Skulduggery Pleasant - The Fanclub Unites

iv //

anonymousstoryperson

In the moment that they faced each other, silence seemed to settle around them. Skulduggery had no eyes to use, but Darquesse suspected, as she grinned at him in his ever-sharp suit and hat, that had he had eyes in those sockets, they would be boring into her own. Whether with hatred, desperation or despair, she wasn't certain.

"I know Valkyrie is still there." His voice rang out like a clear sharp blade through the dust and rubble, "She may even be able to hear me. You can't keep her locked away forever."

"Well, I think I can," Darquesse kept on smiling as a whip of wind played with her hair. She stilled it. "What she is now- she is less than a voice, barely a presence. Yes I can feel her there, but you know the dirty little secret? The little fact she would be ashamed to admit? She likes it. She likes the power- the exhilaration of being unstoppable."

"You aren't unstoppable." The detective had not moved at all since the conversation began, leaning on his beloved car almost weightlessly, "No one is unstoppable. We locked you away before, we can do it again."

A laugh this time; one that tilted her head to the clouds above and rang in the ears. When it stopped, there was a steely glint in her eye. "I'd like to see you try."

"So will I: honestly, I don't believe I've gone up against a homicidal maniac without the restraints of a Surge. It will certainly be something to add to my list of achievements."

"If you ever get around to it; from the looks of things, you might be too busy to make time for little old me."

"You have my partner locked away in your head; I'm fairly certain locking you away for good is my top priority."

Darquesse's smile flashed from her face, and before Skulduggery knew what was happening, she was in front of him, ripping his arm from it's socket. He screamed in pain as she tore the hand away and threw it to her left, in the opposite direction of where the arm landed. "I am not being locked away again," she spat, before regaining her calm and floating back. She even laughed lightly, "I'm flattered about the attention, really, but I think Serpine might feel a bit insulted."

The Elemental stiffened, his whole being seemed to freeze, and when he spoke, his voice was tight, as if he was being choked. "What?"

"Word on the street is he's back. Got himself a few lackeys. Oh, this should stir up some old memories. It's like our first case. I was some random kid with her own house, you were a bitter old skeleton with an almighty grudge. The good old days."

He didn't move, but Darquesse got the feeling he wasn't really looking at her anymore. She didn't mind. Whatever kept him busy. Losing interest, she looked into the distance, in search of something else to pique her interest. The burning town around her had become dull; she needed a challenge. So she floated off, leaving the un-dead mage to deal with this revelation.

Skulduggery was still for another few moments, his mind overwhelmed with what he had just heard. Eventually, he turned his head to see his arm several metres away, the white bone perched on a crumbled wall. His remaining hand curled, pulling it toward him with the air until it was close enough to catch. With a grunt of pain, he slotted it back into its joint and walked stiffly in the opposite direction, looking for his hand.

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"I did confront my inner demon. I punched him in the face and he exploded."
- Derek Landy; db