I am sorry that it has taken me so long to upload this, but I have been busy with work and I've had some problems at home that has caused me to lose a lot of sleep and feeling useless. Don't worry, I have things under controll and hopefully things will be better soon.
The room became so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Everyone stared at Skulduggery Pleasant with wide eyes and shocked expressions. China was the most shocked. Her mouth was hanging wide open, and she had gripped the handles of her office chair so hard that her knuckles had turned white.
"You're lying, Skulduggery! Damocles Creed would not mix with someone like Nefarian Serpine. And even if he wanted to, he would never carry out a plan like this himself. This is the kind of thing he would hire any of his church members to do. He never does the dirty work himself."
Skulduggery opened his mouth to reply, but China continued before he had time to say even a single word. "You cannot prove that, that person is Creed based on just body frame and that tattoo alone! He has many members in his church, it could be any of all the unknown male members!"
Skulduggery shook his head and looked at China for several seconds before answering. "There is no one else in the church that has that body frame or height, China." He tilted his head and studied China before saying "And I find it very interesting, but also a little suspicious, that you were so quick to dismiss Creed as a suspect."
China didn't answer, only meeting Skulduggery's gaze.
Before the atmosphere became oppressive again, Valkyrie asked "How do you know that Skulduggery? After all, what China says is reasonable. We cannot throw out charges based only on a body frame and a tattoo."
"I've been keeping an eye on Creed and his followers ever since the day he took advantage of China and our relationship ended. In the years since then, it hasn't joined a single new member that comes anywhere near Creed's body frame," Skulduggery replied, looking at Valkyrie.
"Even if what you say is true, why would Creed want to free Serpine? What is his reason? They don't know each other as far as I know. I have a hard time seeing Creed getting involved with a serial killer, given that Creed has always banned such people from joining his church. They attract too much attention," China said, and Skulduggery turned his attention back to her again.
"Because Serpine is a member of the church."
The room once again went completely silent at this information, and everyone once again stared at Skulduggery. China leaned forward in her chair and rested her elbows on her knees. "That can't be right. I if anyone should know if Serpine is a member, Skulduggery. Creed tells me almost everything, hoping I will come back to the church and him. If what you say is true, he would have told me."
Skulduggery laughed joylessly and gave China a look that said, 'are you serious right now?', causing China to stretch to her full length and give Skulduggery a look back that signalled 'watch it'.
"Do you have any evidence for what you claim?" Tanith asked in a calm voice as she stood leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
"Serpine joined shortly after China broke away and cut all ties with the church. I saw for myself when he entered the church gate for the first time. Creed was standing on the steps waiting for him with open arms."
China closed her eyes as she placed her thumb and forefinger against the bridge of her nose and pinched it hard. "Unbelievable…" she muttered.
"He is Creed's most devoted supporter and has been for many years. The reason he has created so much chaos these years is because he wants to show his gods that he is worthy of being spared by them once they return," Skulduggery continued as if he hadn't heard China's muttering.
"Spared?" Tanith asked with a raised eyebrow. "From what?"
"Do you know what the members of the Church of the Faceless believe in?" China asked and as Tanith shook her head she continued, "The members of the Church of the Faceless believe that we were once ruled by bloodthirsty gods who took over the bodies of humans in order to walk the earth. Sadly, for those who were possessed, they died shortly after being possessed because their bodies could not handle the powers of the Faceless Ones.
However, if you're a true believer, you don't have to worry about dying when you're taken over, as apparently there were a few people who could withstand the Faceless Ones powers to some degree. These people could be taken over for days, sometimes even weeks. The believers in the Church of the Faceless believe that this was because these people were 'true believers' who wanted nothing more than to worship and serve the Faceless Ones. Their worship protected them from dying."
"This is absolutely crazy..." Tanith muttered and shook her head. "So, you were a member of this church? So, you believed this crap once upon a time?"
"My parents were already members before I was born and still are." China looked out the window for a few seconds, lost in her own thoughts, before returning to the present and continuing, "The members believe that if they spend all their waking hours praying to these gods and doing things that they believe the gods want them to do, then they will be spared when the Faceless Ones return to Earth."
