Valkyrie woke up with the sun beaming down on her. She kicked the covers off and checked her phone. Three new messages pinged up on the screen. All three from Skulduggery.
Message 1 said:
I will meet you at the pier at 9:15 am.
Message 2 said:
Valkyrie. Where are you?
Message 3 said:
Right. I’m calling Fletcher. He’ll find you.
Valkyrie looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 10am… oops. The last message had only just been sent so she stumbled to her draws and hauled on her black clothes Ghastly had made. Once all that was done, Valkyrie went to her mirror and her reflection appeared and changed into her pyjamas.
“Stay in bed for another 15 minutes and then go downstairs. Ok? And don’t forget, what do you do if something bad happens?” Valkyrie Ordered.
“Take Alice and your mum and dad away from here.” The reflection replied blankly.
“Good.”
And with that Valkyrie hopped onto the windowsill and carefully descended to the street below. Within seconds, Fletcher was by her side and the first thing he said was, “That was the easiest game of hide and seek ever!”
Valkyrie rolled her eyes and leaned in to kiss him. His lips were warm and soft. She could feel him smiling. And in a blink of an eye they were down by the pier. The wind played with her hair and she felt her Necromancer ring turn cold and savage. She peeled her lips away from Fletcher’s immediately and looked to the end of the pier. Skulduggery stood there completely still. His hat tilted on his skull perfectly. She walked over to him and her heart stopped. Solomon Wreath lay dead with blood trickling from his now empty eye sockets and into the water. Valkyrie took a step back and she felt her back hit Fletcher’s chest. She could feel his heart beating fast. Fletcher was the first to speak, “Uh, Skulduggery? Did, uh did you, do… uh, that?”
Skulduggery said nothing and just looked out at the rough sea. There was a silence and then he said, “I think it’s going to rain.”
Valkyrie took another step back and then stopped. Skulduggery wouldn’t have done that. No. of course he wouldn’t have. Yes, it was true that he and Wreath had never got on… but murder? Skulduggery wouldn’t go that far. She walked with unsteady steps towards him and slowly touched his arm. His head turned in her direction and then it began to rain. “Told you.” He said.
“Skulduggery, what happened?” Valkyrie croaked.
Just then Fletcher tapped her on the shoulder.
“What?!” She snapped
“Um…” was all he could manage before another voice butted in.
Valkyrie turned to see Madam Mist standing in her black dress at the other end of the pier. Her voice was bubbling with pleasure. “Mr Pleasant. I am placing you under arrest for murder.”
