Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

Chapter 27

Valkyrie and Crow entered the mages house carefully, looking at the walls and floor, the furniture and corpse lying face down on the carpet. Valkyrie looked over it quickly, seeing the knife in the back and look of slack shock. There was nothing broken or ruined in the house. Not even a teacup out of place. The dead man's wallet and keys were on the entrance hall table. Nothing stolen.

"He was taken by surprise," Valkyrie said.

Skulduggery got the rainbow dust out of his pocket and sprinkled a little over the room. No colours came up. "No magic. What could all this mean, Cub?"

"Light could have trusted his killer, or the killer could be skilled, quiet," she said quietly, looking at the many pictures on the walls of friends, loved ones. He'd enjoyed having photos it seemed. It was almost creepy to have the life and vibrancy on the walls when the owner was dead on the floor.

Mr Bliss came into the room. "The other detective is nearby."

He was referring to Detective Crux, a nasty little man employed as Second Detective by Elder Guild, topped only by Skulduggery who was First and Head Detective, making Crow not only the most accomplished detective in the country but also in charge of the department at the Sanctuary by default, although ninety-eight percent of the running was left to other people.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to find enough wrongdoings by Crux to fire him yet. "Why, Mr Bliss, it sounds like you don't like him. Is it that you found emotions in your hollow heart?" Valkyrie smirked at him.

He had no reaction except to look at her blankly. She wasn't sure if he hated her or was indifferent, but she knew he would do nothing to her since she was with the Dead Men, possibly the only force he wouldn't take on directly. It was incredibly amusing to Valkyrie after she'd gotten over her beginning intimidation of him, and she had taken all of her teasing she used to give to Meritorious and now threw it in Mr Bliss' face. He didn't say anything for a long, long moment, enough for Crow to come up beside her and rest a hand on her shoulder. "Can you send him away?" Crow asked.

"I will try," Mr Bliss said, then left the room. Moments later, Valkyrie and Crow watched as Mr Bliss walked to a Sanctuary car, get in and was driven away.

"I think he hates me."

"Strange, that," Crow said lightly, shaking his head. "Come on, we need to meet the Elders."

They got in the Bentley just as Crux pulled up in an old, battered Ford. He glared and sneered at them as he got out his car. Valkyrie waved at him with a fake smile.

"I hate him," she said through the smile, looking at him as they drove past. She dropped the act when he was gone. "Like, really hate him."

"I'm sure you'll survive. You can tell that talisman all about it."

He referred to her 'Hate' talisman, which she was meant to tell all about the people she hated in hopes she'd stop hating so many people. So far it wasn't working. If anything, she'd become more aware of quite how many people she hated, and it was a lot. She'd gotten it last week for her fourteenth birthday from Crow. She'd gotten a lot of presents, as per usual, but the day itself had been spent with Nadia and she'd enjoy it a lot, going out to the movies and to get dinner, and it had doubled as their unofficial year anniversary. Unofficial as they technically started dating a few months after they met, but it was more fun to say they'd been dating from the start so it was now her birthday. It wasn't too far from the truth to be a lie, they had only been seeing and talking to each other since they met so it was all very within reason.

She had to think of what to get Nadia for her fifteenth birthday now. She was struggling.

They pulled up to the Waxworks Museum in good time, ready to meet with the Elders. They gave each other a nod before going in, smiling when they opened the door.

"Good afternoon, Grand Mage Meritorious, Elder Crow," Crow said cheerfully. "What is it you'll be needing today?"

Valkyrie saw a flicker of amusement in Meritorious' eyes – they'd been playing this game for six months since they had defeated Vengeous and Guild had had a fit in his office, ranting to his wife about wanting to fire Crow and the Dead Men. Which he literally couldn't. The Dead Men were not hired by the Sanctuary, they were merely outside, paid help. The Sanctuary could take them off of payroll at any time and it would mean nothing as they had no contracts, no agreements, no nothing. He could fire Skulduggery and Valkyrie purely from their detective jobs, but that wouldn't stop them from working cases.

They'd just do it off the record and cause all sorts of problems. Guild didn't seem to consider that.

"We want to know how your investigation is going," he said regally.

