Requiem: Chapter Two...
Thank you to anybody who has read this far. Please feel free to leave a review or favourite if you like the story so I know there's interest. No point continuing a story that nobody wants to read. I hope you all enjoy the next chapter :)
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"I hate this city," Andromeda muttered from the back seat.
"Me too, but when your Sanctuary is blown up and there's no immediate alternative, you don't really get the luxury of being fussy about location," Skulduggery answered as he slid out of the driver's side. Valkyrie emerged after him, ignoring the dull ache that was starting in her bones. "It's much better now than it was. It used to be an awful little grey thing and the town was a mess."
"I heard about the destruction of the Sanctuary under the waxworks museum," her pink-haired friend continued, ignoring his comment on the First City of Magic. "Something called the Desolation Engine exploded, didn't it?"
"It did. My previous partner died that day." Skulduggery led them through the building, deactivating the facade as they entered. There was no need for him to hide his face in this city.
"How? Did you shoot him too?"
"Andromeda," Valkyrie hissed. "Stop it."
"He was caught in the blast," the skeleton answered, seeming unruffled. "I don't make a habit of shooting people for no reason."
"What was his name?" Valkyrie tried to keep her tone soft to make up for An's rudeness.
"Chance Vaunt. Thankfully it was painless."
"Wasn't he a Teleporter?" The suspicion in Andromeda's tone made Val groan inwardly. "Why didn't he just jump right out of there?"
"I'm not sure how much you know about Teleporters, but I'll point out that it was a high pressure situation and Teleporters struggle to use their talents when stressed if they're inexperienced. Unfortunately he spent very little time focussing on fitness training because he could usually Teleport places. That made him slow, which in turn made him dead," he answered coolly.
"Sure. And I suppose the security cameras weren't working at the time either?"
"They tend not to work when they're being blown up."
"Will you cut it out?" Valkyrie elbowed her friend angrily.
"It's quite alright. After the vision you've seen I understand your suspicions. I have undergone a full search by Sensitives and proven my innocence. I can get you the reports if it will help you to trust me. Once I've taken your statements you can go." He didn't look at them as he spoke, concentrating instead on where they were going.
"That would help," Andromeda answered, ignoring the glares she received from her companion.
"Alright. It'll take me a few minutes to find them. I'll put you both in an interview room first and bring them to you." They followed in silence after that. The Administrator approached as he strode through the halls.
"Arbiter Pleasant," she said respectfully.
"Administrator Cerise, good to see you."
"Who are your guests?"
"Valkyrie Cain and Andromeda. I didn't get your second name," he said, turning to her.
"Andromeda White," she supplied with a scowl.
"I brought them here to gather statements and to make sure our little Vampire friend was locked up for terrorising Haggard."
"You caught him then?" Cerise typed on a tablet as she spoke, her fingers moving furiously across the touch screen.
"I did. The Cleavers should be putting him in a holding cell as we speak. In the meantime I'd like to know if there's a room available to gather the statements." Cerise tapped on the tablet some more and then nodded.
"Interrogation room eight is free now. You should have use of the room for the next hour."
"Thank you." Skulduggery continued on, leading them through the maze of corridors. As they walked a bald man with a scarred head approached them.
"Skulduggery?"
"Elder Bespoke, hello."
"Don't call me that," the bald man said with a scowl. "You know I hate it. Who are your friends?"
"This is Ghastly Bespoke, Elder of the Roarhaven Sanctuary and an incredible tailor. Ghastly, this is Valkyrie Cain and Andromeda White. They stopped a Vampire from infecting a woman in Haggard." The Elder appraised them both for a moment before nodding and breaking into a warm smile. Despite the scars on his head and the ragged slash at his throat, he managed to look friendly.
"Nice to meet you." He shook their hands and Valkyrie raised her eyebrows at the strength of his grip. "I trust the Vampire was arrested?"
"He's in a holding cell now. I'm just taking witness statements."