Tanith and Valkyrie said nothing after China's story, quite busy digesting everything she had just been saying. They had both encountered fanatics before who had believed many strange things, but neither of them had ever heard anything that came even close to what they had just been told.
Skulduggery looked at Tanith and Valkyrie before saying "Serpine has killed most of his victims as a sort of tribute to the Faceless Ones. He believes that once they return, they will somehow be able to read his mind, see all the people he has killed in their name, and allow him to become their right-hand man."
"Oh my God…" Valkyrie whispered, placing one hand over her mouth. "He is much sicker than I first thought..."
Skulduggery hugged her and kissed her forehead to calm her down. He stroked her back slowly as he pushed her closer. Once he was sure Valkyrie had calmed down, he turned back to China. "When was the last time you talked to Creed?"
"What makes you think I have had any contact with him?" China replied, raising an eyebrow in question.
"I know you have taken advantage of his feelings towards you many times when you have had to use all the contacts he has in his possession, to find out information you are in desperate need of obtaining."
"Maybe I did, but I don't understand what that has to do with Serpine's escape?" China replied irritably.
Skulduggery tilted his head to one side and studied China for a moment. "Has Creed ever been inside your office, which I strongly suspect he has been more than once over the years, and if so, has he been left alone one or more times?"
China opened her mouth to protest but closed it just as quickly as a realization hit her. "You think Creed has studied the blueprints for the Sanctuary in case he ever needed to free Serpine."
Skulduggery nodded. "He cannot afford to lose Serpine. If Serpine disappears, it will be much more difficult for him to keep the few members he has today. More and more people have started to break away from the church and he doesn't like it. Creed is a man who loves to be in control of others and is willing to do anything to maintain that control. Thanks to Serpine, he has managed to recruit many of his minions to his church, but they are nowhere near as many as he had before China pulled out."
Six pairs of eyes stared at Skulduggery as he delivered the answer, they had all been pondering the moment the news of Serpine's escape had reached them. It was Valkyrie who spoke first, breaking the silence by asking a question. "How can you know all this?"
"They don't call me Ireland's best detective for nothing, Valkyrie." He gave her a small smile before turning his gaze to China. "I bet Serpine is right now in the Church of the Faceless, biding his time. He's probably already sent out some spies to find out as much information about us as possible so he can set his revenge in motion. He's probably also asked them to try and figure out how much we've already figured out about his escape and where he might be right now."
China nodded. "I do not like it, but unfortunately, I am forced to admit that you are probably right, Skulduggery. I wouldn't be even a little bit surprised if he even has one or several spies here in the Sanctuary. From this moment forward, I want us to only discuss things considering Serpine inside this room and for us all to get disposable phones to call each other on, as they cannot be tracked or tapped. The less Serpine finds out about what we know and plan, the better."
"So, you mean we should just sit here on our assess and let him come to us? There is not a chance in hell that he will! Serpine may be many things, but he is not stupid!" Tanith said, throwing her arms in the air in a frustrated gesture.
"What I mean is that we should proceed carefully, Miss Low. We cannot afford to make a single mistake when it comes to Serpine. The first thing we must do now is to alert the public of his escape, thus making it more difficult for Serpine to move freely. We must also make sure to keep a watchful eye on all the people we know work for him to try to find out what he is planning."
Tanith nodded, looking relieved. "Sounds like a plan to my ears. I'll talk to my contacts, see if they picked up on anything. If there was nothing else, I'm going to leave now. The sooner we begin our investigation into Serpine's escape, the better."
Tanith walked up to Valkyrie and gave her a goodbye hug before turning to Skulduggery. She looked into his eyes as she placed her clasped hands on her hips, leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. Skulduggery nodded and gave Tanith a small smile. She nodded back and gave him a warm smile before turning on her heel and leaving the room with a wave.
As soon as Tanith was gone, Valkyrie felt like she was about to be overcome with suppressed hatred. China stared at Skulduggery with a look that could kill even a cockroach. Skulduggery on the other hand looked back at her with a completely neutral expression on his face.
Valkyrie did not know why China had gone back to hating Skulduggery with all her being, but she suspected that it was because Tanith was completely relaxed around him and hadn't found him suspicious in any way, despite this being only her second time meeting him and basically knew nothing about him, other than that he and her best friend had a sexual relationship.