"We came from the late Cameron Lights home," Valkyrie said a little more seriously. "There was no evidence, again."

Meritorious nodded. "I want you to get in contact with the last Teleporter and protect them."

"There're two left," Crow said. "But we'll do our best."

Meritorious shook his head. "We just had a report from Chinese Sanctuary of a Teleporter death. We have only one more now. But, before you go, there is one more matter we wanted to discuss," he said, getting up from his chair and coming over to them. He stood in front of Valkyrie, towering over her really, and brought something out of his pocket. "Valkyrie Cain, I am declaring you Co-Head and Second Detective for the Irish Sanctuary for your constant patriotism and unfaltering commitment to the organisation."

Valkyrie started grinning and held back her laugh. "Really?"

"Absolutely."

He placed a medal and her official detective's badge, with her new status, in her hand. The medal was for bravery. She was now of equal status to Crow, and officially his second-in-command. In a real war, she would actually be his second-in-command according to Sanctuary hierarchy, making her responsible for armies and the country in his absence. It was an honour to receive. And so much sweeter because now Crux was a normal detective only, which was amusing even if he was still a part of the department. Glancing over, Guild was literally seething in his chair, hands clenched and face red. Meritorious grinned, knowing he was the only one with the power to do this.

"Thank you, sir," she said. "I won't let you down."

"We're counting on it. We thought it might help with keeping the Dead Men in line for us," he said, giving her the shadow of a wink. He had really warmed up to her once she started irritating Guild. "You two better find out what is going on with these murders. I want this sorted before any more deaths."

They agreed and left, going to the car. One moment Valkyrie was going to ask about getting lunch and the next she was screeching because someone was in her face.

"What the fuck?!" She shouted at him, fear turning to anger quickly. She took a deep breath, holding up a hand. "Sorry, sorry. Just… don't do that. Hi."

"Yeah, hi. Pleasant, I need your help," the man said, looking harassed and panicky. "These murders, please tell me you're dealing with it and not that idiot Crux?"

"This case is international," Crow said calmly. "But as it stands, both myself and my Second, as well as Crux, has been placed to investigate by the Elders. Crux was Guilds idea."

"I'm not going to that idiot. You have to do something, and fast, or I'm next!" The Teleporter wailed.

"Come on, we should talk over a meal," Valkyrie said, indicating to the car. The man glared and looked as if he'd refuse but when Crow nodded and got in the car, the man sighed and got in the back by teleporting.

"Valkyrie," Crow said when they were driving, "this man is Emmett Peregrine. And the last Teleporter it seems."

"I just heard about Cameron," Peregrine said quietly. "I've been on the run for the last week, I haven't stayed in one place for more than a few hours."

"You could stay with us while we work this out," Valkyrie suggested. "No one comes to my house and as long as you talk to no one and stay put, you'll be safe. We can catch the killer and you can get some sleep and something to eat."

Crow hummed and thought it over. "It's a good suggestion."

"Pleasant, you cannot be serious," he said, leaning forward to get his point across. "For God's sake, she's a kid. I'm not hunkering down in a kid's bedroom hidden from her parents for weeks on end waiting for you to get this blasted person."

Crow shook his head. "Valkyrie inherited her Uncle Gordon Edgley's mansion two years ago, as well as myself as her legal guardian and, through me, the Dead Men as her family. She is a Dead Man for all intents and purposes. There is more than enough room, space, safety and protection for you to stay with us."

"And this should take days rather than weeks with you helping us with clues," Valkyrie pointed out. "You could just stay the night if you want. Get some sleep. You look like you need it."

Peregrine sighed but Crow took a different turn and went back to the mansion in silence instead of out to lunch.

Bear was at the hotel, Panda at his shop and Wolf was with a pair called the Monster Hunters in Japan fighting some monster or another and Snake was no-one-wanted-to-know-where with no-one-wanted-to-know-who.

They still had Weasel and Tanith at home though, and Crow, Valkyrie, Bear and Panda would join them in the evening to keep Peregrine company and for protection, which they explained to him. He was happy with the arrangement by the time they got to the mansion and sat down with them at the meeting table – a large round table Gordon had stored upstairs, and the Dead Men had placed in the original office space on the ground floor for this exact purpose. It had great window space to look over the grounds while discussing horrible, terrible things.

