Wistful Kisses...Chapter 10...
Thanks again everyone who keeps reading and reviewing and encouraging me! I know it doesn't seem like much but even a 'Hey! That was really good! But you could change this...' gives me a push towards a great story (: All characters (unfortunately) are Derek Landy's, except Wistful (: She was my idea. Hope you like it! (:
oO0Oo
Valkyrie woke up curled against Skulduggery's chest, wrapped in the blankets of one of Gordon's luxurious four poster beds. In fact, technically it was her bed, since she inherited the house when she turned eighteen. But even after two years, she couldn't think of it as her house, especially not with Gordon still floating around his study like he'd never left.
"Good morning," Skulduggery greeted her, and the sound was music to her ears. She'd had dreams about waking up with him; she'd had them for years, but to actually be living in one, it felt so surreal. He was stroking her hair, his ribs exposed, the black bracelet still clipped round his wrist. Once again, the bracelets were the only things they were wearing, and Valkyrie didn't mind that one bit. In fact, she'd completely forgotten about them.
"Morning," she mumbled back, stretching drowsily, a smile on her face. "You know what? I haven't felt this good in a long time."
"Me neither, actually," he answered.
"Care to tell me why?"
"You first," he countered.
"Because I'm in love, Skulduggery, and because the man that I love feels the same."
"Who's the lucky gent?" he teased.
"Ha ha, funny. As you get older, your jokes get progressively worse, you know."
"On the contrary, I'm quite hilarious."
"Okay, sure. Now it's your turn; what's making you feel so good?"
"Well...she's tall, dark haired, strong, she has big, sparkly brown eyes, and she's not too intelligent..."
"Always with the insults," Valkyrie muttered, pretending to be offended. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
"You know I'm joking," he said, teeth grazing the skin of her throat. She shivered.
"I know," she answered, her voice uneven, and she felt his head tilt against her jaw smugly.
The sun came through the duck-egg-blue curtains at an angle, falling across Valkyrie's face and shining in her eyes, making them dance with light. Skulduggery had never met anybody quite like her, not since his wife, and he'd been so convinced that it'd all slip away from him. But looking at her, at his Valkyrie, as she lay in his arms with a smile on her beautiful face, undisturbed by his skeletal frame, he saw no trace of the monster that she was predicted to become. Darquesse was nowhere to be seen, and he couldn't have been happier.
"We should probably get up; we have to interrogate Wistful."
"I don't want to move though; can't somebody else do it?" Valkyrie groaned.
"We are the Sanctuary's Prime Detectives, Valkyrie. Since this is the leading case at the moment, no, somebody else can't do it, unfortunately. Besides, don't you want to know how Wistful got in contact with Melancholia?"
"...Yeah, okay," she agreed grudgingly. "Five more minutes though, please?"
"I wouldn't say no to that." Valkyrie grinned and searched for a kiss. She was rewarded with a gentle peck. She sighed and pulled his face to hers, gently, but firmly. By the time she was finished kissing him, her heart was pounding and his voice was rough.
"You are a bad influence, Valkyrie Cain," he said, sounding breathless, not that he needed to breathe. She cuddled closer to him, feeling smug.
"But you love it."
"I have to admit, it is growing on me rather quickly." He looked at the clock on the antique, distressed-white bedside table and sighed.
"Don't say it," she warned.
"We have to-"
"Don't."
"We have to get up."
"Skuuuuul," she moaned. "Can't we be fashionably late or something?"
"No." He sat up and tipped her off him, chuckling to himself when she moaned and pulled the thick, cashmere blanket over her head. He slipped his clothes on before she even bothered to move, and was adjusting his tie when she peeked out of her cushioned cocoon.
"You get dressed too quickly," she pouted.
"And you get up too slowly. Move, now."
"Or else?"
"I'll make you move." She raised an eyebrow, yawned, and turned over, her back to him.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," he muttered, and found her wrist under the covers. He grabbed it and pulled smoothly, careful not to hurt her, and before she knew it she was on her feet, in his arms, and freezing. She turned to burrow back into the bed, but he snagged her waist, laughing to himself. She stopped struggling.
"You," she said, "are no fun."
"And you need to get dressed. I'll be downstairs in the kitchen; what do you want for breakfast?"
"Coffee," she decided. "And something with eggs."
"How does an omelette sound?"
"It sounds perfect," she grinned, and kissed his jaw, before he turned her around and gave her a gentle, reluctant push towards the wardrobe.
oO0Oo
"So do you have any ideas about how Wistful got hold of Melancholia?" Valkyrie asked, around a mouthful of gloriously fluffy, piping hot omelette. "This is good, by the way. You've been practising."
