let me be the one you call / if you jump I'll break your fall

[impudentsongbird]

Book Four: Dark Days
1 | into the breach
2 | finding skulduggery
3 | retreat to the tunnels
4 | into the cacophony
5 | sanctuary in the cathedral
6 | reuniting old friends
7 | kenspeckle's new patient
8 | holy water and disinfectant
9 | objecting to china sorrows
10 | the roadtrip
11 | baffling guild
12 | shenanigans at the safehouse
13 | reassuring fletcher
14 | valkyrie's intervention
15 | solomon's revelation
16 | visiting the edgleys
17 | recalled to the sanctuary
18 | guild's confusion
19 | gabe is busted
20 | the psychic tattoist
21 | envisioning the cacophony
22 | angel's first migraine
23 | the morning after
24 | china and solomon
25 | detectives' council of war
26 | china's foolishness
27 | the collector dethroned
28 | finding crux
29 | skulduggery's vileness revealed
30 | sorrows in aftermath
31 | finding equilibrium
32 | the devil's number
33 | at the carnival
34 | meeting authorities
35 | solomon's confession
36 | the stray soul
37 | sanguine unsettled
38 | solomon's choice
39 | a cowboy underground
40 | in scarab's basement
41 | striking midnight
42 | craven contested
43 | emergency services
44 | on your feet
45 | and don't stop moving
46 | easy recognition
47 | a deuce of an evening
48 | engines roaring
49 | compromising judgements
50 | solomon's conflict
51 | axis turning
52 | thinking circular
53 | blasting the past
54 | reviling vile

Book Five: Mortal Coil
55 | sanctuary unsanctified
56 | shudder unravelling
57 | catching an angel
58 | layering dimensions
59 | dead men meeting
60 | when it rains
61 | power plays
62 | sing on gold
63 | the valley of death
64 | grand aspersions
65 | no evil feared
66 | new days rising
67 | angelic neuroses
68 | step-brothers working
69 | the many sorrows of china
70 | peacefully wreathed
71 | tarnished gold
72 | the secret in darkness
73 | magical intent
74 | scars worth keeping
75 | benefits of a beau
76 | grand magery
77 | lighting the darkness
78 | old dogs and new tricks
79 | flouting traditions
80 | drawing lines
81 | brothers and sisters in arms
82 | channelling angels
83 | return of the carnies
84 | the death bringers
85 | meriting agelessness
86 | knick knack, paddy
87 | give a dog a bone
88 | americans propheteering
89 | the right side of honour
90 | tailored shocks
91 | hosting angels
92 | elders anonymous
93 | rediscovered strays
94 | changings and changelings
95 | a state of reflection
96 | adding hope
97 | the devil's truth
98 | dead mens' hospitality
99 | lives half lived
100 | next to godliness
101 | devilish plans
102 | beached angels
103 | lights of revelation
104 | heroes worshipped
105 | new devilries
106 | angels under the yoke
107 | brains frozen
108 | father, mother, daughter
109 | parental guidance recommended
110 | driven round the bend
111 | ongoing training
112 | privileged information
113 | reasonable men
114 | passing the buck
115 | gifting magicks
116 | strengths and weaknesses
117 | immaturity's perks
118 | priests and prophets
119 | scaling evil
120 | blowing covers
121 | marring an afternoon
122 | lie detection
123 | five-dimensional pain
124 | reliving nightmares
125 | taking stock
126 | sampling spices
127 | sleeping prophets lying
128 | rueful returns
129 | dead men reunion
130 | medically-approved hugs

The life of an angel was a contradiction in changes and stability. On one hand, they understood very well the way the cosmos was shaped by events within it. On the other, they stood at one step apart from it—or at least had, for a very long time, up until their Master's recent wager with Lucifer. Changes in the recent past had, even for angels, been fast and turbulent, but there were none that concerned Raphael more than Gabriel's abrupt reserve.

In the aftermath of the wager Gabriel had been almost the only one to know where their Lord was at any given time, a fact which had put the Archangel very firmly under Lucifer's radar. Raphael had joked that Gabriel ought to arm himself with more jokes or worse clothes to drive the fallen angel away; Michael had offered the peace of the Garden Coast. (Rafe thought his idea was better.)

Either way, even though their Master was fair hidden, every angel knew that they had only to ask Gabriel and the Archangel would pass on a message.

