The Midnight Game - Skulduggery Pleasant Fanfiction

Chapter 10 - 03:21

Valkyrie couldn't even find it in her to move. The scream was strangled in her throat by something cold. Everything evil in the room and in the world crept over her body and turned it to stone.

It took her what seemed like an extraordinarily long time to move, and when she did it felt like slow motion.

"No," she finally managed in nothing more than a whisper as she looked around for something to stand on. "No, no, no, no, no, no..."

Dragging over a section of table that supported the first floor model, she jumped on it as quickly as she could, crushing the model, and fiddled with the noose around Dexter's neck - a slipknot. Perfect. It wouldn't come loose.

"Damn it," she grumbled, her hands shaking as she fumbled with the lighter, holding the flame to the roped above the knot. It started to singe a little and a few fibres snapped, but it was so slow.

"Come on," she hissed through gritted teeth. "Come on."

The flame began to travel up the rope and Valkyrie flicked off the lighter, blew out the flame to stop the house burning down, and tried again. The rope was perhaps half burnt through, and when it was weak enough and thin enough, Valkyrie yanked, hard, and the rope snapped.

Dexter's body fell like a bag of sand and hit the floor with a sickening thud. She wasted no time in jumping off the table and turning his body over, searching desperately for a pulse.

His eyes were closed and there was a red-blue mark around his neck where the noose had closed on him. His lips were slightly parted and his body was limp when Valkyrie shook him.

"For God's sake, no," she pleaded again, putting her head against his chest, listening for a heartbeat, and failing to hear that steady thump-THUMP she desperately longed to hear. She moved her right hand and hovered over Dexter's mouth, waiting for the warm tickle of breath against her palm. None came.

The tears seemed to be trapped behind her eyelids, and she couldn't even feel. The only thing she could think was not again. Not again. Not again.

"Don't you dare do this," Valkyrie whispered angrily, not sure whether she was talking to Dexter or the Midnight Man himself. "Don't you dare."

Interlocking her fingers she pressed down on Dexter's chest and started pumping as hard as she could, probably harder than necessary, refusing point blank to let him go so easily. She had to try. Every movement seemed lethargic and sluggish, like nothing was moving quite fast enough or strong enough. 

She heard the invisible clock ticking in her mind, and time was running away too quickly.

Her arms got tired quickly, and she began to realise how exhausted she was. The adrenaline was wearing off and leaving her body an empty casket with no more energy left to fuel it, and Valkyrie kept pressing down on Dexter's chest but her strength was leaving her, and it wasn't long before her arms gave out on her and all she could do was collapse onto Dexter's still body, and the tears finally came.

Eventually, she sat back on her haunches and rubbed her eyes pathetically, letting out a shaky breath. She wanted Skulduggery to be here. And Saracen...Oh God, Saracen. It didn't take a genius to figure out Dexter meant more to the man than...most people, really. 

The future, the present itself was changing before her eyes, and Valkyrie willed it, begged for it to stop but Dexter stayed dead and the house stayed silent.

And Valkyrie looked up to see the Midnight Man standing over Dexter's body, and he wasn't looking at him. He was looking at her.

Valkyrie blinked before she had a chance to scream and suddenly he was inside her mind again and things flashed in and out of her vision. She saw the mouldy, dusty bell outside of the dining room, she saw each and every face of each and every ghost sitting at the table, and she saw the empty chair at the head of the table.