I received no reviews on chapter 13 so either no one bothered or it didn't post. I'm kind of worried it didn't post properly even though it says it has in my emails. Anyway, sorry for mistakes and enjoy!
The gleaming black Bentley rolled up to Cassandra Pharo's house. Before he could even step foot on her front porch the door was already creaking open. "Skulduggery Pleasant!" Came a familiarly airy but cheery voice.
Skulduggery removed his hat like a gentleman when he entered her house. Nothing had changed since the last time he'd visited. Dream whisperer a hung in various spots of the ceiling, some hanging low and some high. "You're looking lovely," Skulduggery complimented.
Cassandra scoffed. "Always the gentleman. I know I look terrible, you should know that by now Detective but thank you anyway," she smiled.
She led him to an open area lit by the sunshine flowing in from the large windows along the wall. It was a silent area with an unlit fireplace at the end of two white lounges. Cassandra sat on one of the lounges and Skulduggery sat opposite, a coffee table between them.
"I've had many visions of you lately. Miss Cain as well," Cassandra reminisced.
Skulduggery cleared his throat, a gesture he hadn't quite forgotten from his human days. "That's actually why I'm here," he replied.
"Ah, I thought as much," she smiled kindly as it touched her eyes. "What is it you wish to know?"
"I... This isn't an easy thing for me to even speak of but I just want to know of Valkyrie's alternate paths. I'm sure you may have seen a new partner coming into my life before she arrived but I was wondering if when we met you envisioned any other life paths for her. If I had of refused to let her come with me when we first met, where would she be today?" Skulduggery spoke slowly, thinking of each word carefully as if he were holding precious diamonds.
Cassandra smiled again but it seemed almost sympathetic. "It's quite funny that you ask me such a question because usually I would not be able to envision an individual's life paths if I had no knowledge of them whatsoever. I didn't know Valkyrie before you brought her here for the first time so I had no knowledge of her until after your first successful mission together. It was much before then, though, that I had many visions of a beautiful young girl who was as tough as nails. So you wish to know how she would be living right now if you hadn't brought her along with you all those years ago?" Cassandra confirmed and Skulduggery nodded. "I am offering you into the Steam Chamber if you want solid proof but if you are happy with my word then I can just tell you right now."
"I trust you," Skulduggery replied with a hard edge. It came off as an unintentional warning as if to say 'I trust you so don't betray me.'
Cassandra nodded, her smile never fading. "I have three visions each with different scenarios. The first did not end well and I understand you will not want to hear it. You refused to let her come with you by saying it was to respect Gordon and keep his niece safe. However, Serpine gained entry to the caves and Valkyrie followed him down not knowing any different. He killed her with the Sceptre of the Ancients," she said softly. Skulduggery's frame went rigid and he just listened. The second one was slightly more complicated. When you refused her, everywhere she went afterwards she was running into various sorcerers. She didn't know they were sorcerers and she had no knowledge of the facts of magic except that you could light a fire with your fingers and blast someone into a wall. That was until she stumbled into Tanith Low. After Mr Bliss invited her from England to come here and help with the Serpine situation she ran into Valkyrie and everything went from there. The third path is both good and bad. Serpine captures Valkyrie knowing that you knew her some way or another and this sparked your interest. You were so caught up in finding this girl that he was working on his plans on the side. Valkyrie had been tortured everyday until you came and you saved her. She then fell into the magic world just like she had the night you two met on the original path," Cassandra concluded.
Skulduggery remained silent. She would have either ended up dead or in the magical world anyway. It wasn't entirely his fault that she was in it. A small weight was lifted off his shoulders but he was still weighed down by one underlying mystery. Why did he care so much for this knowledge? Why did he spend his time coming to Cassandra to find out whether he was the reason for Valkyrie's recent years in constant danger. Usually he'd not think twice and thought of everything as disposable and easily replaced if need be. Why was this so different?
"Thank you so much for your help," Skulduggery's voice held an emptiness to it that meant he was mid-thought. "Until we meet again," he said politely and tipped his hat low over his eye sockets.
In the Bentley he sat for a little while. He loved mysteries, it was basically all he had now but why was this one so darn annoying? If there was anything he could be certain of it was that he was an expert at solving mysteries. This one in particular would not be an exception.
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