Skulduggery Pleasant
When mortals met Skulduggery Pleasant, they assumed his dæmon was very small, hidden beneath his suit. When sorcerers met him, they assumed she had disappeared when he died and not come back. Both groups were half right, as Neveikia had faded into Dust when he died and not come back, not as the wolf she had been anyway. She had stayed as Dust, golden particles that would swirl around his ribcage and brush along his jaw. She was beautiful and a perfect representation of how broken he was.
‘Not calling me broken, now, are you, Skul?’
Skulduggery wished he could smile, as Neveikia clouded around his head, her Irish lilt coming from every side. ‘You’re not broken Neve.’
‘Then neither are you.’ She said with finality.
He chuckles, shaking his head as if it would dislodge her and turning back to his paperwork. Valkyrie hated it so that made it his job. ‘Let me focus, Ravel wants this tomorrow.’
‘Ravel wanted it a week ago, it can wait another day.’
Skulduggery tilted his head and she hovered in front of him, a small trail of her Dust staying along his shoulder. ‘Yeah, he can wait. Let’s go have some fun.’
Valkyrie didn’t even notice it happen, which is probably why it did. A moment so pivotal in her life, it made her soul Settle in one form. Everyone else had started moving away, but Valkyrie had stayed still, staring at where Skulduggery had disappeared.
‘Steph.’ Fanahy said. ‘How are we going to explain this to our parents?’
‘They didn’t even know Skulduggery.’ She said, not looking up.
‘I know, I meant…me.’
Valkyrie looked up, seeing her dæmon awkwardly looking at her. She knew with one look that he was stuck, a panther for the rest of their lives. ‘Dad will love it, he’ll be well impressed.’
‘But we’re too young, we’re not meant to be like this.’ Fanahy was panicking, head shaking as Valkyrie moved closer, running a smoothing hand down his back. She knew his new form reflected her strength but she wished he could instead reflect his own softness.
‘It’s okay, Fan, they’ll love it. I love it, you look so cool.’
He looked, eyes glinting slightly with tears as he leant on her. She knew he wasn’t just crying because of his new form but she had to be strong. She would be strong for him.
Anukula let out a low scream as she walked into Ghastly’s new office, her man following her in and throwing his Elder robes onto his desk. They had power now and all the money that came with it and they still couldn’t find Tanith. It was useless and everyone knew it. They just hadn’t fully accepted it yet.
‘We’ll find her, Kula, we will.’ Ghastly said, falling down into his chair.
The bull lumbered over, placing her head on his knee. He ran his hand along her small horns, sighing.
‘She doesn’t want to be found Ghast. Even if we do find her, we can’t bring her in without trouble and she won’t be the same anyway.’
Ghastly sighed, his hand forming a fist on her side. ‘I know, but no one’s ever really tried, have they? Never really made the effort to save a Remnant because they’re completely evil.’
Anukula let out a low moan. ‘Is Tanith completely evil now, Ghastly? Is Talavara?’
Ghastly shook his head. ‘I don’t know, Kula, I really don’t know.’
He glanced around his office, knowing he would have to do some work soon. But it could wait, everything else could wait for Tanith.
Tanith glanced around the empty cavern, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. The Remnants had been attacking and now she was alone. No, not alone, never alone but she couldn’t feel Talavara pressed against her skin. She looked around, spotting the snake dæmon curled in on himself, as far away from her as possible.
‘Talav’ She whispered, trying not to react as he flinched at her voice. ‘Hey, it’s me.’
‘No, you’re not her, you stole her. I wish you could leave me alone.’
Tanith’s brow furrowed but she persevered, edging closer to her dæmon. ‘I need you to explain what’s happening. Last thing I remember is the Remnants attacking, you need to tell me how we got here.’
She moved to touch him but he lashed out, fangs almost striking her. She pulled back, eyes wide.
‘You’re a Remnant.’ He hissed. ‘Just because you got her, stop thinking you can have me too.’
‘Tal.’ She whispered, unable to fathom what he’d been through to change him so. ‘It’s me.’
Talavara tilted his head, moving very slowly towards her. She slowly scooped him up, letting him slide around her arm.
‘Come on, let’s get out of here.’
Teleporting was a weird feeling, teleporting without your dæmon was infinitely worse. The first time Fletcher had teleported, Pomicati had been on his shoulder and he assumed she would always go with him. The next time, she had been across the room and had also tried to teleport as they panicked. He made it to Bournemouth, she got to Brighton. Pain has shot through him and he thought he was going to die, his soul ripped away from him. But Fletcher Renn was too cool to die like that and had teleported himself straight to her side.
The pain had crippled him and Settled her, a beautiful hawk with golden feathers. Val had mocked him when they met, for having a Settled dæmon so young. Even when her own dæmon Settled barely a week later, it was still something she mocked him for. Pomicati didn’t care because she could fly and Fanahy couldn’t. Fletcher should have realised she was always flying away from Valkyrie.
But that was what they did. Move away, never stopping, sorcerer and dæmon, man and hawk. If they never stayed still, they didn’t have to care, wouldn’t fall in love. And that suited them just fine.
Beleco was gorgeous. The sun hit the gold within his stripes with an etherial glow, his black stripes were endless voids and his orange ones were fire, lashing along his fur. At least, that was what people told the tiger every time they saw him. It was all very funny.
