onelassieandherfandoms : where's all my vilekyrie content at
In a different life, Valkyrie would have liked to live somewhere like here. The trees groaned above her, leaves red and yellow and orange, casting fantastic patterns in her vision, even with her eyes closed, even with her ears ringing, head spinning.
Her eyes snapped open and she scrambled up, slipping back down in the leaves.
Lord Vile stood in front of her, the only monochrome thing in the whole forest.
Valkyrie couldn't speak, a lump in her throat. She wondered where her stick was, buried somewhere underneath the leaves. She felt naked.
"Hey," she rasped.
Lord Vile didn't move.
Valkyrie gave a little wave. "You tried to kill me last time I found you. Are you going to do that again?"
Vile held a hand up, and a shadow whipped forward—Valkyrie flinched back.
Nothing hit her.
She cracked her eye open, and her stick was held in front of her by a thin shadow. She frowned at it, frowned at Vile, and then held her hand out. The stick floated gently into her hand, and the shadow dissolved into the air.
Valkyrie gripped it, gripped it harder. Let out a breath.
"Thank you."
Wind rustled through the trees. A red leaf floated down and landed on Vile's helmet.
Valkyrie laughed.
A shadow grew from Vile's armor and pierced the leaf, and the laugh died on Valkyrie's lips.
"You know, this is the first time we've had a talk since..." Valkyrie stood, slowly. "Since, well, you know. Since you went coo-coo-cachoo. I've missed you. It's weird not hearing you talk all the time. Do you miss talking?"
Nothing.
"I bet you do," Valkyrie said, brushing a leaf off her pants. "I bet Skulduggery is dying to make fun of me, isn't he? What does he think of this tattoo?" She pulled up her shirt and pointed to the cartoony skull and crossbones on her ribs. "I can hear the disappointment from here."
Vile did nothing.
"I mean, not that you care, just that I've been dragging myself all over the world looking for you." Valkyrie put her hands in her pocket and shrugged. "I missed you, you know? And every time I found you, you would throw shadow spikes at me, and hit me in the head with a shadow and knock me out..."
Valkyrie looked at him, eyes wide, before shrugging again.
"I mean, it's whatever, I forgive you for hitting me on the head with a shadow and knocking me unconscious. Risk I have to take."
Valkyrie kicked a leaf.
Vile did what he had been mostly been doing—nothing.
"I miss Skulduggery, by the way, not you. Why didn't you kill me, just then? You finally had me at your mercy, literally at your feet. You messed up. That's every villain's problem, you know, they don't strike while the iron is hot."
Valkyrie was getting sufficiently creeped out, Vile just staring at her.
"Can I talk to Skulduggery? Please? Does he miss me?"
A shadow swept across the ground, scattering leaves as it came towards her. Valkyrie jumped over it, snarling, and ran towards Vile, brandishing her stick.
The ground shifted under her and Valkyrie had to change directions. Her feet slipped in the leaves and she fell on her side, kicking her legs, trying to get away get away get away, before a shadow ripped through her.
Instead, Vile was suddenly standing over her. Valkyrie lashed out, magic crackling, but what she didn't expect was his foot to come down on her chest, squeezing the air from her lungs.
Valkyrie felt tears spring to her eyes. Panicked, she swung her stick towards him, weak, slow, but as soon as it got near him, energy crackled out and snuck underneath the plates in Vile's armor.
Vile jerked away, spikes twisting out of the shadows, as much as a snarl as Vile would make. Valkyrie scrambled up and ran, slipping and sliding on the leaves.
She sprinted, nearly twisting an ankle, until she tasted iron in her mouth. She slowed, looking over her shoulder.
But it was fine. He never followed.
...
England greeted her with rain.
Valkyrie out front of the airport, looking around, glaring at anyone who bumped into here, even when they were long gone, suitcase behind them like a dog. Valkyrie's own suitcase was filthy.
A car sped past, and Valkyrie jumped backwards too late. A gust of wind blew water in her face. Tanith pulled up on her bike.
"Valkyrie!" Tanith took of her helmet, hair like a mane, brightest thing standing on that asphalt. "God, it's been ages!" She hopped off her bike and pulled Valkyrie into a rough hug. "You look good."
Valkyrie managed to smile back. "Missed you. Happy things haven't changed here, and thank you for picking me up. I really appreciate it."
Tanith grinned. "Hey, what's a little motorcycle ride in the rain for my best gal pal?" She opened the seat of her bike. "How goes the hunt, by the way?" she asked, casually, voice light.
