Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

Chapter 29

It was very early, almost six in the morning, the next day that Crow, Valkyrie and, again, Tanith made their way to the Grandeur Hotel in search of Fletcher Renn after they, in a visit to China, worked out his most likely location. The lobby was bare in the early hours, lacking even a receptionist, and they went up in the elevator quietly.

They already knew the room – no place would be good enough except the top suite for a boy of Renn's likely pig-headedness.

Crow checked his gun on the way up.

The elevator door opened and they walked down a long corridor to get to the room they wanted. Quietly, Valkyrie picked the lock with the new set she got for her birthday to replace the last set she'd stolen and had slowly disappeared as pieces went missing on various missions. She wasn't very quick but could do it silently. Soon, they were nodding to each other and very, very quietly walking into the room.

Renn was face down on the bed, dribbling, and only in his boxers. Nice.

Quietly, Valkyrie and Tanith went to either side of the bed. Crow sighed softly, but the pair of girls grinned at each other, jumped on the bed and lay down on either side. Renn flew in the air as the bed bounced and landed right side up and stared at Crow who had his arms crossed and face covered.

He was about to say something when Tanith said, "Hi."

He looked left at Tanith and his face grew red.

"Hi," Valkyrie said. He turned and saw her on his other side waving at him. "Nice day we're having."

"Err," he squeaked out, looking back at Crow. "Err."

Tanith rolled her eyes and got out of bed. Valkyrie sat up but stayed on the edge, crossing her legs.

"Hi," she said. "Sorry, we didn't mean to startle you. It was just a joke."

He began to breathe a little easier but didn't look any less shocked. He kept glancing at Tanith, seemingly unable to not look at breasts, at Crow who was now looming over Valkyrie from behind and at Valkyrie who was trying to be the olive branch. "Um, hi? Who are you?"

"My name is Valkyrie Cain," she said. "This is my partner in crime, Skulduggery Pleasant, and my sister Tanith Low."

"Sister," he said quietly.

"Yes, sister. I'm also Skul's adopted daughter. Child. Kind of. He's my guardian and my real parents are dead."

"His daught–" he looked up at Crow and then back at Valkyrie a little paler. "Yes. That makes sense. Yes."

"Something like that," she rolled her eyes. "We're here on business, obviously."

He ran his hand through his hair, which was quite long and flopping all over the place. "Yeah, I don't want any."

"You will," Valkyrie said, darting forwards and putting a handcuff on one of his hands. It dulled his magic and she left him to play with the other one. He looked at it with horror. "You're a minor," she explained. "As a Sanctuary official, I have it in my rights to dull your magic and take you into protective custody for as long as the duration of this investigation takes. You are not in a position to choose."

He glared at her. "You can't do that to me! You don't even know me."

"Fletcher Renn, English, seventeen, came to Ireland six months and three days ago. You were witnessed in three nightclubs teleporting. You've broken the law. We have the right to arrest you for a prison sentence going on ten years per incident. You're looking at thirty years in medium security prison unless you comply," Crow said menacingly. "Stop staring at my colleagues."

"Right," he said, looking back up at Crow, then blushed and coughed. "Um, sorry."

"Don't tell me that, kid," he growled.

Fletcher looked at Tanith and apologised for staring at her boobs but not in so many words. Tanith shrugged. "Sure. Come on, let's get breakfast together."

He shook his head and got into some clothes from the floor. "Are you going to bother telling me why you're here?"

Valkyrie put a hand on Crow's arm as she got out the bed, trying to soften his temper. "We're taking you into protective custody for a case we're doing. Fourteen Teleporters have been killed in two weeks, fifteen overall. You're likely next, since you are a Teleporter and all. As a child in the eyes of the law, you'll be coming with us."

He looked at her dubiously. "You look younger than me."

"I am. I'm just turned fourteen. But don't let us fool you – Tanith's in her eighties."

