Kenspeckle rushed back a few minutes later and, after he'd injected the fluid into her bloodstream, Valkyrie had fallen unconscious almost immediately. Skulduggery sat by her bedside watching her veins turn a sickly yellow then, after 10 minutes, return to normal colour. She tossed and turned in her sleep and, 20 minutes later, started to open her eyes. She sat up and cleared her throat. Skulduggery said he'd got a call from Tanith asking how she was. Valkyrie was trying to figure out how Tanith knew what had happened to her when Kenspeckle entered the room.
"Ah, Valkyrie. You're awake." he looked rather pleased.
"Did it work? Did you get the information you needed?"
"I am happy to say that it did, and, that you must have a 2 day rest. So I need you to stay here so I can keep you in for analysys."
"But I can't let the reflection take my place for that long. My parents will notice something. They're not stupid!" Valkyrie said, trying to get Kenspeckle to let her go.
"I'm sorry Valkyrie but you can't leave" and with that Valkyrie stood up from the bed, and glared at Kenspeckle.
"You never said anything about me staying here over night, Or keeping me in for observations! So… Let. Me. Go. Home. Right. NOW!"
"Valkyrie, no matter how much you wish I'd let you go home I refuse to give in to you."
"Now, now Valkyrie. Doctor's orders…" Skulduggery put in.
"Don't agree with him! Just because you want to go off on your own you can't expect me to just stay here!"
"Well, I do!"
"Well tough!" Valkyrie said, she started shrugging her dressing gown off her shoulders and looking for her clothes. She paused. "Where are my clothes!?" she said, urgently.
"Hidden" Kenspekle replied, satisfied.
"Hidden where?"
"My dear, dear Valkyrie," Skulduggery said "If Professor Kenspeckle told you where he'd hidden your clothes then there would be no point in hiding them, would there?"
Valkyrie glared at them both "You know I really hate you sometimes…"
"I know" Skulduggery replied and with that he walked off. Valkyrie, who was seething with anger got back on the bed, just that moment Skulduggery came back round the corner.
"Umm… Actually could you give me a minute with her please?" Skulduggery asked Kenspeckle
"Oh, fine…" Kenspeckle replied as he walked out of the room and closed the door.
"What do you want Skulduggery?" asked Valkyrie looking into Skulduggery's empty eye sockets.
"I'm getting you out of here." he said in a stage whisper
"YOU'RE DOING WHAT?" Valkyrie said loudly, looking at Skulduggery, her eyes had doubled in size and she was looking at him shocked. He put a gloved finger to her mouth.
"Well, you said you wanted to be out of here."
"I do, but not like this!"
"Well, it's now or never"
"I HAVE TO GET CHANGED" she hissed at him
"No time Valkyrie" and with that he picked her up and carried her out of the ward, walking carefully the whole way, he took a turn and collected a bag.
"The Clothes?" Valkyrie asked.
"The Clothes" Skulduggery agreed.
And for the second time that day Valkyrie was carried through the theatre screen, and down some steps to the waiting Bentley.
***************
"OK, where to?" Valkyrie asked Skulduggery after she'd gone into a block of toilets to get changed.
"Well, the two people I arrested that kidnapped you are highly dangerous…"
"You don't say" Valkyrie responded sarcastically.
"I do say." Skulduggery said, obviously not caring about Valkyrie's bout of sarcasm.
"So what are their names again? My bump in the head's left my memory a bit worse for wear…"
"When was your memory ever any good?" he murmured
Skulduggery got a sharp dig in the ribs from Valkyrie's elbow. He grunted in pain.
"Served you right" Valkyrie said simply.
"Yes, because that was so mature" Skulduggery replied.
They squabbled all the way to their destination. This area was nice. It was upmarket and had people in suits and ties bustling up and down the street. Skulduggery got out and lowered his head to a woman in a green suit, she smiled back at him. But as Valkyrie got out she noticed someone familiar… too familiar. She dived back inside the car much to Skulduggery's surprise.
"Valkyrie, what are you doing?"
Valkyrie pointed over to a large plot of land. Standing in front of it was her father with a set of blueprints in his hands.
"What should I do!?" she said exasperatedly.
"Go over and talk to him."
Valkyrie looked at him. "WHAT!? I can't go and talk to him! Don't you think he's going to find it slightly strange that his daughter is both here and at home!?"
"He won't know. Go on. Go over to him. You can ask him what he's building. He might even be able to help us with our enquiries if you ask the right questions!"
Valkyrie glared at Skulduggery but eventually opened the car door and got out. Skulduggery shrank down in his seat slightly. Valkyrie was an intelligent girl, she'd know what to ask. He checked his disguise in his rear-view mirror before looking over at Valkyrie who was just approaching her father. He sat there and watched.
**************
Valkyrie walked over to her father trying to think of a reason why she would be so far away from her house and why she would be in such an upmarket, business-like area.
"Hey dad!" Valkyrie said smiling as she walked over to him.
He turned and his eyes widened when he saw her.
"Hey Steph!" he responded. Valkyrie couldn't remember the last time she'd been called Steph or Stephanie. Anyone in the world of magic knew her as Valkyrie Cain, not Stephanie Edgley. She found her father calling her Steph slightly odd.
"Are you ok?" Valkyrie asked her father.
"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine."
"So what are you doing here dad?" Valkyrie asked, trying to get down to business.
"Oh, we're developing a new building type thing for a private company. I don't know Steph, it's all gobbledegook to me"
"What kind of private company would build in this kind of street?"
He looked at her sceptically. "You're asking an awful lot of questions."
"Sorry, I just wanted to find out a bit more. You know. Learn what my dad was doing on a day to day basis."
He smiled. "The company runs tests on new drugs by pumping them into volunteers. The company gets paid thousands to do the job and the volunteers get a nice little sum at the end aswel."
Valkyrie looked at her father and shook her head.
"If I had to have an injection you can forget it. Never mind the money." She said and he chuckled at this.
"You never did like needles, Steph." he smiled at her.
"Oh, Dad, I have to be going. I've got somewhere to be." she kissed him on the cheek and ran across the road.
"Steph, one more thing… What are you doing here? This is a business street!" but Valkyrie had already disappeared behind a building.
*****************