Following the Darquesse
Chapter 13
Ghastly waited soundlessly but couldn't help looking over at Skulduggery every few seconds. He was in no two minds about his mood, considering he was fuming to himself staring out of the window.
Ghastly was hoping the others would arrive soon before his friend exploded. Thankfully not a minute later they appeared like a stampede.
"We have located which prison the other shunter is being held in," Ghastly started quickly. "He's called Creyfon Signate, nothing special about him except he's killed thirteen people in the last five years, his status was upgraded to serial killer some time ago, and he's being kept on the fifth floor." Ghastly explained to the group as they came together.
"Fifth floor? I thought it was a one level building." Gracious questioned.
"Fifth floor below ground level." Skulduggery clarified. "We bring him back, force him to tell us everything he knows about other dimensions Valkyrie could have been taken to and get her back."
"What sort of prison is this?" Tanith asked turning to Ghastly.
"A good one." He coughed not meeting her eye.
"A good one as in... High security?"
"It's pretty high, I suppose."
Ghastly still wouldn't meet her eye. He was playing off how hard the prison would be to get into but no matter, it would probably come out soon no doubt.
"I wish we had more information." Saracen commented rubbing his chin anxiously.
"What, you don't know enough stuff?" Dexter retorted playfully.
"I don't know about dimension shunters and they are a creepy as hell. I mean who knows where they could send you, Valkyrie could be back in dinosaur world or ant land for all we know. I'd just prefer to know a little more before I go storming in there threatening to kill the man and he could just send me to a dimension where everything is run by talking candyfloss."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's really going to happen, Saracen." Tanith said rolling her eyes.
"You don't know."
"If we could get back to, you know reality that would be great." Ghastly stated calling order to the chaos.
"Hammer Lane Gaol is where Signate is being kept." A newcomer announced walking in. "Its maximum security but I know the head warden so he's agreed to let you in and talk to the guy." Ghastly ignored the pointed looks from his future wife and turned to introduce the newcomer.
Nikolai Blackdrops was one of the newly elected Elders, he and his 'sister' more sentimental than genetic, took on the roles after the majority voted them in. They were both well remembered despite being out of the country and away from the limelight since the war ended.
Nikolai was very tall and sleek, his mousey coloured hair waved uncontrollably which made him tuck it behind his ears a lot. High cheeks bones and elegantly curved lips complimented his pale, startling eyes. He was known as a shy man, usually quiet until he met his sister and they blossomed as a partnership becoming a world wind of a force against Mevolent.
"Thank-you Nikolai, Skulduggery, you should leave as soon as possible."
"I think that would be wise." Nikolai announced before Skulduggery. "The guard said some of the prisoners had been getting disruptive and more aggressive over the past day or two."
"Did he know why?" Skulduggery asked.
"No, he just said there was something in the air."
Skulduggery nodded, the sooner they got to the prison and spoke to Creyfon the better. Skulduggery was distracted from the ongoing discussion when his phone began bleeping.
"What's that?" asked Ghastly curiously as Skulduggery pulled the phone from his pocket and looked at the screen.
"It's an alert," he said. "To let me know my security system around my house has been breached."
"The one you installed after Valkyrie left?"
"Yes."
"Someone is in your house?" Ghastly's voice was tense and with a shared look from Skulduggery they snapped into action.
It took Valkyrie a few seconds to comprehend what this strange girl had just announced, yet part of her immediately believed her. She hadn't had time to sift through all her memories yet or organise the ones she really had whilst captured by Cuff. She could vaguely remember everything, her life before leaving, what happened when she was held prisoner, what she was meant to believe at that time, bits and bats of what Darquesse did, then as her memory less self. Realising that Mevolent had created a child out of her anyway, after she had told him she would never help him. It was sick. Everything he had done was sick and that just made her angry. Angry to the point where she didn't care if she was powerless, she wanted to hurt someone. And make them hurt bad.
"Hel-lo." The girl called after minutes of Valkyrie's unwavering, dumbstruck stare. "Would you snap out of it?"
Valkyrie narrowed her eyes at the girl, not appreciating the tiny amount of time she was giving to comprehend that revelation. What was reaction meant to be?
This girl was her daughter by any means, she was more brainwashed and subdued than Valkyrie probably was. Mevolent had kept her for years, she could tell through the amount of conditioning. This wasn't her daughter's personality but the one Mevolent gave to her and she looked practically the same age as herself, he must have succeeded in catalysing her growth so she would become more useful to him quicker.
Valkyrie felt the white hot rage steer through her by just looking at the girl that could have been raised by her and not nurtured into a murdering, psycho puppet. She felt the guilt, probably more than she should because she was led to believe her daughter had died in the fire. But she hadn't even carried the child. She was made in a test tube and experimented on yet of course she felt a motherly connection to her. She didn't even know her name.
"He said you would be expecting the skeleton. He wasn't always there to help you in the past so why rely on him now, Mother? He's at the Sanctuary doing next to nothing to save you." The girl became more relaxed as her painful words started to rain down on Valkyrie, luckily for her, her skin was made of the toughest of stones. "They won't find your body for days."
"I beg to differ." Valkyrie replied calmly.
"Oh no? So where is he? We managed to pick up the residual energy from your echo shunt. Your Sanctuary must not be very well equipped if I managed to trace you and beat them here."
"What is your name?" Valkyrie asked changing the subject, uncaring as to whether the girl liked that or not.
"I don't have a name. Just a title."
"How is that possible? Everyone is born with a name."
"Not necessarily."
"What's your title?"
"I am referred to as the Unnamed. But it is not my name. I have no name. Mevolent did not give me one."
"So you couldn't be controlled."
"Exactly."
"Look at you. Look at what Mevolent did to you."
"I have looked and I must say I am impressed. I grew fast, what would take a mortal ten years took me three. I am powerful and I like being this way."
"Why would he do this to you?"
"He needed me mature enough to use the gifts I have. Since you refused to help and abandoned me with him, he couldn't have a toddler murdering people now could he?"
"I never abandoned you. There was a fire and you were gone. I thought you died in that building and I grieved every day afterwards for you."
"Boo hoo, you balled like a baby. It's nothing less than you deserve."
"Why do you stay with him?"
"Years of conditioning," the Unnamed shrugged. "and I find him sexy."
"I want to puke."
"Says the girl who wants to bump uglies with a skeleton."
"He makes you kill people, why would you want to do that?"
"Because I like it." She emphasised with a wicked grin.
"You are no daughter of mine."
"Why would I want to share blood with you? He raised me and looked after me. You became Darquesse and fucked off. There is no bond between us so don't think you can try turn me to your pathetic, hypocritical side. I would rather be ripped apart by vampires than connect with you."
The Unnamed's words were final, she began to stalk forward towards Valkyrie like a tiger hunting her next meal. Valkyrie only had brief snippets of memories of this girl whilst Darquesse was in power, quick glimpse of her face and that cruel smile, so she was unprepared for the amount of power she was going to bring to the fight. But Valkyrie knew if she underestimated this girl, she would be killed.
"Wait, there's more I need to know." Valkyrie burst out.
"No more talking. It's time for you to die." The Unnamed forced Valkyrie backwards.
"Who's your father?" The Unnamed paused seeing the need in Valkyrie's eyes for the answer. She gave her nothing more than a cruel sinister leer that gave Valkyrie the shivers and then launched forward.
Valkyrie had a fraction of a second to spin on her heel and bolt up the stairs. She was at a disadvantage so all she could do was try and fight on her own terms. Use her knowledge of the layout of Skulduggery's house to aid her in her escape. She wasn't going to take on the Unnamed head on unless it was a last resort.