Valkyrie let her gaze sweep between Skulduggery and China. She understood that they were fighting a silent battle based only on their looks and body language, but what the purpose of this battle was she did not know and did not want to know. She cleared her throat and let her gaze fall on her boss. "China, if nothing else, I would like to excuse myself for making a phone call. I promised my parents that I would call them as soon as I got more information about this whole situation. They are currently staying at my house because they are safest there."
China waved her hand in Valkyrie's direction without taking her eyes off Skulduggery. "You can go. I'll call you when I get the disposable phones."
Valkyrie nodded and turned her back on the two former lovers. She didn't want to make the situation worse by giving Skulduggery a kiss or squeezing his hand. Her relationship with her boss was on a slippery slope as it was. She knew it would take a while for China to accept her and Skulduggery's relationship if it continued, which she hoped it would. Valkyrie was prepared to change jobs, if necessary, for no career was worth pursuing if she was unhappy privately.
Valkyrie walked out into the parking lot and leaned against the Bentley's tailgate. She let the fresh air fill her lungs and forced herself to relax. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and just enjoyed the silence that surrounded her. When she felt satisfied, she picked up her phone and dialled her mother's number.
"Melissa."
"Hi, mom. How is it going? Have you settled into the house yet? You know where everything is, right? And you know that nothing is off limits in my home? You have my permission to use everything in there, you don't need to ask my permission first."
"Stephanie, so nice to hear from you! Did you find out anything else? Do we need to be concerned about your safety? What is Serpine planning?"
"Unfortunately, we haven't gotten any closer to the answer to that particular question, but at least we know who released him and we also think we know where he is right now."
"That is great news! Then the next step for you must be to go and gather a team and get him, right?"
Valkyrie sighed and wished she could have answered yes to her mother's question, but she couldn't lie to her family. "Unfortunately, not, mother. We are not one hundred percent sure that he is really in this place, and we cannot afford any mistakes. We must be absolutely sure before we act."
"I see," her mother said disappointedly, though she did her best to camouflage it. "I trust you know what you're doing, sweetheart."
"We will catch him, mother."
"I know you will, Stephanie. You've done it once and you can do it again. You have always been stubborn, just like your uncle."
Valkyrie smiled. "The Edgley genes are strong. But enough talking about me, what about Alice? She must have been confused when you left so suddenly. What have you told her?"
"Well, of course she was. She was sad in the car, but we explained to her that there is a mean and evil man out there who is mad at Stephanie and wants to hurt her. Of course, your sister wondered why he was mad at you, and I said this bad man has done a lot of mean things to other people and you caught him so he would stop hurting people. She then asked why we must stay at your house, to which I replied that the mean evil man managed to escape from the prison he was in and that he can't get to us at Stephanie's house because he doesn't know we're going there."
Valkyrie breathed a sigh of relief. "I am sorry mom that I have had to uproot you from your own house. I wish I did not have to be this careful and must be forced to take these safety precautions."
Her mother laughed and waved off her excuses by saying, "You do what you must do, Stephanie. Just promise me one thing: that you will be careful and not throw yourself into unnecessary risks. I do not want to lose you…"
Valkyrie, hearing that her mother was about to start crying, hurried before she could start, to say: "I will be very careful, mum. If I have managed to outsmart Nefarian Serpine once, I can do it again. Also, I want you to know that I have another detective helping us this time who has close, personal experience with Serpine. He will help us stop Nefarian Serpine. For good this time."
"I know, Stephanie. Dad and I trust that you will do what is necessary. We love you with all our hearts."
"And I love you, Mom. Give Dad and Alice a big hug from me and tell them I love them. I will call as soon as I have any updates." Valkyrie ended the call and put the phone back in her jeans pocket.
She took a deep breath and ran her hands through her hair. She only now felt that they shook. She let them fall from her hair and instead held them up in front of her face. They didn't shake much, but enough for her to see. She took another deep breath to get herself under control.
