Ghastly pulled out of the driveway when Valkyrie had her seatbelt on. They were quiet half of the way. "What happened?" he asked finally.
Valkyrie felt her cheeks turn red. Thank goodness he couldn't see me. "Um, I said something that, I guess brought back an old memory," she lied.
Ghastly nodded, "You must have hit a pretty soft spot."
"Where is the cemetery?"
"A bit to the north of Dublin. No one's buried over there anymore. It's been closed off for over fifty years now."
"Quiet and isolated. That fits Skulduggery, I suppose."
------
Arriving at the cemetery about twenty minutes later, Valkyrie highly doubted he was here. It was completely dark, except for the light that Ghastly's car gave off, and it made anyone standing and staring at it feel absolutely depressed. "I don't think he's here."
"I don't think he's at this spot. If I know Skulduggery, he would be near the tombstones of his departed family."
"Oh... His wife and child."
"And the rest of the Pleasant's."
Wow. She felt completely horrible now. As Ghastly began to drive though on the little road, she stared out the window and searched for any tall, skinny figures.
"What in the world is that?"
Valkyrie followed his gaze to a glowing white mist coming over a low hill. The Tame...
Ghastly continued down the road towards the light and stopped before its perimeter. Valkyrie could see the outline of the Bentley. Ghastly stepped out and closed the car door, Valkyrie following by example.
"Skulduggery?" Ghastly called out. There was no reply. "Skulduggery?" He began to move forward.
Valkyrie stayed back near Ghastly's car.
"Skulduggery?" Ghastly repeated. He began stepping through the white mist. His eyes dashed back and forth. Then he saw something strange... "Tanith?" She only smiled at him. He could make out that she wasn't real: he could see right through her head. Walking away, he felt her eyes following him.
Once he neared the Bentley, he couldn't believe his eyes. "Skulduggery?"
Skulduggery's hair covered head looked up at him. "Hey, Ghast..." He was sitting down and leaning on the Bentley.
"Skulduggery, how?" He looked around at his feet to see all the empty glass bottles.
"Stephanie's stupid Tame thing..." he answered groggily, pointing ahead of him. There laid an open pyramid among the grass.
"Skulduggery, you're... drinking?" Skulduggery pressed the bottle of Vodka to his lips. "Hold on," Ghastly turned away. Walking back to his car, he approached Valkyrie, "What's the Tame?"
"Grants your... deepest desires."
Ghastly rubbed his forehead. "Okay, listen. Open the passenger door and wait in the backseat."
"Is Skulduggery okay?"
"He's looked better. How do I turn off the Tame?"
"Just grab and close it."
Ghastly nodded and waded back through the white mist. Seeing Tanith smiling at him again, he brushed the fact the she looked beautiful from his mind. "Come on Skul," Ghastly offered as he reached for the Tame, "We're going home."
"Don't," Skulduggery said from behind him, "Touch that."
Ghastly turned his head to come face to face with the skeletons mans revolver. He put his hands up quickly, "I'm not touching it." Skulduggery hick upped and knocked back the last of his Vodka. "Okay," Ghastly breathed, "Um... guess who I brought along. Valkyrie."
Skulduggery raised an eyebrow, "Why would you do something like that?"
"She was worried about you and she called me to come find you. What would she think if she knew you were drunk?"
"I'm Irish," he shook his head and began walking to where Ghastly's car was parked.
"Where are you going?" Ghastly asked, quickly getting to his feet to follow. The last thing he needed was Skulduggery shooting Valkyrie because he was intoxicated.
When Valkyrie saw Skulduggery coming, a smile dawned on her face. Getting out of the backseat, she ran up to him and apologized. "I over reacted I'm sorry. Skulduggery, are you okay?"
"See," the detective called back to Ghastly, "She looks so much like her..." Dropping the bottle to the ground, he held the gun to his head.
"Skulduggery!" Valkyrie screamed, moving for him.
Ghastly quickly turned and dived for the Tame closing it upon reach: the light retreating in a blink. Thanking the heavens that his best friend didn't pull the trigger, he turned to see Valkyrie and Skulduggery lying on the ground. Upon kneeling at Valkyrie's side, he asked, "I'm sorry he scared you."
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Let s just get him somewhere safe."
"Agreed," breathed Ghastly, "I'll come pick up his Bentley tomorrow. I'm sure it won't go anywhere." Together the lifted the crumble of bones into the car.
---------------
Before Ghastly left, he had instructed Valkyrie to leave Skulduggery at bay. He insisted that he needed rest and it would be unwise to wake a dead man up.
As Valkyrie was making tea in the kitchen, she couldn't help checking on Skulduggery every five minutes or so. She felt completely terrible for putting Skulduggery through such agony. He thought her compared to his deceased wife. Does that mean he looks at me like his wife? That would explain the awkward feeling he has around me. He's afraid to touch me and tell me what he thinks. Maybe she'll ask sometime but until then...
Valkyrie decided to go to bed and see what would come in the morning.
Next chapter to come soon.
