Heya! This is my first try at a VALDUGGERY but I've been meaning to for a long time now. This book picks up where Death Bringer left off but I'm afraid to say that I have left out how mad Skulduggery was at China...in this book the skeleton detectives fury has passed over..... None of the characters belong to me. I am basing their actions and the plot on what I have read in the books by Derek Landy.
COMMENT AND FAN!!!
CHAPTER ONE
Catch me when I fall.
Valkarie ran. She hadn't ran this hard in weeks and inwardly she cursed herself for not training harder in her last lesson. The wall of a near council flat loomed dangerously into view, cursing the bad visibility she held both hands out as she ran and felt for the connections in the air.
The once still space I front of her shimmered and she grunted slightly as she pushed herself off the wall at an able. She stumbled lightly as she landed but kept the speed she had been running at.
Tiredness was threatening to shatter her determined resolve so she tried hard to focus on who was chasing her. And gaining. No, not who. Once they had shed their skin, vampires were a creature.
The ring on Valkarie's finger was cold as ice and and she used it to drink in the shadows in the back street they were now running down. She focused the shadows into a sharp point and aimed them best she could at the vampire. She was rewarded with a grunt of pain and a thud as her pursuer hit the ground hard, then he rolled. Valkarie cursed as she caught sight of it roll out and up, its jawed mouth wide and furiously hungry.
They took a sharp right and were momentarily plunged into darkness when it hit her. Valkarie fell and lay face down on the cold cracked concrete. She dived to the left and turned into a quick roll as it lunged, open mouthed. it's sharp fangs hit the ground instead as Valkarie lept up. She could see the cracks that they formed in the rock. She tensed her muscles as It jumped up and bounded towards her, an easy kill. But it was taken by surprise with a power slap that skulduggery had taught her, just as powerful as a punch but without the broken knuckles. She turned and tried to flip it over her hip but a fist of granite crunched into her ribs and she couldn't help herself crying out in pain.
It lunged but Valkarie thrust her knee sharply into it's gut and it backed off. She guessed one maybe two ribs were broken. The same fist flipped her ver but as she fell Valkarie pushed at the air and it went flying. She ran.
"Damn it Skulduggery..." she muttered as a dead end faced her and the vampire padded lazily round the corner.
As if in answer a black shape dropped soundlessly in-between girl, and vampire. Twin faces enveloped the vampire and it let out an inhuman shriek of fury. Valkarie curled The darkness around her fist and pushed the vampire off its feet. It didn't get up.
Skulduggery pleasant turned to her and she automatically looked down at the ground. She had no idea why this was now an impulse, but it happened ever time he turned to look at her. Glaring Valkarie raised her head to look him right in the eye sockets. The skeleton detective stood there for a second, and although he had no eyes to look with Valkarie could swear they were boring into her.
It took all of her strength to keep that gaze as he strode over. One hand was in his pocket, the other motioned and the limp form of the vampire floated along beside him, looking bizarrely like a limp puppet.
The skeleton detective wore a striking pinstripe suit with a 1920's detective style hat placed jauntily on top of his gleaming skull. He tilted his head to one side as she walked over and with a jolt she realised she was blushing. Her! Valkarie Cain was blushing! Inwardly she cursed him though it wasn't really his fault. It was her fault for how she felt about him. Feelings that would never go away.
"what took you so long?" she asked gruffly, turning away and willing her face to stop burning.
"you looked like you had it pretty much under control..." he said in that velvet voice of his walking over. "you look hurt." he said suddenly coming over and tapping her rib lightly.
Valkarie jerked away though most of her just wanted to hug him. Her ribs burned. She let out a hiss and said in a pained voice,
"just my ribs, we should get to Nye."
Valkarie didn't like going to see Nye, not just because he had once dissected her. But because he knew who she was, more to the point he knew who Darquess was and whenever she visited he made sure she didn't forget it.
They walked back through the streets, Valkarie trying to hide just how much her ribs were hurting and how tired and heavy her legs were after all that running.
Suddenly the path swung away from her and she gasped as Skulduggery picked her up in one swooping movement then carted on walking.
"Where did you get hit?" he asked but Valkarie was in a state of minor shock and only snapped out of it when she heard herself say.
" my ribs, I think a few are broken, I didn't see it coming." she felt Skulduggery tense and waited for him to respond. When he did she couldn't help gasping.
