Chapter 111

Saracen and Tanith filled Nadia in on the little details on their way, as well as some information about the Sanctuary she wouldn't know, such as Meritorious and Corrival being healthy and in a secret location – which they didn't reveal – while a new Sanctuary was secured, and that the other Sanctuary's around the world were offering support.

"That's good, though, isn't it?" Nadia asked.

"It would be if most of the quickest replies hadn't been from countries that we know want to take our government and keep it to have a Cradle under their thumb. Any time any of the three Cradles have an opening for an Elder or Grand Mage there's a guarantee on who will have put their name down as 'supporting' the country," Saracen explained. "We need to keep them out and get a Sanctuary building and new Irish Elder to show strength against our enemies and our allies."

"They don't sound like good allies," Nadia told him doubtfully.

He shrugged. "It's politics. It never makes sense."

Nadia hmphed and Tanith had to agree. It wasn't her scene either. Their information conversation took them right up until they got to the Hibernian Cinema, and it was a good job Nadia was an incredibly intelligent young woman or there was no way she could have kept up with everything Tanith and Saracen had told her. Tanith had ended up blabbing on about everything Kenspeckle had told her, but it turned out Nadia had been taught some basic medical lessons from her Indian boarding school and understood most of the details.

"Kenspeckle is still tired, so we need to be quiet," Tanith warned her, and Nadia nodded. At first, Nadia was slow going up the stairs as she seemed nervous, but the closer to the top she got, the faster she picked up speed.

She almost pushed past Civet to get to Valkyrie faster but he just shook his head good-naturedly. In the ward, Valkyrie was lying on her back still, tubes and needles connecting her to multiple machines, and a rolling table had been left close to her bed for easier medication.

Nadia stood over her girlfriend and looked her over. Tanith could see she was trying to keep it together, and it set Tanith off. She had to grab a hold of Saracen's hand to keep it back. By the bed, Nadia very carefully set her handbag on the floor and sat carefully on the edge so she wouldn't jolt Valkyrie or sit on any of the many things sticking into the girl, before leaning over her and kissing her cheek. So quietly Tanith almost couldn't hear, she started to whisper things to Valkyrie, stroking her hair and leaning over her so their torsos could touch just barely to, hopefully, give Valkyrie some comfort.

Saracen pulled on Tanith's hand and she reluctantly followed him out, dabbing her eyes dry with her sleeve. He took her to the couch in the waiting room and Tanith had only just got herself comfortable when Saracen's phone started ringing.

"Dexter," he said as soon as he picked up. There was a very long pause as Dexter explained what must have been the full conversation he'd had with the Grand Mage. "Okay. We'll come back in an hour." Saracen hung up the phone. "We have approval."

"That was quicker than I thought," Tanith frowned. "How did he talk to Meritorious so quickly?"

"Went to him through Corrival," Saracen explained. "He's in a different place to Meritorious, and easier to get hold of, at least for us Dead Men. It wasn't too hard to convince Meritorious, apparently, as all he's been asked so far internationally are questions about Skulduggery and if the Dead Men are compromised. People are worried that Pa is too, given our close relationship and him being an Elder."

"Damn, I didn't think of that," Tanith said sitting back.

Saracen shrugged. "Mages worldwide are wary of the Dead Men. They should be. We're a suicide team, and we've taken down every spy, assassin and mercenary group sent by them in the last two hundred years. And they think we're expanding too, with you joining us and training up Valkyrie, a Teleporter living with us, and not to mention a Necromancer dating Skulduggery."

Tanith nodded. "I can see why."

"It's just how it is."

"Who's going to speak with Skulduggery?" Tanith asked after a moment.

He pulled a face. "Ghastly won't want you coming," he warned.

Tanith narrowed her eyes. "I don't trust the rest of you not to let your feelings get in the way. I'm coming on Valkyrie's behalf."

"I'm not on his side," Saracen said quickly, raising his hands. "I'm just saying what he's like. God, I once saw a woman run across a battlefield with an axe, she must have been nine months with twins, utterly huge belly, and she killed more enemies than most of the fit men and single-handedly rescued the hostages. I have no doubts you're capable of merely talking to Skulduggery, even if bedrest is probably healthier."

