1Chapter Four: Always At War
Skulduggery looked up from the many maps the littered his large, luxurious mahogany desk. There was a sense of amusement about the way he shifted his weight expectantly.
"So," he said, as Valkyrie closed the door behind her with a long sigh, "How did it go?"
Valkyrie pinched her nose. "Oh, she's a case."
"She?"
"Seriously, Skulduggery?" Valkyrie drew up a chair and flopped into it. "Do you even know a woman when you see one anymore? Even I could tell."
"Hmm," he replied with a shrug. "Well, there you go."
"I've got her cleaning out a room for herself." Valkyrie stretched backwards, looking up at the mouldy stone ceiling. "She's so androgynous though. She had scars, all here," she motioned to her own front. "It's scary to think she survived that, considering there hasn't been a hospital for twenty years now."
Skulduggery nodded silently and continued to pour over his maps. He shuffled through a series of them, looking for the African Cradle map that was riddle with coloured lines and vague circles.
"Will this war ever end?" He heard Valkyrie murmur quietly. He stopped his work, his non-existing eyes still focused on the map he had picked up.
"Valkyrie," Skulduggery leaned forward over the desk, his skull an indication of complete seriousness. "This will end, I promise you."
"It's just, after Darq-"
"You need to stop blaming yourself," he interrupted her quietly. "We had no way of knowing what the future would be if we killed Darquesse, okay? We just have to be happy that this is the chance we've been given."
Valkyrie couldn't face him. She looked away at the worn floor. "Sometimes I wish Darquesse had destroyed this world. It would have been fast and painless, instead of this." She planted her face in her hands, and sounded miserable. "Now there are children like Phoenix the Ash whose parents explode in their faces and they've never seen a bathroom, or had a hot shower."
Skulduggery stared at her some more before banging the edges of his maps against the table, straightening them. The door opened with a quiet groan and both detectives looked up to see who was entering.
Short, shaggy brown hair and a pair of yellow eyes peered around the edge of the door which then exploded in. "Scarred dude said skullman wanted me," she announced.
"Ah, yes, quite," said Skulduggery darkly, looking at the cleaned teen up and down. She was wearing a tight white shirt under her opened jacket, showing a row of abs through the fabric. Her hair was a lot cleaner, and her skin a waxy-bronze now that the dirt was removed. She wore semi-fitted blue jeans and boots. "Come here," he waved for her to stand in front of his desk. She did so hesitantly, and frowned when Skulduggery leaned over and sniffed the air around her.
Skulduggery tapped the gap of his nose and nodded. "Well, at least you're not an offense to the nose anymore."
Phoenix the Ash stood there, bemused.
"Anyways, I need you to mark out where you send your shipments of explosives."
"Ey," she snapped sharply, her yellows eyes flashing in the dim light. "I wanna know I'll be free before I go tellin you where."
"Well, you'll be free in a sense," Skulduggery explained evenly. "But you'll be sticking around; just so we can be sure you're not feeding us false information."
Phoenix the Ash blinked. "You're shittin me!?I'll be killed if anyone sees I'm with Irish folk and they're you."
"That's why you're joining our cause," he reasoned.
"What!?" The teen took several steps back. "I can't fight in a war! I'm just a survivor, I run away from dang'rous shit."
Skulduggery motioned to the room. "You'll be safe inside the Sanctuary. It's cloaked and it teleports to several other locations throughout Ireland. Plus, you'll be have a bed and food on regular intervals. In exchange for your information and your cooperation, of course."
"Fuck it," Phoenix the Ash clicked her tongue heatedly, tapping the dull carpet lightly with her feet. "Fine, fine, I'll show ya. But it's dang'rous, real bad."
My best friend, before she moved (sad face :C) was freakishly androgynous - to the point that she could swing quite literally from one gender to the other, and other girls thought she was a man (one girl, i kid not, asked her out :/ it was awkward) Before I met her I really didn't believe in people being allowed to swing from genders and gender preferences. But then there's always that person who changes your point of view :)
If you've got a word or comment I'd love to hear it! :D Bah Bai