Skulduggery grumpily walked around the room, lighting the candles. The candles cast 17 different shadows on everything in the room, creating a very exciting and dizzy feel.

Tanith felt a surge of adrenaline rush through her body in response to this new environment. She silently cursed under her breath and fought to contain it, when her arm holding the sword shot out and nearly took of Valkrie's head.

"Tanith!" she protested.

"Sorry-OW!" her leg kicked up and it hit the underside of the table. Skulduggery dumped himself in the chair and turned to face Vincent.

"Vincent, was that necessary?" he asked.

"Tricked cha'!" Marcus shouted playfully. His head twitched and his pupils expanded. "Sorry about that. Marcus has realized that if he just twitches his head he can convince people that he is me."

"But he is you, sort of," Valkrie pointed out.

"Never the less, I came here so I could assist in the recapturing of a valuable artifact. Skulduggery, why am I here?"

He pulled a small 11x8½ card out of a folder lying next to him and showed it to Valkrie.

"Valkrie, what does this look like to you?" The picture was a short golden rod; dinged up from age and use. A small black gem was impregnated into the base and was surrounded by beautifully carved designs and glyphs. The rod was covered in dust, and the picture was grainy, but Valkrie recognized it instantly. She should have, because that very rod had almost killed her.

"That's the Scepter of the Ancients," she said, obviously confused. "But I thought is was-"

"Powerless?" he interrupted. "So did I, until yesterday. Remember how we left it with China Sorrows? It has been stolen."

Tanith raised one eyebrow. "That's impossible! You can't take someone's possessions when they're, when they're…" her voice trailed off. She put her hand over her mouth, her expression one of pure shock. "It's not possible… Skulduggery, is she…?"

Skulduggery hung his head, his movements slow and sad. "Yes Tanith; China is dead."

Valkrie's heart skipped a beat and the room became silent. Vincent was the first to speak.

"I, I'm sorry for your loss."

Skulduggery's breathing became labored, with a few partial whimpers. "It's okay."

After another few minutes of silence, Valkrie spoke up. "Who has the scepter?"

"I don't know, but China's body left no particular evidence. She was shot, but that's all we know."

"Where was she keeping the Scepter?" Vincent asked, trying to be as much help as possible.

Skulduggery coughed, and his original firmness returned to his voice. "It was held in a charmed glass box next to her coffee table."

"Charmed?" asked Valkrie.

"It was magically sealed using the 'withstand' spell that Tanith uses often." Tanith sunk into her chair, avoiding the sudden wave of eye contact. "It also was locked with a normal key lock, but the locked had been picked."

"Does anyone have the key?" Valkrie asked.

"No, China threw it out as soon as she got the Scepter. The only actual damage to the box was a small gash on the edge." He pulled out a picture of the display case and passed it around. "It could have been made by any kind of blade. That's all we know for now, you are free to move about the cabin." He made a slight grin, but everyone just rolled their eyes and got up. Valkrie followed Tanith out of the room, but Tanith turned around and said she had to speak to Skulduggery. Valkrie let her shuffle past and kept walking, but stopped within hearing distance and turned around. Tanith walked up to Skulduggery, who was cleaning up from his briefing.

"I believe this belongs to you," Tanith said, handing Skulduggery his pistol.

"Thanks," he said curiously. "How did you get my gun?"

"Don't you remember? You tossed it to me during our last scuffle."

"I don't remember- oh well, thanks." He nodded to her and pocketed the gun, but not before checking the chambers. "There's a bullet missing? Did you shoot anyone?" Tanith turned around.

"Yeah, but they had it coming." Skulduggery chuckled and slid the gun in his belt. Tanith met Valkrie outside the door and they walked onto the small café around the corner that had recently been installed.

"Just what we need;" Valkrie sighed, "Another killer on the loose."

Tanith chuckled but said nothing.

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R&R!!!!!