Requiem: Chapter Ten...
Hey guys, the story is far from over :) Don't forget to leave a review or favourite if you liked it :) Here's the next chapter!
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"Val! You're alive!" Andromeda threw herself at her friend, flinging her arms around Valkyrie's neck hard enough to stagger her. Skulduggery grunted as the pair of them fell into him, putting his hands on Valkyrie's shoulders automatically to steady her. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"I'm fine, calm down!" Andromeda let go so her friend could step away from the detective.
"Where did you get the clothes? They're so cool," she said as she took in the black coat and the boots.
"Ghastly Bespoke made them for me after he met us when we went to give statements."
"But he didn't even take any measurements."
"He doesn't need to," Skulduggery answered. "He can make clothes for anybody, even me."
"Thanks for bringing her back alive," Andromeda said shyly.
"My pleasure," he answered with a smile.
"Did Alice know I was gone?"
"No, she didn't even wake up. We just sat and played video games all night while we waited for you to come back. What happened?" Jordy came to his sister's side with a concerned expression on his face as he spoke.
"Well we went into some Caves under the mansion to find Lord Vile's armour, got attacked by Requiem and his cronies and then went back to the Sanctuary to dump them all in a cosy cell," Valkyrie answered. "It was weird. The hardest part was getting to the armour in the first place. The fight seemed to be over in no time."
"That's a good thing though right?" An asked, twirling a strand of pink hair around her finger as she frowned.
"I don't know. I get the feeling it was too easy. And we're still looking for the other Vampire he was working with."
"Speaking of too easy," Skulduggery cut in. "I was hoping you might be able to help us, Jordy. We need to know if arresting Requiem has changed Valkyrie's fate."
"Sure," he shrugged. "I haven't seen anything since what I showed you last night but I can look." He took Valkyrie's hand and closed his eyes, concentrating as hard as he could. He stayed like that for a few minutes before sagging. "I can't see anything, but that could be because I'm a bad Sensitive," he answered.
"Thank you for checking."
"Doug!" Alice yelled at the detective from the doorway before bounding across the room and leaping at him. He barely had time to catch her as she swung off his neck. Valkyrie saw his eyes tighten in pain as it jarred his aching ribs, but he smiled broadly as she settled on his hip with a toothy grin.
"Good morning to you too," he said.
"Why don't I get that sort of reception?" Valkyrie asked her sister.
"I see you all the time," the little girl retorted. "Doug is my new friend."
"Doug?" Andromeda frowned in confusion.
"Don't ask," Valkyrie chuckled.
"Why is An here?" Alice asked.
"She came to visit. She's going home now so you can eat your breakfast."
"I want dippy eggs."
"Alright, give me a minute to say goodbye and I'll make you some," Valkyrie smiled.
"I'll do it," Skulduggery offered. Valkyrie nodded in thanks and he moved towards the kitchen, chatting brightly with Alice as he did.
"He seems...kinda nice," Andromeda mused.
"Did you expect him not to be?"
"I thought he'd be a jerk, in all honesty. It's a shame that once this is over he'll go back to his Arbiter work. It might be nice to get to know him."
"Yeah, about that," Valkyrie said sheepishly. "If we've managed to divert the future I'm going to become an Arbiter with him. He's offered me the opportunity to be his new partner."
"That's kinda huge," An gasped. "You realise that's you taking one giant step into the magical community, right? Everyone will know who you are once you do this. You can't hang around Skulduggery Pleasant and not find trouble."
"I know. But it feels like I was meant to do it. I don't know how to explain it."
"I get it," Jordy cut in, smiling. "Sometimes you just meet people that you know are meant to be in your life, no matter how crazy it seems. I think you've got big things coming, Val."
"How do you know?" An asked.
"It's just a feeling I have." He pushed his curly hair out of his eyes. "We'd better go anyway. The cat needs feeding. You know if we don't go back home soon he'll pee on the carpet in protest."
"Fine." His sister rolled her eyes and squeezed Valkyrie's shoulders again. "See ya." Valkyrie shut the door behind them and sighed. She felt a small flame of hope burning in her gut after finding out that Jordy could no longer see her future. She walked to the kitchen to see Alice sitting at the table with Daisy clutched in her hand while Skulduggery sliced toast for her at the counter. A growl in Valkyrie's stomach made him look up.
