An actual continuation from chapter twelve.
It was raining.
Valkyrie reflected on this fact, sprawled in a lounge chair, eating the pizza room service had brought. Just two days ago, Valkyrie had sunbathed on the beach. Now, the rain had probably washed away all the sand.
"I'm bored."
Skulduggery didn't answer. He adjusted his hat in the mirror, pulled it low, pushed it higher on his skull, down again. He was bored, too.
"Let's go. I just figured something out."
Valkyrie frowned. "No, you didn't. You just want me to get all wet while you deflect all the water."
"Nonsense. I did figure something out. It's all very clever." He walked over to the hotel door, turned and waited for her.
"You didn't figure something out," Valkyrie grumbled. She stood and brushed off the crumbs. "I'm not even going to get dressed, because we're probably just going to walk around in the rain for nothing."
"You're going to walk around in your bathing suit?"
Valkyrie almost said yes, just to spite him, but in the end, she pulled on her black clothes. She glared at him the entire time.
"Let me wear your hat."
Skulduggery pulled up his scarf, head down to avoid suspicion from trapped tourists. "No."
"Yes, let me wear it."
"You're really annoying."
"I'm sunburned and you're making me walk around in the rain. I'm a little grumpy. Oh, that lady right there is giving you a weird look. Maybe she's a siren. Does she look hot?"
"The one who's balding?"
"Maybe you're into that. Not my place to judge."
They exited the grand lobby, leaving marble and cherry wood for concrete. Valkyrie scowled at the rain, then glanced over to Skulduggery.
"You could keep the water off of both of us."
"You were the one who was complaining that I was going to stay dry. Now, we're both wet."
"But we both could be dry."
Skulduggery laughed. "Where's the fun in that?"
They walked away from the hotel. All the statues and vast parking lots and pools stopped at the gates. Beyond that, a tourist attraction. Stands and small streets made of ancient cobblestone, houses made of whitewashed wood. When there was sunlight, the abandoned tents grew tables that offered shells and wood carvings.
Now, just a few locals scattered about underneath doorframes. The locals hardly looked at the two of them. Just another two tourists.
"I like it better like this," Valkyrie murmured.
Skulduggery stopped at a junction between streets. He pointed.
"You go that way. I'll go this way."
Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "It's a street. How are we supposed to find a siren—a sexy fish lady—in the middle of a street?"
"Sneak up on her," Skulduggery suggested, then moved off down his street.
Valkyrie waited, hoped that maybe Skulduggery would return, but in the end, she trudged off down the street. Even though it was raining, it was humid and hot. Valkyrie's clothes stuck to her, and she debated removing her jacket versus getting drenched.
"Well, you look happy."
Valkyrie blinked the rain out of her eyes and looked around.
A woman sat on the stairs in front of a tiny house. She was soaking, her feet in a puddle. But she had a playful smile. Her hair, dark with rain as it was, was probably blond when it was dry. She was strong, and she smiled again when she saw Valkyrie observing her.
"Why are you out?" the woman asked.
Valkyrie looked over her shoulder, but she doubted she could see Skulduggery in the rain, even if he was there. She licked her lips and stepped closer. The woman had blue eyes.
"I'm not really sure. My—my, uh, friend and I are looking for someone, but I think he just wants to annoy me."
The woman's nose wrinkled when she smiled. "'Friend?'"
Valkyrie shrugged. "What are you doing out here?"
"I like the rain. I like how quiet the streets are when no one's around."
Valkyrie nodded. "It must be annoying. Having a bunch of tourists around all the time. I'd go crazy, probably start punching people."
The woman laughed. "If you're not a tourist, then, what are you?"
Valkyrie stepped closer. "We're here to help. Some people have gone missing, and my friend and I are trying to find the person or persons responsible. Do you know anything about that?"
The woman's smile fell slightly. She turned her head, and something was—wrong. Just for a second, the woman's features seemed to shift, seemed to settle back into place a moment after the movement. And there had been something underneath, something wrong beneath the rosy cheeks.
"Is that your 'friend?'" the blond asked, words sharp underneath he soft tone.
Valkyrie stepped back, surprised how close she had gotten to the woman. Skulduggery walked through the rain, hands in his pocket, sunglasses gone and scarf pushed down.
Valkyrie glanced at the woman, then walked back to meet Skulduggery five meters away. The woman watched them, reclined back on the steps, legs extending further into the puddle.
"Is that a siren?" Valkyrie whispered, looking over her shoulder. "She doesn't look like a fish lady."
"She probably wouldn't kill many people if she looked like a fish lady. What were you talking about with her?"
"I'm not sure. I think something about tourists. How did she expect me to drown? Was she going to shove my face in the puddle and hold me there?"
"Well, she does look pretty strong."
"What?" Valkyrie looked over her shoulder again. "No, my arms are totally bigger than hers."
Skulduggery tilted his head. "What does she look like?"
"Blonde, strong—not that strong—blue eyes, nice smile, nice laugh. What does she look like to you?"
"She's scowling."
Valkyrie grinned. "That's it? That's your draw to her? She's grumpy?"