"Somebody needs to be able to cook around here; Gordon can't pick up a pan and if you had your own way you'd live on microwave dinners and takeaways. And no, I don't even know how Wistful figured out that Melancholia hates you," he answered, leaning against the kitchen counter, his thin frame illuminated by the morning sun. Her heart thudded.
Valkyrie cocked her head, remembering the night he'd first saved her life, back when she was still a child.
"You stood right there when I woke up, you know," she told him.
"You mean the night I saved you, when you fainted?" He took great delight in reminding her of that.
"Yes," Valkyrie said grudgingly. "When I fainted."
"I was just thinking the same thing myself, actually. The number of times I've had to catch you is literally astonishing."
"So is the number of times I've had to pick up pieces of you and put them back together."
"Ah. Touché."
"Thought so," she answered smugly, and swallowed another mouthful of omelette. It really was amazing. "Is there anything you can't do?" she asked.
"Normally, I would answer that question by saying I can't fly, but I can, so that's a moot point. No, it appears I'm good at everything."
"What about music?"
"Music?"
"Yeah. Can you sing? Do you play an instrument?"
"...I can play piano," he told her after a long pause.
"You have to show me."
"Of course, but right now you need to hurry up and finish eating; we're going to be late. Again."
oO0Oo
Wistful spat at Skulduggery's feet, narrowly missing his right shoe, and Valkyrie felt her omelette churn in her stomach as Wistful glared at him through one eye. The other was closed and purple, swollen from the fighting.
"Spitting is a disgusting habit, especially in women," Skulduggery muttered, taking a step back. "You must know that you're going to prison for a very long time by now, yes?"
"I'm not getting locked up," she grinned.
"Yes, you are, because you're a murderer, and murderers don't get off scot free," Valkyrie answered.
"It's such a shame you're allied with the detective, you know. From what I saw, you'd make a perfectly good criminal. If I'd met you sooner, we could've ruined many lives together...Darquesse, is it?"
"It's Valkyrie, and even if you'd met me before Skulduggery, I'd still pick him. Every single time. Now answer the questions or be sent to the Gaol without a trial. It's up to you."
"How did you know Melancholia?" Skulduggery asked for perhaps the twenty fifth time in the last five minutes. The lights around him were still there, though Valkyrie had figured out that if she didn't focus on them, she didn't notice them anymore. The fluorescent bubble grew short spikes of annoyance as Wistful continued to irritate him.
"Everybody knew she was set to replace Lord Vile as the next Death Bringer; the Necromancers didn't keep it as quiet as they thought. I also found out that she'd had a fight with your partner, and Lord Vile, and that together they destroyed the symbols carved into her skin. She got angry that this girl took her powers from her. She made it no secret that she wanted to kill you, Darquesse."
"My name is Valkyrie, and I didn't destroy the symbols. Vile did. She should be picking a fight with him, that is, if she can find him," Valkyrie answered impassively, fully aware that the man she loved was Lord Vile, and that he was in the same room as them.
"That's why she didn't choose to fight him, child. You were the next best thing, so she wants you dead. And now you've bruised my face, I want you dead too. So soon you'll be dead, which is a shame, because I was really starting to like you."
"So you got in touch with Melancholia because Valkyrie punched you?" Skulduggery asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, pretty much." Wistful smiled, showing a gap where her tooth had been knocked loose. "By the way, your little threats won't scare her, not for long. She'll make your life Hell. Just wait until she gets in touch with an old friend of mine, that is, if she hasn't already." Her smile turned wicked.
"What old friend?" Valkyrie asked.
"Ask my pretty twin sister," she sneered.
Wistful refused to say anymore, so after another hour of badgering her for answers that weren't going to come, Skulduggery gave up and called the Cleavers in to take her. They entered in silence, long grey robes almost touching the ground, visored faces impassive. The scythes strapped to their backs gleamed menacingly in the harsh light of the stark white interview room. They pulled her from the only chair in the room, away from the small table, and out the door, just as Tanith Low came in behind them, doing her best to avoid her sister's catcalls as she was dragged down the corridor.
"Hey guys," she said.
"Tanith," Skulduggery nodded, sounding worried. Valkyrie's head snapped up,
"What's wrong?"
"If the 'old friend' she's talking about is who I think it is, then we're in for a world of trouble."
"What old friend?" Tanith asked. "What's she said?"
"Wistful said Melancholia's gonna get in touch with an old friend," Val explained.
"She said you'd know which old friend it was going to be," Skulduggery added.