Then Gabriel had simply blipped off the radar himself. Poof! Gone! No one had noticed at first, because, well, they weren't exactly in constant connection. It was just when Raphael had taken a whim to seek out his younger brother that he'd noticed it, and let it be, because there was absolutely a reason for it. Gabe did not just off and vanish, except that once with his self-exile, and that didn’t count.

But when Gabriel had come back, he had been strangely agitated and yet close-mouthed. The younger Archangel had vanished off to wherever their Master was hidden for a long chat Raphael was dying to have listened into, and yet couldn't (but only partly because it would have been rude). Now he was here, floating among the stars and examining a black hole with unnerving intensity.

For a time Raphael watched without letting on that he was there, but eventually Gabriel spoke. “I’d rather you came to join me instead of lurking, brother.”

Absolutely refusing to feel chagrined, Raphael let himself manifest with an arm around Gabriel’s shoulders and ruffled the younger angel’s hair. Gabriel threw a fond, longsuffering glance up at him, but there was something in his eyes, something distracted and sharp, which indicated that Gabriel still wasn’t truly present. Raphael only wished he knew where the other Archangel was.

“Just wondering what you’re doin’ all the way out here,” he said teasingly. “There’s a party going on down there on Earth, Gabe.” There was always a party going on down on Earth. “You oughta be down there bobbin’ for apples and switching up party-hats!”

“I can’t,” Gabriel said quietly, with a sort of seriousness Raphael had, for all Gabriel’s literalness, rarely heard from him. So Raphael fell into the same seriousness, lost his playful accent, and spoke directly.

“Why not, brother? You’ve been reserved of late. I conf—I’m worried for you.”

For a very long time Gabriel said nothing and stared into the slow-turning swirl of the black hole. Raphael waited patiently, his arm still companionably across the other Archangel’s shoulders. Eventually Gabriel spoke. “Did you know, Raphael,” he said, “that the universe you see around you here isn’t the only one our Master has created?”

Raphael was so startled that he couldn’t answer. That wasn’t what he was imagining. He hadn’t been sure what he’d been imagining, but that wasn’t it. “I’m not sure what you mean, Gabriel,” he said after a moment. “Our Lord told me the story of Creation not all that long ago, and he never mentioned anything of the kind.”

Gabriel nodded. “He told me that story as well. And then He asked if I really wanted to know details.” He hesitated. “I … admit, I declined. It’s something He said—about faith. I decided I didn’t need to know details. But it’s true, nevertheless. Just beyond this …” The Archangel reached out his hand and touched that gossamer and unbreakable fabric that supported reality. “There are other universes, even with different versions of us.”

“Different versions of us?” Raphael repeated, appalled and uncertain and entirely confused. How could that be possible? What could their Master want with more than one of any of them? What was going on? Where had Gabriel gone in that time he’d vanished? Then something occurred to him and he smiled with relief. “This is a joke, right?”

Gabriel looked up at him and smiled back with such a gentle understanding that for a moment Raphael felt very small indeed. “No, Rafe. I’m not joking. It was a shock to me too. That isn’t the point, though.”

“Isn’t it?” Raphael asked, feeling as dazed as an angel possibly could, especially when he wasn’t even inhabiting an actual physical body.

“No.” Gabriel returned to watching the black hole intently. “I met some people from other realities. One of them is in a kind of Hell, and he very much does not deserve it. I promised him that, if I could, I would save him from it.”

Which did not in the least explain why Gabe was staring at a black hole, let alone a million other questions Raphael would have liked to ask and for which he couldn’t find the words. Finally he found one. “How?”

“First,” Gabriel said with a sort of tranquillity Raphael had heard in his brother’s voice a million times but never after delivering so turbulent a piece of news, “I’m going to jimmy open a crack in the door through this hole.”

Raphael stared at Gabe, and then at the black hole, and then back at Gabe. He opened his mouth to ask whether their Master knew he was planning this and then closed it, because that was a stupid question. He opened it again to query if Gabriel had asked whether he could go around lifting the sheets and then realised that was also a stupid question, because whether he had or not, their Master probably would have told him to do what he felt was best.

It was equally clear that Gabriel very much planned to go through with this, no matter what Raphael said, and really, did Raphael have the right to object? Surely if this carried a risk, their Master would have already forbidden Gabriel from making the attempt?

“I’ll come with,” Raphael said at last, and this time when Gabriel glanced back the younger Archangel’s expression was startled. A moment later that expression shifted into grateful apology.