Skulduggery looked at her, and Valkyrie felt like he was making fun of her, somehow.
He led the way back to the siren, and she smiled at the two of them.
"So, this is your friend?" she asked Valkyrie.
"Yep. Apprently, you're the asshat whose been killing a bunch of people, so we didn't have far to look. If you could stop doing that, we'd really appreciate it."
Once again, there was something wrong with the siren's features. She was smiling, but it looked like the mask was slipping. It was an angry smile, and Valkyrie imagined she could see another row of sharp teeth.
"Why should we? No one will miss them."
Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. "We missed them."
Skulduggery nodded. "You're not very subtle. If you snatched locals, maybe, but you've been going after tourists. Rich and American tourists; adjectives that are antonyms for tact and discretion. You have kidnapped and presumably eaten one of the most obnoxious types of human being imaginable, and that'sbefore the second wives notice their husbands have gone off."
The woman looked at Skulduggery. "Why would we eat locals? We like the locals. When the tourist season dies down, it's peaceful. The locals stay out of our way, and we stay out of theirs. If anything, the locals should thank us for what we do."
Valkyrie frowned. "You keep saying 'we,' but where are all your friends?"
"Did you really think it was just me eating all those nice Americans?"
Skulduggery started to say something, but the puddle in front of them rippled. Two hands shot out and wrapped themselves around Valkyrie's ankles. They pulled, and Valkyrie fell on her ass, and then she was dragged into the puddle.
Valkyrie tried to kick out, but then she actually got a good look around her.
It was massive. Like an impossibly deep, impossibly vast lake. It stretched out into endless gloom. Above, there were shafts of light from other puddles, and as the hands pulled Valkyrie further and further away from the surface, they almost looked like stars.
Valkyrie forced herself to look down at her feet, but the murky green of the lake and the mottled skin of whatever was holding her against the dark of the seabed didn't help. Valkyrie flexed her fingers, gathered her magic—
And it was gone, rushing through the water towards oblivion. Valkyrie stared in confusion, and the hands released her. She looked down, now that the water wasn't slamming into her eyeballs, and saw mouth full of teeth, rows and rows.
Valkyrie kicked away, summoned her magic, but didn't dare release it. She could feel it boiling underneath her skin, wanting to race through the water. Electricity magic was not all it was cracked up to be.
The thing beneath her coiled. It had arms and a long tail that ended in a blunt tail. Hair that curled through the water, tiny eyes. But God, the teeth. Rows and rows, like a lamprey, ready to suck Valkyrie's essence out.
It—she stared at Valkyrie, and she stared back. Then she raised her hand, aimed carefully, and released a bolt of electricity. The siren didn't have time to dodge, and it slammed into her. Valkyrie watched the siren twitch, and then fall still.
Valkyrie saw swirling masses of fins, but it was so dark it might have been her imagination. She needed to breathe, so she started kicking, aiming at the closest puddle and kicking. She could feel her lungs burning.
Something swam above her, and Valkyrie let out another bolt of magic as a warning. She was going to make it, she was, and the puddle looked less like a star and more like a moon, and then Valkyrie's head breached the surface.
She took in a gulp of air, another, and managed to get one arm out. But the puddle was too small, and the rain had stopped. Valkyrie let out a crazy little laugh and she kicked out beneath and her and scrambled for purchase to pull herself out.
"Skulduggery!" she yelled, managing to pull herself up a fraction. "Skulduggery!"
She heard footsteps, and there he was at the end of the street. And then hands again, and Valkyrie was pulled under. Once again, the puddles shrank as she was pulled down, down, and the hands released her. Valkyrie spun, looking for someone to electrocute, but there was no one.
She sped toward the surface, breached, managed to take a breath, but then the hands, and she was pulled down. Two more times, and by the third time, her legs and arms were heavy and her chest was on fire.
They were playing with her.
And the puddles were disappearing. The sun had come up, and already the water was evaporating. Had she not been under water, Valkyrie would have started crying with frustration.
Where the hell was Skulduggery?
Once again, Valkyrie broke the surface of a puddle, and then Skulduggery was standing there. He grabbed her arms, waited until those cold hands clamped around Valkyrie and started tugging, and hauled her out.
The siren came with Valkyrie, face becoming pretty and hair blonde. She snarled, but Skulduggery threw Valkyrie to the side and grabbed the siren's hair, hauling her out of the puddle until just the tips of her toes were still wet.
"Valkyrie?" Skulduggery asked, locking an arm around the siren's throat. "Vakyrie, are you all right?"
Valkyrie was sucking in air. "I'm... fine."
Skulduggery nodded. "You kept popping up in different puddles, and they would have swarmed me had I gone in after you."
Valkyrie was too busy breathing.
Skulduggery tightened his hold on the siren. "So, this is where you've been hiding. We've been all over this island looking for you, and you've been under our feet the whole time. Clever." He looked at Valkyrie. "I told you I had figured something out."
Valkyrie glared, and Skulduggery nodded.
"When you scowl like that, you're prettier than any siren."
"I hate you."
"I know, dear."