Valkyrie woke up in a cold, stone cell that was lit by a single bulb hanging from a cord above her head. She groaned. Why can't she ever be taken someplace happy when kidnapped? Why not a beach or at even a forest? That way at least the smell of moldy marshmallows wouldn't stink up her clothes for a week. And why is it that her clothes always smell like the place she is being held at? It's not like she takes her clothes off rubs them on the walls and floor. And what was with that one stupid bulb?
She sighed. May as well stop focusing on the negative and try to figure out how to get out of here. Valkyrie looked around, taking note of the situation. Her hands were cuffed behind her back, her powers bound.
The light that the single bulb gave off was weak but was enough that illuminate the stone walls, floor and ceiling. The chair she was in was old and wooden and felt like it would collapse at any second. Her head hurt and her body ached from being tossed around.
Well, she couldn't do anything right now. All she could do was wait for Skulduggery to come and get her. Then they could go and beat up the person who kidnapped her this time. It would be fun.
Then, a familiar rumbling sound behind her made her blood run cold. "Hello there Lil' Darlin'!" A Texan voice said cheerfully once the rumbling had stopped.
Valkyrie craned her neck, trying to see the source of the voice. "Sanguine. What are you doing here? Did you kidnap me again?"
The voice laughed. "Sorry to disappoint, but I am not Billy-Ray. I'm his son, Ray-Roy Sanguine."
"His son!" Valkyrie was speechless. She couldn't believe this. Out of everything, Valkyrie had never expected this.
"Sanguine is your dad?!"
"Yes. And your Sanctuary friends have asked me and my other friend to get you back. So, let's get those nice handcuffs off you and we can all go back to the incredibly important meeting that everyone's talking about."
A few seconds later, Valkyrie heard a faint click and the handcuffs came off. She stood up, rubbing her wrists and turned.
Ray-Roy Sanguine looked like a duplicate of his dad, with the same hair and build. He had the same grin on his face and the way he stood nonchalantly with his hands in his pockets like he was waiting for the bus nearly made her ask him if he was actually Sanguine and trying to pull a prank on her. His clothes were a brown suit and cowboy boots, large sunglasses covered his eyes. But he probably didn't have eyes either, Valkyrie guessed.
"So." Ray-Roy asked. A thick Southern accent laced his voice. "Ready to go?"
Valkyrie nodded and they turned to the door as it burst open and a guard rushed in. Before Ray-Roy or Valkyrie could react however, a woman stepped into the room and snapped the guard's neck.
Valkyrie stared. The woman was tall, clad entirely in tight black clothing. She was pale, her hair long and as black as her clothing. Just the way she moved told Valkyrie what she was.
"You're a vampire." She breathed, fear making its way through her body. She had, had many run-ins with vampires, none of them good.
The woman looked at her with electric blue eyes. "Yes."
Ray-Roy spoke up from behind Valkyrie. "That there's my friend I was talking about. Her name's-
The woman shot him a glare and he went quiet. She looked at Valkyrie. "Let's go."
Ray-Roy nodded and stepped forward with the same grin. "Your wish is my command."
The woman grabbed his shoulder. Valkyrie hesitated.
"Don't worry." Ray-Roy said. "I won't bite. She will though."
The woman growled.
Valkyrie thought for a moment, then stepped over and put her hand on his arm. They sank into the cold embrace of the Earth and Valkyrie could feel her claustrophobia creeping in again. They traveled in silence for a bit, until the ground above them crumbled away and their momentum carried them into the daylight.
They were in a small, deserted park. No one was around. Not even a car.
As soon as they were above ground, Valkyrie leaped away. She stumbled slightly and spun to them, fists raised. Her eyes flickered between them. "Who are you?"
"Well," Ray-Roy took off his sunglasses to reveal, like she had expected, two black holes where his eyes should be. "As I had said before, my name is Raymond-Leroy Sanguine. Billy-Ray, who you had confused me with before, is my daddy. Now my friend here-
"Who does not need her name known." The woman interjected. She glared at Valkyrie.
"Why'd you save me?" Valkyrie asked.
"Because your friend Mr. Funny Bones came in and said that you had been taken. The others agreed that someone needed to go get you." Ray-Roy put the sunglasses back on. "And here we are."
"I voted against it." The woman said.
Valkyrie looked at her for a moment, slightly disturbed by that comment, then turned back to Ray-Roy. "So, you're on my side?"
"Looks like it." Ray-Roy grinned. "Now, how about we head back, get the meeting over with then go wherever that takes us. Sound good?"
"Uh…" Valkyrie looked around, hoping that the Bentley was parked on the street nearby. She returned her gaze to them. "How do I know I can trust you?"
Ray-Roy pulled a phone out of his pocket and threw it to her. "You can call them. They'll tell you the same thing."