“I’m sorry, Rafe, but I’m not entirely certain I’ll make it through, and we can hardly leave Michael here alone.” He grinned. “Did you see what he was wearing last festival day on the Garden Coast? He hasn’t moved out of the eighteenth century yet. How would he possibly handle the rest of the world?”

Raphael laughed out loud, warm but startled, and the sound of it rang through space. Gabriel chuckled quietly beside him, and for a few minutes there was just companionable humour that faded into an equally comfortable silence.

Still, Raphael had a lot of questions. How did Gabriel plan to find his friend, let alone the universe he was in? How was he going to get back? What would he do if he met another version of himself? Or, worse, Lucifer? Finally the Archangel just asked, “Have you figured out how to crack open the door?”

“I think so,” Gabriel said, considering the black hole. “Once I figured out what to look for. I wouldn’t have gotten even that far if it weren’t for some things our Master said.”

Which meant that, in some fashion, this expedition was sanctioned by their Master, Raphael translated, and something tense in him relaxed. “Something do to with this drain here, I’ll bet,” he said, falling into his casual accent once more. “Gonna rip out the kitchen sink, li’l brother?”

“Just to see what’s hiding underneath,” Gabriel said with a grin.

“I’ll try’n keep it open for ya,” Raphael promised, and Gabriel sent him a smile which lit up the very space around them with its brilliance.

“Thank you, Rafe,” he said, and straightened. Raphael took his arm away as Gabriel lifted his hands, not exactly stepping back so much as giving Gabriel space. The youngest Archangel didn’t often reveal his power, but it was always a sight to see, a song to hear, when he did.

As it was now. Gabriel’s voice started deep, lifted high, split and wove and became more melodies than one would think a single being could possibly sing at once. The sound of it made Raphael’s heart soar, made him want to fly and laugh. It was so deep, so light, so resonating that it was physical; it touched the slow turn of the black hole and made it, for just the briefest of moments, still. In that moment Gabriel sent a carefully-aimed bolt of energy into the heart of it.

It was the kind of sight Raphael hadn’t seen in thousands of years, a play of physics and metaphysics which he hadn’t thought possible, let alone imagined. There was an eruption in the centre of the black hole, where gravity was condensed; the cascade of energy plumed upward and was dragged back down as quick, a tear in the fabric of the reality not allowed the time to widen or become a danger.

Raphael didn’t even know Gabe had moved until the younger Archangel was gone, he was so busy staring in awe. With a start the Archangel stretched out his senses and just barely managed to catch a glimpse of his brother shooting toward the hole at speeds few angels could have achieved through such a gravity well. Raphael certainly couldn’t have.

How, he suddenly wondered, was he meant to keep that open if he didn’t even have the speed of thought to track Gabriel’s movements through it?

Desperately the Archangel cast about for something to jam in the door, as it were. There was some dark matter nearby and with a thought he fashioned it into a spear and pitched it toward the centre of the black hole. It struck just as Gabriel flitted through the crack nearly wholly collapsed in on itself; the star’s gravity caught it, pulled it in, and plugged the opening like a metaphysical sink.

Slowly Raphael made every part of himself relax. For good or ill, Gabe was gone on this quest of his, and now Raphael should probably go and round up some of their younger siblings to guard the area. Just in case.


Book Four: Dark Days
into the breach | finding skulduggery | retreat to the tunnels | into the cacophony | sanctuary in the cathedral | reuniting old friends | kenspeckle's new patient | holy water and disinfectant | objecting to china sorrows | the roadtrip | baffling guild | shenanigans at the safehouse | reassuring fletcher | valkyrie's intervention | solomon's revelation | visiting the edgleys | recalled to the sanctuary | guild's confusion | gabe is busted | the psychic tattoist | envisioning the cacophony | angel's first migraine | the morning after | china and solomon | detectives' council of war | china's foolishness | the collector dethroned | finding crux | skulduggery's vileness revealed | sorrows in aftermath | finding equilibrium | the devil's number | at the carnival | meeting authorities | solomon's confession | the stray soul | sanguine unsettled | solomon's choice | a cowboy underground | in scarab's basement | striking midnight | craven contested | emergency services | on your feet | and don't stop moving | easy recognition | a deuce of an evening | engines roaring | compromising judgements | solomon's conflict | axis turning | thinking circular | blasting the past | reviling vile

