuck.

Long raven hair appeared from behind a pillar in the far cavern wall. The palest of blue eyes peaked round to check the sigils had worked and were now locked. A slender finger touched a delicate wrist and a sigil lit up in deep purple. Blue eyes flicked up and hundreds of purple sigils of the same design she was pressing, lit up. They were scattered across the floor of the cavern. Reinforcing the stone so it couldn't be punched through. Not even Darquesse could penetrate those. The sigils shone brighter for a second then went out, fading to stone once again.

China Sorrows allowed herself a satisfying smile before heading back to her quarters.

Ghastly knocked on the door and waited for the response that would grant him entrance. There was no doubt the person inside could identify him from his knock so when the signal came through quickly, he stepped through the door and closed it behind him.

He took a few steps into the room, Skulduggery was sat in the chair reading. His hat was on the elegantly carved table beside him, and his revolver was placed neatly next to his hat. He looked up when Ghastly came into his room.

"They've gone." Ghastly said cautiously. "No sign of them. But they left the Range Rover."

Skulduggery nodded.

"That must have been hard." Ghastly looked down at his friend with sad curves through his scarred skin.

"I did what I had to, Ghastly." Skulduggery replied.

Ghastly took a moment and sat in the chair diagonal from Skulduggery.

"Would Angel's Blood have worked on her?" he asked leaning his elbows on his knees and his arms flopped into the space between his legs. Skulduggery didn't look at him when he spoke.

"Spoke to Grouse, he didn't hesitate to call me out on my madness. He said it would kill her, or best case scenario drive her insane."
"And there is no other way?"

"None that I know of. I've exhausted every scrap I could find. I think it would be fair to say that Darquesse is not going anywhere. And Valkyrie Cain is nothing more than a memory now."

"I'm sorry, my friend." Ghastly said patting his shoulder and squeezing once he had closed the gap between them. "I know she meant a great deal to you, I know that you loved her. I wish, with every fibre of my being that I could bring her back to you."

Skulduggery finally looked up to Ghastly. "I feel like I have lost a part of me." he admitted quietly.

"That's what love feels like, my friend." Ghastly said sadly. "You remember the feeling."

Skulduggery tilted his head back down again. "I remember," he said pausing to pick his words. He didn't often unveil his feelings to others. Only ever to Ghastly but it was rare. He thought it pointless to burden others.

"But Valkyrie… was different. She was my partner in every way. If she hadn't of left for Russia, I believe… things would have eventually progressed. I never intended to act any differently, I don't think I would have known how to. But there was something unsaid, the way she looked at me… Do you really think that's what it was between us?" Skulduggery asked cautiously.

"Oh Skulduggery, I haven't seen anyone get that close to you for centuries. You needed something to live for and she gave it to you. I would hate to see you revert now that-"

"Now that I am alone again?" Skulduggery met his stare.

"You are never alone, Skulduggery." Ghastly patted his shoulder one more time before heading towards the door. He reached for the door handle then looked back before he turned it. "Remember that."

"Darquesse had made her intentions towards me clear but her motivations are cloudy." Skulduggery explained. "She had an affixation with me but even I am struggling to understand her reasoning."

"Yes, she definitely isn't shy around you."

"When Darquesse first emerged I believed that she thought of me as a threat, because I would fight at all costs against her taking Valkyrie over for good. But her behaviour is more primal, she doesn't intent to hurt me, she just…"

"Wants you." Ghastly said far too calmly to not be found funny. Ghastly realised that his chuckling was making Skulduggery amused too and it made him feel slightly better about his friend's mental state.

"For want of a better phrase- it would appear so." Skulduggery answered the remnants of chuckles leaving his voice.

"Do you think she will turn into a stalker?" Ghastly continued amused, he was pleased to see his friend still had his sense of humour when he tried to give him a stern glance and then his skull tilted indicating that he was smiling.

"Well, good luck with that my friend."

Ghastly left and the quiet filled the room. Skulduggery dipped his hand into his breast pocket and retrieved the small vial of Angel's Blood, he started rolling it between his fingers. The shimmering black glass held something within so powerful, so corrupt and it was his last chance. He closed the vial up in his palm and shoved it back into his pocket before slamming his fist down on the table.

It shattered under the weight and Skulduggery bent down to pick up his hat and gun before putting them on the table next to the bed.

Skulduggery couldn't deny that the Lord Vile inside him was attracted to Darquesse. She was dark like him and he felt the pull of his shadows whenever she was near. They wanted to get close to her and he feared sometime in the future she was going to be too strong to pull away from.

Skulduggery's phone rang in his pocket, he pulled it out.

"Hello, Cassandra."

The voice on the other side was raspy but clear. "Skulduggery dear," she said. "I think you need to come and see me."

"Have you had another vision?"
"No, but I will when you get here. It concerns Darquesse."

"But you haven't had a vision about Darquesse in years."

"I know… and that's what worries me."

"I'll be right over."

It was dark as pitch underground, the only light source was the tiny illuminations making their way through Clyro's veins under his translucent skin. He lent against the cave wall with his arms folded while he watched Darquesse. She was hovering off the ground trying to punch her way through the ceiling above them, to no avail. She dropped and landed lightly on the ground.

"I should be able to get through those stupid sigils."

"Your power is dipping again." Clyro said as they started walking down the tunnel they had fallen in to. "Have you tried teleporting?"

"Yes." There was no need for Clyro to ask how that went. "You've noticed it too, then? I'm not as strong as I should be."

"Of course."

"You said nothing."

"I was not confident of the cause. But it has become clear now that it was this Fraa person, or he was involved somehow."

"No shit, Sherlock."

"I wear a top hat. I am nothing like Sherlock Holmes." They shared a moment of laughter then a comfortable silence set in.

"How long have you known something was wrong with me?" She asked glancing at him. She was surprised at his reply.

"A couple of years."

"What? A couple of years! If it's been going on that long, how have I never noticed?"

"I have thought about this and after what Fraa was able to do to you. It's likely you have mental blocks or barriers in your mind and they themselves stopped you from noticing."

"But I did notice, yeah it took me a few years."

"But you have yet to do anything about it."

"Well I would be doing something about it if I wasn't stuck down here like a rat." She quipped. "It was fucking China, I know it. God I hate that bitch."

"Do you really though?" Clyro's serious tone was a surprise to Darquesse.

"Er… yes."

"I've witnessed you around the people you hate, they are never breathing for long."

"What's your point Clyro?"

"That China is still breathing."

"She won't be." Darquesse muttered. "When I get my hands on her, I am going to-" She paused. Clyro followed suit and stayed quiet.

The tunnel they were walking down opened up in front of them. A dull light filtered down through the gap even though they were still meters from it. Darquesse and Clyro waited in the darkness as the outline of something slowly moved into the light.

Darquesse unknowingly held her breath and more of the beast emerged. She had seen it before or at least a different one of the same family. It was the first thing she saw in the tunnels beneath Gordon's house. Who knew just how fucking far those caves and tunnels extended. The network was extensive.

Valkyrie and Skulduggery had gone down through Gordon's cellar and into the tunnels after Serpine, back when they all wanted the Sceptre of the Ancients.

That magnificent creature, impervious to magic, feeding off it, made it quite a threat. It's dog faced head turned their way.

Darquesse let out the breath she had been holding.

The beast roared and started to charge at them.

Darquesse started to beam.

"That took more out of me than I thought." Mevolent said slumping back onto a hospital bed, one of the only two in the partially bare room.

"It's been a long time since you killed someone that violently. I suggest you save your strength."

"I wouldn't have to save my strength if you hadn't of locked me up for all those years and practically diminished my power." Mevolent growled at the man stood before him. His golden eyes unfazed.

"You were a threat still, when I came across you I needed to keep you secure. I'm sure you understand I couldn't have you walking about and Cuff was too incompetent to keep you hidden."

"Cuff would have woken me, not kept me sleeping for near two hundred years. That was a long day when you had to fill in all the history I had missed thanks to you."

"You have threatened me many times about this and I always respond the same way. You were woken when it was necessary and the fact is you still need me so you can't do anything but just get on with it. Your powers were great Mevolent, they are just taking a little longer to reactivate."

"It's been eight years Ravel and I don't even have half my strength back. My other abilities are more difficult and take more of my energy. If your plan is going to work, then you need me to be at my most powerful. If this was your plan all along, to keep me weak, then you are in for an eternity of suffering Ravel."

"I am aware Mevolent. Yet I stand before you not afraid because we both know you need me to get you to the Tomb of the Ancients."

"Don't think I won't kill you the second I don't need you anymore." Mevolent forced himself to sit up when he spat his words at Ravel. Ravel smiled slightly, Mevolent couldn't tell if he was nervous or amused.

"Whatever power source is in that Tomb I need it. The procedures we put the Unnamed through won't work on me, not now we can't access anymore hotspots. You will not let me down, Ravel." Mevolent seared his gaze on Ravel's face.

"I am certain I won't."

"Because we both know, don't we. If I don't get what I want, then your world ruled by sorcerers won't happen and after you have gone through all this much trouble, I doubt you are willing to risk it."

"I have a duty to change the world and nothing will stop me from doing that."

"No?" Mevolent said with an unconvinced smirk.

"No."

"I want Cuff to come with me and the Unnamed."

"Why?"

"Because I might need him."

"What for?" Ravel pressed with confusion written all over his face at the sudden change in subject.

"It's none of your concern, Ravel. Just make sure he is ready."

"I think you are forgetting my place Mevolent. I have achieved a number of your requirements, the latest bringing you the God-Killer sword. But you have yet failed to meet any of my conditions. I can put you back in that cell anytime if I thought you were not sticking to your side of the deal."

"Relax Ravel. You will get your changed utopia world, as you know, the things I want will in turn get you what you want."

"Why are you taking Cuff with you?" Ravel circled back to the only question he really wanted answering. Mevolent look at Ravel from beneath his short eyelashes, his grin was crooked and growing more sinister.

"I am in the hopes that Darquesse might find him and some truths be revealed."

The wall was flying towards her at a frightening speed. Feeling the air around, focusing on it and letting it become solid beneath her palm. Saskia's arms were out in front of her and she pushed on the air with her hands to slow her speed before she crumpled up against the concrete wall.

Her fingers and her toes in her boots curled as she pushed harder, hitting the wall took the wind out of her but at least she hadn't bruised herself this time.

Saskia left the training room for the morning once she had showered and changed her clothes. Navy jeans and her red, cosy jumper and her favourite sea green jacket. She didn't care if the colours clashed, it was warm and the lining on the inside was really soft.

She almost jumped coming out of the door when she noticed Skulduggery leaning against the wall opposite.

Saskia's hand slapped onto her chest, the other going to the doorframe to bear her weight as her breathing calmed.

"God, you scared me." She stuttered.

"Sorry." Skulduggery apologised cheerily. "My face does that sometimes."

Saskia laughed through her laboured breathing and the feelings of her extremities were coming back to her.

"You're not meant to laugh." Skulduggery dead panned.

"Oh, sorry." she choked unconvincingly. She tried holding back the laughs long enough to put a serious look on her face. But she failed miserably and didn't really care either.

"I'm going to visit Cassandra Pharaohs. Do you want to join me?" Skulduggery asked, his tone light again.

"The sensitive?"

"The very same."

"Oh hell yeah. We going now?"

They parked the Bentley outside a small cottage with a whole array of bright flowers in patches around the pebbled pathway. The grass was trimmed perfectly in neat edges. Saskia could appreciate the beauty of it as they walked up the middle of the front garden. Skulduggery knocked on the door pleasantly.

"Come in." An old but gentle voice called to them from inside.

Inside the house, Saskia felt a little creeped out by all the twig people hanging from the ceiling but Skulduggery seemed to not even notice them. She didn't say anything. She had never been to Cassandra's house before but Skulduggery had told her about her abilities as a sensitive in the past.

