Vendetta and Valkyrie arrived at the Sanctuary after another petrifying motorbike ride. Valkyrie was slowly starting to get used to the way the crazy vampire drove, but it still sometimes caught her off guard on some occasions. Vendetta led the way into the Sanctuary and they went down the twisting corridors, entering the council room where some of the others were already gathered.

Valkyrie turned to Vendetta to tell her that she was going to go find Skulduggery but realized the female vampire was no longer there.

"She does that."

Valkyrie spun, eyes wide. "Dusk?"

Dusk stood behind her. His hands in his pockets. His stance, Valkyrie realized, was identical to how Vendetta stood. Weird.

"Vendetta." Dusk repeated. "She does that; walks away without telling anyone. You get used to it after a while."

Valkyrie blinked. "Oh. And why are you telling me this?"

"Because," he said. "Since I do not have a grudge against you anymore, I find it fair to warn you about a few things concerning her."

"Such as?"

"Don't make her mad. Under any circumstances, don't make her mad. She does not like to talk either, so don't try conversation unless she starts it. And if you do somehow manage to start talking to her, don't ask about any personal information. She's extremely paranoid and if you say anything, even in the slightest, that's suspicious she will most likely seriously injure you. Not to mention she has the tendency to explode into sudden violence."

Valkyrie was feeling the color drain from her face. "Ah. She sounds….. volatile. Any other things?"

"Remember the scar you gave me?"

Valkyrie winced. "Yeah?"

"Well even though I have gotten my revenge, Vendetta will be going after you."

Valkyrie felt herself go cold. "What? Why?"

"Because she took it very personally, and she, no matter how small or big the offense is, will always get her own revenge. So just a warning."

Valkyrie gulped. "Good to know. Hey Dusk?"

"What."

"How exactly do you know Vendetta?"

"It's not my place to say."

Valkyrie frowned at that but before she could say anything more, Ravel called the meeting to order, stopping the almost-conversation and Valkyrie turned to look up at the Grand Mage.

"Okay," Ravel said. "What have you guys got?"

Skulduggery stepped forward. "Me and Dusk went to an informant who told us that there had been some suspicious activity outside of Wicklow. We went there to check it out and found some signs of disturbance but nothing fresh."

Ravel nodded. "Jack and I saw a couple of thugs around an area near Wicklow, we watched for a bit but they didn't do much other than stand around and look scary."

Vendetta spoke up now. "Me and my….. partner got in contact with a supplier of supplies used for this sort of thing. We got a list of all the customers, purchases, and payments of the last week."

Valkyrie stepped forward and gave the list to Ravel. Ravel looked it over then nodded. "We'll start working on this list immediately. Anyone else get anything?"

"We found some crates with chains in them," Ray-Roy said. "Seemed pretty new or at least used recently."

Ravel nodded. "Very good. Anyone else?"

No one spoke.

"Okay, we'll get together again tomorrow. It's late but I think it has been a very productive day."

He turned back and everyone once again started to talk. Skulduggery walked up to Valkyrie. Dusk was gone.

"Hello Valkyrie, I see everything went well for you."

Valkyrie nodded. "I guess. And it looks like it went well for you as well."

"True. Well Valkyrie, looks like time for you to go home."

"Yep," Valkyrie said. "Are we going? I'm tired."

"Oh, um. One little thing I need to mention." Skulduggery suddenly seemed uncomfortable.

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean?"

Skulduggery shuffled a foot, looking at the ground. "Um, well, you know how we can't leave the criminals alone? And they don't want to stay in the Sanctuary, so we each are taking a bad guy home for the night."

Valkyrie stared in horror. "You mean, I have to have Vendetta over at my house? Do you think that's smart?"

"No, but your parents and Alice are gone right? Off at the Villa in France? So it shouldn't be too bad."

Valkyrie continued to stare.

Skulduggery walked away quickly before Valkyrie could hit him. "Good luck!" he called over his shoulder cheerfully.

NarahSelson: That answer will be coming up very soon, probably in the next two to four chapters.

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