"I don't think I can fight," Tanith grimaced. "I can barely walk upstairs, let alone run."

He snickered. "Other than you, it's me and Dex. He's calling Ghastly now, and then asking Erskine."

"They'll want to come."

"I know," he said, his face becoming more serious. "Anton will be mad he couldn't come with us."

"Hopefully Valkyrie can wake up soon and this can all be cleared up before he has a chance to get mad," she said quietly, glancing at the door that led to Valkyrie and Nadia. "Do you think it'll work?"

He knew what she meant. "I don't know," he said sympathetically. "I hope so."

They waited for another half an hour, but with the permission granted, Tanith went to tell Nadia the plan. The ward was quiet, other than Nadia's voice and the gentle beeping of four mages status', two of which being Valkyrie and Anton. Nadia didn't see Tanith at first, and she overheard her talking about her family. Feeling as if she were intruding, Tanith knocked softly on the door.

Nadia looked over. "Oh. Hi," she said quietly.

"Hey," Tanith said, coming a little closer to rest on the footboard. "We're going to question Skulduggery, so I thought we'd take you to the mansion so you can settle in and maybe come back later."

"I want to come too," Nadia said immediately, standing up.

Tanith smiled. "This is a Dead Man thing," she explained. "And considering what Skulduggery might say, it really is best if you to stay behind."

"If Valkyrie can be taken to Serpine's castle at twelve, I can visit someone in a cage," Nadia said strongly with a surprisingly mean glare. "I've heard some really awful things from Valkyrie of what she's seen and had to do. I can handle what Skulduggery might say."

Tanith thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. Tanith didn't even know what Valkyrie thought of some of the things that happened on her cases, and she knew something serious had happened a few days ago before Skulduggery was captured, Nadia was almost eighteen anyway. "It's your choice. It'll be difficult convincing the others."

Nadia just nodded silently, a determined spark in her eye. It made Tanith happy as she followed Nadia out with Saracen down to the car that Nadia still had that strength to stand up to people and for herself. She'd seen so many people get beaten down by life that they just stopped trying, so it was uplifting to see Nadia's strength.

"The others are at home," Saracen reported once they were in the car and had taken off down the street. "I told them you both want to come, and my phones had at least eight messages."

"What do they say?" Nadia asked from the back.

"I don't know, I haven't looked," he said. "At any rate, I'll let you women folk fight it out yourselves. I won't stand in your way."

It was quiet going back to the mansion as they thought over what they were about to do. Seeing Skulduggery again, especially for Tanith, knowing he upset Valkyrie before helping to blow her up, or possibly even doing it himself, was difficult for her, but she tried to keep herself focused. There was no point complaining about sore feet.

As soon as the car stopped in front of the house, Ghastly had opened the front door with a deep frown on his face. Tanith sighed, gave Nadia a smile in the mirror, and went to meet him.

.*****.

Nadia's POV

Nadia watched quietly as Tanith got out the car and strolled up to Ghastly only for him to begin informing her she wasn't going to visit Skulduggery.

Nadia bit the inside of her cheek, feeling her ever-present bubbling anxiety in her stomach wish they could just leave without an argument, but she didn't think it would be so smooth. It was easy to tell Tanith what she wanted earlier because she knew Tanith well, knew she was pretty relaxed about most things, but someone like Ghastly was stubborn. Valkyrie had made jokes about how stubborn he was, and also that he'd upset Tanith a bit at the start of the pregnancy with shadowing her, so she definitely didn't envy Tanith's job.

She knew it wasn't any use sitting in the car, though, so she got out and snuck around Ghastly and Tanith, who was informing Ghastly he could fuck off, and into the house. Her bag was heavy, so she left it by the door and went through to the parlour where she could hear Valkyrie's brothers already. They had hard faces, stressed frowns and their muscular bodies were tense. If Nadia hadn't heard so much from Valkyrie about their childish antics and goofy dispositions, she'd be too scared to go any closer. She quietly came in and sat down on an empty sofa.