‘Would you behave?’ China said, one thin eyebrow rising as their latest admirer stumbled out of the room. Beleco had spent the meeting circling his lynx dæmon, a smile on his face as she turned back and forth to try and look at all of him at once.
‘I’m behaving just as much as you are. You just look better mannered.’
‘I am better mannered. I am refined.’ China rose, adding her new books to her shelves.
‘I think people need only look at me to realise quite how wrong that statement is.’ He growled, chuckling when she glared at him. His form had been very useful when they were in a war but now, when they were trying to be high class members of society, it made her carefully crafted image break upon inspection. But, at least, if they were looking at him, they wouldn’t see her taking everything.
Billy-Ray could honestly say, one hundred percent truthfully, that he loved Tanith Low. His dæmon was less happy about the arrangement of their relationship, especially because Tanith’s snake wasn’t quite in the same state of mind as she was. Talavara was so agitated about living with a Remnant, Tanith mostly left him in a cage and ignored him.
Plongi crawled up Billy-Ray’s arm, stinger raised in case anyone attacked. Unless the scorpion thought Tanith would slice her in half, it seemed pointless. ‘I can believe you proposed.’
Billy-Ray grinned. ‘I can’t believe she said yes.’
Plongi’s stinger moved very close to his neck, very quickly and he only just stopped himself flinching. Couldn’t let anyone think him week, especially his dæmon.
‘I don’t think we’re on the same page here, bud.’ Plongi said, stinger still. ‘You shouldn’t have asked her.’
Billy-Ray scoffed, batting her off his shoulder. She hit the floor, sending a jolt through him. She hissed and lunged at him but he just stepped to the side, holding his foot over her.
‘You wouldn’t.’ She hissed.
‘I would.’ He shrugged. He probably wouldn’t. ‘Say another thing about Tanith and I will.’
His dæmon snarled.
Scapegrace liked to think he was the same as Skulduggery Pleasant. They’d both died, both come back and both brought their dæmons with them. Of course, the difference was Pleasant’s dæmon came back as beautiful Dust while Scapegrace’s came back as the wasp she had always been but somehow worse, lesser.
‘Right, what’s the plan, Padisi?’
They were behind the bar, waiting for Thrasher to return. Scapegrace was trying to figure out the best way to get back to his true body. Padisi rested on the bar, wings fluttering weakly.
‘Yeah, I wish we could just go back but that’s not completely easy.’
Padisi moved very slightly to the left, and Scapegrace followed her movement with his eyes, seeing the bar taps she was looking at.
‘We could stay here, I guess. Life isn’t too bad here but I’m not me, you know.’
Her wings buzzed again briefly and he held his finger out to her. Slowly, far slower than she’d ever moved before he died, she climbed onto it and he pulled her up to his eye level. Her stinger tapped against his finger, just slightly.
‘We’ll be okay, Padisi. I promise.’
Her wings buzzed again and he smiled.
The Man with the Golden Eyes wasn’t afraid of anyone. He had his magic, he had his allies and he had his dæmon. Only one other dæmon had ever beat the mountain lion but now she was nothing but mist surrounding a skeleton. He wasn’t scared of any of them.
He was scared he was wrong.
Sunana’s tail hit his leg and she growled. ‘Don’t give up on me now Erskine.’
Ravel smiled, moving off his chair to sit down next to her and bury his face in her fur. ‘What if it doesn’t work?’
‘That’s not the question to ask.’ She said, sitting up and raising her head proud. She would always look proud, even when her man couldn’t be. ‘The question is, what if it does?’
‘The Dead Men hate me and Darquesse could still arrive and destroy everything.’
‘But we will have a better world.’ She turned out of his grasp and stood above him, smiling. ‘For us, for them, for everyone.’
‘Except the mortals.’ He pointed out. He didn’t care about them, he just wanted her reassurance.
‘The mortals will prosper more with us than against us.’
Ravel smiled slightly. They would make a better world.
‘I’ve been thinking.’
‘That’s good to finally hear.’
‘Oh, shut up. I’ve been thinking about my name.’
‘What’s wrong with Fanahy?’
‘It’s not my name. Your name isn’t Valkyrie or Stephanie, is it?’
‘No, but that’s because I’m a different person to them. Well, not really but you understand.’
‘But in the same way, I’m a different panther to Fanahy was.’
‘You know, you don’t have to be a panther. I can change you.’
‘Won’t that kill us, Darquesse?’
‘Maybe but won’t it be fun to try?’
‘Probably better to try on someone else first. Like Sanguine, that’ll be fun.’
‘Tanith will be mad.’
‘Tanith loves us, Fanahy. No, not Fanahy, let me think.’
‘Take your time, I’m not that fussed.’
‘Yes, you are or you wouldn’t have asked. How about…Tahotra?’
‘Why that?’
‘Dunno, sounds good though, right?’
‘It does. Do you think we should do something about him?’
Darquesse and her dæmon looked down at the man in the corner, half his body turned to atoms, the rest covered in lacerations. He wasn’t dead but only by their power.
‘No, he’s fine for now.’
‘Fair enough, let’s go see Tanith.’
They smiled and left to find new fun.