Mild violence, torture, swearing and drowning.
The war was coming to a very violent, very bloody end. The past century had not been a kind one to anyone on either side. Scandal, betrayal, tortore and death. So many deaths. At this point it didn't seem worth it. Skulduggery Pleasant was dead. Gone. Ezra was laying under the stars, a blanket wrapped around her. She couldn't sleep, so she was just staring up. She wished she was a star. Bright, burning, isolated. Dead. She squeezed her eyes shut, banishing such thoughts. When she opened her eyes again they were full of tears. She cried as quietly as she could. It'd been fifty years since they found his mutilated corpse. She still wasn't over it. She felt so terribly alone. Ezra slipped out of the blanket and laced her boots up, then tip toed out of camp. She didn't know where she was going, just that she had to go somewhere. It was dangerous to wander around at night, in the dark. She knew this but didn't care. She hadn't cared about a lot the past five decades. It had just been mission after mission, battle after battle, fight after fight. And Ezra was tired. She longed for her small little house. Her parents. Her three younger brothers. Skulduggery.
Ezra was so lost in thought she didn't even sense the enemy. She was walking, and then arms were around her, a hand covering her mouth. She clicked her fingers but before she could summon a flame, a knife sliced at her hand, cutting it deep. She was screaming but the hand muffled her and she wasn't even sure how far away from the camp she was. The arm around her dragged her along, struggling all the way. She lurched and the hand slipped and she bit it, and the next thing she knew something really hard hit her on the back of the head.
Ezra woke up confused. She felt metal on her wrists and ankles. Her hand was sticky with blood from the knife. It throbbed. She couldn't move. She was in total darkness. Ezra jerked, struggling and thrashing to get free. It didn't work. Her heart was beating so.fast and so hard and she was so scared. A light flickered in the distance. Ezra squinted. She heard people talking now, quite a few of them. She doubled her efforts, lurching. Then light flooded the... Cave? Stone was everywhere. The walls, the floor, the ceiling. There was a pond though. A perfect circle filled with perfect, crystal blue water. She was chained to a stone wall, the chains were in the wall somehow. A group of Sorcerers stood before. Serpine was at the front.
"Hello, Ezra." He said. She said nothing. A fist slammed into her chest and the air left her. She was wheezing.
"I have heard so much about you and your comrads. You're all quite the trouble makers, aren't you? You all have made my life very difficult. I don't like that." Serpine continued. Ezra glared at him but still said nothing.
"Where are you planning on striking next?" Serpine asked. Still Ezra said nothing. Serpine sighed as he took his glove off. Ezra was breathing heavily now, shaking. She knew what was coming but she had only ever heard about the red hand. Never experienced it.
"Fine, have it your way." Serpine said, the he pointed at Ezra and his hand glowed red and Ezra was screaming, really screaming because pain just erupted everywhere. And it didn't stop. It was constant, unrelenting. Serpine stopped after a while. Ezra sagged, the only reason she still stood was because of the chains. A soldier grabbed a fistful of her hair and forced her head up.
"Anything you would like to say?" He asked. Ezra spat at him. It was an awful idea, and she wasn't entirely sure why she did it, but it just felt right. Serpine turned to his men.
"You have a shot." He said. There were four men with him and they all beat her bloody.
Ezra was there for six weeks. She hadn't said a word for the whole time. Serpine was growing angrier as each day passed and he had had enough.
"Tell me you BITCH!" He roared. Ezra took a small pleasure that she enraged him so much.
"She's useless to me. Kill her."
For the first time in six weeks Ezra was unchained. She struggled in vain with the little strength she had left.
She could see her family again. See Skulduggery. She hadn't betrayed the Dead Men.
They chained her hands together, then her feet. They chained massive stones to her. She was dragged to that perfect, serene little pond and they threw her in it. It was much deeper than she thought She barely struggled. She was too tired and weak and sore. She was bloody and broken and bruised. Her lungs were starting to burn. She was going to die. She heard yelling but wasn't sure if it was real or not.
The Dead Men found her. Finally. They had split up, Dexter and Ghastly going to find Ezra, Anton, Erskine and Saracen to make sure they had a clear way out. Dexter and Ghastly had stormed in just as they threw Ezra into the pond. Both men leapt into action, taking out three men. Two fire balls and an energy stream. Serprine grabbed fifth and they teleported away.
A bright, gold light was coming from the pond. It looked as if someone had plucked the sun from the sky and flicked it into that perfect little pond. Bubbles were rapidly surfacing then popping. Steam rose from the pond. Dexter kicked his boots off and threw his jacket on the ground.
"Dexter- you'll die." Ghastly said, his voice eteched with worry and concern. Dexter was at the edge now. He shrugged.
"I hate a world without Skulduggery. I don't want to be in a world without Ezra." Dexter said. Then he jumped.
The water didn't burn him. It was warm and nice and pleasant and he swam down to the bottom feeling content. Ezra was the source of the light, her whole body glowing. She didn't look real. It was so quiet down there. No wars. No fights. Dexter wanted to wrap a chain around himself and Ezra so he could stay there forever. But he didn't. He couldn't leave the war unfinished. He grabbed Ezra and with all his strength swam her to the top.
Dexter Vex emerged, gasping. Ghastly and Anton helped him up, helped him bring up Ezra. Saracen and Erskine were walking in.
"Oh gods, is she dead?" Saracen asked. Ghastly was untying her quickly, while Dexter pounded her chest, pressing his mouth against her's as he plugged her nose, trying to breathe air into the small sorcerers lungs. No one answered Saracen's question.
Ezra coughed. Sputtered. Moaned. Her eyes flickered open. She sat up, quickly. Then winced. Her hair wasn't brown anymore. It was golden. She blinked a few times her eyes seeming a brighter blue. Even her skin seemed to radiate something. She looked in turn at the Dead Men.
"How did you find me?" She asked, her voice hoarse.
"Doesn't matter. I'm just sorry it took so long." Dexter said. He gently picked her up, and she rested against him. She was sleeping as The Dead Men left the cave, under a star filled sky.