Tanith snorted. "Thanks."

"It's not my fault," she smiled back. "What did Peregrine and Light tell you about sorcerers?"

He pulled a top over his head and wrestled his shackled hand into the sleeve. "Those Teleporter dudes? They were idiots. I'm not signing up to anything."

"But what did they tell you about our world?"

"Keep magic out of sight–"

"Failed," Crow said.

He took a deep calming breath. "And something about how to teleport further. I'm happy as I am."

Valkyrie shrugged. "Sure. We'll fill you in on the rest while we drive."

They did just that, Fletcher getting more confident as they drove, especially in his attempts to talk to Tanith and Valkyrie. They got to Panda's shop in good time and they all burst from the car to get away from the annoying boy.

"Hey, not so fast," he said, pushing between the sisters. They both sighed quietly. "Where are we?"

"My brother's place," Valkyrie said. "Tanith's boyfriends."

Tanith opened her mouth to deny it, noticed Fletcher looked disappointed and less interested in her and nodded quickly. "Yes, my boyfriends. He's very protective. He wouldn't want you talking to me. He's a soldier by the way. Practically a mercenary."

Fletcher looked even less interested in her knowing that, but more so in Valkyrie. They got into the shop and went to the back to find Ghastly sitting at a table with four sandwiches ready for them. They all sat down, and Fletcher gaped at Panda.

"Boyfriend!" Tanith said when she got in, sitting next to Panda. He looked at her with wide eyes but said nothing. "I was just telling Fletcher how many people you killed for annoying me."

He looked at Fletcher, then at Valkyrie. She nodded subtly to him. "Yes," he said suddenly, passing Tanith a cup of tea he'd made for himself. "I break their spine vertebrae by vertebrae."

Fletcher went a bit pale but did tuck into his sandwiches when the others did. Crow sat in the end chair and looked at the paper from the counter.

"Hey, why doesn't he get anything?" Fletcher asked suddenly, looking at Crow.

"I'm a skeleton," he said, not looking up.

He laughed after a quiet moment. "Yeah, good one. But really, why?"

Crow looked up slowly, put the paper down and took off the glasses, scarf and hat. Fletchers choked on air and screamed a little.

"Ghastly, he's annoying me," Tanith said to Panda. Panda raised an eyebrow at Fletcher who bit his tongue so hard he winced. Valkyrie giggled and finished her food.

"Come on," she said to Crow. "We need to find this Batu guy."

"Wait, what about me?" Fletcher asked, standing with them.

"He meant all of us, donk," Valkyrie said, walking ahead. It didn't work, Fletcher just went faster to catch up.

"Hey, wait," he said, coming up beside her. "How are you his apprentice or sidekick or what anyway?"

Valkyrie sighed. "I'm his partner. I was his apprentice until yesterday. I got promoted to a real job then. Now I'm co-head of department at the Sanctuary with Crow."

"Crow?"

"Skulduggery's code name. I knew the Dead Men, that group I said we lived with, when I was little and hadn't actually met them. They would bring me gifts and I sort of learnt about their personalities and things from them. I was a spoilt kid. I suppose I was a good detective too because I learnt a lot about them without seeing them."

"Why did you give them those names?"

"If I know you more than two weeks, I'll tell you."

He nodded. "Alright. Alright, but why does Ghastly live here when you said he lives at your house?"

"This is his shop. He's a tailor as well as a Dead Men, which is a group of soldiers that are still in the Sanctuary's employ, though only on commission, they're not Sanctuary people officially. Crow is both; if he acts as a Sanctuary official or Dead Man he has to say so people know. Other than the Elders and administrator, we're the highest paid people. We get a salary each even though not all of us work all the time or even for months at a time if there's no need. The idea is that if anything comes up we are the first call, first in. Most likely to get killed."

"Most likely to get killed?" Fletcher asked, looking at her more seriously than he had been before.

