Thank you to those of you who have be VERY patient in my VERY long chapters! I've tried to half each of them so you don't get bored. I am so thrilled and so chuffed at all of the reviews and you're opinions! Please keep it up, as I promise you that there are more great chapters ahead. If you like Sanguine, he soon returns with avengance and plenty more...
Thanks once again, please be patient with the chapters once again, I've been so used at just writing none stop and i don't know where to stop!
Please continue to R&R! ;)
Rhos Furey
Chapter Four
The 'Wrong' Time and Moment
Valkyrie saw the head closely as Kenspeckle carefully placed it on a slab on the desk from the metal box containing liquid nitration. It was completely different experience to actually see the man's face. His eyelids were closed and blue. His hair was light brown but slightly balding at the top. His eyes were slightly lined and around his mouth. His skin was deathly pale and slightly blue tinged like his body. Again, the wound was dried with dark, crimson red. His face was round with chubby cheeks. They would've blushed red, but now all they showed was blue veins. Valkyrie took a deep breath and snapped pictures of it. When she was done, Kenspeckle was turning the head for her and telling which spots to focus on, Kenspeckle replaced it once more back into the icebox, then turned to Valkyrie.
"It's been a while Valkyrie." he smiled kindly at her. She smiled back, then she remembered.
"Is your laboratory okay?" The last time she saw Professor Kenspeckle, she had been chased by the Grotesquery and it had killed his two assistants and wrecked his laboratory behind the old cinema.
"Yes, quite. The Grand Mage has actually very kindly donated some money to fix it. I actually received a new computer. Highly complex."
Valkyrie smiled delightfully. "I'm sorry about that."
Kenspeckle frowned down at her, "It wasn't you," he reassured her, "It was Skulduggery Pleasant. Why has he got someone young like you, getting chased by something so vicious like that."
Valkyrie rolled her eyes secretly to herself. Here we go, she thought.
"Professor, honestly, don't blame Skulduggery. I can look after myself. Anyway, I'm still here."
"Yes," he looked at her sadly, "But for how much longer?"
"Professor-" Valkyrie tried to tell him, but he quickly cut across her.
"Valkyrie, I think it's about time that you step aside and let Skulduggery take this investigation alone. Valkyrie, I know how strong and brave you are. But this is something that is above you. This is probably the beginning of the end. I'm not sure if you can take much more once you realise how terrible this is."
Valkyrie stared at him, hurt. She could take this. She was meant to be here. And she knew how important this was. She wasn't some child who didn't know how serious this was. She frowned at him, "Don't worry, professor. I will stop this. This is my destiny."
She hadn't intended of saying 'destiny' but once she had said it, she realised that it was. She was a descendant of the Ancients. The Sorcerers who stopped the Faceless Ones, and now, she was the one who will defeat the Faceless Ones and any bad thing that threatened the lives of Sorcerers and the innocent humans. She and Skulduggery Pleasant, the best sorcerer ever in Valkyrie's opinion, together will save the world.
Kenspeckle looked at her, not just her face, but his eyes seem to go beyond that, through her, into her soul. She felt uneasy at his tense stare and shifted her feet. He stopped, and nodded.
"I can see that you are. You are different."
He squinted and nodded again, "I would say special…fascinating."
With Valkyrie's relief, Skulduggery came up to them both and saved Valkyrie responding to Kenspeckle strange remarks. "Right, have you taken enough pictures?"
She nodded, and smiled to Kenspeckle and said goodbye.
"Right," Wild said, putting off her gloves, that were stained red with blood at the finger tips. She had been inspecting the wound, Valkyrie gathered. "Seems to have been a sword that had killed him."
Skulduggery nodded, his jaw in his hand, thinking deeply. "But by the way the wound is jagged at the front, the sword hit from the back and got stuck just before the front of the neck and had taken-"
"-two blows to the neck." Wild finished.
Valkyrie grimaced. He would have been in pain if the weapon had been stuck and had to been cut right off by another swipe of the sword.
Skulduggery asked Kenspeckle, "Was there a sword found with the body?"
The professor shrugged, "I don't think so, they would have told me otherwise."
Skulduggery sighed, "I guess it's time that we see where it all happened."
They all nodded and saying farewell to Professor Kenspeckle and thanking him. They went out, met by a group of other detectives that were waiting for their turn for the seeing the body. Valkyrie saw the familiar detective who wore the Sherlock tweed suit and hat.
Instead of the manservant who led them to the 'morgue' room guiding them to the next room, they were greeted by one of the forensic who were covered head to toe by a white polyester suit with a hood, wearing blue plastic over his shoes and a blue mask. His eyes were covered too by massive, magnifying goggles and he was completely covered.
He waved to the four of them excitedly, and before he could introduced himself, he said cheerfully. "Skul-man!"
"Look! It's me!"
Skulduggery looked at Valkyrie confused, then the boy put off his mask and goggles to show himself. Valkyrie smiled to herself and at Skulduggery's understanding of the boy's enthusiasm. It was the same boy who secretly kept the spike bomb safe for Skulduggery.
