Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

Solomon – Raven

Corrival – Pa

Chapter 107

Valkyrie took a gasping breath and her eyes flew open. China was kneeling above her, a hand on Valkyrie's face, and it took a bewildering moment for everything to come back to her. She gasped and sat up, patting down her body wildly. She wasn't in pain! She looked at China.

"Silly girl," China said weakly, a smile on her face. "I knew what I was doing."

"I panicked," Valkyrie whispered. "I didn't know what to do."

China stood slowly and Valkyrie did too. "Go. The fighting has stopped downstairs. It took a few minutes to get you awake."

"Thank you," Valkyrie said.

China put a hand on Valkyrie's cheek fondly. "Just promise me you'll visit so we can have a chat again. I do enjoy it."

"Promise!" Valkyrie said and ran down the stairs. It was like she'd been packed full of adrenalin, which probably was the case. "Crow! Raven!" She called.

She ran straight for the hall with the tapestry on the wall, remembering it from the drawing, and looked around. The Cleaver's were guarding a few of the Wild Brother's who were all brutally cut up and in cuffs on the floor bleeding out while the Sanctuary got themselves together for transportation. She looked around at the prisoners and around at the staff moving between then, but when she looked took a deep breath and actually took it all in, she could see the window was broken and a few people missing.

"Where's Solomon and Skulduggery?" She asked, addressing the crowd of detectives. "They are here, right?"

The detectives looked between themselves and one of them stepped forwards, Detective Sickle, the one that had been mad she opened the Puzzle box. "Hey, kid," he started off, making her glare at him, "look, there's some bad news. Some of the Wild Brother's were able to get away in the fight through that window."

Valkyrie nodded once. "And they were able to take two prisoners with them, is that what you're trying to say?"

He hesitated.

"They took the two prisoners we were actually trying to retrieve. So we failed the mission," Valkyrie said, her eyes hardening over the group of Sanctuary workers. "We failed!"

They looked down or away from her like little children, but Valkyrie didn't have it in her to be mad. She was quickly becoming slower and more tired the more she moved. She turned to two Cleaver's that weren't busy. "Saracen had a nasty fall, he's by the front entrance, and then Anton was second most hurt. The other's need help too."

They took that as it was meant and went to go find her brother's. She rubbed her forehead before turning back to the detectives to take charge.

.*****.

"It went awfully," Valkyrie said, rubbing her eyes and sitting back in the chair in Corrival's office.

"We have some of the Wild Brothers," Pa said, both comfortingly and gruffly. "At the least, we know more about the Spider's plans. To take Bliss out of it is good for us."

"Not as good as him on our side. Plus we only know the basic big plan. Not what they're going to do to get to that point."

"No, but that's war, and what the Spiders are looking for is war," Pa said, then took a mouthful of cake. "You took charge well from what I heard."

"I did what you taught me," she said, a little softer. "With my brother's down it wasn't like I had a choice, but I was surprised the other detectives listened. They tend not to at the Sanctuary."

"They'll learn," Pa shrugged. "I think that just about sums up your report."

"Good," Valkyrie said and got out of the chair. "I've set some Sensitives on the Wild Brother's since the last time the Spider's had anyone here, they busted them out. I want information immediately. I've already spoken to the other prisoners, but they were all mercenaries and other people that hate the Wild Brother's. Just lucky to find them and unfortunate to get captured. We'll put them away for unrelated crimes, I bet."

Pa grunted. "I'll offer them better sentences if they can tell us anything overheard."

"They'll tell you anything," Valkyrie sighed, before saying her goodbye and heading out.

She had to take the bus over to Kenspeckle's as she hadn't dared tell Panda in case he told an already sick Tanith, so it was almost forty-five minutes later she arrived at the hospital. She jogged up the stairs and when she didn't see anyone in the foyer, she went through to the ward at the back. Sure enough, all her brother's except Bear were in there.

"Hey," she said, sitting in her usual bed with a sigh. Civet was there serving food to keep the men's energy up. "How are you doing?"

"Not so hot," Wolf said with a little tension in his voice. He was topless and his whole chest was covered in mud to help heal his broken ribs. "Saracen just out of surgery."

"You okay Weasel?" She asked.

He grunted.

"I'm glad." She took a moment to yawn and then rested her chin on her knuckles. "Solomon and Skulduggery were taken by the Wild Brother's. Apparently the ones we got are like an outer circle group they use for smaller missions, while the inner group of the Wild Brother's run things. Whoever got Solomon the first time, whoever killed Signate, is in the inner circle – if it was even the Wild Brother's responsible for all of what happened and not just some of it, which we don't even know. We need to try again, but I think this time it'll be smaller. They'll have less people, no Bliss, no backup."

"Unless they go to The Torment," Snake said from his bed. His eyes were closed and he was sweating from the pain of his injuries.

"Unless that, yes, but there honestly isn't much we can do about that. Especially when you're down," she said, downcast. "I have Sensitive's with the rest of the Wild Brother's while I visit you. They'll call me."

"Good job Cub," Wolf said, grimacing. "We'll find Skul and Solomon. Just as soon as we're out of these beds."

"I hope so," she yawned.

"Valkyrie," Civet said, a little smile on his face. "Perhaps you should stay and get some sleep. I'd be happy to watch your phone in case you get a call."

She smiled back and sagged a little with relief. "Thanks." She let him move some pillows for her and she lay back on the bed, kicking off her shoes. "Love you guys," she said tiredly, and they told her the same back.