"I'm an idiot. I thought you could handle him, a rouge vampire but it seems I was mistaken. I'm not saying that you couldn't have handled it on your own. But sometimes I forget that you need protection. And I promise that I'm going to be the one there to protect you. You will never have to ight battles on your own ever again. Next time I will be there for you, I'm sorry that I couldn't stop it."
the pain in his voice was too evident for Valkarie's liking but she didn't say anything as the Bentley came into view. She was thinking about how he was holding her and how much she wanted to tell him, right now just how she felt. How he ad liked him since the day they met and how over the years that had turned into love, love for him. As if he knew what she was thinking, the bony arms warped themselves more tightly around her until it felt like Skulduggery was protectively cradling her.
They reached the Bentley and it took all of Valkarie's will to not wrap her arms more tightly around him, to not let go. But she clenched her jaw and sat in aimed silence the whole way to the Sanctuary.
She had first started to have feelings for Skulduggery after he saved her life. An inexperienced in the world of magic twelve year old she had been thrown into Skulduggery's world and at first it'd all been to overwhelming. But he was something to hold onto, to believe in, someone who saw her as an equal. When he had been kidnapped by Serpine she had lost her partner, Stephanie Egdly had left, Valkarie Cain had come to take her place. She had re created herself for him. And when that red hand had been turned on her, she had been pulled out of near death by him. She still remembered how he had attacked Serpine after he saw her hurt. Her crush had only been small then, but it grew.
Once she had become Valkarie completely her training with Skulduggery had begun. She had definitely needed it though, the Grotesquery had been one hell of a challenge. Valkarie remembered how scared she had been as they had headed out to fight the half god at full strength. One look from Skulduggery had evaporated any fear she had, he made her brave. He made her who she wanted to be.
Valkarie still remembered how she had died inside when Skulduggery had been taken from her. Soon her life had been devoted to getting him back. The nights she had lost sleep thinking about how much he meant to her, the times she had been disappointed still haunted her now, the feeling of being utterly helpless. But then how he wasn't able to speak when she found him. How she came back again and again. Valkarie had never loved anyone more in her life.
She had briefly dated Fletcher, but she hadn't had any deep feelings for him, he was more of a best friend, a little brother that loved his hair. She wondered how Skulduggery had felt about them, Fletcher and Valkarie together...
Even now, when he knew that she may one day destroy the world, he still rescued her. He still cared. Or...she thought looking over at him, did he see her as a partner and nothing more? It hurt her more than she could say to even think like that, so she stopped.
They pulled up in front of the dreary Roarhaven situated Sanctuary. Grey walls with a poor effort for windows that was now being used after a rouge detective Davina Marr had used the desolation engine on the last one. Skulduggery got out first and opened Valkarie's door for her.
She tried to stand but hissed as her broken rib poked at her already burning side. Before she could try again though, she was once again scooped up. This time she didn't think about her rib. All that she thought about was how protective he was of her now and how him holding her made Valkarie feel.
They had only just walked into the medical section when Clarabell stepped towards them. She didn't seem faded at all by the state Valkarie was in, but Valkarie was thinking something different now.
"Clarabell? But, but I thought that-" Clarabell cut across her suddenly.
"yes, it's me. I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me huh? Or maybe you forgot about me. I suppose you had, we weren't that close..." she trailed off and Valkarie struggled to say something that wouldn't remind Clarabell of professor Grouse, and how she'd killed him. Of course it hadn't been her fault, it'd been the work of a remnant.
But they knew how much the professor had meant to her. Just like...like Skulduggery was to Valkarie, suddenly she felt an overwhelming sense of sympathy for her. She jerked out of her thoughts when Skulduggery spoke.
"are you working for Nye now?"
"yes, it's a bit different from the Hibernarium but I still like it!"
"listen Clarabell-"
"are you going to say that you're sorry that I killed the professor? Thankyou if you were but I'm ok now. I still miss him but that part if my life is over now, that's why I did this!" she gestured to her hair which was now dyed a highlighter blue, "I'm carrying on with what I love doing and Nye let's me."
"I'm glad to hear it Clarabell, do you know if Nye is busy right now? Valkarie got hurt..." he trailed off waiting for her answer.
"I don't know if it's busy right now but you can come along anyway!" and she skipped off humming Jack Johsons better together as they went.
They found Nye organising it's metal instruments with care. It's long limbs making it look like a hunched spider. He looked up as Clarabell led them in, it's eyes lighting up as it saw Valkarie. She was sure it did this purely to scare her. She tried to hold her head high and glare at it but Skulduggery was still cradling her and she must have looked like a particularly stroppy child in her fathers arms...damn it!
