Skulduggery Pleasant: Raising Cain

Chapter 62 - Preparations

Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

Solomon – Raven

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Chapter 62

Valkyrie didn't hear from Nadia for three days, and by then Valkyrie had had enough. It was obvious that Nadia's parents had taken away her phone and probably all other means of communicating with Valkyrie, and she hated she couldn't talk to her after their last time seeing each other.

Over those three days, Valkyrie had had lessons with Corrival to ease her pain but hadn't had the energy to go into the caves to help with clearing them of monsters.

She barely looked at or spoke to the other visitors. She was just too occupied in her mind worrying about Nadia, stressing over Nadia's parents and fretting about their future. It was all-consuming. She spent all her time training by herself, sleeping or being spoken to about all sorts of things by Corrival.

On the upside, they had gained a closer relationship. While the Dead Men liked to have a sister with sass and attitude and enough strength to give as hard as they gave, Corrival was much more paternal. He enjoyed having Valkyrie tucked under his wing delicately and babying her whilst also getting her to do all the 'traditional roles of a young woman' three or more hundred years ago.

He would talk to her about strategy, tactics and criminal psychology while she baked a cake, and then she'd sit at the table drinking hot chocolate and eating all day as he encouraged her childish nature and taught her. It was different, and Valkyrie definitely felt the power he liked to have by being in control of the conversation, but it wasn't a control he wanted to manipulate over her, so it was easy for her to relax and just listen and do what she was told. It was better than thinking.

But by that third day, she was ready to do something. She lay in bed that morning thinking it over and decided exactly what needed to be done. It was a cold, rainy day and with a check of her phone, she knew there was meant to be bad storms all day, thunder and lightning beginning in the night. Perfect.

Valkyrie started her day simply, going for the workout she had been for the last three days in solitude, then taking her shower and using that time to shave as much of her body as she possibly could. Getting out the shower, she wiped some steam off the glass and looked herself naked in the mirror.

Carefully, she preened and prettied herself up, cleaning anything she could and covering over the rest with creams, perfumes and makeups. Her nails were painted, she tweezers a few missed hairs and her eyebrows, and applied a very light mask of makeup on her face, just enough to make her feel extra confident but nothing that would run in the rain.

She dried her hair and played around with it in all sorts of updos and plaits before settling for down and natural, dipping into a pot of Tanith's incredibly expensive hair oil she'd kill Valkyrie for touching and putting some in her hair to make it softer than ever.

Almost two hours since she went in the bathroom, she was ready, standing amid a mountain of products, naked and more confident than ever in the mirror.

She cleaned the room a little and wrapped up in a towel to go to her room and straight to her clothes. What to wear? There was what she usually would – a pair of super, super tight jeans, or perhaps a pair of tiny shorts. But Nadia had seen all those things in pictures now. What to do?