Chapter Sixteen.
Turn for the Worse.
"Lorcan?!"
Valkyrie had just ran out of the door to the alleyway where she sudden faced Lorcan Knight. The boy from her school.
"Stephanie?!" he exclaimed, in the same tone of shock as Valkyrie.
Valkyrie didn't know what to do, she had to find Skulduggery, but what was she going to say to Lorcan?
"Why are you here?"
Lorcan shrugged, "I got lost. I've been trying to ring you. After you left, I was stuck."
"Sorry about that," Valkyrie was jumpy, looking over her shoulder, praying that Ghastly, of all people wouldn't appear behind her. She didn't want to answer questions.
"Should I get you back to the main street?"
"I have wandered off a bit. Yes please."
"No problem," Valkyrie eager for Lorcan to go.
"It's good to see you again Valkyrie."
Valkyrie stopped dead, her hand on his arm, stopping him too. "What did you just say?"
Lorcan shrugged, "Nothing."
"Yes, you did, you called me Valkyrie!" She was backing away now, shaking her head.
Lorcan stepped towards her, smiling, shaking his head. "No, I didn't,"
"You DID!" She punched him in the face, but Lorcan grabbed her arm and squeezed, his face contorting in a snarl, his lips curled.
He suddenly look devilish and cruel, his eyes wide. He grabbed the collars of Valkyrie's jacket and threw her against the brick wall, Valkyrie kicking and attempting to produce a flame. The book she had held suddenly gone from her grasp.
The next minute a glossy Black van came behind Lorcan and the side door slid opened by Sanguine, who quickly leapt out of the driver's seat, and Lorcan chucked himself and Valkyrie inside.
Sanguine jumped back in front of the steering wheel and speeded along.
Valkyrie was stunned on the floor of the van, staring up at Lorcan.
"So, what is this? You're a Warlock or," She noticed Sanguine driving, looking over his shoulder every now again, "Or you're with the Diablerie?"
Lorcan frowned, "The Diablerie. What did you say about Warlocks?"
Valkyrie shrugged, "Don't you know? They're trying to destroy us? They're going to rule the whole world, apparently."
Lorcan gave Sanguine a knowing look and put his chin in his hand. "Look, I got to do this,"
He approached Valkyrie with shackles, she had to struggle. The van had a charm that resisted her taking a spell. But that also restricted Lorcan too. She threw a right hook at him but he was unusually quick and he was behind her like a flash. He grabbed the back of her neck and launched her head first to the side of the vehicle and she bounced off. Sanguine maintained the stability of the course of the van even with the impact. Sanguine smiled at Valkyrie's moan of pain. She remained on the floor of the van until she kicked at Lorcan's shin as he stepped, unsteadily, towards her. He cried in pain and went to grab her hair, but Valkyrie was quick too. She turned, grab his wrist and twisted.
He knelt down on to his knees and slapped her with the back of his hand. As she cried once more he quickly got hold of both of her hands and latched on the shackles. He tied up her kicking legs and knelt her against the side.
"So, the Warlock's are back, are they?" He knelt over her, his arms caging her. His face kneeling in.
She nodded, suddenly scared by Lorcan's looks. He was clearly not fourteen like he had said before. Due to his strength and built, Valkyrie could plainly see he was at least eighteen.
"You don't have anything to do with this? Your not allied?" Valkyrie raised her eyebrow.
Lorcan ignored her and turned to Sanguine. "Phone the head NOW! We have another problem. Well, go on!" He ordered.
Sanguine was clearly annoyed by Lorcan's command. "Look, I've been in his business longer than you have, and I think you should show me some more respect, child!"
"It seems to me, cowboy, that the head has addressed me to finish off your unfinished business. And if its true that you've been in this 'business' longer than me than I suspect you to have killed his girl a long time ago!"
Valkyrie took the opportunity of their 'tiff' to find a way out. She hoped that the guys were tracking her. But, with foreboding, they would have instead expect the Warlocks to have kidnapped her. Well, they would've been looking at the wrong place.
Sanguine reluctantly gave in and started a phone call.
Lorcan turned back to Valkyrie. "What exactly are they doing?"
Valkyrie kept her mouth shut. Lorcan sighed.
"Look, I promise I won't hurt you anymore, but you are really making this difficult for me." He said in his new, soft tone.
But Valkyrie didn't fall for it.
"Okay, I guess you've made your decision."
And with that he raised his hand.
"Alright!" Valkyrie stopped him just in time, "They're organizing some sort of Apocalypse. I'm not sure where they're going to start this. But the team said something about the 'Centre?'"
"The City Centre. They attempted this before there. But they were stopped. Thousands of Warlock's were killed but only a few Sorcerers. The rest of Warlock's were either imprisoned in secret Asylums around the country. Some where even tortured," Lorcan looked directly into Valkyrie's eyes. "By non other than Skulduggery Pleasant himself."
Valkyrie squirmed uncomfortably with that but she tried to mask it and defended him. "Warlock's are bad beings, he had to stop them."
"I suppose so, but the Warlock's haven't met their match. They won't destroy our plans." He smiled slyly. "Funny that. Although they want to spread terror around the world, the Diablerie don't want that, even though our plan is to spread terror around the world ourselves too. I guess every villain is out for himself."
"So why aren't you joined together?" Valkyrie asked.
"We're Sorcerers too, we be killed as well as you."
Valkyrie saw the amusing side of it. "Even baddies have their own baddies." She looked around her, guessing her fate. "So, what are you going to do with me?"
Lorcan squinted his eyes, "Actually, Valkyrie Cain, I think we can find good use of you."
Valkyrie took a deep breath. "I'm going to be forced to help you aren't I?"
"Well, you were going to stop them anyway. What's wrong with doing that with us?"
Valkyrie narrowed her eyes, making her voice as cold as possible. "Because I'm not like you. I want to protect people."
Lorcan merely smiled at her in pity and turned to Sanguine who had finished his phone call. "We're meeting the Head at the Centre."
"Oh goodie. I haven't had a good fight in ages," He grinned at his hostage. "Welcome aboard Valkyrie."
She gave him her utmost look of disgust and turned her head away from him.
What had she got herself into?
I just love this chapter, I just made it up as I'm writing my new ending and I absolutely love how its coming along. I love how Valkyrie has to help the Diablerie stop the Warlocks, as they don't want them to take over. Maybe not for the same reason, the big difference being good and evil. But she's at the position where she HAS to help them. Lorcan is quite threatening and crazed here, which I like. His chapter is darker, but a little comedy with Sanguine's clear embaressment having to have to follow orders by a much younger person than he. And also how the team, Ghastly, Tanith, China, etc, assume its the Warlocks who have got her. How confusing is that?
Anyway, I hoped you liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Rhos Furey