"Run all you want, Mumsie, I know you have no powers. You may be a trained fighter but can you really remember how to take someone out? Especially someone who is infinitely more powerful than you. I don't like to brag but it's true." The Unnamed reached the top landing and was immediately crushed in the face with a large ceramic vase that shattered across her face creating slick, slices cutting up her eyebrows and cheeks. Whilst her hands flung to her face as her vision was impaired, Valkyrie dug her boot swiftly into her midsection then again and again until the girl had stumbled far enough back so Valkyrie could slip past her and kick with both feet using the bannister as an anchor.
The Unnamed was whacked in the chest and she loudly toppled down the stairs, rolling backwards over her neck, Valkyrie was sure with such a steep angle she was going to break it.
"It's called muscle memory." Valkyrie quipped to the girl who's landing on the bottom didn't sound at all painless.
Valkyrie not wanting to waste valuable time sprinted back and ended up in Skulduggery's room. She didn't have much time to register but she picked up the small details as she glanced around and made a mental note to go back and check it out if she didn't die. She did however grab a photograph of herself and Skulduggery from the fireplace and tucked it into her back pocket. She could see from her first search that there was no weapon in Skulduggery's room that could help her, and with the slight fumbling she could hear coming from downstairs she ran to her own room.
Valkyrie closed the door behind her and let herself panic for a moment. She didn't know how the hell she was going to get out of this alive and with no way of getting in touch with anyone to help, she didn't have an optimistic view on her future. Frantically searching the room she spotted a twin set of knuckle dusters on her bedside cabinet. She remembered where they had got them from originally, Darquesse had them in her possession in Russia but she couldn't figure out how they had got here. She slipped them on both her hands and rolled her fingers closed to observe them. Unlike normal metal, this metal moulded to the shape of her hands and fingers and hugged her digits like her own skin. These weren't just any knuckle dusters. They were something else. She gulped, it had probably been a bad idea to put them on so readily. She was almost afraid to use them.
Grabbing the wooden chair from her desk she went and stood behind her door silently. Not the best hiding place but it was the only place in the room that wasn't immediately in sight once the door opened, probably the reason as to why it was such an obvious hiding space.
The Unnamed effortless got to the top of the stairs without alerting Valkyrie, she crept down the landing so when the door swung open it nearly crunched Valkyrie in the nose. Out of instinct she threw the door back and rapidly stepped out smashing the chair into the girl. She yelped at the sudden impact and the chair broke away into pieces with just the one hit against her body. The girl briefly registered Valkyrie ducking before her feet were taken from her in a low sweeping kick. The Unnamed hit the ground with a grunt.
Valkyrie attempted to back away, the girl sprawled in the doorway, blocking it, but a hand quickly encased her ankle and yanked. The strain pulled a muscle in her inner thigh causing her legs to give way. She ground her teeth to stop the screams, she didn't want to show the girl fear. She wanted to be better than her.
Valkyrie was already defeated when the Unnamed rose to her feet before her and landed a kick so hard to Valkyrie's stomach that she felt kicked in two and went hurtling into the solid wardrobe. The hard slam shook her bones and cracked her back effectively winding her. Nothing could be done about the slabs of wood collapsing on top of her.
Her senses went black, all she could hear was the pain of her injuries in the odd sounds her body was making as she tried to shift out of the debris. The drumming in her ears prevented her from noticing the Unnamed was digging her out from the heap of wood laughing to herself as she rolled Valkyrie out from the mess with her foot.
"I thought you would be a bit more entertaining. I mean not any of that evil goddess, Darquesse poser crap, but just in general- funnier. You're not though and Mevolent was right."
Valkyrie vaguely felt herself being circled in the middle of the room. The Unnamed bent over, having one final glance before she descended. Confused, all Valkyrie could think about were her hands flying up instinctively grabbing the girls face. What was she going to do, maul out her eyes bear handed? Then an unbearable, shocking sound followed.
Blue light lit up the room. Crackling and snapping electricity. Not comprehending she had shot backwards across the floor until she was stopped abruptly, her body not physically able to go through walls.
Singed fingers and burnt flesh violated her noise, the shocks still crackling in the air and the sound of glass smashing.
"It could be Mevolent, you know." Tanith suggested in a not so excited mood as the Bentley flew towards Cemetery Road. Dexter and Saracen were in the back, whilst Ghastly held down the fort at the Sanctuary. He couldn't just up and leave any time he wanted now he was the boss.
Skulduggery was determined to get to his home so no one commented on his extreme speeding. He swung left into Cemetery Road and they could all see the front of the house at the end of the lane. Everything was still and quiet, like it always was except when they felt a small ripple in the ground, they braced themselves because slight earth shudders were never typical around this soundless town.
A startling, electric blue pulse of energy erupted from the upstairs window, a shadow of a body was flown through the glass as it rained down upon them.
Skulduggery pulled his handbrake and skidded from high speed to a perfect stop, right in front of where the person had landed and they all burst from the car. Skulduggery rushed to the girl's side and turned her over onto her back.
"The Unnamed, she's with Mevolent." stated Skulduggery. He wasn't overly worried about her injuries, she had tried to kill them after all, but he had a feeling on what that blue light was and it was a very, very bad feeling.
"Get her to the car." Skulduggery yelled over his shoulder as he rushed inside the house.
"What if she wakes u- Never mind." Tanith yelled then lost the loudness when Skulduggery disappeared out of view.
"We've got it." Dexter grabbed the girl hands, while Tanith grabbed her feet and Saracen acted as if he was helping by wrapping an arm under the girl's back.
"What could have done this?" Tanith asked out loud looking at the girl that nearly beat them all to death, now burnt and bleeding.
"Has to be something strong, we witnessed first-hand what this freako is capable of with the multitude of magic she has to harness. I dread to think." Saracen huffed as he pretended to struggle with the girl weight.
Skulduggery bounded up the stairs like a force of nature towards Valkyrie's room. The Unnamed had flown out of her window from the strange blue energy, so whoever conjured it could still be up there.
With Valkyrie, hopefully.
The door to Valkyrie's room was open so he ploughed through it and didn't stop until he saw her. He had to do a sharp turn in order to see her sat with her back flat against the wall opposite the window. He rushed to her side, the only thing he knew at this stage was that she was going into shock. Her body was shaking furiously and her arms that were still slightly outstretched in a defensive position and had third degree burns.
"Valkyrie."
Skulduggery could see her eyes were wide and unfocused, seeing nothing. He observed her painfully looking hands and noticed the pair of knuckle dusters caked into her burnt flesh. The weapon had most definitely caused the electric explosion, and if Valkyrie was wearing them then she most certainly was defending herself. That meant no one else was present, the culprit was downstairs in the car. Skulduggery saw the damage defending herself from the Unnamed had caused Valkyrie, but they had severely injured her in turn.
Skulduggery delicately removed the smooth metal from her fingers, the knuckles were the most difficult part and her whimpers were hard for him to hear as he slung off his jacket and wrapped it around Valkyrie's hands carefully. There was no skin left, just shiny red muscle glistening in the light. He could do nothing for the pain when she cried out at the slightest touch. He quickly put the knuckle dusters in a cloth and placed them in his pocket.
"It's ok, I'm here now." At the sound of his voice she snapped out of her catatonic state and stared at him. He saw the water glaze and well up in her eyes and then the tears came streaming. "Ssh, ssh." He whispered as he gently pulled her into his arms. "You're going to be fine."
