#winter grieving

I am absolutely terrified for the release of a soul full of Shadows im not even kidding.

Like at the same time I cannot wait and im going to the signing but what the flip is derek gonna pull in this book

Valkyrie is in PRISON, winter is probably up to some evil shit Idk (im defending her sorry dont cancel me) , and this is (probably?) The only time we're seeing skulduggery have to go without val (except for the 5 year timeskip, but that wasnt shown) and in book 9 there was Stephanie up until valkyrie came back and derek decided to slime her

Which brings me back to fletchers insane mistreatment 🥳

Youre telling me he was used (the teleporting shii), then cheated on in his first relationship, then his new girlfriend killed 2 people and turned out to be a total bitch, then his other new girlfriend who was basically a completely-different-completely-the-same reflection of his first ex got killed by his first ex's EVIL TRIPLET.(see what i done there, 3 of them. vals steph, darq ;) ) and then he actually gets justice for about 10 or so years and then he gets stabbed with a machete BY HIS EX'S EX WHO WAS THE GUY SHE CHEATED ON WITH HIM WITH

LIKE WHAT THE FUCK

Not to mention skul treated him like shit, aswell as val for a long time

I saw a theory that it was because fletcher reminded him of his dead child which is crazy but im just gonna go with that because I love defending characters

Which now brings me to defending the one and only winter grieving!!

(Not her name though, why did she do that to herself )

Anyway, I can see a lot of the fandoms hatred for her because she is a very-not-nice person on the outside, but let's reallyy consider it from her perspective here

In her perspective, val took everything from her , her being able to malice and probably something else that im forgetting, and let's not forget the insane trauma that she had revealed at the end of book 17, and then her only chance at revenge for THAT was taken too, with her sister killing the man who murdered her parents in another universe

Not to mention if val had just got Geoffrey in book 9 a lot of that wouldnt have happened, and val could've saved herself a trip to coldheart because winter wouldnt have known anything

In my opinion , a lot of winters actions are very justified

(Except her not being nice to her parents that annoyed me, like why are you taking your anger out on them when the whole reason you wanted go kill that guy was to get revenge on him for killing them)

I think shes very misunderstood as a character idk

And then , (because every chance ill get im mentioning her)

Melancholia, the necromancers, and ,,, the title of this book!

Oh boy

Just going off from the title, (someone said this somewhere, credits to them but I dont know who, cuz youre a genius) ghastly might find out that his bestfriend killed his mother and is lord Vile

So thats amazing!

And then Melancholia, who finally got her justice after derek decided he didnt know what to do with her in book 9 and killed her off (he realised her potential , as he should frfr queen)

And then decided to kill her friend immediately after!

(Wtf?)

I am SOSOSOSO happy shes back tho , and confirmed sapphic/(lesbian? Maybe, just sapphic canonically)

I have a chance for realises

In another universe, maybe,, or MAYBE the universe that darquesse made is this one. think smarter not harder. ;)

Sorry this is stupid idk theories confuse me

Which now brings me to,, (I've used this phrase a lot i dont know how to change subjects properly, oops.)

The necromancers and Solomon!!

THE GOAT IS BACK WOw

Im very interested in this tho, its obv connected to cadaver somehow I swear and that church shit

Satanism? Im just thinking while typing it could be a possibility ??

Nope uhh ok next topic

So back to the necromancers, what the flip are they doing? And why has Solomon not showed up? This is obviously gonna be a big thing considering 'A soul full of SHADOWS' and CADAVER, not skulduggery, being the cover

Another thing that isnt related to the necromancers, but relating to what might happen, is primrose everdeen and the blonde sibling theory (I made that up)

So I think winter is either gonna get primrose everdeen'd, or val and skul are being slimed (or val is turning into a skeleton, as someone on discord said lmao )

Also, what the flip is ghastly up to aswell? Like idk he is probably the most non-evil character but these few books have been making me suspicious, especially now that valkyries probably not like being bailed by ghastly (the easons website description says something about her not getting out any time soon, so thats what im asuming)

Also what about militsa? She doesnt even know that fletcher is dead and thats like an insane thing to hear that your coworker got stabbed by your gfs ex, plus, they wouldve been pretty good friends considering that they know the same people and are coworkers

Now moving on to ,, the child of the ancients?

I forgot a lot of it since the recent books are very confusing for me, but who is that? I want to think auger or omen but idk really, im just hoping they come back for the 18th book.