"Good day Cassandra." Greeted Skulduggery as she rose to her feet from the armchair. "It's good to see you." Cassandra smiled. She had a long, dark dress that had many layers over the skirt and a grey pashmina she wore around her shoulders.

Her eyes rested on Saskia, her face went warm with the attention but Cassandra had kind eyes that did make her feel slightly better.

"You must be Saskia, I've heard a lot of wonderful things about you." she said giving her a rather weak handshake.

"Thanks. You too." Saskia replied unsure of what she was meant to say.

"Charming. Aren't you adorable."

Cassandra led the way down to her basement. She sat in the chair at the centre of the room while Skulduggery and Saskia pressed themselves against the back wall. Lighting a fire ball in his hands, Skulduggery threw it onto the coal beneath the grills on the floor. He manipulated the flames with a flick of his wrist and the whole floor under the grills caught fire.

He went over to the wheel on the other wall and waited for Cassandra to pull her umbrella over her head before he turned it.

The room filled with water spraying from the pipes on the ceiling, then it quickly billowed into steam and Skulduggery went back to his original position next to Saskia.

The steam filled the room, then images were reflected onto the clouds. There was movement.

Darquesse appeared as if she was standing in the room with them. There were long, tall shadows around her, the trees sharply came into focus. Saskia looked to Skulduggery, he had his gaze locked onto Darquesse. Another figure came into view, another girl stood head to head with Darquesse. She looked startlingly similar to her, her hair was the same silky noir, her clothes were all black and she had that disturbing effect on people when she smiled.

She was smiling as she took the fight to Darquesse. Darquesse blocked and slammed the strange girl in the face and made her face bleed. The girl laughed at the sight of her own blood that she wiped off her mouth with her hand.

"That's a little harsh don't you think? I only came here to say hello."

Darquesse didn't reply, she went in for a kick and a hook then a head butt, she landed them all successfully until the girl's hand came out shooting yellow light from her fingertips.

The light caught Darquesse in the chest throwing her off her feet until a tree trunk stopped her flight, and her screaming.

"What's the matter?" The girl said as she approached Darquesse still on her back. "Not what you were expecting-"

The vision changed, the dark forest disappeared and was replaced by what Saskia thought looked like a dance floor. The wood was solid and shiny and in the centre was Ghastly, in a black tuxedo with a delicate red rose in his top pocket, leading Tanith in her gorgeous , satin wedding dress around the dance floor.

They looked in each other's eyes like it was the beginning of their life together. Their lips met and the muffled sound of an applause floated under the steam.

It suddenly went dark, panic could be heard as dark figures appeared and dispersed amongst the crowd. The lights were flashing, Saskia caught a glimpse of sandy blonde hair then all she could see were Cleavers.

The steam bubbled indicating a new turn for Cassandra's vision. Saskia didn't see it, rather she felt it.

Skulduggery stiffened at the new vision that was playing out in front of them.

Darquesse was in a struggle, a thick arm was coiled around her neck belonging to the figure behind her. Her hands were grasping at the heavy weight across her chest. The figure holding her came into view from the shadows.

He was so tall, his face matted with dried and fresh blood. His face was contorted into a mixture of expressions, all negative, nasty and ugly. Mevolent made Saskia's skin stand on end. Darquesse coughed begging for the breath that wasn't coming to her. Every time Darquesse pulled in his hands, he tightened his grip on her throat. Her face was turning red, she was just making choking noises now rather than gasping for air.

Mevolent started shouting to someone who apparently was facing him but couldn't be seen in the vision.

"How about this? The both of you here. I have to say I like the theatrics. Now, are you ready? Are you ready to watch her die?"

With that Mevolent forced Darquesse to the ground. She looked weak and wasn't strong enough to protest when she was pushed on her front onto the cold, damp stone.

Saskia didn't know what was happening, her eyes were already stuck wide open as she watched Mevolent place his boot on the side of Darquesse's head.

She didn't want to see this, she didn't want to see anyone get stomped to death in front of her. She tried to calm herself down by reminding her that it was only a vision, but that led to more questions and queries like it was a vision of the future so it could still happen, or they could change it but it ends up being her killed by Mevolent, not Darquesse. She decided she didn't like seeing visions after all.

Darquesse's glossy eyes were on whoever Mevolent was talking to, Saskia could see the tears pricking at Darquesse's eyes and leaving dark trails down her cheeks before crossing the bridge of her nose and dropping to the ground. She was starting to tremble violently and then her body went limp when Mevolent smashed his heavy boot down. The vision cut off and the steam dispersed.

"I'm afraid that's all I have to show you both." Cassandra said as she led them both back upstairs.

Saskia didn't know what to make of what she had just seen. She was silent in the Bentley for a while until she realised they weren't going back to the cave.

"Where are we going?" she asked Skulduggery.

"We are going to the hospital Darquesse was taken to."

"What? Just the two of us?" she felt nervous all of a sudden. What if Mevolent was there? Would he try and kill them? How could she possibly escape against someone like him? The simple answer was she wouldn't because she would be dead.

"No. Ghastly, Tanith and Anton should nearly be there, they are waiting for us before they move in."

"Why only those three?"

"I sent Dexter and Saracen off to see if they could track down Darquesse." Saskia looked at him confused.

"Why? Where is she?"

"I don't know. Darquesse and Clyro left last night."

Saskia knew there was more to it but she had a feeling that it probably wasn't the time to ask. She didn't want to lose her self-control and accidentally let something slip out about her pent up jealously towards Darquesse.

"But now that we have a little bit more information, we need her back. She's not working with Mevolent."

"Hence, he was trying to kill her in the vision?"

"Exactly."

"What do you think he will do to her if he finds her before we do?"

"Something horrible, no doubt." She felt the Bentley's speed increase. It seemed to her that Skulduggery was slightly anxious. She never got the impression that he worried about herself like that, and she was more likely to get killed.

They got to the hospital and indeed, Ghastly, Tanith and Anton were waiting for them. Saskia had no idea how the place could possibly have been a hospital. It was crumbling at every corner and the windows were all smashed or gone completely, some were boarded up with strips of bent metal. It wasn't big enough to be a modern hospital and Saskia bet there would be next to no facilities inside. It was a derelict heap of bricks and glass.

"What is this place?" Saskia asked as she followed the others through the prison like gate that stood over three times her height. The blackened spiked fencing went round the entirety of the building. Saskia didn't know why they had bothered with the fence if they were just going to leave the gate unlocked for anyone to get in.

The front doors looked centuries old, the edges of the wood were frayed and peeling back, but when Tanith tried pushing one open it moved silently with ease. The doors opened into a foyer that expanded like a spider web into many adjoining corridors that led deeper into the unknown.

"This place was used as a hospital during the war. Mevolent acquired it so his soldiers could get patched up on enemy soil." Skulduggery explained briefly. "You three," he looked to the adults. "Pick a corridor each. If my memory is correct most of them lead to the centre, so hopefully, we should all meet up in a few minutes there. If any of you don't show up I'll know you have run into trouble and I probably won't be seeing you again. So goodbye to all who get killed."

Anton smirked while Tanith laughed and they separated and disappeared down the corridors.

"So you have been here before then?" Saskia asked.

"Once." He replied.

"I'm guessing it wasn't pleasant."

"It was not." Skulduggery said.

"Until I got there." Ghastly said amused then disappeared too.

"Would you like to pick a corridor?" Skulduggery asked after he watched Ghastly zip round a corner, he waved his hand at the many corridors for Saskia to pick from. They all looked the same to her, dark, dirty and long. As long as she wasn't left alone in this place, she didn't care.

"Erm… this one." she said pointing to the closest one to her left.

"Good God no. Do you want to get us eaten?" Skulduggery jibbed.

"What-"

"Oh well. It's too late now. You've picked it and you won't change your mind." Skulduggery started walking forcing Saskia to jog until she caught up with him.

"What's going to eat us?" Saskia asked, the excitement unsettlingly apparent in her voice.

"Many things, most likely, although really I would be safe. I have no flesh so in reality it would just be you that got eaten."

"You could get eaten," she shot back. "You would be the toothpick or something. Nowhere near as tasty as I would be."

Saskia had no idea where they were heading, they took so many turns and all the rooms were abandoned patient rooms left with needles or mucky towels. She was happy to just let Skulduggery lead the way so she didn't have to look at her surroundings anymore.

"If this place belongs to Mevolent, why would he abandon it?" Saskia asked sceptically.

"Maybe because he needed this place for one purpose only and he succeed with that so he moved on."

"What do you think he was doing here?"

"I'm sure we will find some sort of clue that may tell us just that."

"How was he able to use this place without you or the Sanctuary finding out?" she asked pretty unsettled by how easily people managed to slip by the Irish Sanctuary unnoticed lately.

"It's been derelict since the war, I had completely forgotten about this place until Darquesse mentioned the crest she saw." Coincidently they had made it to what looked like the room that Mevolent was using for his schemes, they passed under an archway which bore the same crest.

The crest was of two black bears stood on their hind legs, paws outstretched as if they were both taking a swipe. She didn't like it, the whole image screamed raging crazy people with egos as big as their insanely ridiculous beliefs.

"Mevolent must have been in Ireland for a long time if he was using his old hiding spots. I'm surprised he managed to stay under the radar for so long."

"But why did no-one notice him now? If he's been here ages, why did no one spot him?"

"Someone must be helping him."

"Someone who knows how to keep him invisible?"

"Yes. One thing Mevolent does like is a show and he would put one on every day of his life if he was given the opportunity."

Skulduggery and Saskia finally entered the room significantly larger than any they had passed previously. Even Saskia could tell it had been used recently. Ghastly and Tanith entered through the same door a minute behind them, their corridors intersecting before they reached the only room that looked like it had been used in the past two hundred years.

Anton appeared from the adjacent door on the other side of the room looking bored.

"Anything?" Skulduggery spoke clearly.

"Nope, just empty rooms." Tanith stated.

"I have nothing to report." Answered Anton, he probably would have looked the same even if he did have something to report.

"I thought I found someone." Ghastly started peaking Skulduggery's interest. "But it turned out to be Tanith behind the door."

The first thing they had noticed entering the room was that the lights were surprisingly bright for a room that didn't have much modern technology. There were two beds in the room, one was in the centre with medial machinery attached to it, the other had been dumped against the wall, the sheets were pulled back messily and dried blood had soaked the crappy mattress underneath.

Skulduggery and the others started looking around the room for anything significant. Saskia didn't have a clue what she was looking for so she stayed near the bed at the core of the room. She had an irrational fear that something would jump out at her from the shadows in the corners.

A monitor was attached to a long metal machine on wheels next to the bed. The screen was black, she imagined the green lines running across it, showing the peak of the heartbeat. She reached out with her fingers curious as to who the machine had been hooked up to. Her fingers touched the cold glass and the screen fizzled to life giving her a static shock for her troubles.

She gasped pulling back her hand and jumped back, the monitor was buzzing like it was trying to work through the interference and light up behind the glass.

The rest hurried towards to her, Skulduggery quickly checking her over. The monitor brightened fading to grey. The words 'turn off the lights' appeared before fading out again.

Saskia hadn't realised she had gulped until she saw Anton walking for the light switch. She immediately took a few steps to the right so she was at Skulduggery's side. Her pulse was beginning to race, the dark had never been one of her favourite places. She was grateful when Skulduggery made a slight movement so he was closer to her, he was clearly trying to comfort her.

"What are we meant to see in the dark-" Tanith got out in a confused tone before the room went pitch black. Slowly an ultraviolet light started to flicker, it was bright on the floor and on the walls, it was clearly a stain that had been smeared in all directions, it was splattered across the floor erratically. Even Saskia had watched enough crime shows to know it was blood. The pools of white were blood marks that had been cleaned off already but still showed under U.V light.

The trail led to a door in the corner of the room no-one had noticed before. No-one but Saskia hesitated before making their way to the door. The stains looked like someone, whoever had bled all over the walls and floor, had been dragged through the door.

