Everything came into focus. I could feel the blood on my arm but no longer felt the drain from loosing blood. Tanith's movements slowed down, and I watched the muscle in her arm ripple under the skin like waves over a rock. I watched the room come into focus, as if I had opened my eyes for the first time. I knew what this was.

Woah... Didn't think it would be that easy.

I felt Darqesse and myself flex, we moved as one. But then who had ultimate control? Try do something I don't want to do!
If I'm entirely honest here, I think we should focus on the crazy girl in front of us instead of experimenting.

Oh Tanith, how could I forget? I twist out of her way as her movements speed into real-time. Her eyes narrow at me. "What have you done? You can't move that fast, I can still feel her... What have you done to her?" Tanith growls at me. I shrug and bring the sword up to my hip, healing my wounds as I go. We can do this. We can take her.
Not the point, I don't want to take her, remember?

Of course Tanith has now seen my wounds heal and my speed. Her face is emotionless. "You merged. I'm impressed you let a killer in your head Val. Darquesse, I'm disappointed that you settled as a dismal mortal when you could have been a god." Her voice shows her disdain. She flicks her wrist and blood flies from her blade onto the floor. I now bring Ices' sword to stomach height. Tanith runs to me, but this time I am ready.
In a normal fight, I would be dead 100 times over because Taniths' skill is so superior to mine.

But this wasn't a normal fight.

My abnormal strength gives me an advantage, and that I am now quicker than her. I could have laughed, we were dancing. We were equal, her because she clearly handles the sword better, me because physically I am now better than her. She wants to kill me though, while I would rather keep her alive.
Have you got that brilliant idea about how to get the remnant out yet?
Bear with me...I think we need to be touching her forehead...
You want me to touch her forehead with my hand or without my hand attached to me? We need to get rid of her sword first.

The swords clash and clang together and sparks fly across the room. The worst part is that I literally have no idea how to get the sword off of her, without hurting her. Don't be such a baby, she wants to kill us! I'm sure hurting her, getting the remnant out then healing her is far nicer than us dying.

I can't help but agree with her on that one. I need to wait for an opening though.
Tanith over swings on her next attack and I dodge and bluntly shove the sword at her ribs.
Yet it was a dummy, she twirls the sword around and tries to take my hand.
Except it isn't there for her to take.
For a moment she looks confused.

I lunge at her and parry her sword with my own and knock both of them out of our hands. Damn. I really hope you're right with this.
I hold her down on the floor and I feel Darquesse move almost separate to me.
She uses our magic to hold Tanith down, and makes a hole where our hand touches her forehead. Darquesse draws the symbols that China would use to take a remnant out and I realise I should have paid more attention. We place our hand over the top of the symbols and Tanith screams, I feel our magic surge into the symbol- and almost super charge it. Her screams die out into breathless agony, with no air left in her lungs to fuel her voice of her torture. I can feel the remnant coming through her body, retracting it's arms and legs and spindly parts with the more magic we push. It finally comes to her open mouth and Tanith passes out from the pain. Darquesse and I are one when we do this.
With our magic still in our fingers, we pull the remnant apart. We could have disintegrated it, but we wanted to know it suffered for what it did.

Then it's over. I feel deflated, like the come down from a sugar rush. Ghastly limps over to us. "Valkyrie?" Is his only question.
"It's both of us now... Like Tanith said, we merged. She doesn't want to kill the world any more. It feels... Peaceful." My reply is quiet, I know he would be wary after seeing his friend suddenly turn into the most powerful sorcerer and just take the remnant and not kill everybody. I turn to Ghastly and stand "I got it out... I don't know if she'll come back. Stand still." I have only ever healed myself. I run my hands over his wounds and when I am sure of myself, I knit them together as gently as I can. Ghastly stiffens and I know it hurts but it's the best I can do."I...Thank you. Val, thank you for that, and for giving Tanith the chance to die as herself and not as a remnant..." I know it hurts him to face the possibility that we were so close to getting her back, and we may have lost her forever. I shake my head at him and smile sadly, looking at her crumpled on the floor.

My eyes travel the room for Skulduggery. The dream didn't happen, but I can't see him anywhere. Ghastly kneels next to Tanith and takes her hand, the other holding a phone to his ear calling the sanctuary.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, turning me around.
I would have yelled. Screamed and punched maybe.

If it wasn't for the meeting of my lips to another's.

Another cliffhanger! Sorry I haven't updated in so long, but once I start writing a chapter I have to finish it- and lately I just haven't had the time!

Hopefully I will be updating more on the regular.

As always, please Read&Review! More reviews=More chapters

Love ya,
Em