How long had it been? How long since Skulduggery had held her like this? Arms clasped around her, keeping her plastered to his chest. He couldn't drive, refusing to let go of Valkyrie bundled in his lap, so Dexter volunteered to take over, much to Saracen's disappointment. After a brutal game of Rock-Paper-Scissors where Saracen chose paper, like he always does and lost, Dexter chuckled in his face then rushed to put the keys in the ignition. "So much for knowing things." Dexter muttered joyfully to himself.
Valkyrie's eyes had been closed the entire time, she just wanted to bask in the close proximity of her friends once again. She worried that if she opened her eyes they would all disappear and she would still be in that room she was held prisoner in for years. But her body wouldn't allow her to stay awake and the rest of the journey passed in a comfortable sleep.
"Are you sure keeping the Unnamed in the Sanctuary is a good idea, Skulduggery?" Tanith looked over to him in the back seat next to her, Valkyrie cradled in his arms. He had just got off the phone with China.
"Ghastly wants her close by, it's inevitable that Mevolent will come looking for her-"
"Yeah, and the Sanctuary is the first place he will look and he'll come and slaughter us."
"China is working on that."
"Well you better get something good to guard her while she's there."
"China already has something in mind and her cell will be underground and a lot further away from the main building."
Tanith went silent for a minute, satisfied with Skulduggery's answers. She still wasn't entirely comfortable with the girl being in the boot at this current moment, she could wake up at any time. Thankfully Dexter wasn't adhering to the speed limit either and the roads were quiet at this time in the evening.
"What are you going to do?" she asked more tensely.
"A lot of things. I'm going to be quite the detective." Tanith smiled at him weakly.
A short time later they had reached the Sanctuary and Skulduggery carried Valkyrie in and straight to Grouse who fussed over her the mere instant he saw them appear.
"I'm surprised Valkyrie isn't dead if Mevolent sent the Unnamed after her." Said Tanith, one of the three people sat in Valkyrie's hospital style room watching her sleep off Grouse's hours of medicating and fixing and healing and bandaging. He had announced that she would be fine, her bruise on her jaw was underway healing and was a sickly yellow colour. He had more difficultly growing back her skin and healing the damage to her extremities but he was confident in one day and she would be good as new.
Skulduggery had asked Grouse during his doings about her memories, Grouse told him he had already took the liberty to test to see if her memories had returned, he would get them back soon, he didn't want to miss a thing so he was in no way pressured to rush no matter how intimidating Skulduggery tried to be.
"That could suggest that Mevolent didn't want Valkyrie dead." Skulduggery spoke from the chair at Valkyrie's head. "Perhaps he wanted to acquire her and sent his best henchman."
"What could he possibly want with her?" Ghastly asked quietly looking between his friend and his fiancée.
"I don't know," Tanith admitted. "But I should have gone with you to the cinema and maybe she wouldn't have come back in that state." Tanith felt so guilty and was frustrated she had nothing to punch. They hadn't worked out a way to beat Mevolent or his cronies yet, so if she snapped and went for a fight, she would probably die in seconds. Well minutes, giving herself a bit more credit.
"You can't blame yourself, Tanith." Ghastly said rubbing her shoulder.
"I just mean how many times is she going to get injured before we get her back? And how do we know she isn't already messed up? Who knows how bad she was really hurt when Laguna said any knock to the head could damage her fatally."
"Laguna could have been lying about everything and we should assume that she did not perform the procedure the way she told us. It's impossible to guess what Valkyrie's memories will be like now. What her mentality is." Skulduggery offered.
"Why didn't he just come himself? Why send his lackey?" she just wanted to find a way to pummel his face in and then she would be happy.
"It's a good thing Valkyrie had those knuckle-dusters from Darquesse's place handy." Clyro interrupted as he strode into the room unannounced. He was met with a mixture of annoyed and suspicious stares.
"They almost killed her, how is that lucky?" Tanith probed almost through gritted teeth. Clyro shrugged.
"She wouldn't have survived without them." The atmosphere in the room didn't change and it was distinctly frosty towards Clyro who appeared to let it all just run over his back. "I'm just saying," he continued holding his hands up. "That she would be dead if it wasn't for them. Supercharged to electrocute any offender, obviously Valkyrie didn't realise that."
"You mean you neglected to tell her." Skulduggery accused, his voice slightly fierce. "How was she to know what they would do?" Clyro shrugged again, an infuriating gesture for the rest of them.
"How did those knuckle-dusters get to your house anyway, Skulduggery?" Ghastly asked sceptically, eyeing up Clyro as if he had an agenda he could figure out just him looking at him. "Those things are seriously dangerous and I can't imagine Valkyrie using them if she knew how unstable they were."
"I've thought the same question, Ghastly. I don't know how they got into my house, yet." Skulduggery made it a point to glower at Clyro, in turn the rest faced his way.
"Am I being accused here?" Clyro asked innocently.
"Yes." Skulduggery answered without skipping a beat.
"I am only trying to lend my assistance. If it is not welcome I will gladly leave this country. I don't care for it too much anyway."
"That's an excellent idea."
Clyro assumed Skulduggery was bluffing but after he ended up at the airport without interference, he figured he had misjudged.
"Please tell me you have some good news." Skulduggery began letting out a long breath as he entered China's work area. He rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Possibly." She kept her answer short forcing Skulduggery to come over to her work bench. "Do you recognise this?" China asked holding up a fine silver chain between her fingers. Skulduggery stopped and retrieved the chain, he held the sparkling turquoise stone on the end in his hand.
"We retrieved this from Darquesse's place in Russia." He explained slowly. "Do you know what it does?"
"Take a closer look." China insisted.
"At the tiny sigils etched onto the surface. Yes, I noticed." He replied smoothly.
China huffed slightly. "Show-off."
"You know this." He chuckled in jest.
"Back to the necklace then."
"Go ahead."
"Firstly there is no record of this, not that I could find anyway so I thought Darquesse must have created this herself."
"What does it do? Have you identified the stone or any of the sigils."
"I have managed to translate some of the sigils. They are fragments of commands, such as 'do as I will,' or 'be loyal to me.' From what I understand Darquesse created this to control other creatures. The instructions are printed on the surface and the stone itself must be a way to prevent the creature from just feeding off the magic."
"At least we know it works. For Darquesse anyway, if this is in fact what she used." Skulduggery added.
"It instructs the person to wear the necklace for a period of time and eventually they will be able to control magical creatures."
"Any creature?"
"It could technically I suppose, if that was Darquesse's aim, but I think she made this specifically for creatures in the caves."
"I see." Skulduggery went quiet for a moment going deep into thought.
China noticed. "You're going to give it to Valkyrie, aren't you."
"Not until we know everything its capable of."
"It won't harm her. And it's not like she has anything else at the moment." Skulduggery didn't answer, he just continued to stare at the stone. It was oddly captivating.
"How are you two going to work together when she wakes up?" China's voice cut through the silence.
"Like we always have." He replied.
"I see."
"Why would anything change?" He asked after noticing the unenthusiastic tone to her voice.
"Because she is older now. She has lived through a lot of things without you, she's had to fend for herself. Do you really think your relationship wouldn't change at all?"
"I don't know how things will turn out, whatever it is I will just be glad to have her back."
"And now that she's a fully grown adult, you won't have to hold back on her."
"China," Skulduggery said giving her more attention than he had before. "What exactly are you hinting at?"
"If you are going to play it stupid I'm not explaining it for you."
He made a noise resembling a sigh. "China I don't know what you expect me to do."
"To be blunt Skulduggery, there is something between you and Valkyrie. Anyone could tell, especially from the way you reacted when she left."
"You sound like you really care."
"Yes, I do. Now admit it."
"Admit what?"