Skulduggery was the only one waiting for Saskia as he became aware of her concern.

"Are we really going to go down there? With no idea what lies in wait? Mevolent could be down there." She didn't bother trying to hide that she was scared. Skulduggery knew her by now.

"Mevolent has moved on by now Saskia. He isn't down there, but he clearly wants to show us something." Skulduggery replied calmly.

"What if it's a trap? And we are just going to walk straight into it? He's already killed one person." She gestured to the blood splashes covering their surroundings. "Why would he hesitate to leave something down there for us?"

"Because he has a plan, and killing us is not his plan right now."

"How can you know that?"

"I fought against his tactics for centuries. I learnt his methods, I can predict his movements, and my guesses usually pay off."

She had a feeling he was trying to lighten the mood, or comfort her. Either way it was working… slightly. There was still one more thing that way nagging at her.

"But he didn't die in the war. It looks like he's had two hundred years of working in secret, changing his methods to his advantage. He's obviously aware of what's been happening in the world without him." She sagged letting it all out.

"You make many good points," Skulduggery chimed tapping his cheekbone like he was in thought. "But on the other hand it could be fun."

Skulduggery didn't wait for Saskia to follow him to the door after he said no more. Not wanting to be left alone in this place she hurried after him with a scowl.

"Fun my arse." she muttered.

Everyone gathered at the only door they found on the lower level. There were more connecting corridors they had passed on the way but they all led to the stairs back up to the ground floor.

Big steel doors opened with a shiver inducing shriek.

It was easy to see the dominant feature of the room. The throne was big and as it sat centre stage, it was clear that it wasn't empty. Mevolent had left his present on display on the throne so it could be witnessed by all. The gift was for Skulduggery, as indicated by the sign around the neck of the body that showed the words 'You're welcome Skulduggery.'

The body belonged to the man that went by the taken name of Fraa Shackleton. His body however, no longer resembled his former self as his whole form had been split in two.

From the mess and the torn edges of his messed up skin and shredded limbs, Saskia thought only something like a buzz saw could have done it to the man. The smell hit her like a slam to the nose. There was so much blood, she hunched over trying hard not to puke in front of everyone. She was annoyed that it hardly seemed to affect anyone else.

"Who is he?" Tanith asked over Saskia's retching from the corner.

"He was an acquaintance from Darquesse's past, I believe." Skulduggery offered though his voice was low. "He was at the beach, he was looking for Darquesse. When he found her, he was able to control her."

"Control her how?" Ghastly asked in disbelief. "That hardly seems possible."

"Yet I saw it with my own eyes...if I had eyes."

Skulduggery quickly explained what he had overheard when Fraa nearly assaulted Darquesse, though he left out the part where he got on top of her and tried to molest her. He missed out that part and skipped straight to him intervening.

"Why would he kill one of his own men?" Ghastly questioned. Every time something started to make sense another thing happened and it all unravelled again.

"He did something he wasn't supposed to." Skulduggery answered. "He is showing us that one man won't deter his plan. They are all expendable. Just like the Acid Battery and all those vampires."

"Is he trying to say he has a big dick?" Tanith muttered. She got a scowl from her future husband and Skulduggery tilted his head to the side when she finished.

"What?"

She shrugged uncaring of her blunt manner. "Can we get out of here? That smell is gross and it's starting to turn Saskia green."

To Saskia's relief, they left.

The cavern was bloody massive in Darquesse's opinion. Clyro was sprinting right beside her across the very narrow ledge that led to the opposite side of the wide expanse and to the tunnel too small for the monster to follow. Darquesse was swinging her arms rapidly propelling her forward. She felt the unstable ledge tremor indicating the monster had made it to the start of the ledge. She hoped the stone wouldn't crumble beneath her feet, flying out would probably weaken her and for once she was enjoying the thrill of the chase.

The adrenalin and the magic didn't pump through her as hard while she was flying. She had to work to move her body before she got eaten.

"I would have to confess," Clyro's voice came to her ears loudly over the monster's screeches echoing around them. "I will be content when we have rid ourselves of this idiotic creature." He sounded irritated, it amused the fuck out of Darquesse.

"You should have known there were magically resistant things living down here."

"I was aware of that fact, yet I naively thought a physical attack would still harm them." He admitted glumly.

"I'm afraid not." Darquesse replied with a smirk.

They powered across the ledge and burst into the tunnel. It was dark so Darquesse slowed her speed in case she ran face first into the arse of another creature, or a wall.

The monster reached the entrance to the tunnel, it's dog like head snapped it's menacing teeth as it squeezed into the gap. An arm reached in, clawing at the dirt. Darquesse and Clyro were catching their breath some distance away watching the monster failing in its attempt to chase them further.

She didn't feel satisfied. Darquesse hated herself for letting China Sorrows trick her. Her anger made her skin crawl and right now she was itching for a fight.

She shot off without a word towards the monster that was now backing out of the tunnel anticipating their meeting. Physically attacking it wouldn't work so she wouldn't be able to let out all her frustrations on the monster, but she could kill it. She could still do that. Sliding under its flailing arms and its dipped jaw, she passed between its legs and had plenty of space to come up behind it and turn in time.

She fell to her knees and with her fists positioned knuckles down, she cracked the ledge with such force that it immediately started to crumble. The monster scrambled as the support under it disappeared and it slid down the rock as it fell into nothingness.

Darquesse leaped at her side of the ledge as it fell too. Soaring through the air, the gap was much bigger than she hoped. She would catch the ledge most definitely but her face wasn't going to look good afterwards. Her face was going to smack straight into the stone cliff and she couldn't even be bothered to stop it.

Surprise caught her when Clyro appeared out of the dark and snatched her out of the air, just in time before she passed too low for him to save her from a face full of rocks.

Clyro's arms were wrapped tightly around her waist bringing her face close to his. She looked into his eyes and touched his cheek with her fingertips. Pink and blue strips of beautifully glowing light pulsed through his veins. He could control it more now and was able to keep it dim in order to avoid being detected in covert situations.

Clyro held Darquesse's gaze and wasn't at all taken aback when her lips came crashing down on his. This had happened before, she got impulsive after an adrenaline rush and once or twice after really dicey days she had kissed him. He didn't bother stopping her, he didn't mind anyway. He even reciprocated the second time.

This time he took her neck in his grasp and slammed her against the tunnel wall. Their heated lip contact was increasing, the sounds of their lips rolling over the others, their tongues meeting as Clyro pushed his body forward trapping Darquesse between him and stone. His hand ran gently up her thigh before it came to the tip of her leather black trousers.

Clyro's lips met hers more forcefully, taking over completely. He had a feeling he knew why she was complying. He didn't want to think about it.

Darquesse wondered if Clyro was kissing her with passion as a way of distracting her from his hand slipping into her trousers and only stopping when his hand was resting between her legs.

Darquesse moved her head to the side and closed her eyes at the sensation of the kisses being slowly unloaded onto her neck.

Clyro slipped his middle finger between her lips glazing over her clit as he reached her centre. She was seriously wet and he massaged his fingertip achingly slow into her juices, spreading her slickness over her centre.

Breathing heavily, Darquesse let out a sharp intake of breath when Clyro pulled one of her legs up and over his hip so he could gain better access between her legs. The restriction from her tight pants was a nuisance but it would be a long time before his next actions would tire him out. He knew Darquesse would be grateful. He didn't even realise his top hat had been knocked off due to Darquesse's frustrations.

He stroked her clit, lazily at first, enjoying the sound of her almost silent whimpers. He soon added his index finger and started rubbing circles over her clit. Her hips arched into his hand in sync with his motions. Her whimpers turned into moans, her eyes still shut tightly. Clyro increased his speed and hearing her let out sexy gasps was doing something to his lower region.

Clyro was an experiment, not just in necromancy but in regeneration as well. He wasn't like the white cleaver who Darquesse had told him about. He was mixed with living tissue which was jump started back to life with magic. So he still got the urges and feelings with Darquesse wet in his hand, her hips bucking into him was causing his dick to grow painfully hard. He dipped his fingers into her pussy feeling her walls inside her and recoating his fingers with her lube, he pulled out and thrust back in quickly earning a choked gasp from the woman he was, at the moment fingering. He thrust in again harder but sighed in frustration at his awkward movements.

Pulling out of her, he ripped down her pants stripping her of them, her underwear and boots and quickly resumed his position. He was met with no resistance. Darquesse waited for him to partially unclothe her in a hurry, then she wrapped both legs around his hips, her arms encircling his neck with her arms.

Clyro quickly laid her on the floor before kneeling between her legs. He bent down to frantically kiss her supporting himself with one hand on the floor beside her head, the other was quickly thrusting in and out of her. His fingers were entering her so quickly it all soon felt like one movement. Moaning shamelessly, Darquesse tightened her grip on Clyro and turned her face away from him again. She tried to meet his hand with her hips, cool air quickly brushed her lower back every time she bucked up into him.

He evened his speed returning his thumb to her clit, thickly coated once again, he stroked her, rubbing around unhurried in case he caught her sensitive spot.

He felt her bucks get shallower and more erratic. He pumped her leaving wet marks from his kisses over her collarbone. He thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of her wrapped around him. She went silent and her bucks stopped as she came underneath him. Clyro continued stroking gently until she had rode out the pleasure that was washing over her. Once he felt her body go limp he slipped two fingers back into her pussy and started hammering her hard. Her pussy was so much tighter, and a lot wetter. He could feel her pulse vibrating through her every time her heart beat.

The moment Clyro felt Darquesse's thighs lock him in a vice he stopped pumping into her. Pulling his hand out, Clyro felt her loosen her legs and dropped backwards onto the ground. Clyro went to move off her but was stopped when he felt her hand on his cheek. He met her eyes, they were half-lidded but the lust that had filled her face only minutes ago was now gone.

Her fingers slid up to his scalp and she gently pushed his head down. "Clean me." She commanded more than asked, even though her voice was gentle. Clyro settled between her legs and got to work.

She didn't really find walking around with her own cum leaking out of her very appealing or comfortable, and she knew Clyro wouldn't say no. She had to admit she never expected to jump him the first time, never mind the second or third. Clyro had said nothing on the subject in the past so Darquesse neglected to mention it either.

Darquesse and Clyro continued strolling through the caves once Clyro had fully cleaned her up and she had pulled her clothes back on.

"Thanks for that." Darquesse offered after a long period of silence, because she couldn't think of anything appropriate to say.

"You're welcome." Clyro replied in his usual manner.

"Just so you know, I was thinking of someone else."

"I am aware." Clyro said unfazed. "I only catered to your needs. I know you have been feeling frustrated and now that feeling isn't as dominant." He finished.

"So we're clear then." Darquesse smirked, amused at Clyro's reaction. She didn't know if she should feel touched or used, by the time she had got to the end of the thought she didn't care one way or the other.

Being an experiment with specific programming to try and kill Darquesse the moment she decided to destroy the world, Clyro should have been her enemy from the start, she tried many times to escape him when she emerged permanently, obviously hating Valkyrie's stupid way of preventing her from doing what she wanted.

After a while she just got sick of running, she finally accepted that he would always find her. Which he did, every time, so from then on he just tagged along and they became a team instead. It wasn't like he wanted to kill her and used his closeness as a way to do that. Clyro couldn't even try an attempt on her life until his final protocol was activated, and that only happened when Darquesse decided it did.

Darquesse could feel anger towards him, she was after all using him too, in more ways than one so she couldn't force herself to feel upset.

"We are clear." Clyro replied twisting his head to give her a slight smile which she reciprocated.

"What are you going to do about China?" Clyro asked.

"What do you think I am going to do?"

"I think the next opportunity you get to kill her, you will seize it. But have you thought about how Skulduggery will react?"

"No. He will secretly be thanking me I expect."

"What if China's death causes Skulduggery to come after us?"

"Let him. They all think they have me sussed. That my ultimate goal is to destroy the world, like in those stupid visions."

