Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

Chapter 31

Valkyrie left the building where they met Wreath and felt a lot better than when she went it. Calmer. Wreath had that effect on her she supposed, not like Crow who made her either want to bounce around and start doing something or like she needed a nap. It was a nice difference.

Crow was sitting on the van, obviously angry and Panda was sitting looking at her with a frown. She supposed Crow hadn't wanted to talk about it. He looked concerned.

She opened the back door and got in. It was silent. Even Fletcher looked a bit worried over whatever was happening.

"Why are you so quiet?" She asked, trying to seem nonchalant, taking her seat.

No one answered but they started driving smoothly away from the house. They drove for almost two hours, taking what must have been country roads the whole way back to the mansion. Valkyrie closed her eyes to hide her sadness. It seemed Wreath was right. Skulduggery didn't seem as if he was going be holding his anger back.

Crow was out the van and inside before anyone could say anything. Panda sighed, got out and opened the back for them. He smiled tiredly at her but said nothing. Was he on Crow's side? Had she alienated herself? They were her family. She'd been gone for less than ten minutes alone with Wreath, surely this wasn't that big of a betrayal to them?

Fletcher got out after the sisters and looked up at the house. He admired it out loud, but Valkyrie didn't respond, just went to Tanith and took her hand. Tanith squeezed it and kept her close, supporting her even if Crow was angry and Panda was on the fence about it all. Fletcher caught up to them.

"Come on," she said before he could say anything stupid. "I'll show you your room."

The three of them went upstairs to the second floor, finding a room at the very back that would be away from both Peregrine and the Dead Men plus Tanith. It was for the best, perhaps, that they didn't annoy each other. It was why Crow and Panda still had their houses, and Dexter his Dublin apartment; it gave them a place to go away from other people. The other Dead Men could and did stay there on occasion too.

"I hope you like it," Valkyrie said quietly. There was a crash downstairs somewhere and Tanith kissed her cheek and went to see who had broken what. She waited for Tanith to go and sat at the desk. "It's been a confusing day I bet."

He chuckled and sat on the ottoman at the end of the bed. "Yeah, a little. It's nice to have a place to sleep without moving as soon as I wake up though."

"Yeah, the others like that too. Saracen, Erskine, Tanith, and Dexter that it. The others were settled but those guys hadn't really bothered. They still go away a lot, for weeks or months at a time sometimes. But they can always come back to their bed and their stuff, you know? It's nice. It's why my Uncle Gordon left me this place," she rattled on. "So, I wouldn't have to keep moving. With my parent's dead, Skulduggery got guardianship of me, and then adopted me so none of my other family could petition it and have me taken away. When he died I got the mansion and the others moved in so I could stay too. I wouldn't have cared but thinking about it, it's really good."

He nodded slowly. "When my Mum died last summer, I started moving around a lot. It's nice at first, I guess, having the freedom to just go anywhere without stuff. Then you start missing the security."

"Why not get a job and your own home?"

"I don't want to work," he shrugged. "I mean, not many people do, do they?"

"I love my work. I love my family and they always try and make everything fun. But if I had a boring job I don't think I'd want it."

"Is that how you got your job then? You were taken by Skulduggery and he made you his partner?" Fletcher asked, stretching his legs. He looked tired beneath the arrogance.

"Kind of. I wanted it since I was a kid. I knew about them for ages like I said, so I knew they were soldiers or secret service or something like that and wanted in. Luckily, this isn't the same sort of government as the mortal world and doesn't have the same type of laws, and I could do it. They're a part of the Sanctuary but like a separate unit, like permanently hired help if you get me. They were told off a lot for me at first but then I started taking down criminals and me and Crow got through loads of cases way faster than by himself and the Elders changed their tune. I've even done some solo cases, and they weren't small."

Fletcher laughed lowly. "Any chance of me getting any of that?"

She shrugged. "There are only two Teleporters in the world right now. I'll be honest, until you really train and learn more about your magic you're not much use in terms of doing things other people can't," she explained bluntly. "But if you learn to go anywhere, learn to transport lots of people or things, you'd be invaluable to the Sanctuary. You could get a good job, live anywhere in the world, maybe even do your own hours. If someone had something really big they want in their house, you just teleport it in and get paid loads of money for ten minutes work. Sounds good to me and lots of free time too."

He nodded, considering it. "I'm not sure if I like the sound of 'pack-mule' though."

She shrugged. "You can do something else, it's just an idea. Anyway, do you want dinner? We never got lunch."

He shrugged, and they went downstairs. No one was about, off doing their thing, but Valkyrie started up dinner for them all, making Fletcher help even if he did complain. He got to chop onions.

It took almost an hour and a half to make the two lasagnes of the proportions they needed. They had eight people that night, only Wolf was away, and Crow couldn't eat, the rest of them had made it back for an early but welcome dinner. They had made three massive dishes as well as four garlic breads and Valkyrie had gotten out the chocolate chip biscuit mix she and Bear had made a few weeks ago and froze, recently defrosted, and put it on a big sheet and made enough biscuits for them to all have two later. Fletcher looked like he was salivating badly.

