"Stephanie? Stephanie!"
Valkyrie opened her eyes. For a moment everything was blurry, then Melissa Edgley came into focus. She was looking down at Valkyrie, her eyes wide and watery. She was holding onto Valkyrie arm, her grip tight with fear.
"…Mum?"
The relief was evident in Melissa's face. She let out a deep breath and her grip slackened.
"Sweetheart, are you okay? What happened?"
Valkyrie tried to sit up, but the world was spinning too much, so she settled on propping herself up with her elbows. There was hard tile beneath her. Its coolness felt good against her fevered skin. She realised she was lying on the kitchen floor, with her mum kneeling besides her.
"I... I'm not sure. I was having a cup of tea. Then I felt dizzy. I guess I must have fainted. I think I broke a mug. Sorry."
"Never mind the mug. Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"
Valkyrie put a hand to the back of her head. She could feel a lump beginning to form, her neck was stiff too, but she'd dealt with far worse injuries before.
"No, I'm okay."
You're not.
Melissa pursed her lips, "I think we should go to A&E, just to make sure you don't have a concussion."
Valkyries stomach churned at the thought of a trip to A&E. Doctors…hospitals…needless. She was sick of it. What she needed was a break from all that.
"I'm fine, Mum. I've fainted before. It's not a big deal."
"When have you ever fainted?"
Valkyrie cursed herself internally as she realised her mistake. While she had fainted on multiple occasion, her parents hadn't heard about any of them.
She shrugged noncommittally, and hoped her mum would brush it off. "I dunno. Sometime. Must have."
Melissa didn't look convinced. "You don't look well, Steph. I think you should see a doctor."
Valkyries stomach did another somersault at the word doctor.
"I'll be alright. I just need a lie down, maybe on the sofa or something," she said.
And besides, it's not like a mortal doctor can help you, Darquesse chimed in.
Valkyrie pushed aside Darquesse's commentary for the moment and focused on sitting up. The kitchen swayed when she moved. Her mum didn't look happy, but she helped her up and into the sitting room.
As soon as Valkyrie was lying down again, Melissa put a hand to her forehead. "You're feverish. I'm going to call D-Doc and see what they've got to say."
"Mum…" Valkyrie began.
"I won't be a minute. I just want a professional opinion." Melissa cut in, before Valkyrie had the chance to protest.
She disappeared from the room, and Valkyrie settled grumpily onto the sofa.
A quarter of an hour or so passed before Melissa returned; a glass of water in one hand and a couple of aspirin in the other.
"I spoke to a nurse on the phone and he says it's probably nothing serious. But they'll try and squeeze in an appointment for you around 4:30 just to make sure. In the meantime you should have some aspirin to keep your temperature down and get some rest."
Valkyrie forced a smile. "Sure."
Melissa handed Valkyrie the pills and the glass. Then she game Valkyrie's arm an affectionate squeeze. "I just going to go tidy up that broken mug and then check on Alice, but shout me if you need anything, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks, Mum." Valkyrie said, giving her a peck on the cheek.
Melissa disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Valkyrie alone once more. She swallowed the pills with water and set the empty glass on the coffee table.
You know that's not going to fix anything, said the voice in her head.
Valkyrie gritted her teeth. Maybe you know. I know no such thing.
We're the same person. What I know, you know.
We are not the same. I am nothing like you. You're a killer, a monster.
Darquesse made a mental tutting noise. I'm your subconscious, Valkyrie. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can move on with our life.
Valkyrie closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples. Will you please shut up?! She thought, desperately.
Mercifully, Darquesse did.
"I've contacted Stephanie's parents. They said they'd be here as soon as they can," a disembodied voice said.
Valkyrie tried to turn her head, to look at the speaker, but it was too heavy for her to lift. He – she was fairly sure it was a he – sounded familiar, but she couldn't quiet place it.
"Good. I'll ask Civet to push back my other appointments. I think it'll be useful if we both meet with them." said a woman - Synecdoche. Valkyrie had been hearing too much of the doctor as of late.