Valkyrie hesitated, than dialed Skulduggery's number. He answered on the first ring.
"Hey." She said. "It's me. I'm okay, Ray-Roy and…. His friend-
"We're not friends." The woman interjected, glaring at Ray-Roy.
"Okay…." Valkyrie said slowly. "Not friend saved me. Is it true they were sent to get me out of there?"
"I'm glad you're okay." Skulduggery said; relief evident in his voice. "And yes, they were chosen to get you out of there."
"Why not one of you guys?" Valkyrie asked with a frown.
"Because we wanted them to prove they could be trusted. Obviously, we can. Now, can you please put Sanguine Jr. on the phone please?"
"Wait." Valkyrie held up a hand. "You mean this was fake?"
"Yep!"
"Just to prove that the bad guys were actually on our side?"
"Yep!"
…
Sanguine stood off to the side of the Council room. Dusk was standing next to him while Spring-heeled Jack and two younger monsters who looked a lot like him were a bit farther away. Sanguine had a feeling that the two younger monsters were Jack's twins, Scratch and Shoe, who Vendetta and Ray-Roy had met a few years before during a job together. Also the same job where his son had met the female vampire.
The new Vaurian Scapegrace and Thrasher were there as well. Sanguine had almost died laughing when he saw the body Scapegrace was put in. Thrasher was in much better one, and one Sanguine himself wouldn't have minded if he was in the same situation they were.
The Council of Elders sat in their thrones while Cleavers stood guard at the doorways. Pleasant was standing in front of the Council when his phone rang. It was Cain apparently, and Pleasant seemed to be suppressing extreme amusement as he spoke.
"Yep!" Pleasant said cheerfully.
Silence as Cain replied.
"Yep!" Pleasant said again.
More silence then very loud, high pitched screaming was heard as Pleasant held the phone away from his skull.
"I SWEAR I'M GOING TO RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF YOU! I'M GOING TO GO DARQUESSE ON YOU!" This was followed by a lot more swearing and threatening.
"I'll see you later!" Skulduggery said happily and hung up.
Sanguine stared. "What was that about?" he asked.
"Oh. Well, Valkyrie just found out she actually hadn't been kidnapped and she had been used as bait to see if we could trust you guys and now she's mad."
Sanguine stared. "You used your little friend as bait to test something? What if you found out you couldn't trust us?"
"Then we would have tracked you down and gotten her back. And yes, I am aware we can only trust you guys to a certain extent, but we are very short on help and we need to take this chance."
"So, what exactly is this about anyway?" Jack spoke up. "What's made ya so desperate that you need us to help?"
"That." Skulduggery nodded will be explained as soon as your companions have gotten here."
Sanguine groaned. "Why can't you tell us now?"
"So that we don't have to repeat it." Ravel spoke up from where he sat on his throne.
"Oh. So what do we do until they get back?" Sanguine asked.
"Sit there and be quiet like good little criminals."
Sanguine crossed his arms and grumbled dark things under his breath.
…
Valkyrie sighed as she handed the phone back to Ray-Roy. She was so going to kill Skulduggery when this was over. She looked at her new allies and noticed the woman standing farther away than before. Valkyrie frowned.
As if knowing what she was thinking, the woman spoke up. "I have sensitive hearing and your yelling does not help."
"Oh." Valkyrie blinked. "Sorry."
The woman grunted. "Let's get back. I want to get this over with."
She turned and started walking down the street. Ray-Roy gestured for Valkyrie to follow. Valkyrie hurried after them, keeping a safe distance between her and the woman. After a few minutes of Ray-Roy pestering the woman, she finally hissed a threat and the Texan went quiet. Some silence spread between them and Valkyrie got up the nerve to call out to the woman.
"What's your name?"
The woman turned her head slightly so she could look at Valkyrie out of the corner of her eye. She was quiet for a moment then turned her gaze back to the path in front of them.
"Vendetta."
Valkyrie frowned. "That's it? No last name? Just Vendetta?"
"Yes." Vendetta looked at her out of the corner of her eye again, this time annoyance seemed to flicker in her gaze.
Valkyrie went quiet. Ray-Roy slowed down so that he could walk beside her. "Don't worry about Vendetta." He said. "She's always like this."
Vendetta growled.
Ray-Roy grinned. "You should be fine as long as you stay off her bad side." He explained. "Look at me. I've known her for years and she hasn't killed me yet!"
"Only because my father made me promise that I wouldn't kill you." Vendetta didn't look back as she spoke.
Valkyrie's frown deepened. "Who's your father?"
"Aw, come on Vendetta." Ray-Roy said. "Admit it, you love me."
"That couldn't be farther from the truth." Vendetta said.
A car passed dangerously close to the curb. Valkyrie glared after the driver. After another few minutes, they arrived at the Sanctuary.
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