"Aren't the visions inevitable?"

"Some parts maybe. But I am not living my life to their expectations anymore." Darquesse ranted as they made their way through a series of short and narrow caverns.

"Why were you doing it in the first place then?"

"I thought it rather poetic to use my old friends for my mission. I thought it would be entertaining, but the most fun I've had was when I got to tackle all those vampires on the beach.

"You have to be more careful, Darquesse. Your abilities are compromised."

"So what? I can fuck up anything I like, my powers may be fluctuating but it isn't enough to make me vulnerable."

"Maybe you should take some precautions." Clyro cautioned.

"Like what? And how the hell am I meant to do that down here?" Darquesse complained gesturing with her arms.

"These tunnels go on for miles in every direction and with your good sense of orientation, I'm sure you can find your way to another place that the tunnels lead to. To a certain dead uncle's mansion that you just so happen to be the owner of."

"Clyro, you're a genius. Why didn't I think of that?"

"You've had a lot on your mind."

"There is bound to be something there, maybe even Gordon himself." Darquesse grinned at the thought of Gordon's face if she just turned up out of the blue.

"What makes you think he will help you. You are Darquesse after all, not his favourite niece.

"I can always threaten to wipe him, or threaten to kill Des and Melissa."

"What about pretending to be Valkyrie?"

"Too risky. We don't know how much contact Skulduggery has kept with him. It's most likely that he has kept Gordon informed. But my plan to threaten him is still up there."

The lounge of the Midnight Hotel was lit by one wall lamp that dimly glowed from the corner of the room. There was no real point in staying in the caves since most of the rooms had been trashed. They elicited to stay in the Hotel for the night, it would at least be more comfortable.

China was still fuming about it, she silently sulked from the beige armchair furthest away from the sofas positioned in the middle of the room. She scowled as her eyes flicked over the others. The four teenagers were all sat on one sofa together looking pretty shaken up, Saskia looked paler, probably due to her seeing two dead bodies in a matter of days.

China couldn't really force herself to be mad at them, they were only children after all.

Her blue eyes glanced to the two best friends sat under the front window pretending like they weren't secretly having sex with each other. Dexter and Saracen were talking quietly to each other, they were mostly smiles and short laughs. Clearly they were having a positive effect on the other.

The mention of Fletcher drew her eyes to Ghastly and Tanith who were sat on the adjacent sofa. No-one had the chance to ask about his death properly. Darquesse had gone before they could get anything else out of her that night she teleported to the Hotel. Although China internally smiled as the fleeting thought of Darquesse and Clyro below her having a hellish time drifted to her. On the other hand she felt slight affection towards Fletcher but now that he was gone, she doubted it would affect her life too much.

Her gaze drifted to someone she was actually interested in.

Skulduggery was leant against the far wall, his head down hat covering half of his skull. His gloved hands were fully in his pockets. She knew he was thinking, wondering about Darquesse, about where she was or what she was doing. Fighting for her life, China hoped.

Her eyes finally rested on the bag on the table that they were all sat around. Inside were the three God-Killer weapons they had managed to acquire. Having them in her presence comforted her greatly. They made her feel safe.

In a flash all that comfort was gone and her blood ran cold.

The others noticed her change in posture. She looked positively terrified. Skulduggery's head snapped up and all eyes were on China.

"China, what's wrong?" Skulduggery asked urgently.

She could barely get the words to form in her mouth, her eyes were glazed over as she stared into space.

"My defences are being dismantled."

Everyone in the room straightened. The silence was piercing making China's next words that much more alarming.

"My sigils in the forest are being deactivated, like lights going off one by one. There is only one person who could do that. And he's heading straight for us."

China shivered as her whole body went numb, she fixed her eyes on Skulduggery.

"He's coming."

Soft, damp mud gave way easily under the weight of the eight foot sorcerer. He donned his silver plated armour that no longer seemed to shine. Blood red cloth could be seen in the gaps between the armour plates over his chest. His expression was impassive as he navigated his way through the slim trees and letting the long leaf branches part before him.

He strolled his way expertly towards his target.

Mevolent didn't react when the girl walking beside him spoke.

"Will they know?" she said. "Will they know who I am?" Her voice was devoid of emotion, she was merely asking out of curiosity.

"Possibly… but don't let that affect your mission." Mevolent replied distracted.

"I won't."

Mevolent walked and broke the sigils China's had drawn without breaking his stride. He could recognize China's craftsmanship from a mile off, he practically taught her everything she knows. Not everything he knows, fortunately.

The girl spoke again. "I am confident my mission will go unobstructed. It's easy to beat someone to death."

"Not all of them." Mevolent interjected. "The insignificant ones you can kill, the rest stay alive. Not unharmed, just alive."

"As you wish."

He looked over her form, she was quite pretty as they would say nowadays. Her dark hair was slightly wavy and flayed out as it tipped over the edge of her shoulders. Her eyes were dark, like black holes contrasting with her ashen skin.

Mevolent pumped her to the brim with magic and had the honour of knowing what she could do to others. It was a shame he wouldn't be there to see it this time.

Seeing the break in the forest where the haze lingered over a pool of still water underneath a huge waterfall. They reached the top of the banking. Only Mevolent made his way down. The girl shrunk back into the darkness. The cascading waterfall poured before him. As he met the edge of the pool the waterfall stopped churning water and the deafening sound cut off.

Mevolent raked his eyes over the wide opening in the rock, meters above him. He could easily jump up there but he didn't want to do that. He wanted to create hysteria and fear.

Mevolent brought his arms out beside him and gestured towards the cave entrance. When he spoke his voice was booming and intensified by the multiple echoes.

"Come out, come out wherever you are." He sung whimsically pacing the edge of the water, patiently waiting for a reply.

He didn't attempt to hide the smirk that graced his face when he saw, his old time enemy: Skulduggery Pleasant gradually emerge from the opening, he stopped when he reached the ledge.

"Ah, Skulduggery Pleasant, it looks like time has not been kind to you. Or is that the rage now? Living skeletons?" Mevolent chuckled at his own joke, it had been a long time since he had the chance to taunt someone he hated. "No seriously, as a Halloween costume, you are on the money. What did you go as last year? The Grim Reaper?"

Skulduggery said nothing.

"I know this is a shock for all of you." Mevolent continued, not just calling to Skulduggery but the others he had no doubt were behind him, just out of sight. "Living for the past two hundred years believing I was dead. And I thought you were meant to be a detective, Pleasant. It appears the Sanctuary are paying you too much.. Or were rather." Skulduggery continued to stand silently much to Mevolent's irritation, but it didn't matter too much, he was just getting started.

"Do you want to know how I did it?" Eagerly waiting for a response, Mevolent was visibly disappointed when no-one jumped up to guess the answer. He pouted.

"Oh come on!" He yelled. "After all this time, I hoped at least one of you wouldn't be so… boring. Aren't you the least bit interested?" Mevolent huffed, there were no biters to bait.

"Fine, enough! Bring out your friends, I want to see the faces I was cheated out of killing centuries ago, or I will tear apart this entire cliff and drop it on you before you can attempt to escape. Show yourselves Dead Men, or what's left of you."

Seconds passed and then Ghastly was stood by his friend's side.

"Ghastly Bespoke. Still not found a cure for your ugly face?" Mevolent insulted with a twinkle in his eye.

"Not exactly an oil painting yourself." A female voice rebuked gaudily. Tanith stepped to Ghastly's side and took his hand. It caused Mevolent to chuckle, especially at Tanith's feistiness.

"I can only assume you are a harlot of some sort. Did Bespoke pay you to sleep with him or are you just sick that way? The money must be good if you can resist vomiting in his face."

Ghastly could feel Tanith was about to retort but he squeezed her hand tighter drawing her attention to him. He shook his head slightly, telling her not to retaliate.

Not too pleased with the insults flying at their friends, Dexter and Saracen came out from cover and made the count of people standing on the ledge go up to four.

Mevolent saw the two newcomers but didn't rate them enough to pay them too much attention.

"It's the two I can never remember the names of… and Shudder, where is he? I doubt your little Dead Men band would travel without the uncontrollable pet." There was no point in hiding, Anton kept his face as impassive as possible as he joined his fellow Dead Men. "Don't think you will get chance to use your gist, Shudder. I will decapitate you before it reaches me."

Mevolent trailed his eyes from one end of the line to the other before rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "It seems that you are missing someone. A teleporter perhaps. Your precious teleporter, the only teleporter left and you let him get killed. He was ripped apart by vampires I have been reliably informed. That's not like you lot, to let your friends get killed… oh wait, that's exactly what you lot do."

He opened his mouth but his words were lost once China finally appeared. Their eyes locked. Mevolent actually looked pleased to see her.

"China."

"Mevolent."

"I think I should feel honoured to be in your presence once again." He said basking in the sight of his former exceptional student.

"Funny, I feel the complete opposite." China's voice rained down no venom on him, she sounded indifferent.

"Aww, you not playing nice? Is that because you have a new gang to play with?" Mevolent made an effort to look hurt, but his pained expression came out more as a cruel smile. Before China could answer his question he continued.

"That's ok. It's not like you have anything else to offer me anyway. You gave all that up to me a long time ago." He winked at her whilst simultaneously clicking his teeth. She inwardly winced at the mere mention of their past relationship. "No, China, I am not here for you. If anything I pity you."

"You pity me? Haven't you been living in a hole for the past two centuries. It's the only way you could go undetected for so long." She gritted her teeth at his smirk but was sure to not let the tension in her jaw become visible.

"Not quite. But it was better than a cave. And China, what were those defences? I thought I had taught you better than that."

His tone was patronising and condescending and China didn't care for it. She smiled anyway unwilling to give him the satisfaction.

"I'll work on it for next time."

"Oh, there won't be a next time."

A shadow rolled down the banking and the girl had seeped through the mist and was standing next to Mevolent before she was even noticed. Mevolent called upon his favourite smug look when the others realised she had appeared.

"I brought along a friend. I was going to bring another but… I left him as a gift for you. Did you like it Skulduggery?"

"Not particularly. I found it unoriginal and distasteful."

Mevolent laughed heartily. "Yes, well, he didn't do what he was told."

"I assume you mean confronting Darquesse."
Mevolent smirked again.

"Speaking of my shadowy beauty, where is she? I thought she was dead keen on seeing me again, you know after our last encounter. I don't want to brag, but I rocked her world the last time."

"I doubt it." Skulduggery said glumly.

"Oh Skulduggery, you sound jealous."

"And you sound mentally ill."

"More insults? I thought you had outgrown that Skulduggery. I think this is just your way of reinforcing your denial about your abilities to defeat me. I can tell you now, none of you have said abilities. You will not defeat me."

"We will find a way, Mevolent."

"Not even Darquesse could do that and she's more of a sorcerer than all of you combined."

"You did something to warp her mind, make her your puppet."

"Oh I did much more than that Skulduggery, but that's for me to know and for you to die trying to find out."

"It's not hard to figure out that this Fraa fellow-"

"Fraa Shackleton."

"-Was a sensitive, focusing on memory building and blocking."

Mevolent clapped.

"Ok, detective. Answer me this. Who is my lovely companion?"

"No idea."

"Really?"

"Never seen her before."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes."

"She doesn't look at all familiar?" Skulduggery didn't answer, he thought he had made it quite clear that he didn't know Mevolent's friend. Mevolent looked practically devilish as he bounced on the spot. "God, I can't wait till you find out. The look on your face.. well whatever. But once she is finished with you, you won't even be able to think straight."

"If she is going to kill us then why not tell us who she is?"

"She's not going to kill you, not yet anyway. I just want you all incapable of moving for when I find Darquesse."

"You really think she is just going to do whatever you tell her to?"

"I don't think… I know. But enough chatter, I want to see some action." Mevolent announced dramatically.

"This isn't a game Mevolent. You have killed many people and we are going to do everything in our power to prevent you from achieving your goal."