"I don't...wait...old friend..." Tanith's face paled; never a good sign. Tanith wasn't afraid of anyone. "If it's who I think it is, we're in for a world of trouble. Literally."
"What? Who is it?"
"I think I know who she means," Skulduggery said quietly. He and Tanith shared a look.
"What? What?" Valkyrie pestered, getting frustrated.
"She's going to Notorious Grimm," Tanith mumbled.
"We are in so much trouble." The skeleton groaned and his head sagged. Valkyrie's heart began to pound. For the first time in years, Valkyrie Cain, aka Darquesse, the girl who was fated to destroy the world, was really, truly afraid.
oO0Oo
They were gathered in Erskine's office; Skulduggery had his back against a leather panel on the wall, eye sockets fixed on the polished oak floor, hat pulled low over his skull. He hadn't said much since they figured out who Wistful's 'old friend' was. Tanith sat in one leather chair in front of the sparkling, solid gold desk, laden with ornaments and trinkets of various shapes, sizes, colours, and even dimensions. She had her knees tucked up, her chin resting on them, one hand in Ghastly's, the other on the handle of her sword like she believed she'd need it at a second's notice. Elder Bespoke sat in the other leather chair, frown lines etched upon his scarred forehead, wishing he was back in his shop, behind his sewing machine, living the quieter life with a cup of tea and a new ream of fabric. Erskine sat in his wingback chair opposite them all, his head tapping repeatedly against his golden desk with a quiet 'thud'. Valkyrie contented herself by looking around his office; it wasn't all that interesting.
The wall behind Erskine was full of shelves, stacked with identical, leather bound books, all burgundy, with gold leaf on the spines. Val doubted there was even anything in them; the office hadn't been changed since Guild had been thrown out of power for attempted murder. The books, like the desk, were just a way of showing off. The two walls opposite one another, to the left and right of the room, were cream, interspersed with dark, luxurious leather panels spaced evenly apart, matching the dark oak floor and the upholstery on the seats. The wall with the door on it had two large paintings, one on either side, both of the Requiem Ball in different years. Valkyrie could clearly see China Sorrows in both of them, surrounded by vying men.
"We're screwed," Erskine groaned, sitting up and rubbing his forehead, where a faint blue bruise had begun to form as his head repeatedly struck the precious metal tabletop. Valkyrie looked at the ornate black and green clock hanging on the wall, and realised with surprise that he'd been doing that for over twenty minutes. "There is no way we can beat Grimm. He's just too strong."
"There is always a way to beat someone," Skulduggery said quietly. "It just takes a while to find it."
"There is? You seem to forget that he is one of the few people who has almost ended your life. It took three months to free you from him, by which time you'd been dismembered, tortured, your bones cut to pieces, put back together, burned, beaten, and God only knows what else. It was a miracle that you were alive, and for a long time you could barely move, Skulduggery," Ghastly said quietly. Valkyrie recoiled from the image of Skulduggery, his bones cleaved into ragged chunks, sprawled on the floor beneath a figure of darkness.
"Technically, compared to how long I've been alive, seven years isn't all that long to be out of action," the skeleton detective answered mildly, his eye sockets still fixed on a notch in the wooden floor.
"Seven years?" Valkyrie burst out. "Who the Hell is this guy?" It was Tanith who answered her; nobody else in the room seemed brave enough to explain.
"Notorious Grimm is the closest living thing to a Faceless One that exists on this planet. He's thousands of years older than even the oldest living mage. He'd be a match even for Darquesse and Lord Vile combined, and you saw how much damage they did," she said. "He can command the Elements, use Necromancy, he can counter any Adept trick with one of his own, and he possesses a power none of us have ever seen before, and will never see again. He looks like an angel, thinks like a demon, and he's as cold and merciless as the Dark Gods themselves. If you ever come face to face with him, you can be sure that you're dead, and it won't be quick. Skulduggery is the only one to ever survive the torture Grimm puts you through." Tanith stole a quick glance at the skeleton. "And even then, he wasn't didn't come back...whole."
"What do you mean, 'whole'?" Valkyrie asked, trying to ignore the sick chill running its fingers over her skin, raising goose bumps up and down her arms.
"I was quite insane, after Grimm was finished with me," Skulduggery told her. "Even after my body was working again, my sanity remained broken and fragmented."
"How did you fix it?" she questioned. He shrugged reluctantly. "Skulduggery?"
"...China Sorrows. She became my friend, and she fixed my mind, piece by piece. Of course, it was all for her own gain. It turns out she was the one who turned me over to Grimm in the first place. She was just trying to soothe her guilty conscience."
