Skulduggery Pleasant fan-fic: The Cradle of Magic (UNDER EDIT)

Secrets set in stone

-Trin

I unevenly paced Wreath's office floor, Val sat on the chair opposite his desk; head in hands failing to catch any form of sleep. Fed up of pacing I leant against the cold wall next to the clock and focused mu stare on Wreath as he examined the withered paper. There was a long pause, filled by a count of fifteen ticks on the clock.
"So?" I directed at Solomon and Valkyrie looked up from her bored stance.
"Not done yet..." he murmured beneath his flickering lamp light.
Valkyrie abruptly stood, "You've had half an hour Solomon there can't be that much to pick out!"
He paused raising his magnifying glass aloft so the light focused a beam in the centre of the paper. "Actually you'd be very surprised." I got off the wall and advanced towards the desk, trying to read the document. He lent back in his chair and pulled out a draw from the bottom half of the desk.
I glanced back and threw a confused face at Valkyrie to whom returned one and got up to join be beside the cabinet.
"Aha!" Solomon sat up and placed a cigarette lighter on the side, he then returned back to the drawer.
"Er, Solomon... I don't think now is a great time for smoking... somehow..." Valkyrie murmured her body angling to see what he was attempting to do.
Solomon didn't reply, "Trin, you don't happen to have a small blade or pen-knife on you do you?"
My brow furrowed, "Er, yeah. Yeah I do..." I unbuckled my coat and displayed the assortment of sharp knives attached to the lining in order of size. Valkyrie stifled a laugh.
I unhooked the smallest and flicked the blade, presenting the handle to him.
He smiled, "Thank you..." he pulled the light in closer and advanced on carefully engraving the letter with the pen knife. "Now, Trin... I want you to go into the cemetery and locate the grave of a Necromancer by the name of 'Dark Tri', on her grave is a symbol..." he flicked the knife and held the blade, the intricate silver handle facing towards me. "Now, this is going to sound utterly mad, but I want you to engrave it onto your skin with this..." I leaned across the desk and took the knife from him, carefully flicking it inwards and subsequently closing it. I nodded and turned to leave, not before catching the scared look on Valkyrie's face, I winked at her in reassurance.

***

I chuckled lightly, reading the writing engraved on the knife's sharp edge. It was in fact, a spell which seemed almost ironic considering all I had been told about the fantasies of Harry Potter and despite how much you 'really, really wished to go to Hogwarts on your 11th birthday' it would never happen sorry kids, magic was a life on the edge with danger at every turn; it involved hard work and time building up your mental and physical strength so that you could even survive and not spending the entire time chanting wishes and waving wands, despite my love for Harry Potter.

This particular spell however was a Necromancer tool for power, although weren't they all? In this particular case whatever engraved with the knife (depending on the owner) would give positive or negative influence to the subject, a fine tool in itself for fighting on the field. Wreath had given it to me as a present for my fifteenth birthday and it had never left my side since that day. I pocketed the knife and walked out from the light into the dark cemetery, my pupils dilating slightly: adjusting to the dark.
I scanned the grave-yard for signs of grander tombs as I was fairly sure Solomon wouldn't have sent me out for any random mage, it would have to be something old, something eminent and important, especially considering the fact that it had some sort of ancient symbol engraved into the stone. He could have least of given me some directions; It was a necromancer tradition for all graves to be made out of black marble so this made it very difficult to both tell each grave apart and to find your way without ending up breaking something.

Dark Tri, Dark Tri... I knew that name, I was certain I had heard it before. It lingered at the back of my mind like a distant childhood memory or faded photograph, something lingering on the edge of the tides of my mind but like the sea; I couldn't quite grasp. The thoughts then focused upon the idea, picking apart the name. It seemed so familiar... perhaps I had been shown the grave before, learnt about the necromancer in class. My mind was then distracted as it lingered towards a grave sitting faintly in the distance, on top of a sloped part of the yard; it lay tilted towards the sky.

The grave itself was of all the others, black marble but with unusual red lettering in a language I could not recognise. There, in the centre of the stone was the name 'Dark Tri' followed by 'Bas an gealach dorcha' etched in beneath. This was the grave I was looking for, it didn't however show any form of symbol. My brow furrowed and I cleared the moss growing to the edges of the grave which left a wet residue but no further markings on the stone. I took out the knife and resorted to clearing masses of dirt that covered the stone, but still no prevail. I sighed and got up, checking the back of the stone, which gave no further help. Brushing the dirt off my dark, bulletproof jeans. I pocketed the knife and stood up, hands in pockets looking solemnly at the grave. I gave up and turned away, walking back down the path figuring out what I would say Solomon. No moon was out, which made it very difficult to see and I found myself confused and uneasy, unlike before where I had my thoughts to guide me. My arms felt out for something to hold onto and unawares I found myself slipping on the wet soil and down the slant I had previously climbed. My hand grazed along a headstone, leaving a stinging sensation on my palm.

"Next time...Bring a goddamn torch." I muttered to myself, sitting up in wet soil.
Just then a light from behind the temple sprung rays of light over the cemetery, creeping over the ground and devouring the dark. I shielded a hand over my face, despite the low intensity of the rays and watched as it masked the stone in beams of light, illuminating the blood red writing. Suddenly, there was a flash of white light and the stone glowed eerily. My eyes widened and I swiftly clambered up the hill towards it. I squinted at the stone as the letters pulsed and changed. It now made out the words 'Death of the Dark Moon' in blinding white text, and beneath it behold a pulsing symbol. I immediately retrieved my knife and engraved the marking onto my skin, white immediately glowed a black colour on my wrist sending dark tendrils up my hand and arm like veins. I stood back and watched the blackness stream up my arm and the glowing stopped. The tombstone lay as it was and the cemetery was quiet once more.

***********
AHAHHAAH I GOT TO 1K!!!!!!! AND 160 VOTES!!!! THANK YOU ALL SOOO MUCH!!! I NEVER THOUGHT THIS BOOK COULD BE THAT SUCCESSUL!! AND I AM SOO SURPRISED AND HAPPY, THANK YOU ALL SOO MUCH! ❤️❤️

This chapter is especially dedicated to all those who have helped me on my way up the ladder from utter failure.. To just failure.. :D I love u guys xxx I won't give credits at the end of the book (suspense and all that jazz) so here they are now:

@Ellieose (the wonderfully amazing Trin herself ❤️) , @Al3x_K , @izzy_lee , @valkyriecainfan , @SummerOfLight , @Ellen_sugarcube4 and @MurderRose15 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

And a special and MASSIVE thanks to my partner and best friend Vin (@MaryBethP), all that time with u trying and being caught in ICT trying to look over my shoulder at what I was writing, and the constant positive ness even when I got writers block and the never ending support in updates every Friday that at least (even if u don't) you look forward to xx you are what has kept me going (and I knw it sounds corny) but for me this is a whole achievement in itself even having the courage to post a chapter. So it's all down to you. Honestly xxx
And, yes u have permission to look in the purple folder ;D if u really want to xxx
Sweetheart, I could never have done any of this without ur support, I love u xxxxxxxx
For you my Vin, Until the end. Xxx

So, from here it all kicks off.. There is gonna be a hell of a lot of emotion coming up. (Well in my sad little writers opinion)
So sit back and watch as I turn the fandom world you once knew...
To shreds of fiery oblivion.

(Username pun..heh I.. I fail...)

THANK CHU!! :D xxxxx