In The Dark: A Skulduggery Pleasant Fanfiction

Part I

There was nothing unusual about Coach Street. It was a typical residential neighbourhood on the outskirts of Dublin. A sea of redbrick and concrete. Where the terraced houses opened up directly onto the narrow pavement, and parked cars straddled the curb. The roads here were quiet, but not deserted. A few kids were kicking around a football at the end of the street. They looked up as the Bentley pulled up in front of number forty-four.

"This is it?" Valkyrie asked, peering through the tinted glass of the car window.

"This is it," Skulduggery confirmed.

"Looks normal."

"Looks can be deceiving."

She turned her eyes back to him and watched as he loosened his tie and unbuttoned a few shirt buttons. He tapped the sigils carved into his collarbones. A face flowed up over his skull. It wasn't a bad face. Dark hair, dark skin, and dark eyes complemented the familiar square jaw and sharp cheekbones.

"You're staring," he said.

"I'm not," she said, pointedly looking away, "I'm just wondering."

"About?"

What the hell we're doing.

"Why you haven't referred this case to the Sanctuary. A maybe-missing-persons isn't exactly a priority for us with Abyssinia on the loose."

"Her sister says she anti-Sanctuary. Sending one of their detectives to check if she's at home could lead to trouble."

She looked back at him in time to see him finish buttoning up his shirt. "And?"

Skulduggery shrugged. "If she is anti-Sanctuary maybe she's found her way to Abyssinia. It could be a lead."

"Maybe," Valkyrie conceded. "But we have other leads we could be working on."

"But none of them live ten minutes away. Are you ready to go?"

"Hold on." She reached over the gearbox and straightened Skulduggery's tie. It was becoming a habit. She wasn't sure if he was leaving it dishevelled on purpose or whether having his murderous ex back in town was playing on his mind. She would have fixed it either way. "There. Now I'm ready,"

He smiled. A flash of familiar teeth behind unfamiliar lips.

They got out of the Bentley, ignoring the Resident Parking Only sign and looked up at number forty-four. The blinds were drawn - which was a little unusual for three in the afternoon, but nothing to write home about. In the corner of the ground-floor window, Valkyrie spotted a small symbol etched into the glass. She pointed it out to Skulduggery.

"Reinforcement sigil. It strengthens the glass, stops anyone breaking in that way," he explained.

"Nifty. Maybe I should get one of China's apprentices to add some to the Oompa Loompa."

He shook his head. "Bad idea. Reinforcement sigils will stop people from breaking in, but they'll also stop you from breaking out in an emergency. Stick with a car alarm. It's safer."

There were more sigils on the front door. She recognised these ones: anti-teleporter sigils. They were a common feature of mage-owned homes. Nothing to be concerned about. What did concern her, however, was the ajar front door. In all of Valkyrie's years of being a detective, an ajar front door had never been a good sign. She was willing to bet this time would be no different.

She looked at Skulduggery, and he looked back at her. They'd done this enough times not to need words. He stepped to left, she to the right. He drew his revolver, she reached for the shock stick strapped to her back. He nodded and she shouldered the door open.