independent and selective VALKYRIE CAIN from the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy; as written by caine ( ally ). blog was originally established in feb2013, and rebooted in mar2016.
- Anton Shudder: *to Saracen Rue* You've been spoiled, too much soft living. You used to be tough.
- Saracen Rue: I did? When?
- Anton Shudder: *to Valkyrie Cain* He jokes. They all do. But Saracen is one of the strongest men I have ever had the honour of knowing. We were in Siberia...
- Saracen Rue: *squirming* Not this story again.
- Anton Shudder: Shut up. We were in Siberia. Our mission was to assassinate a man so terrible his own soldiers called him the Butcher. We tried, and we failed. We were forced to run, and got separated. When we regrouped, Saracen was missing. We waited at the rendezvous point. Nothing. The Teleporter came to take us home - we didn't go. Our friend had been captured by the Butcher. We had to go back for him.
- Saracen Rue: Can we just stop the story there? Leave it on a cliffhanger?
- Anton Shudder: Nonsense. Valkyrie should know the calibre of the people she now serves with. The Butcher had him for three days, Valkyrie. No one endured the Butcher's interrogations for more than twenty-four hours. But, not only did Saracen endure, he found a way to escape. When we found him, he had tracked the Butcher back to his home, had subdued his wife and was waiting there for the Butcher to return. We found him, convinced him to leave with us that very night. He was almost reluctant, Valkyrie. He didn't care that the Butcher now had a dozen of his best soldiers around him at all times - he wanted to stay and see the job through to the end. That is the kind of man Saracen Rue is.
- Dexter Vex: *to Saracen Rue* Don't you think you should tell him?
- Anton Shudder: Tell me what?
- Saracen Rue: Anton... the things is, you love that story. You do. Every time you tell it, you.. you just get all proud. And that's a lovely thing to see. But the story isn't the whole, entire, actual truth of what actually, truthfully, entirely... happened.
- Anton Shudder: I don't understand.
- Saracen Rue: The Butcher didn't capture me. I never ran when the alarm was raised. I'd twisted my ankle, remember? So, while you guys took off, I hid. And, purely by coincidence, I hid in the Butcher's own cellar.
- Anton Shudder: But... but you subdued his wife...
- Erskine Ravel: Subdue is one word for it, seduce is another.
- Anton Shudder: What?
- Saracen Rue: She was really pretty! And she wasn't happy married to him. How could she be? He was ninety per cent hair.
- Anton Shudder: You spent three days with his wife?
- Saracen Rue: While he was out hunting you guys, yeah. It was the safest place to be while my ankle healed. The last place he'd think to look.
- Anton Shudder: And you all knew about this?
- Ghastly Bespoke: We didn't want to spoil the story you'd concocted. It was really good.