"I made enough toast for you as well," he said. "I know you didn't eat last night with everything that went on." He held a plate out to her and she accepted it gratefully, wolfing down a full slice before he'd even finished cutting the top off Alice's eggs. As soon as he set the plate down in front of her she dunked a finger of toast in the yolk and made a mess.
"Don't ruin your pyjamas, pipsqueak," Val warned. Her authority was undermined by a huge yawn. "I'm beat."
"Go get some sleep. I'm sure your parents won't mind you dropping Alice off a little later." He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the counter.
"I can't leave you to baby sit. I feel like I'm the only one that hasn't looked after her and she's my sister."
"I don't mind, and I need you bright eyed today. We still have things to do." He smiled. "My daughter was the same age as Alice. I'm perfectly capable of looking after her for a while."
"What was her name?"
"Aurora."
"That's a beautiful name."
"Her mother chose it." His eyes softened as he watched Alice eat her breakfast and play with her doll. "She was a lot like Alice."
"A handful then?"
"Definitely," he chuckled. "Go to sleep. I'll wake you in a couple of hours."
"Thank you." Valkyrie smiled and left the kitchen, grateful for the opportunity to rest. The lack of sleep made her eyes itch, and her body ached. The cut on her face was healed and her bruises were gone, but her bones felt tired. She shrugged off her protective clothes, pulled on a thick jumper and some shorts, and crawled under the sheets. Her eyes drifted shut almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
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Mist. Mist surrounded her. She looked in every direction but she couldn't see anything. Even her feet were obscured from view. She could feel her heart beginning to hammer as claustrophobia set in. She snapped her fingers and lit a flame in her palm, trying to clear the fog enough to see where she was, but it closed in like a blanket. She let the fire die and pushed at the air instead, but nothing happened. She stumbled forwards, arms out in front as she walked. The mist made it hard to read the air, so she had to operate on touch alone.
She reached a spot where the mist thinned abruptly and suddenly she could see. She saw cars upturned, rubble where houses had been smashed in, scarred tarmac where the road beneath her had been torn to bits. She didn't recognise the location but it looked to be a city street. Here and there bodies were laid in the road. When she tried to run to them they disappeared in a cloud of black smoke and ash.
A presence behind her made her turn, and her heart dropped as Lord Vile approached. His feet made no sound as they crossed the tarmac in their heavy metal boots. Black shadows rose from him like smoke, trailing behind him in writhing tendrils. The mask hid every bit of the face beneath. She shrank away as he approached in all his violent glory. He continued past her, not even glancing in her direction, and she watched as somebody floated down from the sky. The other figure was also surrounded by thrashing shadows, silhouetted against the land behind her. She touched down gently, dark hair billowing around her and mixing with the shadows. Her face was distorted, almost like an old photo. Valkyrie couldn't make out her features.
"I've been waiting for this," she said, and Valkyrie was shocked to hear her own voice come from the figure in the swirling darkness. "The great Lord Vile, unleashed at last. Tell me, how does it feel to be free?"
"Who are you?" His voice was distorted by the mask, but it still dripped with power as he ignored her question.
"My name is Darquesse. I'm the one who freed you."
"Why?"
"I fancied a challenge," she shrugged, and then the two of them leapt at one another and the scene disappeared in a shockwave of blackness.
oO0Oo
Valkyrie woke up in a cold sweat, a shout dying in her throat as a gloved hand touched her shoulder. The nightmare still had its claws in deep as she jerked away from whoever was near her, terrified that they might hurt her.
"Valkyrie, it's alright. You're safe." Skulduggery's velvety voice brought her back to her senses as she blinked up at him. He stood by her bed with a concerned expression on his face. "I came to wake you. Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She wiped a hand across her face, scrubbing away the last dregs of her fear. "I had a nightmare."
"What about?"
"Lord Vile and some weird shadow lady that sounded like me. I think the vision still has me rattled," she explained as she got to her feet. She cracked her knuckles over her head and yawned.
"Hopefully visiting Sacrament will put you at ease."
"Fingers crossed. Where's Alice?"