"Your Sanctuary was nice enough to tip me off that he's in the area. Somewhere. In the country. Which is a better lead than I usually have." Valkyrie hesitated. "Tanith, there's no way my suitcase is going to fit in there. Like, no way."
Tanith looked from Valkyrie's suitcase to the motorcycle. "Can you drag it?"
"Won't the wheels snap off?"
"I mean, maybe." Tanith puckered her lips, then shrugged. "I think you're going to have to drag it. Sorry, Val."
The wheels did snap off, and Valkyrie was terrified of the whole thing spilling open and her clothing tripping up the bike. Tanith didn't seemed concerned, because she had a helmet, but Valkyrie was busy blinking the water out of her eyes, one arm firmly around Tanith's waist, the other hand with the suitcase, utterly blind to what was happening.
Granted, Tanith lived here, and probably traversed these roads constantly. But it made her heart pound with adrenaline, all the same.
And then she was flying through the air.
Her reflexes snapped in before she knew what was happening, and she curled her arms around her head, trying to make sense of the ground.
But it didn't matter, because something wrapped around her and dragged her down. She slammed in the asphalt, winded, confused. She twisted, and there was Tanith's bike, front tire shredded—and Tanith?
There was just the green of the surrounding fields.
And then she was flung through the air and landed right in the middle of one of those fields. She rolled through the dung and dirt, shoulder cracking. She struggled to sit—her arm gave out from under her. Dislocated, probably.
Valkyrie's ears rang, and she jumped up, whipping around.
And there was Lord Vile, dark, water making him shimmer in a demented sort of mirage as it rippled over the armor. It almost looked like leather in this light. The wheat was up to his waist, and it brushed against Valkyrie's hands.
"Skulduggery?" Valkyrie tried.
Vile grew spikes and threw himself at her. She danced out of the way, ragged and disoriented, her shoulder throbbing. He whipped those shadows at her feet, but she was already dancing away.
"Tanith!" she bellowed.
Shadow slammed into her, and she fell onto her bad shoulder. Pain seared, so sudden tears mixed with the rain, and then it disappeared. He had popped the damn thing back into place. And her concentration was back, too.
The power rushed to her like an energetic dog, and she dug her fingers into the dirt and electricity burrowed through the ground. Vile couldn't see what she was doing, and Valkyrie watched with a grim sort of satisfaction as Vile cringed.
And then shadows slithered through the ground and crawled onto her hands. She screamed and jolted back, but the shadows dug into her flesh. She howled this time, shaking her hands and the shadows ate through her flesh, red with the black.
The shadows dissolved like smoke, and Vile was standing over her.
Valkyrie was shaking, the raw pain—
Vile bent down in the grass, looking at her hands. Valkyrie could see Skulduggery in him, then, in the tilt of the head, and the direct, wondrous interest in her, her movements, her pain.
He hadn't meant to hurt her. That was plain to see. And he reached out to touch her cheek...
Tanith slammed her sword into his back. Vile reared upwards, but Tanith had gotten her sword through a slit in his armor. She grunted in satisfaction and twisted, and Valkyrie could see the pain as Vile moved.
But it didn't take him long to figure out what had happened. A black tentacle whipped around Tanith's waist and pulled her off, held her in the air. Tanith struggled, trying to rip or hack at the shadow, but Vile just squeezed harder.
Valkyrie could see the shadow start to burrow under Tanith's skin, follow her veins, bloody and violent and painful. Tanith screamed. Vile tilted his head, manipulated the air with his hand, and the shadow obediently followed.
Valkyrie dragged herself off the ground. Her heart slammed in her ears. However much of Skulduggery remained, his benevolence only extended as far as Valkyrie.
"Stop!"
Tanith stopped screaming.
Valkyrie lipped her lips. Vile's back was to her, but he looked over his shoulder at her.
Valkyrie stepped closer. "Stop." Her voice was hoarse.
Lord Vile considered, turning back to Tanith in the air. For a long second, Valkyrie thought he was going to continue, and that she would have to watch her friend die.
But then, then, thank God, Vile tossed her away like a ragdoll.
The heavy weight on Valkyrie's chest lifted, and she staggered over to where Tanith had disappeared in the long grass. She was already sitting up and flicking her hands to rid herself of the blood from her ruptured capillaries.
"Where is he?" Tanith said, reaching for her sword.
"You're bleeding," Valkyrie pointed out.
"Yeah, and I'm going to make him bleed."
