Skulduggery Pleasant Fan-fiction- Love Amongst The Cain (Sequel to The Cradle Of Magic)

Walking the past.

The greasiness from the man's fingers slid across his trousers as he slapped his oily lips, wetting them and picking the crisped bread crumbs in a light sheen off the cracked surface. He ran a hand through his hair, a loose parting forming through his sable tinted hair as he lent back, sitting up and straddling the wooden chair with a wide stride.
He was young, fresh in facade but ancient to most in age.
His breathing twitched as the white, blinded curtains swayed a little; a harsh cold seeping in through the dirtied and singular glazed window. He was nervous but rarely showed it, his hands twitching a fraction before he went to adjust his cuffs; a crimson wine stain marking the chiffon of his overly short shirt that rode up his wrists.
The room was small, aside from the bustled meeting rooms northwest to himself. A muffled hum wading through the thin and badly painted walls as he swayed forward into his chair, resting his elbows over the edge of the desk and running his hands into his raven, matted hair. The radio was playing somewhere far off, probably the open door he'd passed on his way here, a monotonous thrum of weather reports and the casual seventies song passing down the halls as it joined the patter of the rain upon the window ledge beside him. He'd never really been into music at that time, he'd been in America and evidently far too busy with the war.
There was a thin layer of grime and dense sweat that had formed on the back of his neck, a patch of the substance staining his shirt under his arms and on his nape. He had found no time to wash through the past few days, being on the run had meant there was no time to lodge with anyone for longer than a few hours. His blue eyes flicked rapidly to the door, bold lines of tired red veins showing in the yellowing of his eyes. Two men and a young woman walked in, all dark haired and in charcoal uniform with a cream and gold hexagonal emblems on their upper arms. The older man closed the door behind the two and they sat at their chairs opposite the ex soldier, his hands sweat lined and fidgeting; slathered with the remnants of the fried chicken he'd just eaten that quarter hour before.
There was a substantial pause between the four, a casual lack of attention as the girl checked her phone quickly; agitated with the lack of news from her brother. She adjusted back into her seat and tucked a loose strand of umber hair behind her ear before addressing the man, the absence of conversation killing her.
"Mr Hawk. It's nice to see you again." Her voice was clipped, but there was an essence of awkwardness between the two.
The man's eyes focused upon the two men to the side of he, flitting casually back and forth as she progressed into conversation.
"I understand it must have been quite difficult to get here today, Mr Hawk. So I'll make this brief."
She swallowed, running her thumb over the finely manicured nail of her index finger before flicking her eyes to the man once more to whom was now sitting in a four-figure leg cross and disinclined to conversation.
The silence urged her to continue and evidently she did as she stood, circling the circumference of the man, her heels clicking lightly on the pine floor beneath.
"You remember ten years ago, I presume? It must stick quite prominently in your memory."
He said nothing, his gaze constant on the wall ahead.
"Because the rest of us do. The rest of us remembered that day, those weeks after. The lives we lost. The pain we went through. It never faded like the papers did and the words that were spoken. The memory taunts us. We all remember, Hawk. We all remember what you did." Her voice was quiet, angered and fists balled tightly to her sides. Her blue-eyed gaze was icy and still, her face taught and jaw clenched; teeth locked.
Hawk swallowed, avoiding the eyes of the girl.
"I couldn't of helped what happened that da-"
He was quickly cut by a fist slamming to wood and the angry grapple of his shirt as the warmth of a hand slammed to his chest. "Don't you dare! Don't you ever say it was anyone less than yourself! You were responsible for those lives and you lost them! You let them go!"
There was a grunt from behind, a rise from a chair as the Captain rose from his seat to approach the girl; sliding a hand to her shoulder and tilting his head to murmur in her ear. She bit her lip and looked at him, nodding and apologising.
The man in the chair watched the scene, the loosening of the hand on his collar releasing a breath from his lips. He ran his fingers lightly over his trouser knee and sighed deeply.
"Why am I here?" Was his question, he only needed a simple answer and the agenda for the next few weeks would be filled. Only a few words to be said and he'd be gone. He'd been paying for his crimes the second portion of his life, and he'd continue it until he saved the amount of lives he'd let slip until his once firm grip.
He'd let his medals fade, despite the heaviness that came with them still painful on his soul, weighing him down. He never wanted to let what he did slip from his mind.
Corrival Deuce set his faded muscular weight to the head of a chair, sniffing a cold from his nostrils and running a hand over his greyed stubble.
"We had a security breach a day back. The whole Sanctuary was up in flames. Seven people died. Innocent people. However, we do know that it was no accident. We received an unknown message from hours before warning us about it. We obviously have an agent on the inside."
He sighed and looked to the two others, Damien's eyes blank. He was thinking, a pensive man in characteristics, his hands steepled to his mouth. The General looked over to Deuce, her head shaking softly as she absentmindedly rolled the cold chill off her shoulders.
"We let slip an Elder during the fire. We have no clue where she is. As well as several operatives. We have our eyes scanning for them but in the mean time we need you to find the source of these happenings and report back to us. You think you can manage that, Hawk?"
He grunted and rose from his seat, sighing before giving a faint salute to his upper forehead.
"Yessir."
Deuce gave a nod and dismissed the man, the company leaving the room empty and bare. It was raining hard outside, the water pounding at the window in a force.
Hawk slipped a note from his pocket, the tears of heaven splattering over the parchment. It was a number.
-01458 87632
And ex lover. The girl, he knew, behind it all.