"Finbar Wrong, how nice to see you." Skulduggery hesitated.
Wring smiled and high fived Valkyrie. "Hey, Val! Hows it hanging with Skul-man?"
Valkyrie couldn't help but smile at Finbar's endless enthusism. "It's been hard work, but you know us."
"Shall we get going?" Wild said, as the boy just stood there in awe of Skulduggery.
He nodded excitedly and led them down a corridor, and continued speaking.
"I have a new job!" He pointed to his outfit.
"I guessed, " Skulduggery noted, his tone dull.
The boy bounced down to a door on the left hand side. "It's amazing, all the blood and stuff. And, what you call it, er.." he thought for a moment. "The forensics." he remembered.
Skulduggery nodded, "That's what you do."
"First day it is!" he said proudly. "Interview was a bit bad though! I thought they would get me to get finger prints and that."
"So, what did you do?" Valkyrie asked, having the sense that Skulduggery was losing the will to ask any questions any longer.
"I made teas." he told them, "I was appointed the tea assistant."
He pointed to a badge on his chest. It read, tea maker.
This confused all of them. Valkyrie especially.
"I had your tea before."
A smile spread across the young man's face, "Oh, yeah?"
"It was...great." Valkyrie lied.
When he opened the door to the room, he paused, quickly remembering something. "Oh, you remember Sharon?"
"Who?" Skulduggery half heartedly asked.
"My girlfriend, remember when you met her."
"I haven't even met her, Finbar" he pointed out, "I was in a hurry remember? Like I am now." he hinted, but Finbar didn't seem to recognise it.
"Wait," he said frantically, shaking with excitement. "You can meet her now if you like?"
"Not really," Skulduggery sighed, but the young sorcerer went off into the room and a moment after came back out, dragging someone with him by the hand.
"Sharon, Skul-man. Skul-man…well, you get the idea, and that."
Valkyrie saw that the girl was completely covered too in white and bits of blue. She could've been a boy if she didn't say anything.
"Oh, this one always talks about you, Skul!" She said with the same enthusiasm and excitement as her boyfriend.
This was an opportunity for Skulduggery to act vain. "Oh, well, I have that impact on people."
The boy and girl laughed and there was an awkward silence. Wild sighed long and obvious, and the boy frowned. "Waiting for something?"
Skulduggery sighed, "Nope, just got to solve a case."
Something clicked in the boys mind and he turned around and picked up four overalls, identical to his and Sharon's, from a bench and handed it to them.
"You have to put these on."
The four put them on uncomfortably, Valkyrie having to put off her jacket to wear it over her clothes like the others. When they were done Valkyrie looked at everyone and couldn't suppress her laughter. Especially the look of Skulduggery.
"Still handsome?" He checked.
Then Wild patted him on his bony arm, "Don't worry, Skul. You're still a heart breaker." and winked at him.
Valkyrie made a face motion to Skulduggery and giggled to suggest that Wild liked him. Skulduggery shrugged it off. Valkyrie knew if he had flesh, he would have been blushing.
Finally they stepped over the threshold and took in the room.
Firstly, all Valkyrie saw was dozen of people dress alike her, crouching, stretching over the place, dusting finger prints, placing objects in plastic sachets and taking pictures of the same thing millions of times.
Skulduggery beckoned them forward.
Skulduggery and her inspected the room. She took it on all angles, nooks and cranny's and corners. It was like the room where the detectives were kept and held racks for spears and swords and an armour suit in the corner. Again a dying fire was on a vast fireplace in the centre of the wall in front of them. A desk dominated the room with a wide leather swerving seat behind it. She walked towards it and turned the seat so she could see it. Blood stained the entire leather and dyed the black chair in to a monsoon colour. She took a picture of it at different angles, then beckoned Skulduggery, Wild and Theodore over. They were accompanied by the chief forensic officer.
"Ah, yes." he said when he noticed what Valkyrie saw. "That was where the body was. Slumped over the desk with his head rolled on the floor opposite."
Valkyrie grimaced.
She decided to as well take photographs of the room. She couldn't miss the huge portrait of Major Riddle himself that hung over the fireplace. She saw the face was stern and serious, his face lined and tanned, with his blushing cheeks, and his thin, brown hair. Valkyrie felt uncomfortable and sad at looking at the alive portrait of the person she had seen dead a few minutes before. He wore a gold robe and with his hands crossed over on the table he was propped at, the sleeve of it was slightly lifted over his left forearm and she saw the small black tattoo. She snapped a picture at it.
Skulduggery was at the desk looking around the room on the spot, talking through a voice recorder.
"Murder scene of Jerome Riddle. Body found sat in chair where he had died in. A cut of the head, severed from body slashed from behind. The evidence of the injury came from two swings by a sharp object. Possibly a sword of some kind. The head was found on the floor beyond the desk the body was found by. Room is undisturbed, no signs of forced entry. Windows are sealed tight. Either he had known the killer or killers and let them in. He was working on something while the time of death-" He cut off sharply and stopped recording, reading the documents what Major Riddle was writing when he had deceased.
