A/N: I don't own Valkyrie, Anton or Skulduggery. Or the Dead Men. Sorry to take so long to update but nothing was coming to me. Thanks go out to DeadGirl19 and Scarlet Bloodwhite for reviewing.
They were walking back to the car after breakfast when a man stepped in front of them, pulling a knife from his pocket. Before Valkyrie could even step back in surprise Anton lashed out with a punch so hard that the man was lifted up off his feet and flew backwards to land on the pavement in a crumpled heap.
Anton stepped up to the man and looked down at him, and Valkyrie fell in love with him all over again when she saw his expression. "Was there something you needed help with?" Anton asked in that quiet voice of his and the man whimpered in terror. Anton knelt and picked the man's knife up, balancing in on his splayed fingers thoughtfully. "You seem to have dropped this." He said softly.
Anton moved his hand suddenly, drawing the knife back to hold it by the hilt then plunged the knife downwards planting it into the ground up to the hilt and pinning the man's jacket. The man screamed in terror and Anton just smiled in reply.
He rose and got Valkyrie's door from her then got in on his side, Valkyrie reaching over to get his door for him. Anton smiled his thanks at her gesture. "I didn't scare you, did I?" He asked as he started the car and pulled out.
"No, surprised, I guess. You just, you react instantly."
"I saw him even before he approached us. As you get older you'll see people long before they can try something foolish."
"I can see why you're a Dead Man, you really enjoyed scaring him."
"Mortals deserve to be scared. Annoying creatures." He said dryly and Valkyrie laughed. He usually just ignored them or glared at them when they got too close.
They got back to the hotel and Skulduggery listened to Valkyrie's account with great amusement as Anton walked on towards the front desk. "See? That's why he's good for you. Call it blatant sexism if you like, Val, but men tend to be bigger and stronger than women. And we like fighting."
"I like fighting."
"So you do. But Anton has centuries more of it under his belt, and the man loves it. And scaring people. I'm honestly surprised he never starting penning horror novels."
"Where's the fun in scaring people if you can't see their reaction?" Anton asked and the pair jumped in surprise. He looked amused.
"But you just- I could have sworn you went to the front desk." Valkyrie said. "I swear you can just appear wherever you feel like it in this hotel."
"Maybe I can." Anton said and his smile turned warm. "That was enjoyable, Valkyrie. We should go out more often."
Aw. Anton hit someone for her then terrified him.