After carefully setting her down on the medical table, promising to return as soon as she was better and giving Nye a few words of stern warning Skulduggery left to deposit the unconscious vampire into a holding cell. Valkarie felt like standing and running after him, telling him that she didn't want to be alone with it.
Skulduggery walked out.
Nye turned to her, it's grim making her shudder slightly. It closed the door and instructed her to lie down.
"so Darquess..." it attempted to drawl in it's high voice. "what happened this time?..."
"broken ribs." she snarled. It was only calling her by her true name because it could. She refused to let it get to her.
" I heard that you and the skeleton were hunting down rouge vampires, it was only a matter of time until you got yourself into something you couldnt handle."
It was true, after Dusk had disappeared newly made vampires had been popping up all over Ireland. Like the Sanctuary didn't have enough problems. So they had been recruited to round the majority of them up and take them into questioning. The ten they had captured so far were so uncooperative that it was obvious whoever had made them had made it very clear not to mention anything.
"yes." she said flatly, not wanting to give it the satisfaction of anything. She had on several occasions in the past considered telling Skulduggery of how Nye spoke to her. But she knew how much trouble that would be landed on them if Nye wound up shot...
"have you told anyone yet?" it asked with mock consern lacing it's voice like venom. "not your friend...the Elders even? You can't fight this...I could help..." he carried on, in a voice used by one cradeling a large bombshell. "I should tell someone, or maybe just end it for you now?...it'd be a load off the skeletons shoulders too...of course once people know that he knew al along it'd be jail for him..." Valkarie realised that her fists were balled and her jaw was tight.
"don't react." she thought, "don't give him the satisfaction of breaking..." so she lay back and let him fix her up...
SKULDUGGERY
Owning up.
Skulduggery strode into Ghastly's office straight after he had deposited the vampire, making a beeline for what he needed to do before he backed out again.
Ghastly looked up as he entered, he rarely got a visit from his oldest friend. Without saying a word Skulduggery took a seat. He didn't know how to begin with a conversation like this, so he started off best he could.
"do you know why I'm here?" he began. Ghastly considered him for a minute then,
"no, but here is what I can tell you. You entered my office today with a purpose, something you need to get off your chest. You don't quite know how to say it either. My friend, whatever it is you have come here to say today is incredulously important to you..." he roved his eyes over the office sceptically.
"and no Valkarie, so you don't want her to hear?..." he waited for Skulduggery to retaliate.
"You've gotten too good Bespoke." he said finally. This was harder than he thought, but before he could make a quick excuse and leave he found himself saying everything that he needed to say.
"I love her Ghastly. I love Valkarie." he waited for Ghastly to say something, he didn't so he pressed on. "I've had strong feeling for her for some time now, I just..." he took his hat off and looked up, "I had no idea that feeling I had for her could be love."
"well at last!" Ghastly exclaimed, beaming. "skulduggery I have seen a side if you that I have never seen before. A better side, and that side is by her. Infact it has been quite evident for some time to me now that there is no one better suited to you I could think of. Love has brought you here, and love is always right."
Skulduggery had never heard Ghastly come up with such a speech, but this only reinforced his idea that owning up to his feelings had been the right thing to do.
"but she doesn't feel the sane way." Skulduggery said, his previous happiness falling from his velvet voice. "and she never will, she will give her heart to a man of flesh and blood. A greater man than I ever will be. I am in love but she will never love me back." his votive broke on the last word and he dipped his skull even lower.
"Skulduggery." Ghastly's voice brought him back. "if you truly love Valkarie, you go and tell her. Any feelings she may or may not have for you...you will never know if you don't find out!" he sighed. "no one should deny his heart what it wants Skulduggery. Alive or not. And right now the heart you have hidden away all these years is yearning to be loved. Fools and cowards are the ones who say that things are better left unsaid. If you love her.... Don't hide it. By all means show it!"
For a minute Skulduggery was silent and Ghastly feared his heroic speech had been for nothing. Then...
"how should I confess?"
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Hey guys! Thanks for reading chapter one and I promise to update it as soon as I finish up the next part! Fan me please and I'll make sure to answer any questions you leave in the comments! If I get ten fans at least for this then I won't just update the next chapter......I'll update the next TWO chapters!!!
VALDUGGERY!!! Xxx