Rest assured; your family is safe. I do not know if Serpine has found out where I live, but even if he has, he can't get in and hurt them. If he somehow gets past the initial security measures, my family will be warned in time and have time to get to safety in the panic room I have installed in the basement. He won't get to them.
If he wants to get revenge on me, he'll have to come directly to me first, which I strongly suspect he will too. I am his main target now because I have proven to the world that he is not as invulnerable as he wanted everyone to believe. I have proven that he is not an unstoppable killing machine, but that he is a human being of flesh and blood like the rest of us. If he gets a hold of me, he will want to torture me slowly and painfully, because that is his modus operandi.
Valkyrie was interrupted in her thoughts by approaching footsteps, but she didn't turn to see who the person was that was heading towards her as she knew who it was. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and pressed her back against their chest. Her lips were pulled up into a smile and she closed her eyes. She felt how a hand lay over hers, which were still shaking.
"Valkyrie, what has happened? You're shaking!" Skulduggery said, pulling her closer to his chest. "What about your parents? Has something happened to them?"
Valkyrie shook her head and recounted what had been said between her and her mother. "They are safe, Skulduggery. Even if Serpine has managed to find out where I live, he won't be able to get to them. My parents will be warned before he even sets foot inside my door. They will have plenty of time to get to safety in my panic room that I have installed in the basement."
She could feel Skulduggery nod. "Good to hear they're safe, but if that's not why you're shaking, then what is?"
Valkyrie opened her eyes and turned her head so she could look Skulduggery in the eyes. "I'm scared, Skulduggery."
"Scared of what?"
"That I won't get out of this alive."
Skulduggery didn't answer right away, just looked Valkyrie in the eyes as he continued to hold her tightly. "Being afraid is good, Valkyrie. When you are afraid, you are on your guard and think twice before making a decision. Being scared when a crazed killer is chasing you is perfectly normal and nothing to be ashamed of."
"I am not ashamed, Skulduggery. I am not afraid of dying either, not really. What I am most afraid of is that if I would die before Serpine does, I won't be able to guarantee that my family is safe. If I die, chances are that my family will have to live under surveillance for the rest of the reminder of their lives, or at least until someone else manages to put a stop to Serpine. If I die before Serpine, I won't be able to know if he succeeded in killing them too, just because he could."
Tears began to run down Valkyrie's cheeks, and she sobbed. Skulduggery brushed them away with his thumb and turned Valkyrie, so they were facing each other. He leaned forward and gave her a tender kiss while pressing her chest against his own. He continued to kiss her until Valkyrie stopped crying and only then did he let his lips separate from hers. He opened his eyes that he had closed during their kissing session and looked into her eyes before saying "If you die against all odds, I will personally watch over your family. You have my word on that."
"Thank you, Skulduggery." Valkyrie smiled, feeling a thousand times lighter. She gave Skulduggery another kiss that wasn't filled with tears before asking "And how's the situation between you and China? Will you be able to work together during this case or is there a chance that your history will slow us down?"
"China must not like me and if she had her way, I would be on the other side of the globe right now, but once she calms down a bit and thinks about it, she will understand why you called me and accept my presence."
Valkyrie sighed in relief and was finally able to relax. "Good, I was a little worried for a while. Considering the looks she gave you in that office, I was a little worried you wouldn't make it out alive."
Skulduggery laughed. "China may hate me, but there's still a part of her that loves me, even though it is very small. In addition, she is aware of the skills and knowledge I have and that these will come in handy."
"I may have only known you for a day, but I can already tell that you have an unusually large ego that I suspect has gotten you into trouble many times over." She smiles and kisses Skulduggery's cheek. "What did Tanith want, then?"
Skulduggery tilted its head. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Valkyrie raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. Skulduggery laughed. "Nothing special, the usual things that all best friends say to the person one's best friend has chosen to date. 'If you harm her in any way, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth if necessary. You don't want me as an enemy, Skulduggery'."
Valkyrie moaned and put one hand over her face. "Tanith, you idiot..." she mumbled, feeling her cheeks turn red in embarrassment.
Skulduggery laughed again. "You don't need to be ashamed of your best friend, Valkyrie. I have nothing against it, on the contrary. I've received far worse threats than Tanith made over the years. I just find it reassuring to know you have a friend who is there for you no matter what. If I were you, I would make sure to hold on to Tanith because I have a feeling, she will help you through many difficult things in the future."
