Hi! Thanks to all of those who have read the last few chapters! I might update later today as well, but I'm not sure. Enjoy! =

Chapter 5

This can't be good, he thought as he sat in the cake shop swallowing the last bit of custard cream. Variance must have said something. Good God, he really didn't like Variance.

Banal had killed the girl, but he wasn't sure if this was good or bad yet. Cain's death meant that he had one less enemy to worry about, but Pleasant was not going to let them walk away from that. He would need to put the remainder of his plan into action if he wanted to survive. He decided that her being dead was bad. He didn't like the prospect of an angry Skulduggery Pleasant. He didn't like Banal.

He had thought about what he was going to do about Skulduggery and Banal, and had finally come to a conclusion.

"Banal, I think we need to set up a trap," he told Banal who was about half way through a scone. He left it half way to his mouth as he answered.

"Yeah?"

"We set it up and Pleasant will come straight to us, in his blind rage he will walk right into it," he said.

"That's a good plan. I like that plan. So, what are the actual details of the plan," he questioned, not realising that cream had just fallen on his trousers.

Ah. He hadn't thought of that. "Well, I thought you would be more suited to that. Detailed traps really aren't my thing…" he trailed off.

That raised a small smile on Banal's lips. "Yeah, I know that. How about this, how about I get the plan sorted, I set up the plan, and I make him die once he gets there. I did kill Cain after all. It's only fair I get the best of the fun," Banal chuckled softly.

"Fine," he said in fake dismay, "you kill Pleasant. But where does that put me? What do I do?"

"Looking sulky?"

"I'm serious! What the hell am I going to do?"

"No, I'm serious. You will stand in a corner of the room, some room that no one will see and do nothing. Don't get in the way. That's what you will do," Banal said before taking a bite of a half filled scone, frowning and looking at the scone in confusion.

"If you say so," he said glumly.

"I do say so," Banal said absently, trying to find the disappearing cream, spotting it on his lap and scanned about for a napkin.

He got up and left the shop muttering as he did so, "I may not be able to make a trap, but I can make a plan and eat my food properly."

This was not fun. Sitting in the Bentley, listening to Skulduggery talk about what they were doing tonight, talk about what he found out while she was asleep, talk about what song was on the radio, talk about what sort of car that is, or who he knew that owned one, or that it just looked good enough to talk about was enough to make anyone explode.

"Good God, will you just shut up?" she half shouted at him as he started to talk about a BMW. Again.

"Yes. But that doesn't mean I will. Like talking. It gives me something to do," he said.

"Yes, but you're so annoying."

"Yes, but I don't care."

"Yeah, but you will when I get even madder and hurt you badly."

"Yes, but I-"

"Stop starting sentences like that."

"OK."

Ten minutes later, they pulled up. They got out and when up the street until they reached a low wall. Hunkering down, they peered at the dark bricked building less than seventy-five yards away.

It looked four stories tall, and she could see a small attachment on the roof with a door. That meant they could also get on the roof. It looked like an old building. All the windows were boarded up, but she could see through one, which had lost just one plank of wood. There was a stair way, which looked to be broken in many places. All in all, Valkyrie decides that it just looked to quiet.

"It sounds quiet," she told Skulduggery.

"I can hear that."

"It looks quiet."

"I can see that, too."

"I hate you. But that is the wrong sort of quiet. Like it will start screaming if we go near it," she said, shivering at the thought of the door flying open and a little girl's scream coming out. The corner of her lip started too slid up until:

"Don't be silly Valkyrie. Buildings don't scream. People scream. And we are looking at a building," he said matter-of-factly.

"It looks like a trap," she insisted.

"No, it looks like a building."

"Oh, my God, I want to punch you so badly."

"You always say that. Now, let's get ourselves in the building."

"I'm telling you, it looks like a trap," she said again but he just waved his hand at her remark and started to walk, hunched over, to the end of the road, to where the trees and better cover was. She followed, glaring at the grey hat on his skull. He happened to be wearing a suit of the same deep grey with a tie and crisp white shirt. Immaculate as usual, much to her displeasure.

Once they reached the trees, each of them took up position behind one. Skulduggery pulled his gun out and checked it had six bullets in, before putting it back in its hoister and looking at the building. Valkyrie watched Skulduggery, hyper-aware of every move he made, so she knew when to go. He nodded to her and they started to run across the grass straight at the building, sliding under the window with the missing board. Skulduggery pressed his hands to the wall and his head dipped a little lower, in concentration, and Valkyrie heard small metal-on-laminated-wood noises. Nails falling to the floor. And after a moment all the boards fell to the floor as well.

Skulduggery got up and launched himself into the corridor gun flicking into his hand, and when Valkyrie heard no gun shots, she got up and pulled herself through the window after him. They walked to the door at the end, sticking to the walls to escape the creaks of the middle floor boards, Skulduggery's gun constantly in his hand, pointing it in every direction.

They checked a kitchen, a living room, a dining room, and a small working space. They went to move upstairs, but the first step started to creep, so Valkyrie swiftly removed her foot and looked at Skulduggery. He put an arm around her waist and used the air to fly them from the ground floor to the first floor. Valkyrie's Necromancer ring went cold and icy. She looked at Skulduggery and pointed at her ring. Her cocked his head and then nodded. He motioned for her to take the lead, to direct them the room with the victim, in order to track where the killer was.

She led them to a door and was just reaching out to its handle when she looked at Skulduggery. He put a hand on the small of her back and moved close to her, opening the door himself. He peered in and then Valkyrie and Skulduggery where flying into the room, Valkyrie was to shocked to catch herself and then everything went black.

REVIEW! ...please?