"That you love Valkyrie."
"Of course I love Valkyrie."
"Ok, now admit that you are in love with her."
"What good could possibly come of me admitting that?"
"Are you worried she's found someone else?"
"She deserves someone else." The tone was impossible to disguise. He believed it as the truth.
"She deserves you, Skulduggery. There is no one better for her. You complete each other."
He gave her a look.
"I know it sounds pathetic and cheesy-"
"It does, very much so."
"-but don't you even want to know what it could be like? To be together. Will you not even take the chance?"
"It appears you are forgetting one thing. I am indeed a skeleton."
"Oh please, I found a way to fix that years ago."
"Valkyrie wouldn't settle-"
"Valkyrie can think and decide for herself, she's more open minded than you give her credit for. She went out with Fletcher for God's sake."
"Yes, my absence must have sent her crazy."
China smiled, she would have laughed if that was her thing. Not many get the honour of seeing smile, it was reserved for special, long term friends. Or enemies. "Don't ignore what I have said. You may thank me later."
The clouds had come in heavily marking the change from autumn to winter, and with it constant rain. The air was brisk and the leaves were beginning to sodden. Frost would be days away. The chambers were brutally chilly but prisoners didn't get the luxury of central heating.
"I was wondering when you would pluck up the courage to come and see me." The Unnamed said as Skulduggery approached her cage. He silently halted in front of her but didn't rise to her first comment.
"You have information I want." decreed Skulduggery.
"I do? Well ask away."
"Why-"
"Syke! Ha-ha, I'm sorry you were saying." She continued to laugh to herself until realising Skulduggery was silent. When she gazed upon him he was surely scowling.
"Why did Mevolent send you after Valkyrie?"
"Really? I thought that was obvious."
"Not to me." He admitted.
"Shame." The Unnamed tutted at him smugly. "We have history, Valkyrie and I. Mevolent saw it most appropriate for me to bring her in."
"How did he know where to send you?" The Unnamed paused and smirked at him directly.
"I shouldn't tell you." She objected, the smirk still potent.
"Do it anyway."
"He will hurt me." She liked his insistence.
"He won't know where to look for you."
"Planning on hiding me away forever?"
"If that is what is takes."
"And what happens when he comes? He won't stop until he finds me."
"Mevolent is not my main concern at the moment."
"He should be."
"And that is where you give him too much credit. He won't be able to get to you."
"Really? How's that? You got a big monster to guard me?" The Unnamed chuckled.
"Something like that. Good luck." The Unnamed's laughed drained to silence. She glared at Skulduggery when he turned his back on her and left without saying another word.
Valkyrie woke to the comfortable sounds of familiar voices chatting close by. She could clearly pick out the high-pitched excitement that was Tanith, and the calming, husky tones of Ghastly. Skulduggery wasn't speaking but she could feel he was there. His essence would nudge at hers and she was certain he was in the room somewhere.
She focused in on what Tanith and Ghastly were talking about, she didn't open her eyes. She wanted to listen without disturbing them. It had been so long since she had heard their voices when she was in the right state of mind. She hated how she reacted about her family when she couldn't remember them. She was mad at herself for feeling so cold and cut off, and that made her slightly embarrassed and hesitant to face her friends.
"Do you remember the time we found that nest of hatching mega maggots." Ghastly asked in reminisce. Tanith immediately shivered all over at the mention over the over grown maggot eggs, a mission they were called to before the bugs escaped and erupted into the city.
"More like squiggly, disgusting, mushy, stupid bug things." Tanith squealed completely grossed out. She was squirming in her chair but upon remembering the events that occurred that night, began quietly laughing.
Valkyrie felt her brow crinkle at the memory too. That was a horrible night for her but she quickly had to bury any expression before they noticed and realised she was awake.
"I can't believe what happened. It was so funny I almost split my sides." Tanith chuckled, Ghastly bearing a smile.
"You could have tried to not slice and dice the eggs latched onto the ceiling whilst Valkyrie was stood underneath them." Ghastly struggled through his sentence without chortling as he pictured Valkyrie covered in the yellow tinged green slime that slathered down onto her head, soaked into her hair and slipped down onto her shoulders.
"It took her weeks to wash the smell out of her hair." Skulduggery commented.
He was there. Sat right by her head in fact. Valkyrie felt instantly better.
Tanith cackled harder, massaging her side as the muscles tightened.
"They were hatching and about to dive on her. At least they dropped on her in dead bits." Tanith defended.
"She found a bit behind her ear the next day and wouldn't stop running around my house until she had woken the dead and washed for several hours." Skulduggery said in a mellow voice.
"Her face." Tanith continued. "I couldn't get the image out of my head for days."
"And every time she would remember she just burst into fits of laughter." Ghastly joined in.
"It was hilarious. I will never forget the day."
"She certainly made you pay for it though." said Ghastly.
"Yeah, even if she did make me tidy her room, which was monstrous by the way, it was totally worth it."
They talked for an hour more before Ghastly left to actually do some work and Tanith went to go clean her sword. Skulduggery was the only one that stayed and Valkyrie wondered what he would do now that they were alone. She just wanted to pop and shout 'surprise.' She was practically bursting to talk to him, to finally look into his skull face.
"You can stop pretending now."
Skulduggery's voice rang out loud and clear close to her ear. Valkyrie froze but was able to maintain control of her facial features and eyelids. Until she felt pressure of him sitting on the edge of the bed next to her. No doubt observing her carefully.
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." She said finally, eyes still shut. Her resolve vanished and in its place a relentless beam appeared. Her eyes flickered open and saw the man she had missed so much it was painful. Her one true best friend that at no one's fault but her own she had missed out on the past seven years with.
Skulduggery looked back at her, seeming to gulp in her image. Before Valkyrie had realised, she had thrown herself into his arms and melted as she wrapped her own around him with more force than she thought a skeleton was capable of withstanding. She knew he wouldn't mind. And if he pulling her in tighter wasn't proof then she didn't know what was.
"How did you know?" she asked making no attempt to release her hold.
"I always know." She pressed her face further into the crook between his neck and shoulder and she then began to feel him stroking her back comfortingly.
"How much do you remember?" Skulduggery asked tentatively.
Valkyrie squeezed her eyes closed tighter, she let her memories flash through the forefront of her mind like a movie roll, trying to get a brief glimpse of events that happened to her recently.
"Everything. Sort of." She whispered. Skulduggery was silent for so long she thought he hadn't heard her.
"How are your hands?" he asked finally.
"Oh," Valkyrie pulled away and looked at the bandages that were covering her hands like thick mittens. "They feel fine. No pain."
"And what about this?" Skulduggery placed his thumb on her jaw bone, the now barely visible bruise from where Nye had hit her the first time was still a tad sensitive, making her shudder. His thumb began to rise up the bone until he was cupping her cheek. "Who did that to you?"
She gulped. Forgetting how to form words whilst their faces were so close and she was staring into his empty sockets.
"It's nothing. Just some guy trying to show off." Skulduggery's thumb moved upwards to her right cheek and traced the line of the almost healed, long cut that was so close to her eye. "Did they do this too?" he said. She could tell he wanted her to elaborate but he didn't push.
"Yes." She lied. Skulduggery seemed to scrutinise the cut for longer. Sensing a hint of recognition within it.
Skulduggery nodded then looked as if he was going to say something further, something important since he had tensed up a second before, but he was cut off when Tanith burst in and practically snatched Valkyrie up from the bed and crushed her in a snug embrace.
"I am so glad you are back, chick." Tanith admitted as they swayed.
"Chick?"
"Shut up, I've been missing you for ages, I'm allowed to have cheesy, pet names for you."