Tanith and Weasel, already up to date with the investigation, joined them.

"Is there any person you can think of that could have killed the other Teleporters?" Crow asked when they were settled with tea.

"None. That's the thing, I've been thinking this whole time, who could have done it?" He said with forced calm. "But there's no one. Maybe one of us could be killed, but there was almost fifteen of us before, to kill fourteen Teleporters… it seems incredible."

Weasel tilted his head a little, looking at the same but seeing through him. "What about people you all knew? Or at least most of you?"

He thought for a moment. "Sanctuary officials. The Dead Men, but everyone knows you, except you ladies of course. No offence. A handful of sorcerers probably, but no one stands out to me. Teleporters aren't well liked as you may have heard. Our social circles are small and we all know each other's friends."

"Meaning you almost definitely know the killer," Valkyrie pointed out.

"What are you saying, I can't trust my friends?" He snapped.

"Basically," she pointed out. "Because all the scenes are the same. No sign of struggle, no sign of break and entry, no sign of magic. It's someone you all know and trust explicitly even with the shadow of the other Teleporters being murdered over your heads. It has to be a friend."

"What is it?" Weasel asked suddenly.

Peregrine shook his head. "Nothing. Well, I was just thinking, really, that there is one person we know who I might trust like that but it's ridiculous."

"Tell us anyway," Tanith instructed.

He sighed. "A mortal man, he must be sixty or more years old. He's a farmer. It's stupid, I've known him for nearly ten years. Cameron introduced us."

Crow cocked his head. "His name?"

"Paddy."

Valkyrie smirked. "Doesn't sound like a killer. I know three Paddy's."

Tanith rolled her eyes. "At least a third of Ireland is made up of Paddy's."

"He lives at his farm somewhere," Peregrine continued. "Other than him, there's no one. And there is literally no way it can be him, I visited him in hospital last year when he had knee surgery! His hips about to give out, how's he meant to kill anyone for crying out loud! It has to be an assassin."

"How about new people you or anyone close to other Teleporters, just met?" Crow asked.

"No one. Well, except the kid."

"The kid?"

"Yeah, a right cocky bastard. Turned up a few months ago from England, seventeen he is. We, that's me and Cameron, tried to offer training him but he just laughed in our faces and told us to leave him alone. He mentioned staying in Ireland if you want to find him. He's one of those natural-born, magic at his fingertips sorcerers, but like I said, no training. He probably couldn't Teleport more than a few miles. I doubt he did it. He's only interested in drinking his life away and partying as far as I can tell."

Crow nodded. "We'll go speak with him anyway."

Peregrine nodded. "Thank you for letting me stay here. I haven't slept in days. God, the last Teleporter murder happened fifty years ago," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Oh?" Crow said, suddenly interested. "Who was that?"

"Trope Kessel, I think," Peregrine said, looking up in surprise. "I barely knew the man."

"Who murdered him?" Valkyrie asked.

"No one knows. He told a colleague he was going to Glendalough, and he was never seen again. They found his blood by the shore of Upper Lake, but no body was recovered."

"Could Kessel's murder have anything to do with these ones?" Tanith asked curiously.

He frowned. "I don't think so. If someone wanted Teleporters dead, why wait fifty years to continue?"

"It could be our start though," Crow said. "Emmett, thank you for answering our questions. We'll try and finish this quickly, so you can go back to your life."

He nodded. "Thank you again for giving me a place to stay," said, standing and shaking Crow's hand, then turning and shaking Valkyrie's. He had very rough hands and his nails had been bitten short, his clothes rumpled and a few days of stubble on his face. He had a trace of body odour too. "And yourself. This is your house."

"It's fine. Eat something and Saracen can find you a room and show you the bathroom."

Weasel grimaced at being given jobs but seemed happy enough to entertain their guest, patting him on the shoulder to lead him from the room.

Crow, Valkyrie and Tanith set off for their new leads. Well, Valkyrie and Crow did, Tanith was just bored and wanted someone to fight. Valkyrie wouldn't be looking to her for any investigatory help.

Yay! Book three and away! :D A review would mean a lot to me :)