"He's a skeleton." Valkyrie stood. "He's gone."
"Fuck." Tanith stood up. "And he wrecked my bike. God, he's such a dick."
"Are you, like, okay?" Valkyrie stared at Tanith's hands. "He might have nicked an artery."
Tanith walked back over to the road. "Listen, if I pass out from blood loss, call the mechanic and get my bike taken care of, first."
...
Tanith's house was larger than Valkyrie would have expected. It was way out in the country, an hour's ride in a taxi. A neglected garden filled with weeds and wild plants, but grass neat and clipped. Large windows, a second floor. Wooden walls that needed to be repainted.
When Tanith unlocked the door and led Valkyrie, it made her sad. Not enough furniture for the large space. No pictures on the walls.
"I don't have another bed besides my own," Tanith said, pointing to the couch. "But I have plenty of blankets and spare pillows. If it's really awful, you can always bunk with me. But I kick and punch in my sleep."
Valkyrie grinned. "No, the couch's perfect."
Tanith threw Valkyrie's clothes into the dryer and gave her an old, baggy t-shirt for pajamas.
They heated up leftovers and then made popcorn, flipping through the local access channels because Tanith wasn't home enough to justify cable. They had a good time—Downtown Abbey was still playing, all these years later—and they tried to piece together the story, laughing madly.
This was good. It was the first time she had relaxed in years, and the realization of it made her throat close up.
The realization of it made her miss Skulduggery.
"Hey, Val?"
Valkyrie looked over, swallowing heavily. "Yeah?"
Tanith ate some popcorn, eyes glued to the television screen, fingers bandaged. "Why did he listen to you?"
Valkyrie couldn't comprehend the question. She floundered for a second, but Tanith continued:
"I mean, he was going to kill me, today, wasn't he? And you told him to stop, and he did." Tanith' glanced over at her, then back to the television. "And he didn't kill you. You were down on the ground. He could have."
"Yeah. He could have."
"So, why?"
Valkyrie swallowed again. "I mean, he's still Skulduggery, right?"
Tanith looked over so fast, Valkyrie was surprised her neck didn't crack.
Valkyrie's fingers curled into her palms. "I mean, somewhere, deep inside," she said quickly, "Skulduggery is there. And I think that he's been Lord Vile so long that Skulduggery can influence his decisions."
Tension had drained from Tanith's shoulders, and she looked back at the screen. "Yeah, that makes sense. Who the hell is this stuffy bloke with the limp again?"
...
Valkyrie's eyes snapped open.
She didn't know where she was and she kicked herself upwards, panting, sticky with sweat. Not a hotel, she had flown somewhere yesterday though, arrived...
Relief swept through her. England. Tanith.
The nightmare clung to her mind. She kicked the covers off and tied her hair back from her face, fanning herself. A cold glass of water always helped sooth her nerves, and she was just swinging her feet off the couch when she caught sight of Lord Vile.
She froze. He stood in front of the television, not a meter away from her, as black as the night around him.
She should call for Tanith. Call for Tanith and run, because here was a mass murderer standing in front of her, who was going to murder her friend a few hours earlier, who was going to probably murder Valkyrie now. She should call for Tanith.
Valkyrie stood, slowly, slowly. Shadows rolled around Valkyrie's ankles, ready to lash out if she ran, but she didn't.
Valkyrie walked up to him, an inch between them, if that. She looked at his helmet, where his eye sockets would be, so she could at least pretend she was looking him in the eye and not this knot of metal and shadow.
When was the last time she had even seen Skulduggery?
Tendrils of shadows curled against her legs, wrapping around them, brushed against her cheek. Gentle, so gentle.
And Valkyrie leaned herself against his armor, and it curved to meet her body, so she could press closer. How she had missed him, in whatever small way this was him. Maybe he missed her, too.
And those shadows wrapped around over her knees, inching upwards, and she sighed, deeply, sadly. He had never killed her when he had the chance, had he? Just let her run. Like one huge game of cat and mouse.
Her head lolled, and the shadows wrapped around her neck, soft as satin against her skin. Years she had been chasing after him, even since Roarhaven. All around the world. Years. Maybe she was tired.
The shadows curled around her thighs, twisted underneath the back of her shirt, brushed against her lips. And higher those tendrils on her thighs reached.
"Valkyrie?"
Lord Vile disappeared, and his absence made her stagger forward. She whipped around, panting, to Tanith on the stairs.
Tanith's eyes flicked over Valkyrie, eyebrows drawn together.