"In the living room playing with her dolls."
"Thanks for looking after her. I appreciate it." She picked up the protective clothing and laid it out on the bed.
"You needed to rest and I was available," he shrugged. "I'm sure I'll be half-buried under a pile of toys by the time you're ready to leave." She smiled as he left her alone again, switching her shorts and jumper for the black garments and sweeping her dark hair off her face in a ponytail. She entered the living room a minute later to see that Skulduggery was indeed disappearing under a pile of doll-sized clothing.
"We're packing," Alice said cheerfully.
"Which means she's passing me every item one at a time and I'm the one packing it," he supplied.
"Alice we don't have time to play games while packing up. Put your things away so I can get you home." She scowled, but took the bundle of tiny clothes and shoved them into her wheelie case. It took much longer to get her things put away than it needed to, but eventually Alice bounded away to change out of her pyjamas and Skulduggery got to his feet.
"Once we drop Alice home we can go straight to Sacrament. I called ahead while you were sleeping and he says he hasn't seen anything, but he was happy for us to go there in case being closer to you sparks something." He smiled, his green eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. "So far it sounds like we were successful."
"Don't you think it was too easy though? I feel like it should've been harder."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I just get the sense that it isn't over." She shrugged. "Maybe it's just the nightmare talking."
"All we can do for now is wait and see." Alice reappeared in a denim pinafore dress, ending their conversation.
"I'm ready!" she annouced.
"Took you long enough," Valkyrie teased. "Let's go then. Mum and dad will be missing you." Alice grabbed her case with one hand and insisted on holding Skulduggery's hand with the other. He let her drag him away as Valkyrie shut the door behind them, shooing them along before her sister could notice the protection sigil glow once as it locked. "Are we taking your car or mine?"
"That depends. Are you bothered about your parents seeing me?"
"Even if they didn't see you they'd know all about 'Doug' within an hour of Alice getting home."
"Whichever car we take will be the one we drive to Sacrament's in," he said. Valkyrie looked over at her little red car and frowned. She loved her car, but given the choice between that and a Bentley? She grinned, and he nodded. "My car it is then." She grabbed Alice's car seat from the back of her own and clipped it into his carefully, helping Alice into it before sliding into the passenger side.
"This car smells nice," Alice said from the back. "Steph's smells like cheesy puffs."
"That's because you won't stop eating them," Valkyrie retorted. "Everytime I clean it you get cheese dust everywhere."
"Does she have any of them nearby now?" Skulduggery sounded panicked.
"No."
"Thank God." He relaxed as he guided the vehicle through the streets of Haggard. "Would you like me to wait in the car while you drop her off?"
"The less questions my parents ask, the better." He nodded in agreement. It didn't take long to reach her old home, and as Skulduggery pulled up outside she saw the curtain twitch. She got out to help Alice out of the back seat before her parents could open the door and come out.
"No, I want Doug to do it."
"Come on, pipsqueak. Doug needs to stay in the car."
"No!" Her bottom lip quivered, and Valkyrie groaned. A full scale tantrum wouldn't be far behind. Skulduggery looked at her from the front seat, before he sagged and got out, choosing to leave his hat behind. Alice's bright smile returned as soon as he appeared to unclip her seatbelt. She grabbed his hand and tugged him along in her wake.
"Alice, wait!" Valkyrie called, but she was already opening the front door. She scowled and followed after them. Alice let go of Skulduggery as soon as she saw her dad, and the detective straightened up and ran a hand through his hair. It was longer on top and swept to the side, with a very slight wave to it. He raised an eyebrow at her as she looked at him, and then her parents descended.
"Thank you so much for babysitting sweetheart," Melissa said, folding her into a hug.
"Did you have a good time?" Valkyrie asked.
"Oh it was lovely, the food was very nice."
"My steak was tough," Desmond muttered.
"You asked for it well done, dear."
"Yes but I meant for it to be done well, as in do it well, not overcook it."
"You didn't tell the waiter that though did you?" Desmond grumbled something in response, and then his eyes followed Alice as she ran back to Skulduggery.
"This is Doug," she said proudly. "He's my new friend."