Chapter Two: Working My Hands Down To The Bones

Dreams die

We all lose our way

We have fears

Shed tears

And we carry our mistakes

It's funny when you're down and out they don't come around

Somehow always end up going back

Always learning everything the hard way

- Money Run Low by The Score

A/N: This chapter goes back to the night Valkyrie’s imprisoned, from Skulduggery’s POV.

Skulduggery and Tanith are at the end of the hospital ward, blocked by a tall stack of filing cabinets. Skulduggery could wax lyrical on both the insults and favouritism implied by this positioning, but there’s no one to monologue to; Tanith lies in a fitful doze, her face bruised black and blue, and Reverie left him alone with very strict instructions “not to move, or so help me, Detective Pleasant, I’ll make sure you never have to worry about cleaning your skull again” - the stress of the suddenly hectic ward bringing out her unfiltered side. He rather likes her when she’s not busy being professional. Nonetheless, he’s giving it another five minutes and then leaving to look for the others. He’ll call Fletcher; he’ll get teleported back to the island - see where Valkyrie and Winter are-

The double doors open and he hears Militsa’s voice.

Finally.

“No - no, I’m fine for a minute, it’s nothing terrible,” she’s saying to someone. Her footsteps approach the end of the ward quickly. “Skulduggery?”

Her head pops around the cabinets. He inclines his skull. She looks terrible, her hair mussed, dress ripped, her hands…are…bloodstained, and…

She is alone.

“Valkyrie?” he asks sharply. “Where’s Valkyrie?”

Her green eyes suddenly swim with tears and she sits down heavily on the end of the bed. He can’t look away from her bloody hands. The red runs up her bare arms, almost to the elbow, dried and caking under her long, unpainted nails. Her face is pale beneath some bruising, and she shakes her head.

Valkyrie can’t be dead. She can’t be-

“Where’s Valkyrie?” he demands. “Militsa-”

“She’s not dead,” Militsa says as she realises where he’s looking. Her hands flex in her lap. “That’s not her blood.”

“Then whose blood is it?” he asks, though he doesn’t care about the answer; where is Valkyrie? Why isn’t she at her girlfriend’s side? Why is Militsa here at all?

“The blood of the man she killed,” Militsa snaps, with unexpected anger, and Skulduggery goes motionless.

“Killed?”

It must be Gestalt, she killed Gestalt, but then why does Militsa care-

Militsa takes a deep breath.

“Militsa, where are Valkyrie and Winter? And…” He’s had a nagging suspicion about this for a while. “When did you last see Myosotis?”

“Who?”

Dammit.

“Never mind, Fletcher can-”

Militsa bursts into tears.

Skulduggery swings his legs off the bed, staring at her.

His mind is jumping to lots of simultaneous conclusions, none of them ones he wants to be true.

But like a dam opened, Militsa starts speaking, wringing her bloody fingers, her ruined makeup streaking with her tears.

“Fletcher’s dead - Gestalt killed him - Gestalt was actually Caelan-”

Caelan? He has so many questions-

“-But W-winter, Winter was going to kill a mortal - he k-killed Valkyrie’s parents and her during the Deletion, she never told anyone, she was about to kill him and…Valkyrie - Valkyrie did it i-instead…”

Valkyrie’s killed a person.

He shakes his head. So Valkyrie’s presumably…dealing with the aftermath. Traumatised. Explaining to operatives why she did that. Right. She’ll need him, Reverie be damned, he’ll go and find her-

“So where is she?”

Militsa’s face is too blank. She’s in shock, as she looks at him, something twisted in her face-

“They’ve t-taken her to C-coldheart.”

*****

Skulduggery doesn’t bother straightening his tie as he sweeps into Ghastly’s office. The Grand Mage sits there, surprisingly, alone - his head buried in his hands. He doesn’t look up. “Skulduggery,” he says - and he sounds exhausted. “How’s your injuries?”

They’re terrible, actually. They hurt like hell, something on the blade of the machete cut straight through his soul as well as his bones - could’ve cleaved him right into two, soul and all, and that would’ve been the end of Skulduggery Pleasant forever. But he’s got more to worry about right now.

“Valkyrie,” he snaps. “You let her get sent to Coldheart?”

Ghastly lifts his head. Slowly, as if he wants - yet doesn’t want - to see the punch he expects Skulduggery to throw. “She killed a mortal.”

“She did it to save her sister from becoming a murderer at sixteen!”

“Like she was? Or was she even younger?” Ghastly sighs. “Nevertheless, she shot him three times in the heart while he begged for mercy.”

“You weren’t even there!”

“Skulduggery.”

