It had been two weeks since they had gotten back. Two weeks and three days since Antony and over a hundred people had died in the Sanctuary attack. A week since Hopeless' eyes had flickered open. Three days since the public funerals for Corrival Deuce and the other Sanctuary staff. Four hours before Anton's wake.
The Dead Men had decided on a private wake for people they knew well and knew Anton wasn't to blame for the whole ordeal. Saracen had taken control of the Midnight Hotel, taking it for one last ride around the world to pick up those who had been loyal customers and wanted to say their goodbyes.
Valkyrie lay on her bed, eyes focused on the ceiling. She had got out of bed about an hour ago and had simply lay down after breakfast, wearing the I Stayed At The Midnight Hotel And Survived shirt that Robin had given her for her birthday only to whisper that it had been Anton's idea.
Over the past two weeks, she had watched as the Dead Men pulled themselves together, a squad of soldiers on a battlefield trying to compensate for a missing soldier, realigning themselves against the enemy.
She had become Skulduggery's plus-one. Since she didn't have a space for training anymore, he had taken her under his wing to investigate the attack, combing through all of Anton's correspondence to see if he had any contact with outsides in the time she had been possessed. Dexter popped in from time to time but when he wasn't with them, he was with Satya. Valkyrie wasn't sure what was happening but she knew something was wrong with the woman. Ever since they had returned from India, Satya had been avoiding her and no one would tell her what was going on.
Saracen and Erskine had stepped up as joint Grand Mages while Hopeless got better, Tanith working as a buffer between different countries since she didn't actually have official loyalties to any Sanctuaries. It had been interesting to watch and listen in on the video calls between foreign officials, seeing the other side of the magical community that the adventure covered.
"Hey."
Valkyrie held out a hand without looking at the newcomer. Livia took her offered hand, letting out a yelp as Valkyrie tugged her to her bed. Hard.
She collapsed onto the mattress next to Valkyrie, shaking her head with a slight grin before lying down, resting her head against Valkyrie's shoulder and threading her fingers through Valkyrie's.
"What time is the wake?"
"Three," Valkyrie replied softly. "Are you coming?"
"Mum said she wants to pay her respects," Livia replied.
Valkyrie was glad. She didn't really want to be alone at the wake and didn't want to cling to one of the Dead Men's side while they mourned.
Livia squeezed her hand gently. "What's going through your head?"
"Everything," Valkyrie replied with a weak laugh.
"I swear you're still the reflection- The Stephanie I know doesn't have enough brains for-" Livia let out a squeal of laughter as Valkyrie elbowed her.
Oooooooooooo
"Anton once told me that instead of drowning my sorrows in a bottle of whiskey," Satya began, standing at the podium, "I should drown them in a bath filled with orange juice."
That brought on some laughter from the guests.
"I never really found out what he meant," Satya confessed, "But it was probably something wise and deep that will get me out of trouble in a couple of decades." She looked down at her page, a refill sheet that was scribbled all over, covered in ideas. She sighed, scrunching it up.
"I'll keep this short and sweet," She said softly, but her words rang clear, "Anton Shudder was a damn good man who didn't deserve what life dealt him." She saw a few nods in the audience, Robin slumped in his chair with silent tears running down his cheek.
"He will always be in our hearts and-" She choked slightly on her words, "And may he rest in peace."
She walked from the podium back to her seat next to Dexter.
"Thank you, Satya," Skulduggery took his place at the podium, "Thank you all for coming," He said smoothly, betraying no emotion, "We appreciate your support and I know that Anton would have loved to have you all here in his home, celebrating his life." With a final nod, he stood down from the stand as the light buzz of conversation had filled the grove.
Satya looked over to Hopeless who had risen weakly out of their seat to speak to a few people that had approached them. They had woken up a week ago, their body settling in form that was constantly shifting, their jaw softening some days and sometimes sharpening, eyes flickering different colours while their skin shifted shades.
"You okay?" Dexter murmured.
She nodded, giving him a tight smile and a nod before looking over his shoulder and spotting someone. "I'll be in in a minute," She said to him before walking towards Valkyrie who was standing awkwardly with Livia and her parents. "Val- There's someone I want you to meet."