"You're too quick to judge, aren't you Skulduggery. I dare say you couldn't count the number of people you have killed on one hand."

"I have killed people, that was never the question-"

"But because you are what they call the 'good guy' people turn a blind eye to your murders, to the countless innocent lives that were lost because of you. So you become a detective and they label it as redemption? I thought I was twisted."

"I will never be redeemed, but I will never be as bad as you or as weak minded as you."

Mevolent's chest bulged, he was hoping Skulduggery would say something like that.

"Never be as bad as me. I find that hard to believe, I really do. If there wasn't a sociopathic mind in there, it would be more convincing. I am mentally disturbed, I am not afraid or ashamed to admit it, I have done awful things, things so cruel it would make your stomach churn, but there is one thing I have never done that you have, Skulduggery. Can you figure out what it is, or will I have to tell you?"

He waited in silence. They waited in silence. He saw the way Skulduggery's friends were risking sideway glances at him. They were itching to know and he could feel it.

"No? Your friends seem confused. Maybe I should help them understand."

Mevolent wanted to savour the moment, he had the attention of all of them. The feels he got from Skulduggery were priceless. He was practically bursting with punishing excitement.

"I never murdered the mother of my best friend, now did I… Lord Vile."

Mevolent got the reaction he was hoping for. Heads turned to Skulduggery. Everyone was too stunned to speak. Ghastly was staring wide-eyed at his friend. The hurt was plastered all over his face as his brain tried to make sense of Mevolent's accusation. Tanith was staring over his shoulder, she had never looked at Skulduggery the way she was looking at him now.

Skulduggery stood silently, he didn't move.

China moved closer to Skulduggery so he would be the only one to hear her. "Less than five minutes to go." She whispered. China felt the awkwardness of being up on that ledge. Ghastly had walked off back into the cave, she had never seen him so emotional, it was unprofessional she thought. Tanith had wanted to go after him but Dexter had prevented her. He and Saracen both agreed it was best to leave him alone.

China wondered if Skulduggery could see the way his friends were looking at him. Like they had no idea who he was. It was probably a good thing his gaze was still on Mevolent and his companion. China couldn't deny she was surprised at Mevolent's little revelation, or big rather. She didn't even believe it at first but Skulduggery stood there and let Mevolent's truthful words reach the ears of his friends.

He couldn't deny or pretend, he had no way of containing that secret anymore. China didn't even care. But she did have a thousand more questions about him.

So Skulduggery used to be the most powerful necromancer in the world. He slaughtered thousands for sport working for the side that murdered his wife and child.

No wonder Skulduggery didn't want Valkyrie learning the discipline. Now it was obvious that he had intimate knowledge of using death magic and he didn't want Valkyrie taking the easy way in life.

"Unnamed." Mevolent spoke quietly to his companion. "Why don't you give them a demonstration."

The air around them dropped in temperature so when Anton spoke his breath came out in a mist.

"I believe this is where I come in." He stated while his eyes followed the dark haired girl that was now approaching them.

Anton's gist erupted from his chest, it's hands clawed their way out. The gist screamed as it's silvery tether expanded and allowed it to fly straight for the girl.

With its spiked teeth and claws that would slash flesh like it was butter, the gist closed in on the girl, it's arms going at her like a windmill.

The girl portrayed no emotion and out of nowhere she threw out her arms, took hold of the gist's head and started twisting. The gist screeched in pain, it slashed frantically at the arms holding it, slowly tearing in two.

Finally, Anton's gist had met it's match. It discovered very quickly that it wasn't affecting its target, but now she had a good grip on it.

The gist tried to shorten the tether so it was pulled back inside Anton, but the Unnamed girl was having none of that.

Gritting her teeth into a smile she yanked hard on the gist and Anton was vaulted off the ledge and onto the ground before being dragged along it.

The girl twisted his gist's head with a final forceful yank and it separated from its body. Suddenly the girl pulled out the God-Killer sword and before anyone could move or shout to stop her, she decapitated Anton with one easy sweep and his head rolled away down into the pool, slowly turning the water into a cloudy red.

The girl held a special smile for the friends of the man she had just killed. She handed the sword back to Mevolent, he received it without sparing her a glance. His eyes were fixed on the opposition. He wanted to taste their desperation and panic as they went one man down.

"Look at that Skulduggery. Another person you failed to save. I'm astonished people continue to go to you for help." Mevolent boomed across the eerie distance. "Any second now I will unleash my companion's full potential on you." He pointed to the girl stalking towards the cliff side.

"The only way you can even-"

Mevolent was cut off as suddenly as the ground started to quake. The earth crumbled and a small sinkhole was forcibly created, draining the water from the pool. The sinkhole widened taking the pool itself, it expanded towards the banking claiming the damp grass as it's prize.

Mevolent literally beamed when Darquesse bounded out of the hole on the back of what only could be described as a huge hell dog. It's four legs were thick, spikes grew from the joints. It's fur was more like greying needles over black, pebbled skin.

Darquesse was perched on its back, her heels tight against its side, her hands were clutching the fur around its neck. Fresh cuts could be seen on her hands from the needles where she had tried to grab the creature, she held it as if she didn't even notice her wounds.

The hell dog clawed its way from the ground, it's jaw was larger than Darquesse's head. It's face was long and thin like a German Shepard, it's teeth belonged to something more like a shark than a dog. The teeth were stained red where they met the gums, they snapped as the hell dog moved fluently when instructed by Darquesse, from the sinkhole and stalked about ten metres towards Mevolent and his companion, who had scurried back to his side the moment Darquesse appeared.

There had never been any record of a sorcerer being able to control any creature from the Void Caves but somehow Darquesse was managing to do it.

Darquesse extended her hand and pointed her fingers and a black stream of shadows spiralled out. She wanted to see the pain in Mevolent's eyes, she wanted to feel gratified. The feeling was stolen from her when the creepy looking girl beside him stepped up and deflected her shot. It didn't matter, she knew it wouldn't be that easy.

Darquesse dismounted from the beast, it growled and snarled at Mevolent so loudly it pierced through the air making her ears tingle.

"Ssh baby." She cooed and the hell dog quieted to a low rumble.

"Amazing." Mevolent praised clapping his hands once. "Absolutely fascinating. I would love to know how you did that."

Striding forward, Darquesse was nearly upon him. The girl rushed to stand in from of Mevolent again, her expression impassive. Darquesse knocked her away as if she was a fly buzzing around her becoming a nuisance.

She could tell by the look in Mevolent's beady eyes that he wasn't too happy about it.

"Sorry, did I hurt your pet? I'm sure you can make another."

"Not like her," Mevolent replied, he looked at Darquesse like he was ready to devour her. "She is unique."

"Wow… I'm failing to care already."

"You will learn to."

"I've done a lot of learning recently."

"I have also." Mevolent reached out and caressed her smooth cheek gently. It was gut wrenching to see a man so vicious as Mevolent perform an act that could be mistaken for caring.

Darquesse didn't attempt to stop him but she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. He was the enemy after all and deep down she knew they would fight. It could be tonight or in a week, but they would fight. And Darquesse would have to win.

"You were just the most perfect specimen to work on. I've never seen someone as unpredictable as you."

"You never will." Darquesse sparked, Mevolent's fingers had moved and were now running through her hair.

"You are astonishing, but like everyone else when you are no longer useful to me, you will be discarded."

"And how do you plan on doing that? I've got rid of your army and your vampires. What's left, your pet?"

Darquesse gestured to the dark haired girl who had simply stood after being brushed aside and waited. Darquesse gave the girl a proper look. She was vaguely familiar but she had no idea why. She looked about eighteen, her hair was as dark as her own and it flowed down her shoulders in slight swirls. Her eyes were piercing and they had that same curved shape round the corners similar to hers. She was a distraction, a frustration Darquesse was afraid to dwell on.

Turning back to Mevolent he had finally taken his filthy hand off her.

"For someone who is meant to be the Voldemort of this world, you sure do talk a lot."

"I do I do. But I love hearing the reactions. They create this warm fuzzy feeling inside me." Mevolent stroked his stomach to emphasise his words.

"I'll give you a fuzzy feeling if you want."

"Is that an innuendo?"

"Certainly not."

"You know, I was planning to leave you with no hints about what you went through. All I will tell you is that it's much bigger than you Darquesse, and I need you all nice and tender…"

"Ten seconds to go, Skulduggery."

"... Then you will be perfectly ripe for my taking."

"Three… two… one."

All the energy that Mevolent had collected whilst dismantling China's defences had been brewing under his skin to inevitably implode. China's main defence always laid in the other absorbing the energy but being misled into believing they were deactivating the death traps.

Mevolent's body started to heat up so quickly Darquesse could feel the warmth on her forehead. She went to lunge for him but his skin scolded her hand.

He stumbled back with his companion trying to distract Darquesse as he got away. The heat was painful and it forced him to bend as he fell back into the forest.

Darquesse traded rapid punches and blocks with the girl. She was wasting her time. The girl wasn't important, but going after Mevolent was. He had been weakened explicitly to everyone watching, it would be illogical for him to stay. She didn't have a clue as to what was happening to him, but she needed to use it to her advantage.

She blocked two more of the girl's shots then aimed a fist to the nose setting her nerve endings on fire, then she nearly took the girl's head off with a spinning kick.

The girl smacked into the ground and rolled before coming up in a battle stance. Darquesse looked over her shoulder, she locked eyes with Skulduggery for a second, he tilted his head at her.

Darquesse turned back and charged at the girl who waited motionless and unafraid of the shadowy bulldozer hurtling towards her. The girl dodged to the side but Darquesse caught an arm around her waist and used the momentum to come up behind her, sinking her knuckles between her shoulder blades. The girl went down to her knees, Darquesse looked at the others on the ledge.

Skulduggery jumped from the ledge and plummeted to the ground. He spread his fingers and instead of slowing to touch down he tilted his body forward and shot off like a bullet into the night.

Darquesse smirked at Skulduggery's show, her head moving from side to side as he shot past her vision. She looked up to the ledge again, she saw Ghastly had come back and was standing on the edge with Tanith. Dexter had his hand on Saracen's shoulder, she followed Saracen's gaze and it landed on Anton's severed head. China was stood to the other side watching her intently. Darquesse gave them a smile which she tried to convey as 'good luck' then she sprinted off after Mevolent and Skulduggery.

"Well this should be easy." Tanith said unconvinced as the girl studied each of them.

"I wish it was." said Ghastly. "Who wants to take a shot first?" His tone was cheery, just like old times.

"Since you suggested it, why don't you go first?" Dexter asked.

"Oh no. I wouldn't want to deprive you of an opportunity of showing us your skills." Ghastly insisted.

"You have seen plenty of my skills. On the other hand, we don't even know what Saracen's is. We should make him go."

"Woah woah woah. Stop volunteering me for things Dexter! You only ever do that when you are too afraid to do it yourself." Saracen exclaimed waving his hands about.

"Hey I might be a strapping warrior with strong muscles and a mind as sharp as a whip and-"

"Pretty purple lights that come out of your fingers." Saracen interjected with a raised eyebrow.

"But I'm not stupid." Dexter finished.

"Well neither am I." They entered into a face off of scowls for a few seconds before Dexter started to grin. Saracen mirrored his smile until they realised the girl had made it to the edge of the pool.

"Stop being girls." Tanith complained pulling her sword from its home on her hip. "Get the God-Killers. We can take them for a test run."

Dexter opened the bag after he retrieved it from his back. Saracen took the bow, Ghastly took the dagger and then Dexter picked out the spear, thanks to a Mary Poppins type sigil China drew so the bag was bigger on the inside, and handed it to China. He swore he saw a slight hint of a grateful smile, but it was gone before his mind could focus on it.

"Let's crucify the bitch." Tanith yelled and the girl jumped high in the air and landed on the ledge.