.*****.

Craven's POV

Craven looked into the room, his back straight and face blank, watching Skulduggery Pleasant and former Cleric Wreath sit closely in the cell. They couldn't see him through the one way shield around their solid iron cage, but he could see them as Pleasant ran his fingers through Wreath's shoulder length hair and worked out the knots and spoke soft words in his former colleague's ear.

He sneered at them. He had always known Wreath was erratic, irrational and quirky, to put it nicely, but he had never expected him to fall to the likes of Skulduggery Pleasant. It was sickening. Still, he was pleased to see how weak Wreath looked after just six days of being prisoner. Stolen had done a good job – Craven had heard the news by now of how Stolen had completed his mission of killing the Shunter as The Torment assigned, and had then dropped the body off within the Sanctuary and taken Wreath with him in the process.

Craven respected the man, even though he wasn't a Necromancer. One day soon, that would be a high honour.

He drew himself higher and turned his back on the disgusting lovebirds and went up to the higher levels of the new safehouse. Wherever The Torment had taken them, and Craven didn't know, it was so off grid there was no hope for the Dead Men and their little girl toy Cain to find them. Or, that's what Craven hoped was the case. He had to trust The Torment. Opening the large double doors, he strolled straight into the high courtroom and sauntered over to his seat with eyes watching him from every corner.

Spiders, in human form, spider form and the normal ones of all species the human one's created looked down on him. He'd become used to their gaze. The Torment sat as leader on his thrown, two younger Spider's sitting near him in hopes of becoming Queen. Craven doubted that. From what little he'd been told about The Torment from the other Spider's, The Torment held high the old traditions of having a 'mate' and never another once that 'mate' died. Not only that, but The Torment was utterly insane. He held it in better around the other Children of the Spider, but alone… even Craven didn't want to think of what The Torment might do to those young Spider's.

The hall waited in silence, other than the clicks of the larger spiders, and when the final mages had entered and taken their seats, The Torment began.

"Our numbers are growing," he said in a voice so quiet even the real spiders stopped clicking to listen. "Children of the Spider from around the world are gathering in Ireland, to us. Our numbers have grown by thirty adults in the last month. Five young ones are now able to complete their transformation. We have the numbers to attack."

The Spider's cheered and Craven watched as The Torment smiled around the hall. A moment later, he lifted a hand and the hall silenced.

"Our plan, then, yes, we must talk about the plans. Our goal is still to destroy our opposition. Stolen, our dear friend, has helped us tremendously. We hold Skulduggery Pleasant and his lover, a Necromancer, below our very feet. Of course, the mercenaries have helped us also in keeping the Dead Men busy, though we did lose Bliss in the fight. No matter, Bliss was merely something to show off. A full day has gone by since the attack of the Dead Men on Bliss' home. The Dead Men are healing, leaving the Sanctuary wide open."

Craven began to smile.

"Tonight, we will send an attack. But, it must be subtle. Merely a distraction," The Torment said, gaining disappointed muttering around the room. Still, The Torment smiled in that strange way of his and held his hand up once more. "Hush now, Children. I promise we will all get our chance for revenge in time. There are so many plans, so much revenge waiting for you all. But we must weaken the Sanctuary first. While you wait, you must train, grow, learn, ready yourself for the inevitable fight."

The Spider's nodded and with the barest nod, the room stood and made its way out. Craven stood after a moment, the only mage in attendance. He'd been warned not to come to the meetings, but as the Necromancer King, a peer of their own leader, he had a right to meetings. Even when they were short and not strictly necessary.

Moving quickly, he stalked past the Spider's and went to his chambers to think things over. He had to think of a suitable way to deal with Wreath. Mostly he wanted to harm Pleasant because that would please The Torment, but he also wanted to punish Wreath.

He sat at his desk to think, picking up a pen to write down his ideas. He had just as many ideas as The Torment had plans, starting with torture, ending in death, but most of all they all led to teaching the Spider's around him he was a force they needed to look up to the same way they looked up to The Torment.

There was barely twenty minutes between him taking a seat and the knock on his door. He considered ignoring it, but then considered his fear of the Spider's, and decided slighting them might not be the thing to do. He put on a glare and opened the door.

A girl, barely ten years old, looked up at him in a way Craven knew held no love or admiration. "The Torment summons you," the little girl said, and walked away.

He sighed under his breath. Little girls and boys would respect him one day. Ask how they could serve him and he'd send them on silly errands just for the point of using them.

He smiled to himself and took the short walk back to the meeting hall.

There was The Torment, a few of the Spider's Craven had not learnt names for, the assassin Stolen, and the Sensitive Paine. Craven strode to take a seat opposite The Torment and looked at him like an equal. The Torment shared that view, he had told Craven himself that they were equals. "What is it you called me for, Master Torment?" Craven smirked.

"My plans for tonight's attack," The Torment started, his voice getting higher pitched as his laughs took over. "We will use the skeleton! Have him kill his friends to save his lover!"

Oooooh, scary! I think we all know how the next chapters going mwahahaha!

Loneygirl107: Good confusion or bad confusion? I can't tell what you mean, but I like to flatter myself, so I'll say good confusion ;) I'm glad you enjoyed it at any rate, hopefully all confusion was cleared with this chapter but maybe not, it's easy to leave out details when you're the one writing because you know everything. You know? You know.