"Very well. Come and see me when you can. China is driving me insane." Skulduggery chuckled and clasped the Elder's forearm.
"I will, don't worry." Ghastly nodded and excused himself, and the skeleton continued down the corridor and into a smaller room with a table and some chairs at either side. He gestured for the two of them to sit. "Would either of you like a drink?"
"No thank you," Andromeda said. Valkyrie declined as well, and the detective retreated to find the report Andromeda had asked for.
"You don't have to be rude you know. He's trying to help," she muttered.
"And he might also one day blow your brains out with his silly fancy gun. For all we know he could do it today."
"He won't."
"How do you know?"
"I don't. But we're in the High Sanctuary, surrounded by Cleavers and lots of people have seen us come in with him. I don't think he's gonna kill me with so many witnesses around, and if he was going to shoot me he could have done it in the alley, or on the way here." She fixed An with a glare, folding her arms across her chest. "The least we could do is try not to provoke him."
"I guess you're right. I still don't like him." She rolled her eyes as Andromeda began sulking. Skulduggery returned a moment later and passed her the file. She scanned it with a frown and he waited patiently as she made her judgement. "Signed by the Elders. Alright, I believe you," she said eventually.
"So you're happy to give a statement?"
"I am."
"Excellent. I'll take yours first then. Valkyrie, would you mind stepping outside while I do this? The statements need to be impartial." She nodded and got to her feet, taking a seat in one of the plastic chairs in the corridor outside. She watched mages bustle past without looking at her and thought about how strange her situation was. A few weeks ago her biggest dilemma had been choosing her name. Today she'd been beaten up by a Vampire and come face to face with the person potentially fated to kill her. The weird thing was that she kind of liked him. He was funny. It was an odd feeling to like the person that might shoot you between the eyes. It unsettled her. She was still thinking about it when Andromeda emerged from the room with a frown on her face only a few minutes later.
"Everything okay?" Valkyrie asked.
"I guess so. He did exactly what he said he would. Took my statement and let me leave."
"Then why are you frowning?"
"He's said I can go home. He seems to think your statement will take longer, since you were the one actually fighting Argent." She clutched Val's arm suddenly. "Will you keep your phone on and promise me you'll call me when you get home?"
"Of course I can. Why are you so worried?"
"Well he told me he'd arrange for me to be taken back to Haggard and that he'd bring you back himself. You'd be alone with him."
"But if he was going to shoot me do you really think he'd tell you he was bringing me home? In an interrogation room with a security camera that can record everything he says?"
"No. I guess not." She deflated. "I'm just worried, that's all."
"I'll call you as soon as I'm home." Andromeda nodded and hugged her, and then the Administrator came around the corner right on cue and led her away. Valkyrie stood, took a deep breath, and entered the room. Skulduggery was writing on a legal pad. He looked up when she entered.
"Have a seat," he said. She sat. "I must say, I've met people that have taken an instant dislike to me, but never any so convinced I have nefarious intentions. Most people dislike me because I'm smarter than them." Her lips twitched as she fought a smile.
"An is just looking out for me. She was convinced the vision was incorrect until you showed up and told me you'd seen it too. She wants me to be safe."
"I assume she's insistent on you calling as soon as you return home in case I decide to kill you then?"
"She is."
"Sensible. I am a stranger, after all." He set the legal pad aside and laced his gloved fingers together on the tabletop. "Now then. I have a good idea of what happened between you and Argent, but I'd like you to write it down for me and sign it so that we have a record of it. After that we're going to visit the Infirmary to get you checked over, and then I'll take you home. Does that sound alright?"
"I can do that." He slid a report sheet and a pen across the table to her and waited patiently while she filled it in with as much detail as she could manage. When she was done she slid it back to him and he placed it inside a manila folder and set it to one side, turning his attention back to the legal pad.
"This might be off topic, and I won't be recording your answer, but how did you discover the existence of magic?"