"Hello Doug," Melissa said, glancing at her eldest daughter. "I assume you're actually Stephanie's friend and Alice has claimed you as her own?"
"That would be correct. It's a pleasure to meet you." He oozed charm, and Valkyrie watched in surprise as her mother melted. She was still beaming at him when Desmond stepped forwards to shake his hand.
"The name's Desmond. Steph didn't tell us she had a boyfriend." Valkyrie nearly choked.
"Yes, it's been a while since she had anybody around that she felt was important enough to come and see us. How did you meet?" Her mother looked between them eagerly.
"He's a detective," Alice chimed before Val could shut down the conversation. "An called him it when I was playing."
"Wow, you work in law enforcement?" Desmond asked. Skulduggery didn't miss a beat even as Valkyrie panicked.
"I do. I'm actually investigating a series of abductions around Haggard. Stephanie tells me you and Alice were almost attacked yourselves?" he asked, turning to her mother.
"We were. We managed to run into a shop and he disappeared. It was terrifying."
"You'll be pleased to know the man responsible has been arrested and is currently in custody."
"He is? Oh that's wonderful news! Is that how you met my Steph then? As part of your investigation?" Melissa's cheeks were pink as she spoke to him.
"Something like that," Valkyrie muttered. "We should really-"
"Oh you have to tell us more than that! You can't bring home a new boyfriend and not give me the story." She turned to Skulduggery again before Valkyrie could speak. "If Steph won't tell me I'm sure you won't mind." She took his arm to guide him into the living room. He shot Valkyrie an amused grin as he was tugged through the doorway and she cursed under her breath.
"Thought you could hide him from us, eh?" Desmond asked, beaming. "We aren't stupid."
"He's not my boyfriend."
"Sure he isn't. I saw that look he gave you just then. I may forget my pants sometimes but I wasn't born yesterday."
"He isn't."
"You can't lie to us." He tapped his nose and walked into the living room before she could argue, scooping up Alice as he went. Valkyrie sagged and followed him. She took the only empty seat in the room, which happened to be beside the detective, and sulked.
"So tell me everything," Melissa was saying. "Right from the beginning."
"There isn't much to tell," Skulduggery answered.
"Oh, now you know I don't believe that," Melissa chuckled.
"Mum, he's right."
"I'm not letting you leave until you tell me." He turned to look at Valkyrie and she shrugged, defeated.
"We met around a week ago," Skulduggery said. "Stephanie was out with her friend. I was tailing the man responsible for the abductions. He spotted them and followed, and I arrested him as he was about to try and drag them off." Melissa's eyes widened. "I took Stephanie's statement, we exchanged numbers and that was that. We've seen each other a few times since." Valkyrie was surprised that he stuck to the truth.
"You found yourself a real hero, sweetheart," Melissa simpered. "Hold onto him."
"Mum," she muttered, her cheeks reddening as Skulduggery grinned again.
"What are your intentions towards my daughter, Mr...?" Her father trailed off as he realised he had no idea what Skulduggery's surname was.
"Pleasant," Skulduggery said.
"Mr Pleasant. I demand to know."
"Calm down, Des," Melissa answered, patting his knee.
"I need to know if you're in it for the long haul or if you plan to break her heart. Because I have to warn you, I'm not very strong and I'm not very fast, but I have a mean glare." Desmond puffed out his chest. "So go ahead. Tell me your intentions Mr Pleasant."
"My intentions are honourable, I assure you. It's early days, but I have a feeling I'll be around for a while," he answered. Something squeezed in Valkyrie's chest as he turned to look at her, a gentle smile playing around his lips. Oh, he was good. She could see her mother gazing at them with starry eyes.
"Goodness, I never offered anyone a drink," she said suddenly. "Can I get either of you anything?"
"No, thank you," Skulduggery declined politely.
"I'm alright, Valkyrie answered.
"I'd like a tea," Desmond said.
"I didn't ask you," his wife answered.
"I'll make it," Valkyrie said quickly, rising from her seat before anybody could stop her. In the kitchen, alone, she breathed a sigh of relief and flicked the kettle on. She found herself thinking of the weird feeling in her chest when Skulduggery had turned to look at her. She didn't know what it was, but whatever it was couldn't be good. That much she was sure of.
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