Valkyrie nodded and followed Satya . As everyone went back into the hotel, Satya and Valkyrie approached the figure wearing a black trenchcoat and holding a thin cane, standing by the newly erected tombstone in the middle of the grove.
"Solomon," Satya greeted, "I don't believe you've met Valkyrie Cain yet."
Solomon Wreath smiled in greeting, "If I didn't know any better, I would have thought you were hiding her from me- Valkyrie, a pleasure."
"Not me, just Skulduggery, I'm afraid," Satya said weakly as Valkyrie shook his offered hand.
"Let's keep this quick, shall we?" Solomon offered, "My condolences to you and your family but I must confess that I don't like the look the skeleton gave me."
"Valkyrie here has expressed that she would like to pursue Necromancy."
Solomon raised an eyebrow and looked over the girl carefully. "And what do your other tutors think about this?" He asked her curiously.
Valkyrie bit her lip, "They're not… thrilled… but Skulduggery said it was my choice and I want to."
"Interesting."
"So, will you teach her?" Satya cut in, "Please? As a favour to me?"
"It seems that these days I'm doing a lot of favours for you, Satya."
Satya raised an eyebrow expectantly and he smiled. "Yes, it would be my honour. Nothing would piss Skulduggery Pleasant more."
"For god's sake, put away the measuring sticks," Satya muttered under her breath.
"It was nice to meet you," Solomon said to Valkyrie and Valkyrie, knowing when she was being dismissed, smiled at him tightly before turning to leave.
"Did you bring what I asked?" Satya asked him quickly.
"Yes and no."
Satya frowned, taking the envelope that he gave her. "I asked for a ring."
"I did some research and I think this may be better." Satya slid the paper out of the envelope to reveal a faint drawing of a sigil.
"It loops the power through the body over and over, using the body as a conduit rather than an object."
"So I have to get it carved?"
Solomon nodded with a wry smile, "Heard things ended rather badly with Sorrows."
"How on earth did you-" She shook her head with a sigh, "Nevermind. I'll get it done. If you have anything else, call me?"
Solomon nodded and then swirled his cane around by his feet, drawing up shadows. Satya took a step back as the shadows overlapped around him. And then he disappeared.
She let out a sigh before turning back towards the hotel, tucking the envelope into her coat pocket.
Ooooooooooo
Robin passed the blunt over to Erskine, nestling is face into the man's neck even more. He had exhausted all his tears, as had the rest of them, and had dug out Anton's stash of 'meditation assistance' and had passed it around the group with the obvious exception.
It had been an hour since the last guest had left, an Arab man who stayed at the hotel every Christmas break, and the Dead Men had pulled out all the blankets and sheets from the hotel rooms and dragged them into one of the suites, creating the illusion of a teenagers slumber party.
Satya took the offered blunt from Ghastly, taking a long drag before passing it back and getting to her feet to change the vinyl that had finished playing.
"Here we go," Saracen walked in, handing out glasses and holding up a bottle of orange juice.
"We asked for whiskey," Satya said half-heartedly, taking the offered glass as she set in the new vinyl. Soft jazz began to play, Skulduggery nodded appreciatively from his seat by the window.
"Drown your sorrows in a bathtub filled with orange juice, remember?"
She laughed at that.
Hopeless got their feet, steadying themselves by grabbing the edge of the top of the fireplace. "To Anton," They said, raising their glass of pulpy orange juice.
"To Anton!" The rest chorused. Some clinked glasses then drank deeply.
There was a moment of silence and then the sound of spluttering and spitting filled the room.
Skulduggery's shoulders shook with laughter as Erskine gagged, looking sick.
"Oh god, that's old- That is very old," Dexter moaned, wincing. "Sorry, Anton but I'm digging out the whiskey."
"I don't think he'll mind," Robin said drearily, taking a long drag, "He'd probably just laugh at us for not smelling it."
Satya smiled at that and looked around at her brothers. This was going to be hard to get through. But they would get through it.
Together.
The End!
That's the end of book 4! I hope you enjoyed, don't forget to leave a review so I know what y'all are thinking. The next book won't be out for a while unfortunately due to school and exams