"I found an Echo Stone in my uncle's study. I was smart enough to realise what was going on from there."
"Ah, I remember that. He used to use it as a writing aid. One Gordon was a handful but two in the same conversation? Even I couldn't keep up with that."
"You knew him well?"
"I like to think so. He was sick on my shoes once. After that I couldn't get rid of him."
"That sounds like him." She rubbed an awkward hand across the back of her neck. "Thank you, by the way."
"What for?"
"Killing the guy that killed him."
"Nefarian Serpine was the kind of criminal that couldn't be stopped by simply being arrested. I did what had to be done." The set of his shoulders changed, and she sensed there was more to the story than just avenging her uncle and doing his job.
"You seem tense. Did he do something to hurt you?"
"That would be a story for another time," he answered carefully. She nodded and let it drop. "How did you find out about your own magical ability?"
"The Uncle Gordon in the Echo Stone told me all about it, so I thought I'd give it a try and it turned out I could do it." She shrugged. "I met Andromeda a couple of years later when she sensed my aura."
"What made you choose elemental magic?"
"Gordon told me all about what elementals could do. Some of the stories were amazing, so I tried to produce a flame and it worked. I realise now that most of the stories he told me were probably about you."
"Most likely." He tilted his head and again she could feel his smile. "He liked to follow me around on my adventures and write about them."
"You mean his books are based on you too?"
"On my experiences, yes. And the experiences of friends. Of course the gruesome death was something he added himself."
"Wow. Sounds like you've had an interesting life."
"That's one word for it." He took his hat off and set it down on the table, leaning back in his chair. "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"Of course."
"You said your mother and sister were attacked. What made you so sure it was a Vampire?"
"Well my sister kept talking about his teeth. And my mother said he moved faster than anybody she'd ever seen. I went to where they were attacked and I found absolutely nothing. If it had been a mortal attack I would've expected something. Footprints in the mud or something. They were walking over a park when he attacked them and the ground was soft from the rain." She shrugged. "When they told me what he looked like and I found absolutely no trace of him I knew what he was." He took notes on the legal pad as she spoke.
"And when you were in the coffee shop were you looking for him?"
"No, I was just meeting Andromeda for coffee. She sensed him so we went to see who it was, and that's how we came across that woman."
"Did he say anything to you?"
"I mentioned the other attacks and how the missing women had turned up as Infected later. I asked if he was building an army and he said 'not me'. It sounded like there was an attack planned that would do widespread damage to Haggard." She leaned forward in her seat. "If that's what they're planning then you need to stop it."
"I certainly intend to try. I think that's enough questioning for now in any case. Come with me and we'll get you checked out at the Infirmary." He rose smoothly and put his hat back on, holding the door open for her as they left. She fell into step beside him, catching sight of her reflection in a window as they passed. Her lips were bloody and there were stark bruises on her neck. She touched her ribs where the Vampire's shoulder had connected with her and felt the sting of a break.
"I look awful."
"You look injured. You'll be right as rain once the good doctor is done with you." When they eventually reached the Infirmary a doctor in a white coat approached them.
"Detective Pleasant, what can I help you with this time?" She was pretty, with pale blonde hair and violet eyes.
"I have nothing for you to heal today, Doctor Raze. My companion here is the one that needs some attention." He gestured to Valkyrie and the doctor nodded and led them to a gurney, drawing the curtain around them.
"What happened?" She probed the bruises on Val's neck gently.
"She tried to apprehend a Vampire without back up." She might be wrong, but she thought the detective sounded impressed. Doctor Raze, however, definitely wasn't.
"A silly thing for anyone to do. So I can see very clearly that he throttled you. How else did he injure you?"
"He kicked me in the head. And he tackled me."
"And why didn't you stop him from doing that, detective?" The doctor was looking at him disapprovingly.
"I didn't get there in time," he answered honestly. "I wasn't expecting to find another person already trying to stop the Vampire I intended to arrest."