"Wait a minute…" He murmured more to himself than to the three of them. Valkyrie stopped taking pictures and Elsa Wild and Theodore stopped what they were doing. They moved across to Skulduggery who read off the blood stained page that took most of his interest to them and read into his recorder.
"I, Major Jerome Riddle have decided to announce the epoch for Warlocks around the world. I have declared that I have chosen the right path for the Warlocks and for them to become equal as Sorcerers as they have wished all these centuries. Warlocks will come out of hiding and we will not fight them but help them. Warlocks are not evil, we have not given them a chance. But now is a time to change the old ways and embrace our brothers, the Warlocks. This is my wish for the world to become-"
And that was when Major Riddle had died. Just when he had decided to let the Warlocks have their wish he had his head decapitated. It seemed wrong for a Warlock to kill a man that spent all his life for equality. All his work was for nothing.
Skulduggery was silent for a while and Valkyrie, Wild and Theodore waiting for him. Then his head snapped up and frowned.
"This doesn't make sense. Not at all."
"What's the matter, Detective?" Elsa asked uncertainly.
Valkyrie knew what it was. She answered for him. "The Warlocks can't be the suspects."
Skulduggery nodded, but added. "They could've but they hadn't realised he was writing this." He dropped the blood spattered parchment back on the desk.
His eyes widened at a new thought, "Or, we are looking at Anti-Warlocks Extremists."
Elsa seemed to think that was a good option. "Yeah, they knew that he was writing this. He was the only person who could officially allow Warlocks to have equality." but she paused, her brow creased in doubt. "Although, he was indeed too responsible for the Warlocks being kept apart from the public though. If they had killed them, then they have automatically risked the Sorcerer World and the human World."
"They are asking for a war!" Skulduggery realised.
Elsa nodded, "Either that, or they are incredibly naïve, thinking they could get rid of the Warlocks by being rid of Riddle."
Valkyrie watched the conversation as it progressed and started to see the complication of the murder and the circumstance's of the murder.
"So, what now?" Elsa asked after a long pause when Skulduggery fell silent, deep in thought.
"I guess we give this to Mr Envy, he's got to see this."
Valkyrie nodded her head, "I agree,"
Wild's brow was creased, deep in thought but nodded too. "Lets see what he has to say."
"Wait a moment," Skulduggery suddenly said. He took out a pot from his pocket and a brush. He opened the pot and there was white powder inside. Valkyrie recognised that the powder was the stuff that the forensics use for finding finger prints. "I just want to make sure he wrote this. That it wasn't planted."
He brushed over the edges of the paper with the powder and Valkyrie saw prints appear out of nowhere. Skulduggery brought out a piece of paper that had assumedly got Riddle's original finger prints on them. Valkyrie thought he must've got that moments before from the body.
Valkyrie saw Skulduggery nod, "It's him alright." and stood up, "Let's go!"
After taking more notes and examining the murder scene, the four of them left for the other order to go and check on the room for themselves.
When they had entered the corridor, Wild stopped Skulduggery Pleasant by the arm.
Valkyrie and Theodore paused to see what was wrong, but she smiled sweetly to them and said. "Theodore, why don't you and Valkyrie here go and grab your self's some coffee from the kitchen. I want to talk to Detective Pleasant alone please."
Valkyrie wasn't sure why she thought it wasn't okay for her. But then she wandered if she was becoming possessive? She hoped she wasn't and said it was fine. Theodore beckoned her to follow him to the way to the kitchens.
As soon the two were gone, Wild turned to Skulduggery.
"Skulduggery," She said, her voice full of concern. "Should you get a girl as young as Valkyrie to be your assistant?"
Skulduggery placed his hands in his coat pockets and sighed. "I think about that all the time. But she's different, she can look after herself better than any detective."
Wild crossed her arms, "Does her parents know she does these thing?"
Skulduggery couldn't trust himself to lie, although he was very good at it, he couldn't lie to someone like Wild, so he shook his head.
She smiled expectantly, "They're not even Sorcerers are they?"
"They're not but she is one!" Skulduggery defended himself and Valkyrie. "She is incredibly special, more than you even know!"
Wild looked sceptic, but sighed and looked about seeing if Valkyrie and Theodore were returning. When they weren't she relaxed and kneeled toward Skulduggery, "However special she is, Detective, she is still a child, a child who should be in school and being a child and not investigating murders."
Skulduggery frowned, or seemed to "Why are you so concerned any way?"
"Because that was how I started, my parents were in this business and I missed out my childhood. She's still growing up, are you even sure that this is what she wants to do?"
Skulduggery couldn't help but to agree with her. He nodded his head, and put his hand out for Wild to shake it, "I will think about your suggestion, thank you Detective Wild."
Wild relaxed and smiled warmly, "Please, call me Elsa."
Skulduggery smiled, "Elsa."
When they heard the two assistants approaching, they broke apart and addressed to there partners.
"Time to go guys!"