Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

Solomon – Raven

Corrival – Pa

Chapter 104

Valkyrie and the Idiots went to a fast food restaurant for lunch, though it was closer to dinner, and ordered three times what the average person could usually consume, each, and also got ice creams to go on their way out.

They had barely sat back in the car when Wolf's phone went off and he had to search his thirty pockets for the device. He grabbed it out of one with a victorious grin. "Dexter," he said. Someone spoke on the other side and his eyes widened. "Of course, we'll be there soon. Thank you. Bye."

"Who was that?" Valkyrie asked.

"Cassandra. Do you know who that is?" He asked. She shook her head. "She's a Sensitive, her powers are unrivalled. She said she's Seen something we need to see so we're going there now."

"Does she have food?" Snake asked from the back, a mouthful of ice cream.

"Ravel, we aren't there, how am I meant to know?" Wolf asked as he pulled into traffic.

They finished their ice creams and Valkyrie pulled her phone out for the drive. She had a text from Nadia and quickly read it.

'Any progress, my mega strong princess?'

'Please don't make variations. And kind of. We searched the place and found a few bits, we're going to the Sanctuary but now a sensitive wants to talk.'

'What about?'

'I don't know, we're going there now. Hopefully information so we can get this done and I can see you again.'

'Not to see your family whole and together? ;)'

'Not really.' She typed, and send after that, 'I want Raven back but when we get Crow I'm locking him out the house security. That's my plan.'

'It's good revenge,' she said. 'But isn't he in control?'

'Not if I take over, which I can. Who's going to stop me? I was right, even he will have to admit that. But I don't want to talk about that. How are you?'

'Today was okay. Mum went out with friends and Dad's in Northern Ireland for work for a few days, so I ransacked the house of more food, watched telly, had a bath. It was pretty good. I got out my old baby shoes for Tanith too.'

'Guess you'll have to come visit me?' Valkyrie wrote before tagging on a question mark.

'I will, don't worry. I want to see your new kitchen.'

Valkyrie smiled at her phone and spoke with Nadia silently for the two and a half hours it took to get them to Cassandra's house. When she got there her neck was aching from looking down so much, but she was far happier, as if she'd been rejuvenated. She said goodbye to Nadia, got out the car and stretched before following her brothers to the house.

Right as they got to the little, paved path going up to the house, the door was opened by a lady with grey hair, pale skin with many lines, wearing a grey dress. Behind that Valkyrie could see a pretty woman, and her eyes were happy and worried at once.

"Cassandra," Wolf smiled, and he and the Sensitive hugged for a moment. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"No, but you have been busy," she smiled and held a hand out to Valkyrie. "You have been raising a child. Even I've heard stories about you out here."

She smiled awkwardly. "Hi."

"Come, come in," she said, and they all went into the house. It was a warm cottage with beams and a cute little kitchen, squished sofas and weird little string dolls hanging and sitting in every imaginable place. "Would any of you like some tea?" She asked.

"Actually, we're on a mission," Wolf said when everyone else shook their heads. "I don't want to be rude, but Skulduggery and his boyfriend Solomon Wreath were captured and we need to find them."

"I am sorry to hear that," she said, standing close to them. It made Valkyrie more than uncomfortable. "Unfortunately, I don't think my vision will help you. But still, it is important, and you need to see it."

She nodded to herself and Valkyrie had her own little vision of millions of cats around the house. It would have fit the scene. Then again, the creepy dolls made up for the lack of cats.

She went down into the basement with her brothers, pushing herself against the wall firmly when Weasel and Snake did. Cassandra asked Snake to put fire under the grate, and soon it felt stiflingly hot. Cassandra opened up an umbrella and turned a valve and moments later Valkyrie had to shut her eyes against the sudden steam that filled the room.

Wolf squeezed her shoulder and she carefully opened her eyes to see the vision Cassandra was projecting.

She could see people but not a definitive place – there was Wolf, with Weasel in his arms, crouched down and shielding him protectively with his own bleeding body. Bear was there, in the distance and almost indistinguishable, holding something in his arms and running from them, away from the fight. Crow was there, shouting and telling mages, ones she recognised from the Sanctuary, where to go and what to do.

And then it felt as if they were flying and they watched as Valkyrie fought a Spider, something as big as her, throwing shadows and using a white light – and behind her was Nadia, tears on her face and holding a child that was wrapped in a big coat and facing away from them, her eyes determined and her free hand wrapped around a gun. She raised the gun to something out of view and at the same time she shot, Valkyrie was jumped on by the Spider and began screaming silently.

The vision moved to some room they didn't know where Snake stood, naked and alone, except for the millions of tiny spiders crawling up the walls, the floor and ceiling, leaving a gap around him where he stared all around him, terror in his eyes. He'd wet himself with fear and his arms were scratched horribly, his hair in bunches around him – and it didn't look like anyone was coming any time soon to save him.