Darquesse changed course sharply. She was being drawn in the opposite direction. She could feel her insides buzzing with anticipation. She slowed down to a walk and took a deep breath taking in all the necromancy magic she could feel in the air. She was drawn to it like a moth to a flame, like she was being lured in. What sort of sport would she be if she didn't at least humour the people who set out traps for her. Easing her way through the trees, she came to a small opening.

Stood surrounded by a inky black haze with his back to her was Cuff Yellcode.

"You're looking pretty good for a dead man." she came into view as she spoke, meeting Cuff's cold eyes as he turned.

His item of choice to house his necromancy power was a weird silver medal he always wore abreast his grey military coat. His hair was being wafted lightly by the black haze.

"Well… you look alive anyway." she laughed to herself. "I know skeletons better looking than you."

Cuff narrowed his precarious eyes at her as if she was spouting a load of tosh.

"What are you talking about?" His voice was deeper and harsher than she remembered. His face was covered in gruff apart from a pale sleek scar crossing his lips, his hair was longer, the same dirty blonde.

"You died at that place in Russia, the whole building exploded. But obviously that was just a huge pile of bullshit."

Cuff started to chuckle. It made Darquesse angry, this fucker who had manipulated her for years, found it funny. He considered her a joke.

A tone of questions had been raised in her mind recently, since they first established that Cuff was actually alive, resulting from him being sighted at the beach by Clyro. But to think about them would be doing exactly what everyone wanted. And she found it especially easy to do what others didn't want her to do.

"Oh yeah. I forgot that was the story." Cuff sniggered.

"What story?" She spat.

"The story in your head, of course."

"Care to tell it to me?"

"That would be interesting. I'd love to see you getting all riled up as you learn the truth. But I'm not sure this is the right time to tell you."

"You're here. It's the perfect time."

"Mmm." Cuff stroked the gruff on his chin as he thought.

"How about I tell you what I know and you fill in some blanks." Darquesse bargained. If she killed him now she wouldn't know what he was hiding, plus this way she got to really make him suffer if he lied, or just for the sake of it anyway.

Cuff's leer was wicked when he turned it on her.

"Ok."

"You were my contact organised by the Banshee to meet me in Russia."

"That's correct." He was so excited he couldn't help speaking.

"You experimented with magic in order to help me stop from ever becoming Darquesse."

"Yes-"

"Great job by the way." she quipped sarcastically. "Your experiments resulted in Clyro Noir, my very own travel pocket executioner to keep me on a lead in case I get too excited."

"Clyro is a marvellous creation and I'm sure he will work exceptionally well when his final command is activated."

"Since I decide when that actually happens I'd be prepared to wait a while."

"Oh I wouldn't be so sure. You can never predict what will make someone flip. Trauma is a good way to push someone to their limits. Or devastating information dropped at the worst possible moment. That's a favourite of mine."

"So drop me some devastating news and I'll tell you if you're theory works or not. Stop dancing around whatever it is you want to tell me."

"I was not the father of your daughter, nor did we ever have a relationship. We re-built your memories so you wouldn't go running back to the skeleton to tell him Mevolent was alive. You became very obedient."

"Who was the father?" Darquesse spoke clearly but low. She didn't know where Cuff was going with this, hell she didn't even know if he was telling the truth. What were the chances really?

Darquesse spotted his mouth rolling around his face as he tried to subdue his psychotic grin emerging.

"...It's…"

Swiftly sprinting through the woods again, Darquesse tried to relieve her anger. She had killed the prick after he decided to not divulge that last piece of information after all. Cuff might as well of been speaking bullcrap, but for some disturbing reason, a tiny inkling was buzzing about and it believed him.

Voices drifted to her on the wind. She bolted her feet to the floor, feeling the mental drains she frequently did. She treaded on carefully hoping to go unnoticed before being sensed.

She wanted to inflict so much pain on someone and force them to stay awake through it, just so she could relieve some tension. She had to stop grinding her teeth because it was making her jaw ache, then her lip started bleeding because she was chewing it so hard.

She curved through the trees and came up behind the epicentre of the voices.

They were getting louder, she could only hear one clearly and the closer she got to it the more certain she became that it was Mevolent. Thankfully he hadn't realised her presence, or he was ignoring her and waiting for her to get closer.

Darquesse hunkered down behind a broad trunk where it's roots scurried out like spider legs. She concentrated on what was being said.

"…there is no point in trying to get up. I will just knock you down again. That's where you should have stayed Skulduggery, in the ground."

"You never put me in the ground, as I recall I was thrown into a river. If your memory is decompensating, there isn't much hope for the rest of you. Being in a cage like a dog has done you no good." Skulduggery replied.

"I guess you detected that did you? Because that's what you do now."

"The symptoms are hard to miss."

"For someone like you, you mean?"

"Well I wouldn't be talking about you would I? You're a bit dim."

"I'm going to give you a glance into what I can do. I'm not at full strength yet but I will be. You won't be there to see it but you will probably be dead by then anyway."

Mevolent struck out his hand aiming it at Skulduggery, but nothing happened.

"Actually, I don't think I am quite ready to kill you yet. That would be putting you out of your so deserved misery, and I'm not in a merciful mood. I'm going to make it hurt." He threatened.

"I'm in misery just looking at your face." Skulduggery replied. Darquesse felt the scowl grace her brow. Skulduggery sounded in pain.

"Stop with the wit, Skulduggery. No-one is laughing at your jokes anymore."

"They are still laughing at your face. I'm laughing too… but internally."

"Oh this is rich." Mevolent boomed. The cringe worthy chuckles fell out of Mevolent's mouth and latched onto anything warm or living. "If you only knew the position I am in here. It's glorious."

Darquesse held her breath as she leaned forward and peaked around the tree. She saw Mevolent crouch down in front of Skulduggery who was on his knees, and licked his lips right in his face.

"You wouldn't be so quick to joke if you were aware of the things I did to your precious Valkyrie." Darquesse's ears pricked with curiosity. It always lead back to Valkyrie. But she never remembered seeing Mevolent when she was Valkyrie, he was trying to get under his skin.

Skulduggery bowed his head but Darquesse knew he was listening to every word Mevolent was saying.

"You see, we found Valkyrie in Russia or rather we led her to us. She was all alone and searching for a way out. I offered her my help but she refused to take it, until I used my powers of persuasion."

Those powers must have been pretty substantial. Darquesse didn't even remember meeting Mevolent. He must have got to her earlier then she thought.

Mevolent lent forward, his breath pooled in front of Skulduggery's skull. "And boy did I get to see her squirm. She put on a tantalizing show for me. I knew she was special, so special that I couldn't afford having her running back to you."

"So you took advantage of her, brainwashed her then held her captive so you could keep using her." She picked up the subtle menacing tone in Skulduggery's voice. He was restraining himself.

"One of my most complicated and entertaining plans yet. I'm quite proud of it, but for clarity I did have Cuff engage in let's say… intimate actions with her. That way the foetus they made would be mine. They were already forming a relationship so it was the next logical step."

Mevolent abruptly cut himself off when someone's whistling made it to his ears. He jumped up and searched his surroundings. Darquesse emerged from behind a tree, a smirk plastered on her face casually bopping into his line of sight.

"Oh I think we can all tell when you're lying, Mevolent." Darquesse addressed him as she came closer to him and Skulduggery.

Mevolent seemed surprised for a moment before shrouding it under smugness.

"Uh oh, you caught me." Mevolent boasted forgetting about Skulduggery and shifting all his attention to Darquesse.

"I think it's safe to say, that we both know it wasn't Cuff who Valkyrie had a relationship with."

"And what makes you say that?" Mevolent challenged.

Shrugging her shoulder, "Cuff told me." she said.

"And you believed him?"

"It's amazing how many people tell the truth when they think I am about to slaughter them."

"And did you?" Mevolent dared to ask, but his gut feeling told him he wasn't going to get the answer he wanted.

"Without hesitation. You however made a great mistake in delaying taking care of Skulduggery. You won't get the chance again."

Darquesse needed Mevolent to feel vulnerable, more vulnerable than her. She saw the signs of the blast he was caught up in thanks to China, maybe she was more valuable to her than she originally thought. But she wanted to make him feel under attack, he was more likely to make more mistakes that way.

She began to circle him, like she was more interested in the invisible circle she was walking around him and Skulduggery. Mevolent's expression was pouncing off his face, he didn't like her taking charge and controlling the conversation.

"I never wanted to kill him, I just wanted to play. I haven't had many opportunities to torture and torment my old rivals. Oh, here's another devastating secret for you." Mevolent spread his arms so both Darquesse and Skulduggery were engaged. His head turned slightly to his old foe. "One of your Dead Men has been working for me all along!" he sang to them avidly awaiting their reaction.

"Desperation is truly ugly on you. Do you intend to elaborate?" Darquesse coaxed since apparently Skulduggery didn't feel like talking anymore.

"Not really." Mevolent drawled slapping his hands together and spinning excitedly like a crazy man. "But for you my sweet, I will offer you the gift of one question. Any one question you want and I will answer it honestly."

"Why would I believe you?" Darquesse scoffed. "All I can think of doing is to exterminate you, in the most agonising way possible and you're delaying the inevitable with a Q&A?"

Smirking Mevolent walked until he was looking down on her pretty, haunted face.

"Slow down, girl. You know why-"

Mevolent struck out his hand and a wave of red, sizzling fire hit both Darquesse and Skulduggery.

Darquesse was knocked to the ground, she actually thought Mevolent was a good sport, clearly she had to teach him a few lessons. She scrambled up when Skulduggery's screams pierced the night. The red fire had engulfed him singeing his suit and tarnishing his bones. Darquesse waved her hand and the fire went out, Skulduggery slumped to the ground and Mevolent was nowhere to be seen.

She scrunched her eyes searching for Mevolent in the darkness, trying to pick out his movement, she couldn't believe he had slipped through her fingers again. She couldn't see or detect him in any way, but after a few seconds she couldn't care less for her entire body had run cold.

The temperature around her hadn't dropped but her body felt like ice. Her shadows were vibrating erratically like eager, hopped up on sugar, puppies. She started to turn on the spot, already knowing who was stood behind her, making her hairs stand on end and goose bumps blankets her skin, before she saw him. Almost blending into the night if it wasn't for his shimmering armour. A grin erupted across her face.

"I've been picturing this moment for a long time." She spoke to him. His armour and helmet completely shutting her out from any attempt to establish what he was thinking. "Have you missed me?"

Lord Vile watcher her silently, his shadows swarmed at his feet like an extension of his armour, of his limbs, of his mind.

"I missed you." Darquesse offered slowly closing the gap between them until her face was so close she could almost see his pale skull through the gaps in his helmet.

Lord Vile ignored her and went to move past her in the direction Mevolent had gone. Darquesse stuck out her arm to block his path. Vile stopped when her warm skin met his cold writhing shadows. His head tilted to the side and down so her face was clear in his view.

"You don't really want to go after him now, do you? He's weakened, let him run for a while, we can catch up to him."

Vile grunted and pushed her arm down so he could continue with his intentions.

Darquesse made a tutting sound before grasping Lord Vile's arm and spinning him back to face her. A large hand closed around her throat and a jolt of excitement rushed through her.

Using his grip on her neck as leverage, Lord Vile walked Darquesse backwards until her back hit a tree. He continued to move forward until she was trapped between them both which were equally as solid.

She could feel warm liquid running down her bare arms, she felt his shadows lashing and nipping at her but she didn't care. Her eyes were transfixed on his helmet that was staring down at her. She flicked her hand and his shadows reared like wild horses as if they couldn't touch her anymore.

Smiling, Darquesse healed her broken skin and reached up for the hand around her throat. She grazed her fingers over his gloved fingers trying to feel where the metal met the shadows. She looked to him again through half lidded eyes, her eyelashes curving off acting as a startling contrast to pale skin and brown eyes.

"We would have beautifully evil babies, you know that right?" she murmured seductively at him, she locked her eyes on him so she could memorize his reaction.