"Is she really allowed?" groaned Valkyrie.
"Silence." Tanith called as she hugged her tighter for a second more.
"I've missed you too, Tanith."
"Let the girl go now." Ghastly said freeing Valkyrie from Tanith's grip then bundled her up in his own.
"Welcome back, Valkyrie. The world has missed you."
"Thank you Ghastly."
Valkyrie could tell they were both eager to ask, staring at her wide eyed and unwavering. She decided to save them the trouble.
"I remember pretty much everything, I think." Valkyrie said unconfidently.
"What, everything?" Tanith asked, she ushered her to the bed and the rest took seats, this was probably going to be a long conversation.
"Well going backwards from most recent," Valkyrie started hoping to explain everything in one sentence. Cliff notes version anyway. "I was in an alternate reality it appears, which is where I was shunted to. When Laguna did that mental stuff on me my fake memories didn't disappeared, but my real ones overlapped and became clearer. I can tell the difference now… I vaguely remember being in the cave and being thrown forward then a blinding light hitting me." She paused for a second still trying to cocktail all of Darquesse's memories together but they wouldn't float to the surface as easily as the others. "My memories as Darquesse are hazy. I can't quite focus on anything she did."
She swore she saw the slightest movement in Skulduggery's posture. Like he had just relaxed.
"Wait, go back." Tanith interrupted her. "You were in a different reality?"
"Yes. Well, I got grabbed by that ugly looking guy-"
"Nadir." Skulduggery confirmed.
"-and there was this prickly sensation and then I woke up in a room with Baron Vengeous."
"What?" Skulduggery breathed sitting forward.
"He told me that I was in a different reality, running parallel to ours until the war. Mevolent won it and enslaved mortals. You should have seen it. He asked me to help him get into Mevolent's Palace since he and someone else inside it had defected and were working for the Resistance. Mevolent was fighting a war to maintain his power so Vengeous planned to jump on that. Serpine came in afterwards-"
"Serpine?" Skulduggery's voice had turned so fierce with just one word.
"I think he was more like a dog," Valkyrie tried to explain, knowing Skulduggery would approve of the way he was being treated. "Being let off its lead to do the job, he didn't seem to be equals with Vengeous. Not by a long shot."
"What was the job?" Skulduggery asked, his voice still laced with anger.
"To sneak into the Palace and steal the Sceptre."
"The Sceptre?"
"Yes, it still exits over there, Mevolent has it in his Palace."
"How did you get back?"
"Vengeous said Nadir had performed an Echo Shunt so I would shunt back within twelve hours. Now I'm back I don't have to worry about it anymore."
"Did they get it?" Ghastly asked curiously.
"I don't know, I shunted back without knowing what happened to them."
"What else happened?"
"Nothing. That was pretty much it." She lied.
"Ok, I'm sorry to be a pushy boss here," Ghastly started standing up and pacing slightly. "But now that we know Valkyrie is healing well and her memories are proving to have come back, we need to make a decision on our next move."
Tanith merely ignored Ghastly attempt to get down to business and turned to Valkyrie.
"How do we really know you have all your memories? Even the ones from before you… left." It was hard to ignore the catch in her throat but Valkyrie tried to pretend she didn't notice and lighten the mood a little. "Do you know what happened in your life? Who you are? Who I am?"
"Of course I know who you are, Tanith."
"Prove it." Tanith said forwarding the challenge.
"How?"
"By telling me something only you and I would know."
"Are you sure you want me to do that?"
"Absolutely."
"Alrite. One thing only you and I know. Hmmm. How about that time I caught you curled up in bed asleep and you started murmuring "Oh Ghas-""
Valkyrie failed to finish her sentence when Tanith sprang across the bed and covered her mouth with her hand.
"It's Valkyrie!" Tanith yelled pulling her into an awkward sideways hug, before whispering in her ear lowly.
"Shut up now and there's ice cream in it for you later." Tanith pulled back and saw Valkyrie's accepting yet smug smile. "It's really her. Everyone stop looking at me like that."
Valkyrie laughed, it felt easy and she certainly missed that feeling. Ghastly gave her a potent look as if he wanted to know everything Tanith had said. Valkyrie gave him a quick nod when Tanith's back was turned.
"What was that?" Tanith questioned whipping around quickly.
"Nothing my sweets." Ghastly replied.
"I'm sorry to barge in like this, Grand Mage, but I have just got word that Hammer Lane Gaol has been breached." Nikolai gushed, anxiety transparent in his features.
"What sort of breach?" Ghastly asked, standing reverting into Grand Mage mode.
"All the internal cell doors have been opened."
"And the external?" Skulduggery inquired.
"Locked." Nikolai replied in a dreary tone. "There is no escape for the staff. All the head warden could tell me was that someone had gotten inside and released all the prisoners."
"A description?"
"He shouted 'it couldn't be' into the phone before it was cut off."
"It's got to be Mevolent. Society thinks he is dead. We have to get there and stop all this getting out of hand."
"He's looking for something or someone in the prison." Skulduggery guessed.
"Creyfon? If Nadir's abilities were a major part of his plan and he's now going after another one… Could that mean Nadir hasn't made his way back to him yet?" Ghastly was slightly optimistic about that being a good thing.
"Possibly. Let's go with that." Skulduggery said cheerfully.
The room dispersed very quickly and Valkyrie had to quickly grab Skulduggery's arm before he left her as well.
"I want to come with you." Valkyrie stated.
"Of course you are coming with me." Skulduggery replied. "Who else would I want with me, to bask in my wonderful presence that she has missed out on for so long."
Valkyrie knew he was just teasing her but the guilt hit her like a wave and instantly turned her insides to ice. She failed to hide the sudden change and regretted letting Skulduggery see it. What could she say that would make things better? She didn't know, comforting words were never her strong point and though she had a few shining moments where her initiative helped others, the fact was Skulduggery always connected better with people.
"Valkyrie," his soothing tones broke her from her trance. "You had a choice to make and you made it. I would not judge you for doing what you think is right." He moved closer and stroked her cheek. "Ok?"
She nodded. She didn't deserve his kindness for the anguish she must have put him through, but he was right. She couldn't carry on battering herself and hating herself for past mistakes. "Now, how about we sort you out with weapons."
"Oh I like the sound of that."
The armoury had diminished quite significantly since the Sanctuary was forced to relocate. Though now that Ghastly was in charge the entire building was running smoothly, or as smoothly as it could under the circumstances of the majority of the staff being killed and the base blown to pieces. Valkyrie hoped they still had a good array of weapons, she felt helpless with no magic.
"What is it?" Skulduggery asked quietly.
"Nothing." Valkyrie answered without thinking.
"So why are you biting your nails?"
Valkyrie frowned but was shocked to see her nails in her mouth. She hadn't realised she was doing it.
"Obviously you are anxious about something..."
She seemed dazed unable to bring herself out of it. Skulduggery put his hand on her shoulder and guided her to a stop before turning her to face him.
"If it's about having no magic that is exactly why we are going to the armoury."
"But I don't have great aim like you, or perfect sword skills like Tanith, what weapon could I possibly use that could replace magic?"
"Magic." He said. Finally, a smile crept across her face.
"Show me what you've got."
"It's a stick." She dead panned scowling at him unimpressed.
They had reached the armoury and for a Sanctuary, it was pretty cluttered. Nothing survived the blast in Roarhaven so they had to scramble for supplies taking what they could get. The room was long with shelves as tall as the ceiling running down the centre, mostly empty.
"Yes."
"And what's that going to do?"
"What's wrong with it?" He asked lightly.