The lights came on so suddenly Valkyrie tried to take a step back and her head thudded against the wall. She realised she was crying and grabbed onto Snake, pulling him into a tight hug before the other two could.

She could feel him shaking, but he still stroked her hair comfortingly as Wolf and Weasel ushered the two up the stairs, Cassandra bringing up the back. They were taken to the living room and Valkyrie dried her eyes on her sleeve and apologised to Snake for ruining his shirt, but he said he didn't mind.

Cassandra came in with a tray filled with cups of tea and they all took one gratefully. Wolf was deep in thought on the other sofa, holding Weasel's hand. She took the tea with a thank you and they all sat silently for long minutes as the drink cooled and they calmed themselves.

"Knowing the future can change it," Cassandra said with a small smile. "I've seen so many disastrous things that have been averted simply because I showed them to the ones involved. I hope you'll be able to use this knowledge to make the future a better place."

They all nodded and Wolf opened his mouth to speak when his phone went off. "Sorry," he said and answered it. "Hey, Finbar." There was some talking on the other end. "Sure, I'll get there soon. Ha, it's funny because we're actually at Cassandra's right now." Some more talking. "Finbar says hi."

"Hello Finbar," Cassandra smiled.

"She says hi too. I'll be there soon, thank you."

Weasel sighed. "Thank you for sharing with us," he said, standing up. The others did the same.

She shrugged in a way that wouldn't have been out of character of China. Only they looked drastically different. "I knew you had to see."

They said their goodbyes and left, all very happy to be driving away from that house. It wasn't Cassandra's fault the vision was what it was, but she didn't want to think that was in their futures either. She comforted herself with the fact that she and Nadia had looked a few years older in the vision, so they had perhaps two or three years to prepare and learn to fight. Plus, she'd been using magic, which was incredibly comforting.

They were quiet on the way to Finbar's, lost in thought, and as soon as they got out the car Valkyrie realised she should have spoken to Nadia and that would have put her at ease, but it was already too late. She took a deep breath, decided there was nothing she could do at that very second and put the whole mess out of her head. A problem for when they had Crow and Raven back.

Finbar let them into the shop and they went into the back and sat around his kitchen table.

"You don't look so happy," Finbar said to Valkyrie. "Naw, none of you look happy. What happened?"

"Cassandra showed us a vision," Valkyrie said. "She showed the Children of the Spider attacking us. It – it looked like war."

"It did," Wolf said quietly. "We have a few years though. We'll train, get stronger, teach you more magic."

"I think that vision showed what magic I have," Valkyrie said. "The white magic I told you about. That has to be it."

"We'll train you to be a master of it," he smiled, and she felt a world lighter already. "And we'll teach Nadia how to use a gun properly."

"Sounds like a big vision," Finbar noted. "I spoke to that dude Skulman told me too, and you were right. Paine did block my visions. But it's all good now, I'm clean and clear of his magic in my head."

"That's great," Valkyrie smiled.

"Yeah, it was. I saw a vision, too, so I called you here," he said, and reached under the table and brought a map out. He spread it over the table and they held it down flat. "I had a vision of something right here."

"That's Roarhaven," Snake frowned.

"Yeah, man, it was weird to have a vision there. I saw Skulman and Val there, and they were fighting real bad, and then I woke up and thought, wow man, that was weird. They don't fight. And I went to make some tea, 'cause my nerves weren't so good after that, and I got another vision of Skulman and Wreath, that Necromancer Skul's dating."

"Where was it?" Wolf asked, sitting up.

"I'm thinking it was around here, dude," Finbar said, drawing a fairly large circle around perhaps a fifth of Ireland. "Sorry I can't be more precise. But here, I saw the room they were in too, and I drew it out."

They looked at the little sketch of Crow in a room, and Valkyrie realised it was more of a hall than a cell, and she could also see other people there, some tied up and others walking around, in a place with no windows. The only real distinguishable features were the panelled walls and a big picture.

"What's that of?" Valkyrie asked and her brothers leaned in so close all their heads were touching. It was a good job Finbar was such a good artist.

"That looks like… is that Bliss' house?" Wolf asked.

"That's definitely Bliss' house," Weasel confirmed.

"Mr Bliss has Crow and Raven captive?" Valkyrie asked. "I haven't seen him for ages, he was pretending to be dead."

"Bliss always has his own motives," Wolf said darkly. "We should go to the Elders with this one. Finbar, can we keep this?"

"Go for it dude," Finbar shrugged. "I'm just glad to be of help."

"You were, thank you," Wolf smiled, and ushered Weasel and Snake out the door. "Sorry, but we better go straight to the Sanctuary."

"That's cool, that's cool. Hey Val, you want a tattoo?" Finbar asked suddenly.

"Yes!" She grinned, and Wolf laughed and pulled her from the room.

"Year and a bit to go babe," he grinned and tickled her so she'd run for the car.

So many emotions! The vision from before has changed, Finbar is back in business, we met Cassandra, confirmation on the magic.

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