Skulduggery paces around the desk and back again. “That mortal killed her parents and sister. He was part of Department X.” Militsa told him all about it; Winter finally divulging her secret, Valkyrie begging her not to kill him, Winter’s new power - absorbing the Spark, absorbing the bloody Faceless Ones, as if they hadn’t already had enough trouble.

“I know. I have informants.” Ghastly scrubs his hands over his hairless head, over the raised scars, and then points at a monitor in the corner, a file left open on the screen, lines and lines of little dark print that he can’t read from this distance. “Gestalt was Caelan. Being controlled by Arava Kahann, via the mask. He was found unconscious in the woods - Valkyrie left him alive, strangely-”

Skulduggery punches him.

He doesn’t know why, he doesn’t realise he’s going to do it until Ghastly’s head snaps back. Perhaps it’s been building for a while. Ghastly groans, hand going to his jaw, but then just looks at him - doesn’t call for Cleavers or reinforcements.

They glare at each other.

“Your tuxedo’s ruined,” Ghastly mutters, in a surprisingly level voice. “I told you not to ruin it.”

“Militsa said Fletcher’s dead.”

“Yes. Stabbed in the back - I know how that feels. Poor boy. He was a good man. He should’ve lived to be as old as us.” Ghastly rubs his jaw. “Perhaps he would’ve been wiser than us.”

Skulduggery crosses his arms. “Maybe. So what did you do with Gestalt?”

“We’ve sent him to prison.”

“Coldheart?”

“Ironpoint. Valkyrie branded her handprint on his face…” Ghastly shakes his head. “This is insane. What am I going to do?”

“Let Valkyrie out of prison.” He doesn’t want her in Coldheart, where Cadaver is Warden and Malice occupies a cell; he doesn’t want her stuck in Coldheart where he once nearly killed her; he doesn’t want her in any cell where she has nothing to do but think about old demons and revisit old traumas like being beaten up while imprisoned.

“I wasn’t talking about Valkyrie,” Ghastly retorts. “I meant with Insadoom - Chorus Wild and his ridiculous followers; all the dead bodies, Gestalt, the Isolationists, and all those kidnapped mortals that will never be safe in the Humdrums - or anywhere guarded by us, because they killed fucking sorcerers.”

Skulduggery walks over to the monitor and starts searching the live reports for any mention of Myosotis. “The aftermaths of these problems, luckily, is never our problem.”

“Your problem,” the Grand Mage bites out savagely. “Your, singular. Your partner is in jail and I’m not letting her out just because you might destroy the world without her.” Skulduggery turns, and Ghastly’s stood, glaring across the room at him. There’s something dark, very dark, in his old friend’s eyes, and Skulduggery would shrink into himself if he wasn’t already as shrunken as he could possibly be, being only a skeleton.

“I don’t have that power anymore,” Skulduggery says evenly.

“Not before the Deletion, you didn’t,” Ghastly growls. “Because the other Lord Vile stole it, didn’t he? And then Valkyrie killed him, right there in front of thousands-”

“Including your girlfriend who told you. How nice that you have such a communicative rela-”

“-it seems ridiculous, really, that she’s only being jailed now - she’s a mass-murderer and a murderer. Just like you.” Ghastly’s fists are clenched. He steps around the table. “Did you know who you were killing, when you killed my mother? When you killed Rustica Strife, did you recognise her?”

Right. They’re doing this, now, of all times.

Skulduggery lowers his gaze. “Yes. I did.”

He expects a return punch. Something. Anything but for the Grand Mage to sink weakly back into his straight-backed, uncomfortable chair.

“That’s what I thought.”

“Ghastly, I-”

“Get out.”

“But-”

“Just get out. Valkyrie is not an urgent problem. If I find you’re causing any trouble, I’m sending you to Greymire.”

“That seems-”

“Get. Out.”

Skulduggery gets out.

*****

He walks to the Bentley. Stands there by his glossy car in the Sanctuary’s underground carpark for a while, thinking of nothing and everything.

Fletcher, dead. Caelan, back from the dead. Valkyrie, so beautiful in her tuxedo and make-up, dancing around with Militsa - dancing, once, with him, a light-hearted bouncy little dance full of laughter and teasing, and another time, dragging him into a group bop with Militsa and Tanith too - reduced to the bloodied wreck he carried in his arms. Now, imprisoned, perhaps indefinitely.

Gestalt, cleaving through him. Tanith, screaming. Winter’s look of unmitigated terror, her shaking hands as she passed the machete to him.

Winter.