"It's a stick." She repeated looking at the small branch in Skulduggery's outstretched hand like it was a piece of dynamite. It actually looked more like a wand from Harry Potter, covered in sigils, clearly Skulduggery had discussed this with China at some point in case the need ever arose.
"You wanted a weapon." He tilted his head and his voice was far too innocent.
"Exactly. What do you call this?"
"A stick."
"Ha-ha very funny. It's more like a wand anyway."
"It is not a wand."
Valkyrie lightly shoved him. "You really think I'm going to be able to protect myself with that? It's not going to hurt anyone." Skulduggery lightly rapped the stick on the top of her skull. "Ow!"
"You said it wouldn't hurt anyone."
"Didn't mean you had to hit me with it." Valkyrie moaned rubbing her sore scalp.
"But I proved you wrong. It's quite the formidable weapon."
"Yeah, it's brilliant." Her words soaked in sarcasm.
"Sarcasm doesn't suit you."
"It totally does." She took the stick, turning it over in her hands inspecting the multitude of sigils etched into the grain.
"What does it do?"
"It emits an electrical charge, zaps the enemies. Quite powerful but needs to be recharged, as you have magic running through your veins it feeds off that but needs a few hours. "
"How do I use it?" She asked.
"By simply holding it and pointing.."
"So it is a wand."
"It's not a wand it's a stick."
"That looks and acts like a wand."
"Fine it's a wand."
Valkyrie laughed, he had given in quite easily. He never used to do that. He might just be happy she's back so is willing to give her a few wins, for now. "Does it hurt?" Valkyrie questioned sceptically, she didn't want one of the effects of using the stick being she was drained every time she used it and was weakened in battle.
"It's perfectly harmless. China worked long and hard on that."
"So a few hours then."
"Four and a half."
"She is good." Valkyrie replied unsurprised at how quickly China could work away.
"So, what else have you got for me?"
Skulduggery moved further down the shelves to the end, a large round table had been shoved up in the back corner and dumped upon was the things that belonged to Darquesse, he told her.
The table top was covered in scary looking objects, things she had never seen anything like before. A darkened gauntlet rested under a pile of shabby manuals which she thought didn't look too friendly, which wasn't surprising either considering who owned the disturbing pile of toys.
"A Cloaking Sphere would be handy." She smiled at him hopefully.
"I'm sorry, ours was destroyed."
"That's a shame. How about those knuckle dusters?"
"No." Skulduggery said instantly. She was surprised at how serious and concerned he sounded. "They are too dangerous." Valkyrie couldn't hide her disappoint but knew he was right. "But I did see something that could be useful." His hand wondered into the piles of small boxes and trinkets, some magically locked that they hadn't been able to decipher yet, he brought out a pair of metallic looking leather gloves, burnt red in colour.
He passed them over to her and she slipped her hands into them without question. They were surprisingly cold on the inside and when she curled her fingers into a fist the leather made a pleasing creaking sound.
"What do these do?" She asked looking up at him.
"Click your fingers."
She was certain he saw the spark of awe and excitement light up in her eyes. She snapped her fingers and a glorious flame appeared in her palm. She was dazzled by the small flame she had grown so dependent on in her early years as a sorcerer. Now that it was gone she felt slightly lost.
"I have missed this." She admitted, entranced by the orange glow that lit up her face.
"I thought you might have." Skulduggery answered knowingly, gesturing with his arm to the space between the centre shelf and the wall. Valkyrie smiled letting the flame die in her hand by curling her fingers over it and turned towards the emptiness.
She took a deep breath in and snapped her fingers as she thrust her hands down and red, spiralling flames engulfed her hands quite dramatically. A smirk occurred as she threw out her arms and two streaming billows of fire shot from her palms like flame throwers but covered twice the distance.
"That felt good." She expressed gazing at the gloves once the flames disappeared.
"Definitely useful. I thought you would appreciate having one of your old elemental abilities back."
"I can't wait to use these." She gushed far too enthusiastically.
"Ah, so my partner took a few years absence and has turned into a maniac." Skulduggery joked.
"I'm still your partner?" Valkyrie questioned, reading more into it than there probably was. Skulduggery paused to consider her face.
"Of course you are."
"I just thought Saskia was your partner now. I mean, I completely understand you still working with her, even though she's a frantic loony who tried to kill me." She explained with a casual wave of the arm. Avoiding his eye though it was difficult, provoking him to hunch forward slightly into her direct view.
"There is always a place for you beside me and for now it is not the right time to put Saskia and the others in dangerous situations."
Valkyrie couldn't help but smirk, she never expected him to forego a partner, she was happy someone else would benefit from his greatness. Though she would never tell him that.
"God I feel like you've cheated on me." She laughed. "I'm hurt, Skulduggery. Now I know how Fletcher felt." Her laugh died away when she only just remembered him. She was a bad friend, at least now that she was back she could make it up to him.
She noticed Skulduggery hadn't said a word and when she looked at him she knew she would really want it to stay that way.
"Valkyrie..."
"Tell me what happened." She said trying to shake off the cold dread that was settling on her shoulders.
"Fletcher was causing a distraction to help everyone get away. He and Darquesse that is."
Valkyrie suddenly felt angry then deep regret. She had killed him?
"Darquesse accounted for a lot of vampires and he was killed before she could stop them."
"She could have stopped it." Valkyrie huffed angrily. "She had the power she just chose not to. God I hate her."
"We haven't had a memorial yet, I though it fitting to wait for you."
"No. Not until I find the truth."
"Valkyrie, Darquesse is lost, buried in the caves. That vial was most likely impenetrable. I don't think she's coming back."
"She will find a way to come back."
"She isn't you."
"You knew I was coming back then?" Valkyrie spared him her troubled face and masked it with a smile.
"Absolutely."
A small smile tugged on her lips but it didn't read her eyes.
"I can't believe he's gone."
" I know." Skulduggery wrapped her in his arms, she didn't resist, she was thankful for it.
"Do you want to tell me?"
Valkyrie's smile faltered and turned in his arms startled, "tell you what?"
"What happened to you while you were in Russia." He said keeping her close. He was being so gentle and kind she wanted to blurt everything out to him in one long rant but she couldn't do that, not without figuring out a few things first.
"Oh...I...I do... Want to tell you and I will, just..."
"Just not right now." Skulduggery finished her sentence for her. He wasn't pressurising her at all, he was just letting her know he was there when she needed him.
"If that's Ok?" She peeped up at him.
"Of course it is." He said lifting a piece of hair out of her face and trapping it behind her ear.
"Take as long as you need. I will be here whenever that time comes."
Suddenly Valkyrie felt awkward. She untangled herself from his arms ignoring the questioning look he was giving her, and tried to shake it off.
"How can you be so nice to me?"
Skulduggery regarded her carefully, her question catching him off guard.
"What do you mean?" He tilted his head in anticipation for her answer.
"I'm hardly a nice person, don't waste your kindness on me after what I did."
"You did what you thought was right." He offered seeing the complete lack of self-worth Valkyrie was portraying right now. She scoffed.
"Was it right to abandon my family? Leave my Mum and Dad with a shell of myself, that's so emotionally devoid they will think I don't love them anyone and my sister… God my sister... Alice… I don't even know what she looks like. My own baby sister and I don't know a thing about her. She's six now and she probably has no idea who I am and that's totally my fault." She roughly wiped the wetness that had started leaking ffrom her eyes with the back of her hand.
"And then there's you." She announced meeting his gaze. "I ran away without telling you, without letting you know I was alive. I practically dragged our friendship through the mud and here you stand comforting me and saying you will always be there for me." Valkyrie couldn't stop herself from letting out her frustration and guilt she had been holding in for so long.