"Hmm." Her lips were pressed tightly together as she probed Valkyrie's teeth, checking for breaks or losses. Valkyrie jerked away with a gasp when her fingers found the cracked rib. "No missing or damaged teeth, no sign of major injuries. There is one broken rib on your right side and you'll have a sore throat for a day or two. I'll get something for the swelling and pain for now. I'll be back in a minute."
"I didn't know you'd cracked a rib. If you'd told me you were in pain we could've visited the Infirmary first."
"I'm alright, don't worry about it." He looked like he was about to answer, but the doctor returned and he seemed to think better of it.
"These should held with the pain," she said, handing Valkyrie a small bag of leaves. "And this will help with the bruising and swelling. Take a bath, drop some of this in it and by morning the bruises should fade. In the meantime I'll strap your ribs for now. There isn't much else I can do with them short of making you take a bath here."
"I'll wait outside for you," Skulduggery said, disappearing through the curtain. Valkyrie shrugged off her hoodie and her shirt, and the doctor made quick work of bandaging her torso.
"You want to be careful with that one," she said after a minute or two. "He's a good man and a brilliant detective, but he seems to just attract trouble. Being around him can be dangerous."
"I'm just a witness, don't worry. I don't think I'll be seeing him again."
"If I was paid every time somebody said they won't be seeing him again and ended up back here I'd be rich enough to quit working," she answered, then straightened up and stepped back. "All done. Go straight home, and no strenuous exercise for a few days alright?"
"Okay. Thanks doctor." Valkyrie shrugged her shirt and hoodie back on carefully and headed out to find the skeleton, pocketing the leaves and the weird yellow rock as she left.
"All sorted?" he asked when she found him. She nodded. "Alright then, let's get you back home." She followed him once again. He stayed silent until they reached his car and pulled out of the parking garage. "You're a lot like him. Gordon I mean."
"I am?"
"You have his sense of humour. And his nose for trouble."
"I guess you could say that," she replied, smiling a little. As they left Roarhaven he tapped his collar and the facade flowed back over his bones.
"You did well to find Argent without help, but the vigilante stuff needs to stop now. It could get dangerous for you if you continue and find yourself outmatched. It was a stroke of luck that I was there today."
"Thanks for saving my life," she said quietly.
"Not a problem. Just don't make a habit of getting into trouble, alright? I don't want that vision of yours to come true because you got involved in something you shouldn't and ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Do you think it's likely that you'll shoot me?"
"At the moment I'd say it's an absolute certainty that I won't."
"And what about in the future?"
"I don't know you. I have absolutely no inclination or reason to shoot you, Valkyrie."
"Well alright then. I'm sorry Andromeda was rude to you."
"It's understandable. I can only imagine how unsettled she was to see me. Do you still live at the mansion?"
"I do for now." She looked out of the window and was surprised to see Haggard sprawling out around them.
"For now?"
"It's far too big for me. I don't know how Gordon lived there alone. I'm moving into an apartment next week."
"Are you keeping the house?"
"Absolutely. I can't get rid of it when it means so much to me. I just don't like living there because of how huge it is." He found the turning to Gordon's estate without trouble and pulled to a stop outside the elegant mansion a few minutes later.
"Thank you for answering my questions. If I need anything further I'll be in touch. And if you remember anything else here's my number. Call anytime." He took a card out of his pocket and passed it to her.
"I will."
"Of course, I'll understand if you want to liaise with somebody else, given the vision you've seen. If you'd prefer that then I can communicate by phone and somebody else can be sent to see you face to face. It'll be up to you."
"And if you don't need anything more from me?"
"Then I wish you good luck with your life, Valkyrie Cain. It was nice to meet you."
"It was nice to meet you too, Detective Pleasant." She slid out of the car as he leaned across to look at her.
"Stay out of trouble." She shut the door and watched as the sleek vehicle sliced through the dusk like a knife, her eyes on its tail lights until they disappeared.
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