Sorry for not updating sooner. I actually just got back from work. I hope you guys find this worth the wait. : )
Ink…
Chapter XXIX
Skulduggery came into his house and witnessed everyone shouting at each other. His wife was in the middle of it, for once, silent.
He raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain what is going on?"
Valkyrie gave a sob of relief. "Skulduggury Pleasant…" She took a breath. "TELL YOUR BLOODY FRIENDS TO STOP GIVING ME BABY NAME SUGGESTIONS THIS INSTANT!"
He blinked and then started chuckling. He shook his head and took off his hat and coat. Sitting gracefully down beside his wife, he smirked. "I'm afraid Valkyrie and I have already chosen them."
Valkyrie looked at him in confusion. "We have?"
He nodded. "Yes. We have."
Valkyrie suddenly remembered a conversation they had once about baby names. It was way before they married. It was before even Darquesse had come to call.
She smiled. "Levi for a boy."
Skulduggery nodded. "And Scarlett for a girl."
No one spoke for a moment and then Saracen just shook his head. "You're wrong. George or Georgiana."
Everyone started shouting again. Skulduggery vented a small sigh. He drew his gun and clicked off the safety catch. Everyone went silent and froze. They stared at him.
He spoke quietly. "Saracen, do your rounds of the ground floor. Dexter, do the second floor. Tanith, it's your turn to escort Sparrows. Ghastly, you and Erskine, go to the Sanctuary and see if you can talk some sense into the Necromancers. They're calling Mevolent the Death Bringer."
Erskine blinked and then his jaw went slack. "Don't tell me that they're going to work with him?!"
Skulduggery nodded. "I won't tell you then."
Ghastly started muttering a few choiced words. He covered Sparrows ears as he spoke them.
Valkyrie sighed and shook her head. "Skul, even if we go to war, how are we going to kill what's already dead?"
Skulduggery Pleasant took a breath. "We don't. There's only one way for us to defeat Mevolent."
Dexter smiled and looked around at the Dead Men Crew. "Steal the scepter back from Mevolent."
Skulduggery nodded slowly. "And to do that we need to locate him."
Valkyrie shook her head. "None of the living can go to the place of the dead."
Skulduggery nodded. "That's why I've enlisted Hopeless and a few others to do the task for us. We gather the information and do everything that requires hands on approach. China and the Sanctuary will distract Mevolent and his generals while we sneak around trying to locate the scepter. Once we have it's location, Hopeless' squad will move in and take control of it."
Ghastly nodded. "Erskine, we should go." They left quickly.
Skulduggery sighed and shook his head. Mevolent will undoubtedly look for Vile."
Dexter blinked. "But you killed Vile."
Saracen frowned. "Obviously not, since Mevolent is looking for Vile, that means Vile isn't in the Underworld."
Skulduggery nodded slowly. "And he will go looking for me since I was the last person who saw him."
Valkyrie hissed out a breath. "While you and the Dead Men fool around with the dead, I'll be doing strategy." She huffed. "Whoopee…"
Skulduggery smiled and kissed her lightly on her lips. "Easy there, love. You're surviving for two now."
Valkyrie sighed and nodded.
Elementary School, Haggard, Ireland
Sparrows sighed and sipped her chocolate milk sulkily. She looked over at the other tables that were filled with children. They were all laughing and talking together. She sighed. I'm not a nerd. I'm not a fashion girl. I'm stuck in between two worlds. She sighed. All I want is a friend.
Sparrows quickly removed all traces of sadness from her face when Tanith walked up again. "Hey Captain! I got permission to stalk you from class to class."
Sparrows chuckled. "Sweet." She toyed with her broccoli. "You won't tell on me if I don't eat this, right?"
Tanith crossed her heart. "Never."
The girl grinned and put a napkin on top of her tray. She got up and dump it in the trash, leaving the tray on top of the others.
Stuffing her hands into her pockets, Sparrows moved quietly out of the noisy cafeteria. Alone. Except with Tanith as her shadow. She sighed quietly.
I guess I was just born lonely. Valkyrie was too…
Shaking those thoughts away, she went to the library and decided to do research on her project. After fifteen minutes, Sparrows decided to take a short stretching break. She looked over and saw the Principal. Sparrows shuddered. "He's having an affair with the PE teacher."
Tanith blinked. "Seriously? How do you know?"
Alice shrugged. "They look at each other too often for it to be normal. Also, they left the bathrooms at the same time and she had white stuff on the hem of her blouse." Sparrows' knowing look made Tanith realize that the young girl understood far more of Dexter and Saracen's conversations than she let on. Tanith made a mental note to kill those two for corrupting her Captain.
"Okay, that's disgusting."
Sparrows shrugged. "It's the truth. The truth never changes no matter if we like it or not. Truth is the one constant in our lives."
Tanith chuckled. "There are quite a few people out there who would disagree with you kiddo."
Sparrows shrugged again. "Whatever. Truth and Death are constants." She frowned and focused on her power point. "Why am I in fifth grade? Everyone else my age is in forth."
Tanith smiled. "Because you've inherited your…" Her smile froze. Tanith coughed. "You're smart, Sparrows. Your dad was very intelligent."
Sparrows sighed. "You were going to slip up and call Skulduggery my father, weren't you?"
Tanith sighed and shook her head. "Yeah, anyway, Skulduggery taught you the basics of using a knife, right?"
Sparrows nodded. Tanith smiled. "Good. Here's a small switchblade. It's illegal on school grounds so don't get caught."
Sparrows smirked. "How mature of you! Giving a nine year old a switch blade."
Tanith snorted. "Don't give me no sass, lass!"
Sparrows' lips twisted into a genuine smile. Tanith was worried that the girl was growing up way too fast. Her eyes were becoming guarded too quickly. Her smiles and laughter had faded into the past. Tanith sighed. "Better do you project while you still have lunch."
Sparrows nodded and turned back to her work. She worked until the bell rang and then she gathered her books and folders and bolted for her English class.
