Hello my faithful readers. I'm back. Hang on….

SPOILER ALERT!

I finally finished Dark Days and as happy as I am for some Fletcherie, I hare the ending. It sucks. Though, through the books I'm writing, and will get published, I get giddy when I make a cliffhanger.

This is dedicated to Reia Kellyn, my first reviewer. You go girl/guy!

Please enjoy, and read my other stories, please don't forget to REVIEW!

Chapter 3

I groaned, and sat up from the tile floor, stretching my arms. I brought them back down, sighing. I smiled for a millisecond, before it all came flooding back to me. I glanced around frantically, searching for my girlfriend. Her scream still rang through my ears.

I stood up in a flash, my hand on the counter, and I felt something. A sheet of paper. I picked it up, leaned against the counter, and read it.

Dear Mr. Renn,

Sorry for the... certain timing, but it was vitally important. You owe me half a million in cash. I expect it to be at Lock heart's warehouse in three days. If you ever want to see your girl again. Be there at 8: oo pm. No friends. Just. YOU.

~Ferrus darkshone.

I stamped my foot on the ground, and brought my fist down on the marble counter. I picked it up, to see blood running out of it. It trailed down my arm to my elbow. I washed it under the sink, scraping at the already dry blood. I pulled out a towel, and wrapped them in medical tape. There was a knock on the door.

"Who?" I called. There was a shuffle.

"China." A female voice answered. I felt anger flare up inside of me like a bonfire. It was hard, but I managed to keep it down. I opened the door, and let China in. I was almost taller than her.

"Hello." She greeted pleasantly." I trust you've had a good day." It was obvious that she didn't know that Valkyrie wasn't here. She obviously didn't see the mess. "I'm here to see Val. thought she might be here."

"I'm going to murder you." I growled. China raised a perfect eyebrow.

"Why so?" she wondered.

"Valkyrie isn't here." I pulled out a revolver that Skulduggery had given me, and stuck it under her chin." She was taken last night by a horde of werewolves. I couldn't teleport out of there with her, to safety, and she couldn't protect herself from Ferrus Darkshone when he kissed her, and broke her leg. It was all because of your damn spell, China."

China flinched when she heard Ferrus's name. I clicked the gun, and pressed her back to the wall. She narrowed her eyes.

"Go ahead, do it. Kill me. Watch me wither away before your very own eyes." she threatened. Just then, the door flew off its hinges, and in stepped in Skulduggery Pleasant, flanked by Tanith Low, and Ghastly Bespoke. Tanith had her sword at her side, looking around suspiciously.

"Hello, China. Fancy meeting you here." Skulduggery cheerfully talked he turned his attention to me."Fletcher, if you don't mind."

"I do, though." I retorted.

"Fletcher." Tanith stepped forward, lowering her sword. "Killing China won't do anything. As much as I hate her, I wouldn't kill her. You'd only lower yourself to the attacker's level. You can't take your anger out on someone else. No matter how much of it was their fault."

"But you haven't heard the attacker's name yet, have you?" I asked, not lowering my gun.

"Who. Who could be so bad, that you would kill someone over it?" Tanith questioned, cocking her head to the side.

"A werewolf." I snapped. Tanith stepped back slightly.

"Who? Lupine, Lang Ren, Tula Veiha, Boudas, Selkie..." Tanith trailed off.

"Ferrus Darkshone." Just saying his name darkened the lights, made Skulduggery's face grow white, Ghastly growl, and the author shiver.

Ferrus Darkshone was wanted in virtually every country in the world. He had murdered, converted, tricked, lied, and was about the most rotten soul out there here are the numbers:

Murders- 689

Genocides- 14

Lies- more than enough

Converts- 87

Tricks- about everyone in the books

Yeah, Ferrus was an immortal bag of mush that anyone would die to kill. And probably will, in the process. I thought for a minute, seeing how small China was compared to Ferrus, and then put my gun away. I stepped back.

"Come." I beckoned. China took her spell off the apartment, and then sat down with Tanith and Ghastly on the couch. Skulduggery was in the kitchen... Detecting, to put it bluntly. After a couple minutes of awkward silence, Skulduggery came back, holding a piece of paper- the note, I realized.

He dropped the note on the table, and sat down gruffly. Everyone took turns reading it over. And over. And over.

"What are we supposed to do?" Ghastly asked after a minute. I shrugged.

"Get the money, stupid." Tanith plainly suggested.

"We were talking on how." I pointed out.

"Oh."

We sat for a couple more minutes, before a thought clicked into my mind. I sat up. Everyone looked at me- except for Skulduggery.

"We need help, yes?" I asked to no one in particular.

"Yes!" came a chorus of cheers.

"Well, i know who to ask." I pointed a finger to my chest.

"Who?" Skulduggery mumbled. I grinned, despite of myself.

"We ask Valkyrie."