Where was Winter?

He read the Sanctuary operatives’ report, just briefly, on that monitor; and it described how Valkyrie didn’t resist arrest, how Militsa tried to save Sergeant Slott’s life, how Winter lunged at her sister with an expression ‘of murderous intent’…

His phone rings.

China.

He really doesn’t have time for this.

He swipes ANSWER.

“Skulduggery,” China says briskly, “instead of standing there feeling shellshocked, either go back to the hospital ward or go and fetch Valkyrie’s sister.”

China occasionally surprises him. Her new-found desire to be a good parent - just centuries too late - is now superseded by her new-found psychic abilities.

Though of course, it’s not, is it?

“Ghastly removed you from the Whispering.”

“Do you really think that would stop me, my dear?”

No. He really doesn’t.

“Well, I assume you can tell me where Winter is,” he answers, getting into the Bentley. He puts the phone on speaker.

“Walking towards Shudder’s gate. Away from the school she should be returning to.” China’s voice softens, imperceptibly. “Fletcher, is it true that he’s-”

“Yes.”

“I’d hoped it was misinformation.”

“Unfortunately, it’s not.” He’s driving out now, takes a right. The empty passenger seat is conspicuously catching his peripheral vision. He can imagine Valkyrie sitting there, pursing her lips as she stares into the night.

He sees Winter a few minutes later, head down as she plods along, and China hangs up with only a subdued, “Goodnight, Skulduggery.” He pulls up to the kerb.

She jumps, and he sees it immediately - her hands and eyes glow, just momentarily.

The Spark has definitely done something.

“Care for a ride, Winter?”

She glares at him, like she hates him, but she gets in anyway. He indicates - though there aren’t cars around - and starts driving, though he doesn’t have a destination in mind. Skull. Whatever. He used to do that with Valkyrie, sometimes; a looping drive through the sights of Dublin, where she’d brood in silence or - more likely - play her music and sing along, and try to encourage him to as well.

He only obliged her sometimes.

Winter sits in a tense silence, her shoulders hunched, fists curled. She looks mostly uninjured, her hoody bloodstained, her lip swollen. She reminds him, not of Valkyrie, or even himself at that age, but Ghastly, strangely. Distrusting, distanced, fearless, opinionated.

“I hate her,” Winter snaps suddenly.

“I’m sorry?”

“Valkyrie. Valkyrie fucking Cain. I hate her. I hope she rots in prison for-fucking-ever.”

He’s very tired for this.

“I know you feel…”

“You know nothing about my feelings.”

“You’re right. I don’t. So why don’t you tell me?”

“I don’t like you either!”

Her eyes flash again, catching in the blank radio screen between them. His fist tightens on the wheel. He’s driving a triggered detonation around. Wonderful.

She better not harm the Bentley.

“Well, that’s a pity,” he begins automatically. “I’m very likeable. Charming, some might say. Debonair, certainly. Of course, I have my moments of regrettable recklessness, and perhaps too much of a penchant for shooting first and asking questions later, but in fairness, I am a genius. I only shoot those deserving of it.”

Winter frowns. “He did deserve it,” she whispers.

Ah.

“Sergeant Slott?”

“He killed my fucking parents. He killed me,” she growls, “and where was Valkyrie? Off saving the world as usual - off trying to make my life decisions for me - but instead, all she did was rob me of a life until I might as well not exist - just because she’s so afraid that I’d make the same fucking mistakes as her, as if I’m that goddamn stupi-”

“Winter, stop.”

“No!” she shouts, unexpectedly, her eyes brimming with tears. “I won’t! I know you all adore her, think she’s amazing, but she’s a control-freak bitch and if you can’t see-”

“What I am seeing,” Skulduggery says - and good God he hates having to be the responsible one right now, when he feels like falling apart, literally and metaphorically - “is an overwrought and exhausted person who’s just been robbed of their - as they see it, rightful - revenge and chased around by a person mimicking their previous abductor. But you haven’t seen everything your sister’s been through, Winter, and I have - seen more than you have, anyway, so refrain from abusing her in my company, please.”

Winter looks ready to retort, but stops herself. He mentally pats himself on the spine.

“She got shot, did you know that?” she murmurs quietly.

“Valkyrie?”

“She was healed, but she had bullets still in her chest - it was making her dizzy, when we were running.”

Hmm. Just another thing for him to worry about.

“I don’t hate her,” she continues. Skulduggery decides to leave Roarhaven - leave the surveillance of both Ghastly and China. “I just…”

“Has Valkyrie told you about my family?”