"Agreed," said the man. "This might be the first step on the road to recovery; we should both be there."
Valkyrie woke up on the sofa feeling groggy. A dream she could barely remember on the cusp of her conscious. From the kitchen came a clattering of pots and pans. A few minutes later, her dad arrived bearing two bowls.
"I've got some chicken soup for the soul," he declared, "Or stomach. Whichever, one's part of the digestive system."
Valkyrie smiled weakly at the joke, as he handed her a bowl and sat next to her on the sofa.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Tired," she answered, truthfully.
"Mum says you've got a Doctor's appointment in Sword's, in a couple of hours."
"Yeah, something like that." she muttered, her mind already scrambling for a way out of it. She doubted she could talk her parents out of taking her, but it should be easy enough to send her reflection in her place.
Desmond reached for the remote on the coffee table and turned on the TV. He flicked through a few channels before settling on some old western about seven cowboys fighting off bandits. They watched it together, while they ate soup, her dad cracking jokes every five minutes.
Valkyrie's eyelids grew heavy. She set down her empty bowl and curled up into a ball on the sofa.
"Melissa, Desmond… come in." said a man's voice. "Have you met Doctor Synecdoche before?"
"We've not had the pleasure." Melissa said. Her voice sounded strained.
"It's nice to put a face to the name." Desmond added. He sounded more upbeat, but there was something forced about it.
"Likewise," said Doctor Synecdoche.
Valkyrie wanted to turn to them, and ask what the hell was going, but she still couldn't move. Her mouth was dry. She felt drugged. She had been drugged. Doctor Synecdoche had drugged her. She remembered that now. d being at home with her parents. This didn't make any sense.
Footstep approached.
Someone shook her gently by the shoulders.
"Steph, wake up. We need to leave soon," her mum said.
Valkyrie struggled to open her eyes. She still felt drugged. But she was starting to wake up now. She forced herself upright.
"You okay? Do you want some more aspirin before we head off?" Melissa asked. She looked worried again.
"No, I'm okay. I'm just need to get changed."
She smiled, trying to reassure her mother. Then stood up. Immediately, her legs threatened to buckle and her vision blurred around the edges.
Melissa caught her arm. "Do you need a hand upstairs?"
Valkyrie steadied herself and put on a brave face. "I'll be fine, Mum. Stop fussing."
She climbed the stairs on shaking legs, but made it into her bedroom without collapsing. She shut the door behind her, stripped and then opened her wardrobe door.
Her reflection was gaunt and pale. She tapped the glass and it stepped out of the mirror.
For a spilt second the reflection looked confused. It opened its mouth like it wanted to say something. Then it clamped its teeth shut and resumed its usual blank expression so quickly Valkyrie thought she must have imagined it.
"Get dressed. Go with mum to the doctor's. Pretend to be ill, but not too ill. I don't want mum and dad to worry," she told it.
"Okay," it said, and turned away.
As the reflection dressed, Valkyrie grabbed her phone and collapsed onto the bed. She took a deep breath and speed-dialled Skulduggery.
He picked up on the first ring.
"I'm ill," she said.
"…Right," he said, sounding uncertain.
"I mean I'm really ill. Mum's trying to drag me to that urgent care center in Sword's. I'm going to send my reflection there instead, but…" she paused, struggling to think of the right words. "I think there's something wrong with me. Darquesse said that-"
"Is everything okay up there, Steph?" Melissa called from the bottom of the stairs.
Valkyrie, covered the phone's microphone with her hand. "I'm fine, Mum! I'll just be a minute," she shouted back hoarsely.
She gestured for her reflection to get a move on. It quickly finished getting dressed and left the room.
"Sorry, Mum's fussing over me," she said into the phone.
"What did Darquesse say?" Skulduggery asked sharply.
"She said a mortal doctor couldn't help me."
"Did she say anything else?'
Valkyrie hesitated, "Kind of, maybe? Nothing useful. She's being annoyingly cryptic. Can you take me to the Sanctuary? Please?"
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Skulduggery promised.