The others set the table and they brought everything over to the dining table. Peregrine was sitting there also, glaring at Fletcher, but they otherwise ignored each other after Valkyrie smacked Fletcher's arm in warning.

"Is Crow coming?" Valkyrie asked, already knowing the answer.

"I don't think so," Tanith said darkly. She didn't look happy.

"What happened?" Valkyrie asked, taking her usual seat next to the woman. Fletcher took the other seat which was normally Wolf's.

She shook her head. "He's being overdramatic. Don't worry, he'll come around and apologise."

Valkyrie nodded and decided to ignore the subject, instead instructing they began eating and forcing her friends and glaring guest to thank Fletcher too for the meal, making him grin stupidly. It was very good food, Bear's recipe, but with more cheese thanks to Valkyrie having someone else to grate to her heart's content, and the biscuits were still warm.

"When I imagined dinner time with the Dead Men," Peregrine said when he had sat back with his cup of coffee, "I really didn't expect light conversation, happy faces and jokes."

"Neither did I," Tanith admitted. "Turns out, more than one can cook and the others wash up."

Valkyrie laughed. "Yeah, have fun with the kitchen by the way."

They rolled their eyes with grace, Snake, Weasel and Tanith deciding to go clean up the place. She was pretty sure she heard someone start praising their Lord and Saviour for the invention of dishwashers before they were out of earshot.

Peregrine sighed. "Renn," he said.

"Hi," he said. "Where's your friend?"

"Dead."

Fletcher deflated a little. "Oh. Sorry?"

Peregrine shook his head and Valkyrie wanted to hit him. Hard. "I think I'm going to call Nadia."

The others nodded, and they split off, Fletcher following Valkyrie like a lost puppy. She got to the top of the stairs and turned on him. "If you follow me any further you'll be in my bedroom. Don't think they won't kill you for being there. Circumstances don't matter."

Fletcher nodded, looking a little put out.

"Just don't leave, yeah? It's so you'll live to do something more than teleport from place to place without ever doing anything, alright? The people after you are the sickest, darkest people you can imagine. You'll be safe here. There's a room at the top of the stairs, with an arch door, it has games and a telly. You can do whatever in there."

She turned and left him to decide what to do, going to her room to talk to her girlfriend, something she had barely done that day. She called for a long while, almost went to voicemail, and then she picked up.

"Valkyrie," Nadia said softly.

"Nadia. God, I've missed you today," Valkyrie admitted, the things of the last two days pushing down on her with the sound of Nadia's voice. "What do you think is the chance of you and your family leaving the country tonight?"

"What do you mean?" She asked. "Is something happening?"

"Yeah. You know of the Diablerie?"

She didn't, so Valkyrie explained who they were, what was happening, about the sea hag and the corpse and teleporters. Nadia let out a few deep breaths down the other side but then seemed to come to her decision. "I'm not leaving. If you get hurt, send me a message and I'll visit you. You have to finish this and not die, baby. I need you. I love you."

Valkyrie sighed and tried to not fight the issue. It had to be Nadia's choice. They had argued, without anger surprisingly, about Nadia leaving at Valkyrie's say so before and every time Valkyrie had backed down at Nadia's strong-willed confidence that she had to trust Valkyrie to sort it and that she was safe to support her from school and home. There was no sense really fighting when she would give in anyway. "I love you too. God, I hope they don't come to you. I'll get you back if they do, don't worry."

"I bet they just want to deal with their mission, not mess around with me," Nadia said confidently. "Don't you worry. Now tell me more about this young man in your house."

Valkyrie snorted. "More like boy. He's alright I guess. A little arrogant, definitely annoying and puts his foot in it and stomps around in all the wrong places at the wrong times. But he's not too bad if you get him alone I suppose."

"So, you got him alone, did you?" Nadia teased.

"Yes, I was in his bedroom alone and everything. When we went to collect him, me and Tanith got in bed with him too."

She laughed. "I bet he freaked out. Or got a boner. Or both."

Valkyrie shook her head. "I really hope not. Like, me and Tanith are pretty hot, but no thank you. I think he was more freaked out by Crow. Oh, I made Crow mad too."

She explained the situation and her fear of having really upset the man to her girlfriend.

"Don't worry," she said comfortingly. "He'll come around. He's like my mum, he'll stuff it all up until he explodes, run off, think about it and come back begging for forgiveness. It might take a few days, but he'll sort through it."

Valkyrie nodded, and they spoke about Nadia's school, her friend that may or may not be pregnant by her much older boyfriend because apparently some teens couldn't keep it together long enough to fight the stigma being forced on the youth of today, and a few more little things for the best part of three hours before she finally said goodbye and got herself ready for bed.

Sorry I have been away for ages, I was slowly moving into my first apartment. We have now done all the painting and tomorrow we move ourselves and our stuff in properly! I expect updates to get better from now on :) Please review this chapter, I love hearing feedback :D