Then again, Skulduggery might have blown up Valkyrie. If he could do that, what could the rest of them do?

She took a stuttering breath and kept that thought away. It wasn't true. It couldn't be.

"Nadia," Dexter said suddenly, almost making her jump. He ran his hands through his hair and looked at her with a stern, almost irritated look. "Look, sis, this is not a place you want to visit."

For a moment, Nadia almost nodded automatically as he and Erskine stared her down and Saracen looked on before she made herself think of her poor Valkyrie lying in what could be her deathbed, strapped up to tubes and unnatural things, paler than she'd ever seen. She narrowed her eyes even as her heart clenched painfully. "I can handle it."

"This isn't a place you've been to before," he said, a little exasperation digging into his tone. Nadia narrowed her eyes. "It's a Gaol, Nadia. An old one, a literal hole in the ground with dirt floors, frozen cold, practically no light. They dumped people in the war down there and I'm pretty sure they just froze there and got eaten by the other prisoners. It was never cleaned out."

Nadia's lip turned up at the disgusting images. "I want to go. I want to see him for myself."

"Why?" Erskine asked as Dexter sighed. She looked at him and saw his hard, angry eyes. "He played a part in this."

Nadia's heart picked up as irrational fear pricked at her brain. She took a breath and told him, "Because I want him to tell me why himself. And tell him what he's done to Valkyrie."

"You think he did it?" Dexter asked, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"I don't know," she said with a slight stutter, looking between the two men. "But he brought it in and prepared it, right? He helped. I just – I know what Valkyrie's like. She'll be really upset and get really mad, but if he's remorseful, she'll probably forgive him."

The two men sighed at the same time and looked at each other. Dexter sat down next to her on the sofa, a defeated groan leaving his lips. "What makes you think he'll tell you the truth?"

Nadia hesitated. "I don't know."

"You're not making a good case," Erskine muttered, but Nadia saw a small smile on his lips for just a moment before he started rubbing his eyes tiredly.

She bit her lip for a second before she tried again. "I just want to see for myself. Even if it's lies, I want to hear it."

Dexter nodded. "Fine. But I really recommend you don't mention this to anyone, especially not your parents. What magic do you have?"

"I know mainly Elemental, some healing, some Energy Throwing, and I've been doing a fair bit of Signal magic in my own time. I also know some defensive Shock magic," she listed.

"How much Shock magic?" Dexter asked.

"I only know how to Shock someone to fall over with a touch, they'll only stay down for a few moments. It's not very strong," she told him a little self-consciously.

Dexter nodded. "I've seen that. Pretty popular to teach kids when I was a kid until we got the idea of Shocking our siblings and fried their brains to nothing."

"It's only self-defence," she said quietly, not wanting a silence after that morbid tidbit.

He glanced at her, seemingly knowing he made her uncomfortable. "Sorry," he said, smiling a little. He had several days of stubble on his face. "I'll feel better when I know the truth."

Nadia wasn't sure if she trusted him on that given how close he was to both Valkyrie and Skulduggery, so she said nothing. It didn't really matter though, because Tanith came into the room in a fury, shouting at Ghastly who was stomping after her, both of them speaking at once and trying to convince the other by raising their voices louder and louder.

Nadia had always been told it was rude to fight in front of other people and looked away. Erskine was looking down, his elbows on his knees and seemed remarkably uncomfortable. She remembered Valkyrie had mentioned once, years ago, that Erskine had some type of PDSD, something that was worse with the Spider's coming back though she hadn't gone into detail. She wasn't an expert, but Erskine was stretching his fingers, fidgeting with them really, bending them back again as if he wished he could break them. Nadia didn't know how to deal with his pain either and she had to look down at the floor.

Whatever Tanith and Ghastly were shouting stopped suddenly and Nadia didn't dare move. She could see both their feet on either side of the coffee table, see that they had to be staring each other down.

Ghastly broke the silence. "I'm trying to keep you safe."

"I can keep myself safe, Ghastly," Tanith growled furiously from clenched teeth. "I've been keeping myself safe since I was a child, I can keep doing it in a Gaol."