The subject change throws her off. She squints uncertainly. “Uh…a bit?”

“That they died at the hands of Nefarian Serpine - purely to lure me into a trap? That I sought revenge for centuries afterwards - that I finally killed him on my very first case with Valkyrie?”

“Um, yeah?”

“Well, I know about revenge. I know it’s a dish served in any setting - hot, or cold, or even microwaved.” He gets a tiny smile from her. Valkyrie would’ve probably laughed. Still. “I know how it feels, to want - to need - to kill a person. Nothing else is ever enough.”

“But you killed your arch-enemy,” she mutters sullenly. Such a teenager.

“No. I didn’t.”

She looks up, surprised, her blonde hair falling over her forehead. “What?”

“Years later, after Valkyrie absorbed the power of the Sceptre of the Ancients, she was drawn to the place where Serpine died. Unbeknownst to her, he latched onto her consciousness and later took over his Leibniz Dimension counterpart. This was during the height of the Faceless Ones’ return. I realised. I was going to kill him.”

“And then what?”

“Valkyrie stopped me.”

“She killed him?”

He rolls his non-existent eyes. “No, she stopped me. He walked free. Later he was imprisoned in Ironpoint - where he rots, miserable and useless. I haven’t killed him, and I probably never will.”

“But you can kill him if you want. It’s different,” Winter argues.

“No. It’s not. Slott’s dead, and Valkyrie killed him - after he killed her parents and sister. She had a right to revenge just the same as you. But she did it to save you, and someday you’ll understand that. She saves people, Winter; she tries to make people better, because she couldn’t save herself or be that better person. So she tries for other people. She makes me a better person-”

“Alright, save it,” Winter hisses harshly, “I don’t need you monologuing on about how you’re in love with my brilliant, beautiful, badass older sister-”

He stops short. “My apologies,” he says icily, and he sees her stiffen, they both know she just crossed an invisible line. “Where would you like to sleep tonight? Your parents’, or…?”

“Take me back to the school,” she mutters, avoiding looking at him. “People are gonna be telling my folks about Valkyrie and I don’t want to be there for the sob-party.”

He turns around. Heads back to Roarhaven.

“What were you doing on Insadoom?”

She flushes slightly. “Brazen Yarrow tried to kill me - and then Gestalt killed her.”

At this point he doesn’t care about who Brazen Yarrow is. Or feel like digging for any more comprehensive answers. This night has been enough of a shitshow.

“Are…are you okay?” Winter eventually asks, hesitantly, as the Bentley speeds over the apparently-rutted road. “I saw you get…”

“Chopped in half? I’ll recover. My tuxedo, however…”

“But you look…kinda quivery,” Winter says slowly.

“I’m sorry?”

“I can see…stuff…” She waves her hand. “Your aura, like Valkyrie calls it? All sparkly? But there’s a line through where Gestalt cut, it’s sort of…jelly-like.”

That’s alarming.

“That sounds alarming, but I’ll recover just fine,” he responds.

She has powers from the Spark. He should take her to the Sanctuary to be inspected. Poked and prodded, declared an anomaly, and spoken about in fearful tones.

He should, but…

They come to an elegant halt outside Corrival.

She doesn’t get out. He waits.

“Is…Valkyrie…when will they…?”

“If you’re asking whether your incarcerated sister will be released shortly, I have no idea. The Grand Mage is currently mad at me - possibly due to the fact I ruined this tuxedo, but more likely because I killed his mother several hundred years ago and after knowing this fact for about eight years, he saw fit to bring it up with me tonight - or perhaps because I punched him - who knows?” He shrugs, his ribcage twinging painfully. Winter’s jaw has dropped slightly. “But Valkyrie will most likely be in Coldheart for a while.”

“I thought they’d just…release her, because she’s Valkyrie Cain,” Winter says softly.

“No special treatment for murderers.”

“You’re one,” she points out.

“A lot of people are. No one likes living with the remorse. Be thankful, Winter, that you aren’t. Be thankful she’s your sister.”

Tears are brimming in her brown eyes, like - but unlike - Valkyrie’s. “I wish she wasn’t.”

“I wished that about my brother once.”

“And…?”

“Then he died.”

Winter’s lip quivers. He leaves out the bit about his siblings coming back to life. He’s been nice enough for one evening.

She gets out without a word and walks up to the school. He turns the car around and drives away after she passes through the gates. The skies are just starting to lighten. He takes the quickest route out of Roarhaven.

The aftermath of this night isn’t his damn problem.