"You deserve better than the way I treated you. I owe you so much and the way I repaid was just... Wrong." Utterly defeated she let out a long agonising breath and Skulduggery's silence was putting her on edge further.
"I'm... So sorry, Skulduggery."
The silence was too unbearable and she had been staring at the floor for pretty much all of her little speech so she plucked up the guts to finally look at Skulduggery. She couldn't read his expression, he was unusually blank, for her anyway. She used to always be able to tell just by looking at him, but for those odd few moments, he was like a complete stranger to her.
"You will just have to make it up to me then, won't you." He finally spoke.
"And how do I do that?" She asked unable to detect the slightest hint of silliness in his voice. Skulduggery took a step forward so their clothes brushed against each other lightly and let his empty eye sockets bore into her. His skull came closer until his teeth were hovering next to her ear.
"By promising to not leave again." He whispered. Shivers were sent down her limbs and it took everything in her power not to fall into him. His voice sounded so... Intimate.. So sexy? Yet she didn't miss the slight catch in his last word. That was the sound of hurt and she pleaded that it wasn't of betrayal as well. She tried to answer but her voice was lost in her throat.
"I promise." She croaked finally. Skulduggery suddenly stood back and readjusted his jacket and tie far too casually, then he fixed his hat back to his comfort.
"Good. I'm glad we got that sorted." Then his tone switched back to its normal jolly form and she felt like she could breathe again.
"Next stop," he continued. "Ghastly's office, he's left a gift in there for you."
The gift was a soft package wrapped neatly in brown paper with a thin silver thread holding it together. Valkyrie took it apart to reveal two brand new outfits, of course tailored to the finest quality known to man by the Grand Mage himself. She was amazed he even had the time to do this for her and at first glance of the two piles he had definitely put in the effort.
Two sets of perfectly accommodating trousers, one midnight blue that he had actually crafted to look like denim, though the material was still the same luxurious and mysterious stuff all her other clothes he made for her were out of. The other pair of trousers had a leather sheen to them and were a dark, fiery red. Ghastly had made a short jacket to go with each, one with snazzy silver buckles the other with fancy zips. Two pairs of gorgeous, shadow black boots with plush fur inside as well as a couple of turtle necks to protect her exposed skin.
The diamond of them all was the new knee length black coat that she knew instantly would fit all her angles and hug her like a second skin. Feeling the material as she picked it up, it felt too soft to block anything but she trusted Ghastly. The threading shimmered across the collar and down the front and two long zips went up the stretch from wrist to shoulder. Surprisingly Ghastly had chosen a lighter colour for the inside lining of the jacket. An ocean teal really brought it to life. Valkyrie loved it instantly.
"Once you are changed we can re-join the others and get to Hammer Lane gaol." Skulduggery said, interrupting Valkyrie from making love eyes at her new clothing.
"Ok, give me a minute."
Valkyrie began to shrug out of the warm cardigan they had dressed her while she slept and placed it on the desk.
"I can meet you at the entrance if you want." Skulduggery suggested, causing Valkyrie to smirk. Bless, he was being all gentleman like.
"It will only take me two ticks. Just turn your back." Valkyrie began to pull on the blue set of clothes whilst keeping an eye on Skulduggery's back. He was keeping his skull straight forward just to be certain he didn't see anything.
"It's nothing you haven't seen before." Valkyrie said amused.
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." He replied innocently.
"Oh please. You let me ramble on at you that time before informing me my reflection was stood behind me, fully naked. The entire time!"
"I don't recall this incident." She heard him reply and if she could see his front she knew he would be struggling to keep it together. Or at least let his posture slip.
"Yeah, I beg to differ." She pulled on her new favourite item of all time and came to stand by her partner. "Just promise me the next time you see me naked will be with my consent." Valkyrie's flippant, yet saucy remark left her mouth before her brain could shame her into not doing.
She was hyper aware of Skulduggery stood next to her and his skull tilt down in her direction. She had frozen staring forward and could not breathe for her face was heating up rapidly.
"Next time?" Skulduggery said in a tone she had never heard him use before. "Noted." Then he opened the door and stopped.
"Ladies first, my dear."
"Following Nikoli's instructions there should be an entrance right around...here." Skulduggery assumed approaching the steel manhole disguised by the thick forest, surrounding the back lot of the gaol. He allowed Saracen to step up and inspect it for guards or anyone else before prizing off the metal grill.
"The tunnel goes down to the ground level, it is clear." Saracen confirmed and jumped smoothly into the constricted space. He disappeared and then his rough and ungraceful landing could be heard from the top seconds later.
"Are you Ok?" Tanith called, her voice echoing into the tunnel.
"Ow." Saracen's pained voice floated up from the bottom of the hole. Skulduggery was next to jump down into the tunnel, his landing must have been smoother because they didn't hear a thing.
"You're next." Dexter gently pulled Valkyrie to the front. She peered over the edge, unable to see Skulduggery at the bottom. "Don't worry," Dexter calmed. "Skulduggery will catch you."
Valkyrie tried to shake off her fear of small spaces and stepped off the edge keeping her arms tightly to her body. She dropped rapidly, the cool air whipping at her face and up her sleeves. How was Skulduggery meant to catch her when it was pitch black, she couldn't even see the opening at the top anymore.
The air began to slow her down, her hair falling back on her shoulders and then she was caught in a cradle of arms which she immediately clung to in case she lost her balance, as she touched down on the gritty ground.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Skulduggery's soft voice reached her ears as he carefully placed her fully on her unsteady feet.
"No, just completely terrifying." She held his shoulders tightly until her eyes adjusted to the dim light around them. His hands held her waist and she wanted to act as if she hadn't noticed he was giving her butterflies, staring down at her like that, until Dexter's clumsy decent could be heard and he came shooting down from the ceiling and landed loudly on his arse.
"Where was my air blanket?" He whispered and yelled simultaneously.
"Sorry Dexter." Skulduggery apologised letting go of Valkyrie.
"My poor arse cheeks."
Tanith was down next then the Monster Hunters followed lastly by Nikoli, who took the lead.
"This way," he pointed and began walking. "about a mile down this tunnel and then we can enter the prison undetected."
"Where are we heading once inside?" Dexter asked as the group walked with nothing but a floating flame, conjured by Skulduggery to light their way.
"The head warden's office is on the ground floor, not far from where the tunnel ends. But his last report stated he was locked in there and the whole system had gone into shut down."
The tunnel seemed like it would never end or maybe it was the nerves knotting in Valkyrie's stomach. Tanith had slipped in next to her sensing her anxiety and pulled her into a sideways hug.
"Don't worry, nothing will hurt you, you've got your wand remember." Tanith chuckled, her attempt at comfort ended in teasing but the result was still the same. Valkyrie couldn't help laughing with her, she was right after all, a stick pretending to be a wand, either way it was stupid.
"I've missed you, Tanith." Valkyrie drawled out feeling tired already.
"Aw, I've missed you too. How about after we are done here we go back to mine and I'll show you what I've planned for the wedding so far."
"Definitely. Aw I can't believe you're finally getting married. When's' the date?" Valkyrie asked excitedly.
"Christmas Eve."
"It's going to be so romantic."
"Not to interrupt all this girl talk," Dexter cut in, wrapping both his arms around Valkyrie and Tanith from behind until he was walking between them. "But I was just wondering, getting back to the mission, if this is indeed a prison break, why are the prisoners still here? Why lock the external doors? Surely the point is to get out?"