"If you weren't pregnant I won't try to stop you," he tried explained, his voice a controlled calm.

"I'm not stupid. I know how to keep myself safe. You need to keep out of it," Tanith growled.

"I'm allowed to be worried for my child," he said, his voice rising again.

"I know you are! But I can keep myself safe without you telling me how to do it."

"And what am I going to do if something happens to you there?" He asked loudly. "What if the Spider's attack again?"

"They could attack here when I'm alone, or asleep!" She shot back. "I could fall down the stairs, or in the shower or out of bed, I could fall straight on my stomach, but there's nothing you can do, okay?! Surely I'm safer with everyone than alone?"

"I can stay with you!" Ghastly tried, not reading the anger in Tanith's voice even nearly enough in Nadia's opinion. She wished she'd stayed in the car now. Or maybe the hospital. Valkyrie would never let this happen.

"And what will that bloody do?" She shouted. "I want to see Skulduggery myself, I'm allowed to do that! You can't just order me to stay here!"

"I know that–"

"No, you don't, because if you did we wouldn't be having this conversation again! How many times do we have to go over this? I can go where I want, when I want! I'm smart enough to know I can't drive, I've kept myself safe, I've been healthy, I've done everything anyone can expect, so why are you still coming back to this? You have no trust!"

"Tanith–" Ghastly sighed, a warning in his voice that Tanith didn't like at all.

"Don't you dare," Tanith told him, her voice changing to match his warning tone. "Don't you dare deny it, or else you wouldn't have a problem with me deciding to do this. I am going to see Skulduggery, because I need to be there for my sister, just like you and everyone else."

"I'm not trying–"

"I'll tell you something, Ghastly," she said, finality in her voice. "This is your last chance. This is your very, very last chance to stop acting like an absolute dickhead because if you dare try to tell me what I can and can't do, where I can and cannot go one more time, I'm done. I'm not going to take it ever again, so if you do, you can consider us, whatever relationship we have, to be over. And I'm only giving you so many chanced because of the kid, if it were just us, we'd have been over months ago. Do you understand that? I'm getting in the van."

Nadia looked up with wide eyes at Tanith's form storming out past Ghastly and slammed the front door shut. Her own heart was beating wildly, but she couldn't help but cheer Tanith on.

She glanced carefully at Ghastly and for a moment, just a small one, she felt bad for him. He looked crestfallen, defeated, almost as if he didn't dare say a single thing. But he was the one that was always clawing at Tanith, telling her what to do and how she should do things, Valkyrie had told her enough and been irritated on her sister's behalf enough. She had thought he'd gotten better, Valkyrie had mentioned that too, but she'd never mentioned them arguing like this before. Quietly, she looked at Dexter and saw his thin lips, and knew he too felt little sympathy for Ghastly.

It was Saracen that broke the silence, standing and going around the table to pat Ghastly on the shoulder before moving on and out the house. Dexter stood and got Erskine up when he tapped his arm gently, and Nadia took her social opportunity to jump up and followed them out the house with her head down.

Tanith was in the back, crying into Saracen's shoulder, holding her belly tightly and curling her legs up as much as she could. This day likely wouldn't get any better.

Woohey, two in a week! I'm doing well already. I hope you enjoyed this, and I NEED TO KNOW! What do you think of Nadia's PVO so far? I don't know if I messed up her character too much, I hope not, I have her character from other's perspective's pretty good I think, but it is a thousand times harder when it's her perspective. Hopefully, it's not too bad, but you tell me your thoughts on what you think will happen anyway!

Also, I checked and THIS IS THE LONGEST WORDED STORY ON SP FF RIGHT NOW! The longest in chapters is 152 I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, and this is for a continuous file, not over different stories. I'm so close to being the longest SP FF and honestly, I'm so proud. I already know I can make it because I just wrote chapter 125 and there's so much to go, so much I want to write still! The baby is so close to coming, I do so many half and single day chapters and it's drawing it out, I know, but it's so close! I haven't picked a name, but it doesn't matter yet, I wouldn't tell you anyway ;)