Drop Dead Gorgeous

The Unbelievable Truth Behind the Werewolf

"So what happened to you Val? Where did you go?"
They were all sitting in Ghastly's office after Valkyrie had been discharged from the Medical Wing, and Skulduggery wasn't leaving her side. She found it comforting.
"Do you guys remember the time traveller that me and Skulduggery were tracking down, Herman Grave?" She asked. They all nodded, but Skulduggery remained silent.
"Well, be found me, when I was searching the rooms upstairs in Gordon's house, and he shunted me back to the 1600's..."
Ghastly looked shocked, and Tanith was open mouthed.
"You went back to the 1600's?!" Tanith exclaimed.
"Yeah."
"You would have met me then."
"Actually, I met all of you. The Dead Men, you Tanith, China, and some other girls..."
She felt Skulduggery stiffen beside her, and Ghastly jaw was clenched.
"What were their names?" Ghastly asked.
"Louisa Metor, Ambry Nokis and Asaria Wreck," she answered. She saw Skulduggery clenching his fists and Ghastly looked up.
"Ambry, Louisa and......... Asaria," he said.
"Yeah," Valkyrie replied, wondering why he had paused before saying Sari's name. He looked at Skulduggery, who was as rigid as ever.
"Ambry, Asaria......" He whispered.
"Yes. Why are you acting all weird? I also know that Ambry was your sister," she said, and tried to ignore the way he looked at her.
"Asaria........" He whispered, his voice breaking.
"What about Asaria?" Valkyrie asked. Ghastly sighed.
"Asaria Wreck was Skulduggery's wife."

Valkyrie felt her heart sink. Asaria had been Skulduggery's wife?!
"Whoa. Okay, what?"
"Asaria...... She was my wife," Skulduggery replied, his shoulders sagging. Ghastly looked at her and Tanith's head was bowed.
"But she was with Dexter!" Valkyrie exclaimed.
"Yes she was. Then they broke up and she married Skulduggery. Ambry was killed soon after, and Louisa was shot," Ghastly said.
"How..... How did Ambry die?"
Skulduggery's head hung low.
"She was killed by Nefarian Serpine, same as Skulduggery."
Valkyrie felt her heart break. Not Ambry. Not her friend. And Asaria, oh Sari. That beautiful, outgoing blonde girl. She was Skulduggery's wife. It made Valkyrie smile. She had deserved him, the way she was always so protective. Even though she had left before they had made up, she loved Sari, loved her so much, even if she was dead.
"Skulduggery, I also met you," she said, noting how his head snapped towards her.
"Really?"
"Yes. I kissed you, a lot."
There was an awkward silence, an Valkyrie thought she'd said the wrong thing, until Tanith laughed, and Ghastly smiled. Skulduggery tilted his head, and Valkyrie could tell that he was grinning.
"Couldn't stay away from my charms could you?" He asked.
"No, I really couldn't. You were so cute!"
Ghastly snorted. "All the girls basically worshipped the ground that he walked on."
"That's what he said!"
"Now you know where I got it from."
"Tanith," Valkyrie started. "You were there too, and you were the Head Girl."
"I was."
"You were funny. Your friends....."
"Davina Marr, Victoria Pierce, Murder Rose and Eliza Scorn," Tanith said.
"You remember, but there was no Murder Rose. Her name was Phoenix Rose."
"Also known as Murder Rose," Tanith said. "She changed it."
"So you basically hung out with the bad guys."
"I was a rebel."
"Yes, you were. And you were hilarious, you tried introducing me to them, and when they didn't look up, guess what you yelled..."
"What?"
"'Oh my god! Skulduggery put some trousers on!'" She yelled, mocking Tanith. Ghastly and Tanith both burst out laughing, and Skulduggery stiffened. Valkyrie laughed and noticed the embarrassment radiating off the skeleton. He shook his head.
"Not funny," he mumbled.
"Yes it is!" Valkyrie exclaimed. Skulduggery crossed her arms over his chest. When they had all calmed down, Valkyrie continued, leaving out the bits when China had tried to kill her, but she told them about the fire, and staying at Skulduggery's house, meeting his parents. She talked about beating him up in a fight, rescuing him and his father.
"You rode Sable?" Skulduggery asked, sounding surprised.
"Funny, that's exactly what your dad said when I found you."
"I can't believe you ride Sable!"
"I can't believe you're doubting me!"
"But Sable!"
"Do you remember him?"
"Of course I remember him! He was my horse!"
"Oh."
"And you rode him!"
"Why do you sound so surprised?"
"Because Sable was the fastest horse on the planet back then, and you rode him."
Valkyrie was shocked. She hadn't known that Sable had been the fastest horse in the world back then. She hadn't even known that he was Skulduggery's horse. He was a beautiful stallion though. She continued her story about Herman Grave making her tell him everything, him not talking to her for a week, Ambry admitting that she was his sister. She left out the part about Asaria not being her friend anymore. She told them about the dance, and Skulduggery taking her to see Randy Clarke, who they said was now dead. She told them about Skulduggery dying in her arms, and the room was plunged into silence. Then she told them about how she'd lunged at Grave and had shunted just before she reached him, coming back home, getting knocked out.
"I chopped Grave's head off," Tanith said proudly. Valkyrie smiled.
"Thanks sis," she said.
"My pleasure, I love cutting people's heads off," Tanith replied. Valkyrie laughed. Then she told them about the coma, and Skulduggery being dead and coming back no matter what.
"Wow, a crazy story, it could almost be a dream," Tanith said, taking it all in.
"Well it wasn't. And it was crazy believe me when I say that."
"I believe you," Tanith said.
"As do I," Ghastly said.
"Me too," Skulduggery piped up.
Then they laughed together about the crazy antics that they'd had together, when a voice boomed from behind them.
"Hahahahahaha! It's all fun and games now, but just wait."
They all turned to see Fletcher Renn standing in the doorway, smirking.
"Fletcher?" Valkyrie asked, standing up. "What are you doing?"
Fletcher smiled.
"Hello Valkyrie. It's nice to see you awake."
"What's wrong with you?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're talking all funny and you're smirking."
"Ah my dear Valkyrie. Have you forgotten about the werewolf?"
"No I haven't. I still don't know how it got to Irelan....."
She stopped mid sentence as the realisation dawned on her.
"You!" She exclaimed, pointing a finger at Fletcher. "You did this! You teleported the werewolf to Ireland and made it attack me! You were working with Grave all along!"
Fletcher held out his arms. "Surprise," he said.