Darquesse felt Vile's hand slid down to her waist. Her skin tingled at his cold touch and she assumed he was picking her up so she could wrap her legs around him but instead he slammed her again into the trunk hard and the back of her head cracked open. She couldn't stop the gasp that forced its way from her throat when sharp indentations in the bark pierced her skull, splitting open the bone.

Frowning, she healed herself quickly, not caring if any hair got caught between the cracks then she smashed her fist into his helmet. The shock forced Lord Vile back a couple of steps.

"I don't appreciate you giving me the silent treatment. But I'll let that slide, since we aren't going to be doing much talking anyway." Darquesse pressed her hands on the chest plates of Vile's armour and heaved him backwards until he was on his back. She jumped on him and straddled his hips before he could move. His shadows lashed out at her arms and neck, drawing blood in thick slits over her skin, but before her blood could spill out of her she was already healed.

Darquesse bent forward and took the increase in stabs from the shadows while she tore open his armour from the neck down to reveal his ripped and burnt suit underneath. She just managed to brush her finger against his sigil on his collarbone before his hands locked onto her arms in a tight grip. His strength would have been enough to crack an ordinary sorcerer in two, but Darquesse, was like trying to bend the earth.

With her hands trapped by her side, Vile's shadows repaired his armour and closed the gap over his chest before she could reach in and touch his newly revealed flesh body. She wondered what his face would look like this time. Vile sat up, his grip still on her. She didn't bother to resist, it excited her. She enjoyed being man handled by him, she longed for him to do more.

"You want this, don't you?" she cooed with their faces inches apart. "To finally touch me," she tried wiggling her arms free, Vile's grasp loosened allowing her to squirm out of his grip and closer to him. "To feel me." She took his hand and placed it on her chest. The shiny, black metal was hard and cold but her blood was pumping so fast through her, she didn't even notice. "To get inside me like you have wanted to do to your Valkyrie." she whispered running her hands up and resting them on his shoulders. She lent further forward so her head hovered next to where his ear would have been. "You can have me. You can have all of me." She felt his head turn slightly towards her, he was thinking about it, she could tell. "All you have to do," she continued. "is admit that I am more of a woman than Valkyrie could ever be."

The sudden change in position happened in a flash. Darquesse found herself being thrown off Lord Vile and hit every tree in her path like a pinball. Her back hurt when she landed, she guessed several of her bones had been broken. She laid in silence as her bones mended and realigned, apart from the internal cracking everything was silent. Easily picking out Vile's tread and his marching towards her.

Lord Vile loomed over her, tall and menacing, looking down on her as if she was nothing more than the ground he walked on. Darquesse could barely contain her grin when instead of crushing her under his feet, Vile whipped his shadows away like a cloak getting in his way or a strand of hair continuously getting in your face and knelt down straddling Darquesse.

She let Vile cover her with his body, the armour leaking away as he descended towards her. His armour separated into shadows and soaked away into his suit. The minute his armour and helmet had melted away, his suit turned from Valkyrie's favourite navy to Darquesse's favourite midnight, harsh black. His hair was longer at the front then the back, as pitch as his armour. The darkened look of lust was streaming through his dark eyes. The necromancy magic that flowed through his armour was flowing through his fake body.

Darquesse grinned, he was still wary of her.

"Does this mean you admit it?" She breathed out looking up at Lord Vile with greedy anticipation. The fleshed out body of Lord Vile held relatively no expression until that moment. The flash of anger coursed across his high cheek bones, sparks flared behind his eyes. Then a hot sting enveloped one side of her face and the other side hit cold dirt. It took her a moment to realise that he had slapped her.

Her face burned, so did the rest of her body. She prepared to heave him off but when she dragged her head back to look at him, the anger had drained from his eyes, his soft gloved hand slid around her neck and into her hair and she was being pulled forward and lips crashed onto hers.

Darquesse breathed in Vile's scent as her lips roamed over his. Her arms snaked around him, gripped him frantically so he was laid on her fully. Vile's hands were either side of her head holding his weight off her as Darquesse tackled his face. Her panting was loud as she moved Vile between her legs. Darquesse tensed her thigh muscles and actually thanked China internally for giving Skulduggery a full body makeover with her sigil. She could feel him hard at her centre.

Vile was being far too silent for Darquesse, the only noises he made were when his lips slid over hers, wet kissing noises turned her on but she wanted to hear him groan her name. Bucking her hips slowly, rolling them into Vile's, she swore she felt him shiver with the contact.

Taking back control Darquesse rolled them over without breaking contact with his lips and straddled him again. She pulled back sitting up and staring down out Vile, who although he looked out of breath, there was nothing on his face. No anger, no lust. Darquesse feared he was about to throw her off, to prevent that she trapped his mouth and kissed him hard. She was relentless and while she distracted him with heated, heavy kisses, that he was very much reciprocating, her fingers found their way to his belt.

Undoing the belt quickly was easy and so was opening the button of his trousers with her nimble fingers. The moment her hand slid under his underwear waistband the more ferocious his kisses became. Once she had fully pulled out his dick she let her own pants and underwear melt away as stroked him. She heard his breath hitch and speed up and placing him at the entrance to her pussy, she lowered her weight and let Vile slid into her slick centre until she was fully down on his hips.

Moans spewed out of her mouth as she adjusted to Vile's impressive size. She gazed at him and felt fuzzy when she saw his eyes shut tightly and his gloves firmly clawed into the ground.

Before she started bucking she took each of Vile's hands, ignoring the confused look she was getting and pulled off the gloves. She wanted to feel his skin as his fingers felt and caressed her sexually frustrated body. Vile didn't deter her, he just watched and waited patiently. When she took both of his hands he let her and when she placed them on her boobs and squeezed her hands around his, his eyebrow peaked.

Jolts and tingles were flying through every part of Darquesse. At long last she felt Vile's skin on her and once she had guided him into caressing her, she started to buck at the pleasure. She rose up and down on his cock quivering as the pleasure was so intense she was starting to feel light headed. Picking up the pace the friction and pressure was building up inside her, her moans tumbled out with each thrust.

Goosebumps ran down her legs and Vile's hands snapped to her hips in a strong hold and started pulling her down on his dick harder than she could do alone. Her moans became more high pitched and breathless. With Vile guiding her down on him her hands were free to wander up his chest, ripping apart the fabric and feeling the cold that was curling off him.

Darquesse grazed her fingertips over his abdomen and up his pecks before curling around his neck and yanking him up. She was on her knees in his lap. bouncing away as the new position sent Vile in at a deeper angle. Her hips had a mind of their own and started thrusting faster. Her squeals filled the cool, dank air and her breathing grew horse.

Leaning close to Vile's ear, she whispered "fuck me harder, bad boy."

At her words Vile vaulted them to his feet, he held her thighs and wrapped them around him when he was high enough. He gripped her at the waist and thrust her down until she had no choice but to hang onto him just to keep from flying into the sky. Vile spun round and fucked her up the side of a tree, scraping her back against the jagged bark and causing it to split.

Darquesse was too engaged in the sex to think of anything otherwise. Vile's thrusts were hard, filling her to the brim and stroking against her g-spot causing spasms in her legs.

"Oh God," she wailed as her orgasm crashed over her sending jolts to every nerve ending. The waves hit her again and again and then she wanted just that extra bit more. Finding the trunk beneath her palms she pushed with the strength of her powerful arms and shot both herself and Vile forward, forcing them to crash to the ground. They hit the forest floor with such force, the impact caused the soil to give way and they were sent tumbling down into the earth's crust.

Everything suddenly went black. Clashing rocks and crumbling debris plummeted down taking Darquesse and Lord Vile with them.

"You two took your time getting here. I thought you weren't going to show up at all."

The voice swarmed around her head, but Darquesse felt groggy. Her head was pounding like it had been bashed in. She couldn't fully comprehend Mevolent's words, but she knew they were his. When her eyes would finally peel open her vision was still blurry but she could make out Mevolent's pacing steps not far in front of her. She was surrounded by rock in a dank cavern somewhere.

Darquesse deduced that she was probably in the tunnels underground not far from China's residence.

She remembered smashing through the ground still entwined with Lord Vile, it would explain why they had ended up in the tunnels. The feelings of her body were coming back to her gradually. Knowing she was on her knees and the solid ground digging into the joints was slightly painful and degrading. Her hands were trapped behind her back and twisted in an awkward position so she couldn't move. There was no way she could stand and get out, the sigils covering her restraints held her in place. Not being able to see the sigils didn't mean she didn't know they were there. She could feel their magic encasing hers.

She flicked her eyes to the ground and realised she was knelt in the centre of a circle, painted and entirely made up of different sigils linked together magically binding her and keeping her static. Glancing to her right she saw Skulduggery in the exact same position.

It wasn't going well for them.

"Now that I have you both here and willing to listen, it's only fair that I talk. After all I am the one who holds all the secrets."

"Are you sure about that?" Skulduggery's voice was somehow calm when he spoke.

"I'm sorry. You're right, no-one holds more secrets then the great Skulduggery Pleasant. I wonder if I told your beloved partner all the secrets you were keeping from her, would she be able to look at you in the same way? I did you a favour by summoning Darquesse, Valkyrie would have died if I hadn't."

"You didn't summon me." she contradicted still groggy.

"Oh I did. The past few years have all been rigorously planned out, to every detail so you would emerge when I wanted you to. Had to take a monstrous amount of precautions though. Taking your baby was just one but at the top of the list."

Darquesse struggled to work against her bounds , the metal ropes were slicing into her wrists.

"Don't do that dear, you're going to hurt yourself."

"What do you need me for?" Darquesse asked giving up on her bounds. If she was at full strength, nothing could hold her or bind her for long. And if Mevolent was at full strength he wouldn't of needed the magical bounds in the first place.

She startled Mevolent with her question, he smiled in response.

"I'm afraid it isn't the right time."

"But you have needed me for a long time haven't you? That's why you cooked up my daughter so you would have leverage over me. No doubt if she was still alive she would be a monster, after being corrupted by you for years. But your plan backfired and she died. Do your worst Mevolent."

Mevolent's smile disintegrated on his face leaving a frown in its place.

"You would abandon your own flesh and blood?"

"She is not either of those things anymore. She died in that fire and I have no intentions of trying to dredge that up. I only ever wanted to find her killer and destroy him. You just cut my mission's deadline down years."
Mevolent clucked, sparkles in his eyes.

"Mevolent. I will destroy you and everyone who has ever associated with you. There will be no place to hide, I will devastate the world looking for you and your parasite followers. I won't stop until I have eradicated you from this world. So go ahead with your plan. I'm fairly certain it won't matter."

Mevolent eyed her carefully. It was at that moment that he realised Darquesse was too dangerous to be left alive, but he himself was too weak to do it. His gaze shifted to Skulduggery who hadn't moved once since Mevolent tried to tongue lash him last. He crept over to the circular barrier around Skulduggery and put his hand through so he could pull something out of his breast pocket. The odd shape in the fabric had been bugging him for ages, he wanted to know what Skulduggery had in there.

The small blackened vial of glistening white liquid was revealed in his hand. Mevolent scrutinized it before throwing it up and catching it in his other hand.

"And what do we have here?"

"Return that to me or I will cut off your face and feed them to you." Skulduggery threatened.

"I'd used his dick." Darquesse mumbled to herself, though not that quietly.

"You are making pretty big threats for people who can't move."

"I'll find a way." Skulduggery stated. "I always do."

"Stop trying to win Skulduggery. You will find the deeper you dig into this, the more you will wish you hadn't."

"You have no idea what you are holding, so that means I win this one."

"I know it's dangerous. I know you want it back, and I know you first acquired it as a way to destroy Darquesse." Mevolent smirked her way, rolling the vial between his large, smooth fingers. Darquesse felt his excitement increase when her reaction was to glare silently in the opposite direction of both of them. She grit her teeth when Mevolent's laughter at her expense reached her ears. There was nothing she could do to get herself out of her restrictions but as soon as she did get loose, there was a huge amount of vengeance to dish out on someone.

