Skulduggery Pleasant One-Shots

Fight

Valkyrie and Skulduggery are married in this. Val would be around sixty or seventy. For a competition!

Valkyrie ran.

She was tired. She was cold, and wet, and tired and in so much pain but she kept going. To stop would mean death. Death wasn't exactly number one on her to-do list.

Nine vampires. Nine vampires and a bloody warlock. It was just her luck, of course. She'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time, as per bloody usual. She wanted to shoot something. Or someone.

"Update," Valkyrie called into her phone.

"Driving as fast as I can," came her partner's velvety voice.

"Well," she replied. "Drive faster."

"Remind me where you are?"

Valkyrie almost stopped in her tracks. Skulduggery wasn't saying anything. "You have to be kidding me. Pleasant, tell me you're joking right now."

"I'm joking."

"Yeah, now isn't the time."

"Right, yes. How many are there?"

"Ten in total. Nine vamps, one warlock."

"Any idea who it is?"

"I didn't exactly have time to check his ID," she snapped. "Too busy avoiding being eaten alive."

"Is he behind you?"

"No. Three of the vampires, don't know where the other ones are."

"Be careful," Skulduggery said.

Valkyrie sped up, rounding the corner and taking a sharp right. She ducked into a small, darker corridor while the other three ran on.

"Valkyrie?"

"Yes, dear?" she muttered.

"Be careful," he repeated.

"I'm me," she said, stepping back into the main corridor. "Of course I will." If she was right about where they were, the vampires would be doubling back any moment now.

"That fails to bring me confidence."

"Just trust me," she said quietly as she jogged back the way she had come. She heard scrabbling from around the corner and ran into the nearest room she saw.

"What's going on now?" Skulduggery asked.

"I'm hiding," Valkyrie hissed. "Now shut up, they'll hear us."

She pressed to the wall, closing her eyes and breathing out slowly. She heard the bounding stop, the steps now much slower. There was a low growl. Valkyrie heard a noise from the next room over and opened her eyes. The steps got closer.

"They're getting closer," she breathed.

"Okay, just coming."

"Great, hurry up."

"I'm parking."

There was a moment of silence in which Valkyrie had to stop herself from burning her phone to a crisp. "Jesus Christ, leave it in the street!"

"I can't just leave it. It could get hurt."

"Yes, well so could your wife. Would you rather her or your car?"

"Well..."

"Don't answer that."

"I'm here," Skulduggery said. "Where are you?"