A/N: Another new story... I'll finish the others as soon as I can I promise!

But for now I feel really inspired to write this one!

And sorry I haven't updated people! :( I'm sick and I got my navel pierced and it's soooo sore... Kinda wasn't worth it haha.

Valkyrie's around nineteen.

But hope you all enjoy this one! :)

Chapter one: Beginning Of The End.

General POV.

Valkyrie sat staring out the window of her uncles study. She hadn't left the room for hours, every now and again she would hear somebody creeping up to the door to see if they could hear her or get her to talk to them. She didn't reply to anything they said and they soon gave up. They were trying to figure out what was going on in her head, but truth be told, she didn't know herself and so here she was, gazing over the trees that surrounded Gordons estate, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't help it. She kept going over the scene in her head, trying desperately to make herself believe it wasn't real and that she could go back in time and stop it. She could still hear their terrified screams of pain and horror.

And it had been her fault.

*

Desmond and Melissa Edgley always knew there was something going on with their daughter. They knew because of the constant blank looks late at night when they would talk to her about events of the day, when Beryl had shown them a picture of Stephanie with a man in layers, like a disguise, and with the woman who had claimed to be a local nutters doctor. But most of all, they felt the energy around her sometimes. It was dark, and it pulsed around her. They knew it had something to do with the black ring that she had supposedly bought in a Gothic shop in Temple Bar.

But the day when they confronted her, she had denied it all. She had told them that there was nothing going on and then she had given them what they thought was a reassuring smile, but looking back, it was one of panic and guilt. They didn't have the slightest idea what to do. Instead, they chose to disregard it and hope that she came out of it, but it got worse. They saw the dark energy getting worse.

"Desmond!" Melissa yelled, "She's gone out to shop, come on! The ring is upstairs!"

Desmond and Melissa approached the ring and stared at it. They half expected it to pulse and writhe when they picked it up, but it didn't. So Desmond picked up his saw and told Melissa to hold it.

*

Valkyrie came through the front door and put the groceries on the table.

"I'm ba-"

But she was cut short by agonising screams from upstairs. Valkyrie scrambled up the stairs and kicked her door open.

Her black ring was cut in half, and there was a black darkness swirling around her parents. Their bodies were shaking and they looked terrified. The blackness was killing them. The force was too powerful for their bodies to handle. Valkyrie was horrified. She ran to the ring and looked at it. Broken. She had run into the middle of the swirling blackness, just as she stood up, the dark magic started to fill her, but her parents were lying on the floor. Nothing more than empty shells. The last of the magic went into her and she fell to her knees, her eyes closed. She felt sick and felt bile rise in her throat. She ran to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet, sinking down the wall, she sat there.

Her phone started to buzz in her pocket and she took it out, her chest heaving, and looked at the caller I.D. It was Skulduggery. She flipped it open.

"Hello?" She croaked.

Pause.

"Valkyrie? What's wrong? Are you OK?" Skulduggery said slowly.

That was when Valkyrie started to cry hard. She heard the Bentley accelerating in the background.

"I'm at parents.. House..." She sobbed.

"I'm coming." Skulduggery said softly and the line went dead.

Several minutes later, she heard the front door fly off it's hinges and running steps coming up the stairs. Skulduggery appeared in the doorway and she looked up. Normally, she would put on a brave face if she was upset or hurt and crack a joke, but under these circumstances, she didn't care. Her head fell into her hands and she felt bony hands lifting her to her feet.

"Shh," Skulduggery murmured, hugging her to him, her head resting on his chest, "What happened?

Valkyrie tried to talk but all that came out were sobs. His velvet voice was so comforting, as was his embrace....

*

After another few hours of lying on the study floor, staring at the roof with a tear streamed face, Valkyrie got up and walked to the door. She wiped her face and took a deep breath. She opened the door and made her way down the stairs. She heard low voices talking in the living room and she entered, biting her lip as the whispering stopped. Skulduggery was the first to speak.

"How are you feeling?" He said softly.

Valkyrie dragged her feet over to couch and sat beside Skulduggery, cuddling into his side as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Okay I guess... I've come to terms with it, but it's still there in my mind..." She whispered.

Skulduggery nodded and rubbed her shoulder.

A/N: First chapter yay!

Hope you enjoyed that :)

There will be another update later cause I know what it's gonna be :)

Thanks for reading! :D

Please review and let me know what you all think :)

x