***
-Erskine

My head was numb, clouded and thick with thought. The steps I took through the hospital were loose and badly footed, the people passing as mere shadows in my sights. My eyes were focused to the floor, the soft tread of my gauche loafers marking another step towards her death.
No.
There would be a way out. There was always a way out. A loop hole. Some way I could slide through this situation, like a snake through a hole. Always a way.
He needed to find her anyway, despite his task. Someone wanted her dead, afterall, and as her father it was my duty to protect her. Despite not knowing entirely how she got here in the first place. Maybe the fire? I wouldn't know until I saw her, saw her face.
A small smile brushed my face and a sigh passed my lips as my legs glided a little more freely down the corridor. It had been so long since I'd seen her last, and now he was a free man to an extent. He could run without chains, but could never fly as long as he remained in the cage of the law. And for now I was fine for that, at least I could control a fair few things before being locked up again. Where I belonged.
It was an unfair thing, in one hand I'd killed and broken, in another created and mended. The latter I'd created for my family, to be happy. One of which I'd never enjoyed. When she was old enough, I had told myself years before, you would tell her and you would be happy. How things with time and how passion does not waver. Longing creeps in the more time is wasted, an opportune moment rare. I'd almost told her back in the cells, almost told her what I was to her. But no.
Why? Why because it was not right. I'd tell her when I was free.
Now might be my only chance.
I rounded a corner, walking to the ward entrance. The walls were painted a chiffon white and the beds much the same, a window in the far corner to where a little girl lay asleep.
My little girl.
I paused, the rest of the room empty. I had time to spare despite my limits. I wanted time to take and so gave myself a few seconds to ponder, biting on my lip and furrowing my brow softly to watch her sleep.
Her hair was curled, falling around her head in a halo of dark curls. Her face was clean, soft and white, a streak or two of dried blood marking up the curves of her cheekbones. Her dark eyes were closed, rested, her head tilted to the ceiling as she slept peacefully.
It stung and wasted at me inside. She looked so much like her mother. Her beautiful mother. My Annie.
I swallowed painfully and paced slowly to her bed, kneeling and brushing my hand over her cheek. Her eyes twitched a little behind her lashes before fluttering open with a jolt of her body. She caught her lip and struggled for a heaving breath, eyes wide and heart in mouth. She was scared, frightened.
After a partial second her breath calmed, releasing from her chest as she searched my own eyes with hers.
"E-Ersk..."
I pushed myself to her, wrapping my arms around her as I felt sudden tears to my eyes. I felt a soft kiss to my neck as she hugged me back and whimpered through her own tears.
"Oh god Bliv. Sweetheart.."
She panted a half sob and pulled away weakly, placing her fragile hands to my cheeks to kiss my forehead warmly.
"I missed you." She bit her lip and rubbed off a tear, she smiled sweetly and shuddered a sigh.
"Erskine. Erskine... I-I there are a lot of things I need to tell you."
I looked at her, furrowing my brow and tilting my head. It was odd, I had only seen her days ago. What had happened in that time? Where was Vex? Thoughts rushed to my head and my eyes urged her on.
She sighed and swallowed, looking away and parting a soft whimper from her lips.
"You haven't seen me in a long time..."
I watched her, narrowing my eyes a fraction at her words. What did she mean? I had seen her days before. I talked with her. Unless... No. No how could I have been so stupid to let that slip my mind.
She continued with a clearing of her throat.
"I-I've been travelling... Around. I-I haven't been to Ireland in some time from now and well..." She shuddered a sigh and looked at me, "I'm not... There's..."
"Three of you." I finished, looking to her as her expression widened in shock. Her mouth fell and she shook her head in disbelief. It was a long while before she spoke again, her voice trembling.
"T-Two. A-And she wants me dead."
I nodded, the third obviously the one killed as a decoy for the coffin. I understood now and I was ignorant to have believed it at the time. How could it slip my mind? All these years and careful planning... It was the reason Annie... My thoughts trailed off.
"B-But... But how do you know? I-I.. I don't understand!"
Her voice was desperate, hard against her throat as tears streamed down her face. She was scared, frantically frightened of the things she could not control and how I knew was one of them. I caught my breath in my throat and pushed it out, whining a soft response and looking to her dark eyes for an answer, anything to tell me that what I was about to say was the right time, the right moment.
"Because... I'm your father, Bliv."

***
LUKE. I AM YOUR FATH- shut up vadey and go die down a rabbit hole. -.-
no-body likes you anyway.
FUN TIMES EVERYONE.
Oh look it's Friday! What a novelty Oblivion, you're on time.
Hope you guys liked that chapter ;)
Love u all xx
-B xxx