"When there's a big threat, such as the one killing all the Teleporters, the Dead Men are called. Me and Crow are already on the case as Detectives but there have been times all the Dead Men have been called on a Search and Destroy. I've been on two in as many years now and they're pretty intense."

"What's a Search and Destroy?" He asked.

"It's were we actively search for any and all people involved in the crime, attack, whatever it is, and destroy it all mostly with, you know, death. Basically, everyone on the opposite side dies. Until the leader is killed and then we reassess the situation to see if we need to keep going. If there's still enemies killing innocents, we keep hunting. If it stops, we go back to normal and can look for them as regular detectives."

He looked at her sadly. It was strange to see him like that. He looked younger, not old and wise like Nadia, Tanith, the others did. "You've been made to kill someone?"

She shook her head as the others came over. "No. I've killed some people in self-defence. But I'd never be made to do anything. It's not easy, but I don't want to die. You know?"

He looked at her strangely and they got into Panda's van. Tanith, Valkyrie and Fletcher all sat in the back together. Valkyrie took a moment to send a text to Nadia, smiling at the little message she'd been left. She loved hearing from the girl more and more.

They were teasing each other more too, although neither had taken a step further and she didn't think either of them would yet. Nadia, especially, would just come out and say something if she wanted to, so Valkyrie wasn't concerned she was holding the girl back. Nadia would say something when she was good and ready. Valkyrie was happy, appreciative even, to wait.

"Do you have a boyfriend too?" He asked her. "You're smiling a lot."

She locked the phone and put it away. "I don't. And I'm not."

"Oh," he said, then continued the questioning, not stopping even when they were told Crow and Panda were going into Finbar's shop to talk to him. Tanith got out the back and abandoned her like a filthy traitor. Bitch.

"Tell me about you," Fletcher said suddenly, grinning.

Valkyrie glared at him. "I like hitting people. You?"

"The opposite," he said, running a hand over his spiky hair. He'd done it before leaving the room, taking almost ten minutes. Crow had been about to shoot him.

"Getting hit?"

"What? No. Never mind. I just wanted to know about you rather than your job is all," he sulked.

"Fletcher," she said with a sigh. "Maybe I'm over thinking or you're just a little too forward and I'm taking it the wrong way, but I'm not going to start liking, dating or enjoying you. Alright? Any of this maybe-flirting, interested in me business that might be going on needs to end right now before it's a thing."

He grinned. "You think it could be a thing?"

"Absolutely not," she scowled. "That's the point. Stop."

"You can't blame me for trying," he pointed out.

"I suppose not," she conceded. "But I'm not interested so please stop bothering me."

"Alright," he said. Valkyrie could tell he was going to try again. She considered telling him she had a girlfriend, that she was, probably, a lesbian, but then changed her mind, deciding that he needed to stop because she said no, but just because she wasn't available. It was the point of it and she felt weirdly strongly about it too. They sat in silence after that.

Crow, Tanith and Panda got in the car and recounted what happened at Finbar's some time later. "Finbar asks if you want a tattoo," Tanith told her.

"Yes!" She said, trying to get out the van. Tanith just laughed and stuck an arm out, pulling her in with so much ease it was embarrassing for Valkyrie to have tried so hard to fight her. She tumbled down next to her sister, sitting right next to her for the ride to wherever when Crow swore.

"What was that for?" Valkyrie asked curiously. He didn't swear often.

"Solomon Wreath," he said frostily into the phone he was talking into. He hung up a moment later and turned the car to somewhere else. "He has information for us."

"Who is he?"

"A Necromancer," Panda said grimly. "He stopped Skulduggery getting to Serpine in the war right after he came back as a skeleton. As you can tell, relationships haven't gotten better."

Tanith frowned. "I think I've heard of him."

"What's a Necromancer?" Fletcher asked. Valkyrie sighed.

Haha finally! I hope you like him lonelygirl702 :) And, you know, everyone else.