The Love of a Dead Man

A Terrible Rescue, Indeed

Valkyrie looked up as the light above her turned on, and she blinked hard, pushing her head to the side. She wanted to say turn it off, but her tongue wouldn't work, so she just groaned. 

"Oh, shut up." The voice said, and it was too low to be Nye's. Valkyrie's whole body surged with hope, "Skuluggy?" 

Laughter, "No, dear." 

She felt the needles being pulled from her skin, and the room wobbled, as she closed her eyes and fell back asleep. 

**(o)(o)**

"Valkyrie... Valkyrie. Valkyrie!" 

Valkyrie flinched awake, her sense more alert this time, and she lifted her head, looking over at Tyler who had yelled out her name. "Who unplugged you?" He asked. 

"What?" Valkyrie looked down at her arm, at the needles lying on the table next to her. "I, uh, I thought you did?" She said, frowning. 

"No. I did not. Tell me what happened."

Valkyrie closed her eyes, trying to remember. "Skulduggery!" She said, jerking upright. 

Tyler snapped up, his body going rigid. "He's here? Where? How long ago?" 

"No, no, no, I thought it was him. The guy, whoever it was had a really low voice, so I thought maybe it was Skulduggery. They came in, turned on the light, and I groaned I think because they told me to shut up. They laughed at me when I called out for Skulduggery, and then took the needles out and that's all I remember. You know he'll kill you for taking me." 

"That's it?" Tyler was pacing now, wearing a hole through the tiles. "You didn't see his face? His clothes? Even his hair?" Then he shrugged, "Skulduggery can try." 

Valkyrie glared, "I was suffering from blood loss, you asshat. Be glad I remembered anything." Valkyrie watched him, "what happened to you anyway? You were always normal at school." 

Tyler looked at her, then shrugged, "I was sent in from Australia by Mevolent once you had turned ten. China trained me, made me look normal, to keep an eye out. Had things of gone according to plan, you would have been friends with me, and I would have taken you to Mevolent when you fifteen. But Nefarian had a fight with Mevolent while you were still young and went on his adventure, and he had your uncle killed. The fact that Skulduggery Pleasant latched onto you was a major set back, and after you killed Serpine, Mevolent was furious. He even left the man dead for a few years, before he decided he was needed." 

"And let me guess, you guys need my blood. Look, Baron Vengeance tried to raise the Grotesquery a few years back. He failed, we killed him it's over. The Grotesquery is gone." 

"Good thing we're not raising the Grotesquery, then isn't it? No, we're raising it's son. And the only two powerful enough to stop it are Darquesse and Lord Vile." 

Valkyrie paled, "Darquesse isn't, but Lord Vile is still around." 

Tyler laughed, leaving, "Tell him that."

**(o)(o)**

Valkyrie was left alone once again, and this time when she opened her eyes, Skulduggery was in front of her, Ghastly behind him, Dexter and Saracen standing at the door. "Is this real?" She asked, her voice trembling. 

"Of course it is," Skulduggery said, working on her straps. His head tilted towards Saracen, "have they taken enough blood?"

"No, I don't know what they're doing but they need a lot more than what they've got." 

Skulduggery nodded, and finished freeing Valkyrie. Her knee buckled once she was on her feet, and Skulduggery grunted as he heaved her up, holding onto her as they left the labs, "of course you can't walk," He said quietly, "that would have been much too easy." 

They passed the cells, and walked up the stairs, stopping before the throne room. At Saracen's nod, they continued out, and then they were outside, and Valkyrie was being put into the passenger's side, the three boys squishing into the back and then everything happened so quickly. 

Skulduggery had just put the car into drive, when the Bentley tilted. Valkyrie cried out, as she was flipped three or four times, but Skulduggery and Ghastly managed to make sure on the final rock, the car landed on it's tires. Skulduggery put his foot on the pedal, and the tires skidded, not yet finding traction on the road, and when they did the car shot forward, just before the other car could ram them a second time. 

But Skulduggery was hurt. Valkyrie could tell, the way he tried to control the car, and then they went over the ledge, and into the water below.