"Were you unaware of what his intentions were towards you, love?" Mevolent directed his attention to her, crouching in front of her, seeing blankness on her face but feeling the overturn of emotions within. He licked his lips slowly and allowed her eyes to follow their route. "Because if you want rid of him we can do that together, here, now. You deserve to be with someone equally great and magnificent as you, not somebody who won't truly give you the time of day because he's ashamed of himself for forgetting his wife and falling for someone else. But you aren't that person, love. And I would treat you like the Goddess you are, Darquesse. You just have to say the words."

Listening to Mevolent's attempt to turn her against Skulduggery was amusing, but a part of her felt it wasn't crazy, what he had said to her. She could fully believe that Skulduggery had searched for things to destroy her. It was only a matter of time really before he tried to use one of them on her.

"Darquesse." Skulduggery let his voice caress her name in his thick Irish accent, as he said it. She reluctantly twisted her neck to see him and they locked eyes. Mevolent watched, his eyes passing back and forth between the two. He knew that any weight his words had seconds ago was now gone. All it took was one look, he saw it on her face like he had seen it on many others, and she wasn't going to betray him. Stepping in the gap, cutting Skulduggery from Darquesse's view, Mevolent took control again.

"I heard Silvo Godske wanted to make you an official member of the Acid Battery. He thought you were inspiring he did. His favourite anecdote of you was always North Point Primary School." Mevolent concentrated on her expression, the taste of her discomfort was tantalising on his tongue. He spotted the spark of anxiety immediately and from the way Skulduggery was now looking at her, it was completely warranted.

Refusing to look away first, she was forced to stare him in the eyes as he continued. The burn of Skulduggery's scrutiny was inescapable.

"Fifty-five students all under the age of sixteen… gone in a puff of smoke. Easiest clean-up we have ever had to do, Silvo said. And it was all thanks to you. Swanning in through the doors as the children gathered in the hall. You came up behind them. Not a single child knew they were about to die. None of them saw it coming, or indeed felt it when it happened."

Darquesse was surging with outrage but she concealed it all away. Mevolent's face had turned smug at the fact that she was avoiding Skulduggery's eyes and it turned her stomach. She could feel Skulduggery looking at her but she was resisting it. Her body wouldn't allow her to look his way. She silently focused her strength and let her head loll forwards onto her chest.

"I don't think she wants to talk to us anymore." Mevolent chuckled as he joked and directed his attention to Skulduggery instead.

"That's alright. We have a lot more history." Mevolent hadn't realised the annoyance he would cause himself when he forced his victim to kneel. Yes he loved being able to tower over them, but when he really wanted to get under their skin he liked talking to their faces. All this bending down and crouching was creating aches in his back. Still he wanted his words to cause the right effect. He crouched resting his elbows on his knees and letting his lean arms dangle down.

"Our history is old news, it would be incredibly insensitive of me if I brought up old wounds. Say for instance the death of your wife and child. But you knew I was going to say that already. Hell, everyone knows they can use that on the great Skulduggery Pleasant, it would usually mean their death, but hey, no-one is as daring as me."

The white of Skulduggery's skull reflected the shines from Mevolent's armour at their close proximity. "Obviously their deaths as well as yours were all down to me. I'm impressed that you have grown enough in yourself to befriend the killer of your family. I remember the look on China's face when she returned and told me the good news. She was so hot and bothered by it, we had sex nonstop all night." He tried to gage Skulduggery, waiting for the backlash but it didn't come. He couldn't determine Skulduggery's thought, he was just a blank faced skeleton to him in a snazzy ripped suit and without the perfect matching hat to go with it.

"I know it was rumoured amongst your allies, that she wanted you. I heard you liked her too. Then you married your very bland and boring wife and kicked China to the curb. The veil was lifted from her eyes that night and she begged me, that if the opportunity came to take out your wife, she would be the one to act. And we couldn't leave your child an orphan so it had to go too, the cherry on the top of the cake. The night she took their last breaths away from them was the best night of her life."

Mevolent swayed from side to side trying to see if Skulduggery's was even still awake. He had hoped his notations about China would have caused some sort of uproar. But there was nothing. Skulduggery wasn't moving at all.

"That's getting quite unnerving now."

Mevolent pondered for a moment before smiling at his foe as if they were old time friends.

"I know that's a sore spot for you… but it's not the worst. Not anymore." Those dark, beady eyes dragged up and focused on the empty sockets in front. This time Mevolent knew he was listening. It made it all the more special when his words rang out loud and clear.

"Let's talk about Valkyrie."

That smirk slid into place when he saw the spark appear. The spark of anger quickly building up behind the eye sockets. It was confirmation to Mevolent that he was right and knowing Skulduggery could be hurt even more now, could be got to through one person so completely that it would crush him, it would make revealing his already executed plan in Russia all the more devastating.

"She's your partner, as you describe it. Yet I'm pretty sure it's probably true in every sense of the word. You have to live with the fact that I got to your family two hundred years ago, you barely survived. But how would you cope when you found out that I got to Valkyrie Cain too. Because I did Skulduggery, I really, really did."

Skulduggery sprung forward, free of his restraints but hit the barrier in front of him and was knocked back. Mevolent only spared his outburst a hearty laugh before moving on. "And doesn't that just kill you?" Mevolent teased tilting his head. Skulduggery had returned to his kneeling position and had bowed his head without a word to Mevolent. Now he mirrored Darquesse's position adjacent to him. They both could have fooled anyone into thinking they were statues.

"That one was right, you know." Mevolent continued nodding his head in Darquesse's direction. "Cuff did not father her child. Their entire relationship was a farce Fraa cooked up in order to ensure a safe and healthy pregnancy. He took it upon himself to install a few little failsafe's in her mind to prevent her from ever harming him. That git deserved what he got. I took the child and I was able to get what I needed from it, and now I don't need the birth mother anymore. That was just for insurance."

Mevolent jumped up and tossed the vial of Angel's Blood in his hands, manoeuvring his way so he was stood in front of Darquesse. He held the bottle out admiring the way it sparkled, even in the darkness. His eyebrows furrowed when he felt a subtle pull on the bottle. It felt like it was a magnetic pulse that was attracting the bottle to something else. Mevolent stopped resisting and let his hand be pulled towards the invisible barrier that surrounded Darquesse.

Confused, Mevolent turned to Skulduggery who was also observing him and the vial due to Mevolent's sudden silence. Darquesse wasn't paying attention, her head was still bowed forward and Skulduggery neglected to offer any explanation. Mevolent wasn't positive Skulduggery knew what was happening anyway. Even he had only heard the myths about Angel's Blood, and none of them were certain. It's properties were unknown.

Mevolent pushed his hand forward and the liquid inside the glass vial started to glow. The light pulsed the closer it got to Darquesse.

"Oh," Mevolent buzzed practically giddy with excitement. "It wants you, baby. It wants a taste of you."

Placing a finger on his wrist, he brushed away the fabric to reveal sigils carved into his skin. The sigils circling Darquesse glowed red then disappeared. She looked up craning her neck back finally meeting his eyes.

"I really really want to know what this will do to you." Her eyes were forced to focus on the glass vial that was being shoved in her face. The vial was vibrating more aggressively in Mevolent's hand when it got in closer proximity to her.

"Shall we find out?" he whispered euphoric at the unexpected frenzy.

"No!"
Mevolent's head snapped to Skulduggery.

"What wrong with you? Not want to find out what the pretty liquid will do to your lover's doppelganger? What were you carrying it around for if you didn't intend on using it?" Mevolent badgered, stroking the smooth glass that was slowly heating up. It was no more than an arm's length away from her.

"Please…" Feeling a huge sense of bliss at the desperation in Skulduggery's voice. It was like all his birthdays had come at once. He had never heard that amount of despair in his voice before. "... don't use that on her."

Mevolent actually howled, but retained the vial in his hand. "Pleasant, you are making this far too easy-"

Before he could brag another word, Darquesse blasted out a high pitched, ear tingling whistle which provoked rumbles and quakes around them. Stumbling backwards slightly Mevolent gawked at her.

"You stupid bitch! What have you done?" he snarled. He avoided getting any closer to her now that she was free. How could he have been so premature into thinking he had the upper hand and was safe to let her prison fall?

Darquesse stood and sent him a coy beam. "Called some friends." she explained, or didn't.

Rage exploded all over Mevolent's face, he tightened his grip on the vial of Angel's Blood and reared his arm. The vial was sprung from his grasp when the boulders making the wall behind him collapsed and a horde of hell dogs bombarded through every inch of broken rubble and piled onto Mevolent. He was brought to his knees as the dogs tore into his limbs, grinding away at his armour with their razor like teeth and ripping at his robes before chewing down on his form. The hell dogs dragged a yelling, totally overpowered Mevolent away.

Skulduggery caught sight of him disappear, his head turned to find the vial and he saw it racing back down from the height it had managed. Darquesse was too engrossed savouring every second of Mevolent being mauled and dragged away.

Skulduggery knew where the Angel's Blood was going to land, he just knew it. He was powerless to stop it as he was still confined to his prison thanks to Mevolent's sigils. They would wear off once he was too distracted to maintain their function, but not in time.

The vial passed through the air like a bullet, Darquesse caught sight, at the last second of it hurtling towards her. She knew she could stop it hitting her, but it was more of a rush to leave it to the last second and let the adrenaline fully take over her body. She never anticipated the large slab jostled out of position in the rock behind that would fall from above, smash her in the back and jolt her forward right into the path of the flying bottle of death.

The last thing she could comprehend was the sound of Skulduggery's roar the moment the vial struck her chest.

A blinding white light filled every crack of the cavern and Darquesse's screams were heard causing aftershocks. The pain that consumed her was mind numbing, like a hole had been clawed out of head. Everything flashed then the world melted away.

The sigils around Skulduggery faded, he bolted for Darquesse's body that had collapsed on the floor in no doubt painful angles, and was unmoving. Skulduggery scooped her up into his arms and flew through the tunnels, finding his way back to the surface.

The cool air tossed her dark hair across her peaceful looking face. Skulduggery laid her down gently, stroking his gloved finger down over her cheek. He bent down and listened at her mouth for any sign of her breathing, he checked her neck and her wrist but there was nothing. Her skin was growing icy and turning blue.

Skulduggery roared an angry shout, fumbling erratically for something in his pocket. He brought out a seven sided star contraption, and placed it on her chest. Her skin was burnt from the incident but her clothes had melted away in places. He waited for the light on the top to go red. The light came and faded just as quickly, she didn't awaken.

"Damn it!" Skulduggery shouted again repeating the procedure with the Sunburst. The red light flashed again for the second time, he stayed silent unable to move, but the Sunburst failed to work again. There was no brain activity, no breathe sounds, no beating heart.

He recharged the Sunburst one more time but before the light could go red, he hesitated to activate it again. He wondered if he should just let her go, let her be peaceful in the afterlife.

During his thoughts his finger had subconsciously activated the Sunburst and the red light appeared again. He was immediately grateful. The girl's eyes opened suddenly, she awoke with a breathless gasp. Her eyes were bright but frightened and confused.

Skulduggery took her cheek in his hand, it was hard looking at her, she looked different, almost normal.

Skulduggery's mind jumped at the fact that she did in fact look like her old self. How was it possible that she looked like Valkyrie again.

"Valkyrie?" Skulduggery whispered tenderly , not wanting to let himself believe before he was sure. But he couldn't stop it. Her eyes found him and focused before she let out a frantic scream.

Deep in the ground the earth was silent apart from one sound. The sound of glass rolling over tiny pebbles and rocks, the chinking sound of glass echoing through the underground labyrinth. The vial of Angel's Blood now empty of any light rolled off a cliff and into the unknown. Taking the essence it had gained with it.