Chapter 13
Regina had left shortly after our run in with my father, stating that she had a few things to do, and, since I had said that I wanted nothing to do with her revenge (unless she was in deep shit and desperately in need of help), I assumed that that meant that she was doing something involving the eventual death of Mary-Margaret.
I shuffled aimlessly around the cemetery, wondering faintly if I would be able to attend my adopted parents funeral in disguise like Skulduggery once did, and, if I did, if Alice would recognize me. Probably not, I thought to myself, seeing as you've been dead to her for a few years now. She wouldn't even be looking for you, much less a version of you that looks decades younger than you should.
Thoughts of Alice turned into thoughts of home, and I realized, despite my promise, that I had never called Tanith back. I pulled out my phone, finger hesitating over her number before deciding to call someone who I really need to speak with at that moment.
I pressed Skulduggery's number in, hand trembling slightly as the phone rang and a part of me wondered if he would even bother to answer after more than a week of largely ignoring him, and everyone back home.
He did pick up after a moment, his voice coming over the phone in a distracted, if not slightly terse, tone. "Skulduggery Pleasant, detective at large, what is it?"
"Hey." I whispered, suddenly overwhelmed by the reminder of my life. The life I had spent decades building with friends, friends who I had abandoned as soon as I had the slightest indication that I might have a biological family elsewhere. I sat down hard on a nearby bench, running a hand over my eyes, and clearing my throat roughly. "Hey Skulduggery."
There was a moment of silence before his smooth baritone came back over the phone. "Valkyrie." He paused for a moment. "Have you found them? Your parents, that is."
"Yeah, yeah I have."
"How is that going?"
I let out a harsh laugh, glancing around the empty cemetery. "Not great if I'm being honest."
Skulduggery shifted around on the other side of the phone. "Are you alright Valkyrie?"
Something deep inside of me broke, and a choked noise escaped as everything I had seen over the past few days rushed in. The high of finding my parents, the fear at losing them, the hurt of realizing that they would lie and cheat and even kill to get what they wanted, and the mountain of confusion that grew every day that I remained in this cursed little town.
I had gained and lost so much in such a short amount of time that I was reeling from the emotional whiplash of it all. Over the phone Skulduggery called out my name. I sniffled, unsure of what to tell him. So I told him everything.
I told him about my biological parents, meeting and losing my grandmother, finding out I had a brother and a nephew, and a step sister who had killed my grandmother to save my father who had been attacked by someone working with my mother and grandmother. By the time I had finished my throat was rough and the sun had shifted significantly in the sky, mid-morning turning to midday.
There was a moment of quite as Skulduggery processed what I'd said. And then I could hear him moving, footsteps echoing on what I had to assume was the marble flooring of the Irish Sanctuary. His voice came out in a rush, a plan clearly beginning to form in his mind.
"Where are you?"
"Far as I can tell, Maine. Town called Storybrooke though I'm not sure if it will show up on maps. I'll sent you a picture of map with my best guess marked." I said quietly. I could practically hear him nodding.
"Right. I'll be there in a few days, depending on how long the American Sanctuary decides to cause issues for us."
"Skulduggery you don't have to-"
"I do." He interrupted, voice filled with something that sounded like anger. Skulduggery cleared his throat, (not that he really needed to) and continued on in a much softer voice. "I do." He was quiet for a moment. "I will be bringing Fletcher to expedite this whole trip, but I take no responsibility for what will happen to him if he chooses to be annoying."
A wobbly smile appeared on my face. "You always think he's annoying." I could almost see him shrug at that.
"That's hardly my fault, is it." I chuckled at his words, wiping away an errant tear from my cheek, before falling silent.
"You know, Darquesse makes sense now." I uttered, exhausted at the emotional upheaval of the day. I could almost imagine Skulduggery's thin frame tensing up as a silent moment passed. "It's in my blood Skulduggery. I was always going to be a villain."
"Listen to me Valkyrie Cain." His voice was angrier than I had imagined it would be. "Your parents' actions do not define yours. Yes, your alter ego tried to destroy the world, but you fought her off. You chose to do so. No one is born good or evil, but choosing to be evil would have been so much easier for you. You are good because you choose to do good things." He paused. "And, I suspect, you have an affinity for choosing the most difficult path in life just to prove that you can walk it, no matter how idiotic that option might be."
"What," I drawled, faux insulted. "are you calling me stupid or something?"
"You aren't stupid, just next to me anyone would seem so."
Laughter escaped me at that. "Keep telling yourself that old man."
He sputtered. "Old? How dare you young lady, I'll have you know I'm a perfectly reasonable middle aged man."
"You're over five hundred years old Skulduggery."
"But I don't look a day over four hundred."
"Vanity is not a good look on you old friend." There was a pause at that.
"That's it. I'm sending China to get you."
"No! Please do not do that, I think she's still pissed that I took time off without asking her first." I pleaded, only half serious. Skulduggery chuckled on the other end.
"Even if I did send her, I'd want to see the hole she rips in you for failing to file the correct paperwork." He paused for a moment, footsteps halting as well. "I have to talk to the Grand Mages and Fletcher, get everything approved. If it weren't America-"
"You'd be here in a day." I interrupted, smiling sadly. "I know Skulduggery. Don't want to inadvertently start another war. I get it. I'll see you in a few days."
"See you." And with that, he hung up. I stared down at my phone for a few moments, wondering if I was creating more problems by bringing a group of mildly unstable Mages into this town, but in the end, I couldn't really bring myself to care too much.
I heaved myself off the bench, beginning to walk towards the center of town. Maybe they'll even grow to like each other…eventually.