"That may be true, but it doesn't change the fact that she could have laid it forward in a lot friendlier way…" Valkyrie muttered.
Skulduggery just smiled and gave Valkyrie a kiss on the cheek. "Do you have anything planned for the rest of the evening? I thought maybe we could go to my house. I would very much like to invite you to dinner and have that conversation that I promised you we would have when you left me earlier today."
Valkyrie only now became aware of how hungry she was and how late it had become. The sun had set, and it was getting cold outside. She smiled up at Skulduggery and gave him a small kiss. "That sounds like a wonderful idea, Skulduggery."
It was late morning the next day and Valkyrie was in her car heading away from Skulduggery's house on Cemetery Road. The night before had been fantastic. They had started by driving to Valkyrie's parents' house where Valkyrie had picked up her car. "I love riding in the Bentley Skulduggery, but I can't continue to have you as my private chauffeur forever. In addition, I want to be able to have my car close at hand in case something should happen, and I need to get going quickly."
Skulduggery understood her and had not protested. When they had both parked their cars outside Skulduggery's house, they had both gone inside and started preparing the dinner that Skulduggery had promised Valkyrie. They had talked for hours while eating the meal they had both helped prepare. Valkyrie was pleasantly surprised that Skulduggery was so good at cooking, explaining that he had always been interested in food.
"But I must admit that it can be a bit boring to eat alone, especially when you're craving something a little more exotic. I usually invite Ghastly over quite often for some company when he's not busy at the tailoring," Skulduggery had said, giving Valkyrie a smile that had made her stomach tingle.
After dinner they had sat down on the couch and started watching a movie, but it hadn't been long before it was completely forgotten. Valkyrie had sat on Skulduggery's lap and started unbuttoning his shirt while giving him a flirtatious smile. "I hope you don't mind the interruption, Mr. Pleasant."
"On the contrary, Mrs. Cain. I'd be more than happy to welcome it…" Skulduggery had replied and had started undressing her as well.
Valkyrie smiled at the memory of her sitting in her car on the way home to her parents' house. Their intercourse on the couch had not been of the same nature as their first two, but this time they had let it take its time. They had had a long foreplay where they explored each other's bodies to try to find out what the other liked and turned on. Once united, their union had only felt even more wonderful.
I learn something new about Skulduggery every time I meet him, and I can't shake the feeling that we're meant to be in each other's lives, even though I've only known him for a day and a half.
She saw the outline of her parents' house and began to slow down. She turned on her blinkers before turning off the road onto her parents' street. She pulled into the driveway and turned off the engine. The moment she took the car keys out of the ignition, a sound made her freeze. She sat still for several seconds and just listened. Had she imagined it, or was someone else nearby watching over her right now?
Valkyrie let her eyes sweep over the driveway and the house but couldn't see or hear anything. She slowly opened the glove compartment and took out the gun she always kept inside. She unsecured it while continuing to keep an eye on the house. She still hadn't seen or heard anything else, but she had the feeling that someone was watching her.
She picked up her cell phone and sent off a group text before once again letting her gaze sweep one last time around her surroundings. This time she couldn't perceive anything out of the ordinary either. She opened the car door slowly and got out. She listened for a few seconds before closing the door behind her and placing both hands on the gun. She began to carefully creep forward towards the front door, all the while scanning her surroundings to try and catch a glimpse of her watcher.
She had gotten halfway to the front door when a sound to her right made her raise her gun and direct all her attention to where she heard the sound. She still couldn't see anything, but now she could clearly hear someone in the bushes in front of her. She slowly, slowly, began to walk towards them. When she was only a few meters from them, a cat jumped forward and she had to use all her self-control not to shoot it.
She followed it with her eyes until it was out of sight before taking a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. She eased her grip on the gun a bit and was just about to turn to walk the rest of the way to the front door when a sound behind her made her freeze for a second before a pair of hands wrapped around her mouth and throat. "So nice to meet you face to face again, Valkyrie Cain…" Nefarian Serpine whispered in her ear.