"She stabbed you in the back twice?"
Valkyrie was seething. Once, that could perhaps be forgiven, but twice? Violence threatened to overwhelm her.
"Yes, but that can be saved for another day. Right now, Grimm is the problem."
"Can he be killed?" Ghastly asked hoarsely.
"Quite frankly, I haven't the foggiest. My guess is that he wounds like any mortal, but he's simply too quick to injure. There is no way past his defences, and we're damn lucky he stayed out of Mevolent's war. If he'd fought, none of us would be here today, along with half of humanity."
"So that's it? We just let him do whatever he wants, and we die?" Valkyrie asked, disbelief evident in her eyes and voice. Tears thickened her throat, threatening to overwhelm her, revealing the vulnerable young girl that still existed somewhere deep inside her soul.
"We can fight. We can try to resist. But it won't work," Skulduggery answered, a hollow hopelessness echoing back to her ears, a hopelessness she'd never heard before, and it terrified every part of her, even breaking down the walls of unshakable confidence she'd gained from Darquesse. The raging fire inside her died out, dimming to nothing but the blackened ashes of fear and defeat. She felt like she was standing on a cliff, hounded by wolves, with two choices. Jump and be shattered by the jagged rocks of defeat, or turn back and be torn to pieces in the jaws of fate.
"So yeah, we're screwed," Erskine said, looking paler than ever, and went back to tapping his head against the table top, making the bruise bigger.
"Of course, there's no proof that Grimm is back on the scene, so why bother about it now?" Skulduggery said, his voice marred with false brightness.
"That's true, but knowing my crazy sister, every single word of it is true; just because a couple of people kicked her ass, she puts the entire planet in jeopardy," Tanith muttered.
"Who says he's a match for Darquesse and Vile?" Valkyrie asked suddenly. "What if they're the only ones that can actually stop him?" Skulduggery laughed bitterly, and Valkyrie flinched at the harsh sound.
"Pity; the only way to stop him from destroying humanity is to unleash the next biggest threat on him and hope Darquesse can destroy Lord Vile, and regain control of herself, before the rest of the world realises what's happening," the skeleton mused, shaking his head, gaze still trained on the ground.
"Why couldn't I do it?" Valkyrie asked. "Darquesse is who I am, but Valkyrie Cain is me too. And so is Stephanie Edgley. I have all Darquesse's strength, and her anger, and her confidence, but I have Valkyrie's common sense, and Stephanie's family. I can keep a lid on my evil. I could find Lord Vile," Valkyrie said, shooting a look at Skulduggery, who had finally looked up, and was watching her intently. "I could find him and try to convince him to help me. Maybe we could finish Grimm."
"Valkyrie, I am sorry to tell you this, my dear," Ghastly said, smiling at her sadly, "but Notorious Grimm is said to be the offspring of a Faceless One and a particularly twisted Ancient. That would make him a demigod. He has more power than Darquesse and Lord Vile could ever hope to master, even after Darquesse experiences the Surge and unlocks all her raw potential. And while Darquesse has the power to end humanity on her own, she doesn't have the inclination. Grimm possesses both, and with an excuse, he won't hesitate to destroy everyone; men, women, children and mages alike. It doesn't matter who you are, or what you can do; nobody can escape him."
Valkyrie lapsed into depressed silence and thought with the rest of them, trying to ignore the continuous rapping of Erskine's face on his desk, even as it grew in pace, tapping a little faster every so often as his stress heightened. And then she tilted her head, fully aware that she looked a lot like Skulduggery when he had an idea.
"If this Grimm guy is meant to kill me for Wistful, then wouldn't that mean that the future changes?" she asked.
"Yes, I believe it would," the skeleton nodded.
"Then wouldn't the Sensitives see it? Wouldn't they notice the change?"
"Yes, in theory, they should."
"And that'd give us some proof that he's back, right?"
"Which would give us somewhere to start," Tanith smiled weakly. "At least we'd know he was coming."
"So what do you suggest we do, Detective Cain?" Skulduggery asked her, letting her lead for the first time in her life. He was proud of her; she maintained her courage and her wits, even when it seemed hopeless. He was quietly smug with how well he'd taught her.
"We need to go see Finbar Wrong."
Just to let everyone know, I had no idea where this chapter was going to end up, but the place it ended up sure was a weird one! The introduction of Grimm even surprised me, and I'm the one writing! Notorious Grimm is my own character, and now I've got a real twist to work into the plot! :D Can't wait to get started on Chapter 11!