Le Début |Skulduggery Pleasant

Chapter 29: Deep in Dublin, Death

Skulduggery Pleasant's POV:

The White Cleaver stood there as still and as silent as a corpse. 

"Valkyrie," Tanith said slowly. "Get behind me."

Stephanie backed up until she was beside me. 

"I'll hold him off," Tanith said. "You stop Serpine." She drew her sword and the Cleaver drew his scythe. 

I touched Stephanie's arm, and we moved away from the scene, continuing onwards to the Repository. 

"You're going to have to go after the Sceptre," I whispered to Stephanie as we neared the Repository. "You can get close to it; I can't. It's not much of a plan, but sometimes simplicity is the way to go. Also, Belle is distracting Serpine, so it should be quite simple to get in there without him noticing."

We slowed down and I turned to Stephanie, grabbing both of her arms. "But you listen to me. If it goes wrong, if we lose the element of surprise, I want you to get out of here. No matter what happens to me, I want you to run, do you understand?"

Stephanie swallowed. "Yes."

I hesitated slightly. "Serpine used my wife and my child as a weapon against me. In order to do so, he had to kill them. He took my family's death and he made it about me. Valkyrie, when you die, it will be your death and yours alone. Let it come to you on your own terms. He may even use Belle as a weapon against me, but no matter the pain that I would feel if she died, it would still be her death and hers alone because she chose to go in there as the distraction."

She nodded and I let her go.

"Valkyrie Cain," I said using her taken name, "it has been an absolute pleasure knowing you."

She looked back at me. "You too."

Belle Èclipse's POV:

I teleported into the Repository to see Nefarian trying to grab the book of names from the podium that it sat on, Sagacious Tome was standing next to him. Nefarian seemed to be getting angry at something and everyone turned to look at me as I appeared. 

Mr Bliss wasn't in the room, or at least I couldn't see him in there. Nefarian narrowed his eyes at me and walked towards me.

"Now, Belle, what could possibly be going on in that pretty little head of yours, that would make you think that coming here by yourself would be a good idea?" He asked me.

I shrugged, using the acting skills that Nefarian himself had taught me. "I came to my senses and realised, I would be nothing without you. Skulduggery Pleasant brainwashed me to believe that you were the bad guy. But you're just trying to bring back the true Gods of this world."

He gave me a smile and stroked my cheek with his red right hand. I didn't flinch, knowing that if I did, then it would give away everything. 

"My dear, sweet Belle. Why ever should I believe you?" He asked me.

"How would you like me to prove myself?" I questioned.

His head tilted to the side slightly, but then he got a smirk on his face. "Get me the book of names, no matter what you have to do."

I smiled. "But of course."

He frowned. "I do believe that you missed something there, Belle."

I recognised my mistake and barely hesitated before adding on what he was talking about. "My love."

He gave me a smile and moved a loose strand of my hair behind my hair before he walked around to stand behind me. "Now, Belle. Please do as I asked."