"I don't think the prisoners have orchestrated this." Skulduggery answered. "This prison holds the record for fewest escapes and outbreaks of rebellious behaviour."
"Someone on the outside wants in basically." Tanith summarised.
"I apologise for interrupting," Nikoli croaked. "But we have reached the entrance into the tunnel."
The group shuffled back against the walls in what limited space they had and allowed Saracen to the front. He listened at the door for a few moments and then nodded his head.
"It's all clear." He said.
"Ok, this doorway will lead into a small storage room on the ground floor. We need to reach the warden's office as discreetly as possible, not alerting anyone to our presence." Nikoli explained, having spent a lot of time in the prison during the war interrogating prisoners, he knew the layout like the back of his hand.
Nikoli pulled a rusty old key out of his top pocket, the warden having given him one all those years ago in case of an emergency, and unlocked it with a loud clunk. The door itself was rusty too and it took both Nikoli and Skulduggery to prize it from the frame.
Once inside the storage room Saracen listened at the door again. He couldn't sense anyone so they piled out.
"This corridor circles around the whole floor, we need to get to the centre then go inwards." Nikoli instructed.
The corridor was dark with nearly none of the bulbs were working overhead, and it looked like a gang had rampaged through probably looking for the warden. There were holes punched into the walls and dents kicked into the doors, some hanging off their hinges.
"Hold on." Saracen straightened his back as he examined the area. "Three coming from the left, we can get the jump on them if we move further down."
They hurried into the empty rooms where the group of prisoners would walk past and waited.
Skulduggery was tight against the wall, Saracen relayed that one was armed with a metal rod, the other two had nothing. With the prisoners out of their cells and the power being down, they were unsure as to whether the prisoners would have their powers back or not.
Skulduggery spun out kicking the metal rod to the floor and punching its owner in the face when they came close enough. The one on the left conjured purple light in his hand and swung his arm back to launch it, but Dexter was faster twisting his arm and breaking it whilst Tanith covered his mouth. The Monster Hunters jumped the last one before he had time to register what was going on.
They dragged the prisoners into the corner of a dark empty room and left them there.
"More approaching." Saracen whispered urgently. Nikoli guided them to the first intersection and took a right. Half way down he stopped at a door. Situated above was a small security camera, the light wasn't blinking but there was a dull glow about it. Once Nikoli had done a funny dance in front of it like a demented chicken, they heard movement from within. The heavy door creaked open slightly and a white, haggard face squashed into the gap. "Nikoli, get in quick!"
The head warden looked to be in his seventies, not out of his prime though. Valkyrie had seen fifty year olds look frailer than him.
"How have you managed to hide in here without them smashing through?" Nikoli asked as he ushered the rest in.
"Reinforced metal, perception filter around the door." The warden answered rushing over to his desk to activate his filter again. "I appreciate you coming so quickly. My name is Albert Grotto, but despite your promptness I fear it is already too late." Albert skipped over the pleasantries briefly shaking Nikoli's hand once everyone was gathered inside. The Monster Hunters took a stand at the door.
"What do you mean?" Skulduggery enquired.
"I've managed to activate some of the security cameras," Albert continued. "but in a lay low program, the quality isn't great but no one will be able to detect that they are still working."
The office was tiny and was just filled with monitors, most of which were blank due to the power outage. "This is the camera outside the door." He said pointing to a screen that showed nothing but an empty corridor. "That's how I knew it was safe to open the door."
"And what about the others?" Asked Skulduggery peering at the four other screens that were on. They had shadowy dark corridors and the main entrance which was barricaded to the ceiling, with anything that was lying around apparently.
"They blocked off the entrance first after the power went out, I was in here and the door locked automatically, it's a failsafe. I only just managed to unlock it moments before a saw that dreadful show Nikoli put on."
"So you didn't see what happened to them?" Skulduggery urged.
"No," Albert slumped his shoulders, clearly unhappy with himself. "These cameras are on this floor, the rest I haven't been able to access, separate security system."
"Gracious." Skulduggery called.
"I'm on it." He cheered striding toward and sitting down at the desk before typing away. "I'm in." He announced within a minute. "These camera are for the first sub level, so far I can't see anyone."
]
We need to get to the fifth." Said Skulduggery. As Gracious continued to work his magic, more of the screens lit up showing the now overwhelmed and totalled prison.
"Here is the footage for that floor. Valkyrie gasped when she witnessed three bodies sprawled across the floor in one of the views. They had their prison uniforms on, which this morning were probably clean and fresh and now, wet for all the blood now encasing a rotting person. A group of around thirty prisoners were roaming the end corridor, loitering around like teenagers.
"I'm guessing that corridor leads to Crayon's cell." Skulduggery turned to Albert.
"Yes it does."
"It appears someone else has had the same idea as us. Are there any cameras in his cell?"
"No, there isn't. And I'm assuming whoever is doing this still hasn't managed to gain access to his cell or why would they still be here?"
"We need to get down there and prevent them getting to Creyfon."
"Wait, before you go I forgot to tell you." Albert's demeanour suddenly changed, he began to shake and Valkyrie could clearly see the sweat glistening on his forehead. "There is something out there. I hear its heavy footsteps walk past but I couldn't catch it on camera." He pulled out a rag from his pocket and wiped the sweat away from his face. "I don't know what it is but I dread to find out."
Nikoli had told them the route to take in order to get down to the fifth sublevel. A lift would take them from the ground left to the first sublevel, from there they had to walk to the other side to a staircase which would take them down the rest of the levels.
They split off into twos, leaving Albert locked safe in his office and headed for the lift.
Valkyrie and Skulduggery walked quietly down their chosen route, she had her stick out ready to zap anything that moved, even though the corridor was quiet and eerily empty.
"What's Nikoli's power?" Valkyrie asked out of the blue. She knew he was around during the war but was rarely seen in the country afterwards.
"He has a very special power, a strain of adept magic where he can make you see what he wants you to see, I suppose you could call it mind warping."
"That sounds like it would be very useful during the war."
"Yes it was, but it didn't come without drawbacks." Skulduggery halted all of a sudden reading the air.
"We should increase in speed."
"Why? Is there something following us?" Valkyrie asked, changing to a brisk jog.
"There might very well be, yes." They ran, Valkyrie was pumping her legs hard, "This way." Skulduggery instructed taking her by the elbow and drawing her to his side as they swung a sharp corner. She couldn't see or hear what was chasing them but she trusted Skulduggery's instincts. They bolted through the maze of cells, tiny and narrow, she saw out of the corner of her eye an elderly man still locked in his and within a flash, they were half way down the next walkway.
"How far is the lift?" Valkyrie stammered as she struggled to keep up with Skulduggery's effortless speed.
"Two more corners."
"Are they still behind us?"
"Yes. Keep running."
They shot round the last two corners to see the rest of the group bundled in the lift at the other end urging them to go faster. Half way down and Valkyrie was sure they were going to make it. She wouldn't want to get stuck here alone. Three quarters of the way down and the lift doors began to close.
She saw Tanith frantically hitting the panel on the inside to stop the doors but to no avail. Skulduggery slipped in and she had seconds and a tight gap to squeeze through.
She aligned her body in order to slip through the metal, she felt the surface rub against her shoulder until she was wretched away. Tackled by something, she was flung out of sight and the lift doors closed.
"It is no use." Nikoli stuttered, watching Skulduggery hitting the panel demanding the lift take them back up. "The lift is programmed to not change direction mid transit. It won't go back up until it has reached the bottom. I'm sorry."
"What are we going to do?" Tanith agonised. "We can't leave her up there."
"Believe me Tanith, I have no intention of doing that." Skulduggery assured, deadly serious.