Book Five: Mortal Coil
sanctuary unsanctified | shudder unravelling | catching an angel | layering dimensions | dead men meeting | when it rains | power plays | sing on gold | the valley of death | grand aspersions | no evil feared | new days rising | angelic neuroses | step-brothers working | the many sorrows of china | peacefully wreathed | tarnished gold | the secret in darkness | magical intent | scars worth keeping | benefits of a beau | grand magery | lighting the darkness | old dogs and new tricks | flouting traditions | drawing lines | brothers and sisters in arms | channelling angels | return of the carnies | the death bringers | meriting agelessness | knick knack, paddy | give a dog a bone | americans propheteering | the right side of honour | tailored shocks | hosting angels | elders anonymous | rediscovered strays | changings and changelings | a state of reflection | adding hope | the devil's truth | dead mens' hospitality | lives half lived | next to godliness | devilish plans | beached angels | lights of revelation | heroes worshipped | new devilries | angels under the yoke | brains frozen | father, mother, daughter | parental guidance recommended | driven round the bend | ongoing training | privileged information | reasonable men | passing the buck | gifting magicks | strengths and weaknesses | immaturity's perks | priests and prophets | scaling evil | blowing covers | marring an afternoon | lie detection | five-dimensional pain | reliving nightmares | taking stock | sampling spices | sleeping prophets lying | rueful returns | dead men reunion | medically-approved hugs

Comments

[impudentsongbird]

The sudden upheaval in China's soul was what alerted Gabriel to the woman's awakening, and the Archangel turned toward her with a start, surprised. "I wasn't expecting her to wake up so soon."

Well, she was a resilient woman. Maybe he'd thrown her out in time after all.

Gabe set his cards facedown and rose, moving carefully toward the woman lying on the couch. She didn't look at him, at anyone, but the Archangel saw the brokenness in her expression, in her soul, and his chest clenched with guilt. China Sorrows was a woman in need of a hard shock, a good lesson, and yet--and yet Gabriel had never treated her as the ward she was.

That was his own fault. He'd been wrong. Should have tried harder, maybe. At the least he owed her an apology, and he could offer her some comfort.

He sat down on the edge of the loveseat, and now there were tears in his own eyes. China had needed this, for the sake of her soul. She'd needed her hubris broken, revealed for the stain it was, and yet that didn't change at all her anguish now. So the Archangel gathered her up in his arms and stroked her hair, and let his own calm and assurance wash over her soul as a balm to the sharpness of her emotions. It wouldn't take them away, because she needed them right now, but it would take off the edge.

His voice was gentle but final as he said, "Yes."

[skeletonenigma]

Valkyrie didn't know what she was expecting when China woke up. If even Gabe wasn't sure what her condition would be, it would have to be bad, but... Valkyrie was having a stupidly hard time imagining China as anything other than perfectly controlled and poised and confident, gently and yet harshly teasing with every word.

But now... now she was crying.

In three years, Valkyrie had only ever seen China lose control of her temper once. And even then - even when a good portion of her library was accidentally destroyed - she'd regained her composure almost immediately. Valkyrie didn't think she'd ever seen the woman come even close to breaking down. She wouldn't be surprised if China, in over four hundred years of life, never had. But there were tears flowing freely down her cheeks, and she just looked... she looked broken. Well and truly broken.

Valkyrie had to sit down. It didn't take a genius to work out what China must have meant with her half-formed question, especially since Gabe answered firmly almost right away. The implication didn't even shock Valkyrie anymore. She just felt numb.

She was beginning to wonder why they'd ever been scared of Gabe, though. Here was someone who'd just tried to control the Archangel using his true name - someone he'd gotten angry at before just for using her natural and passive ability on him - and not only did he shrug it off, he proceeded to treat her like a child under his care. Which, technically, she was, but... still. China didn't even seem to mind, didn't try to move away or comment or do much other than stare blankly off into space. That... wasn't the China Valkyrie knew.

Tanith looked just as shocked and frightened and unsure as Valkyrie felt. So did Fletcher. But both Skulduggery and Ghastly were as impassive as ever, just watching. What was it with living for centuries and suddenly not being able to show basic human emotion anymore?

"He's impressive," China finally said, her tone just as devoid of anything as it had been a few minutes ago. She looked like she was about to say something else, but pain clouded her vision and her mouth snapped shut.

Wow. China was actually in shock. Properly in shock, like a limb had just gotten sliced off or something. Not that Valkyrie could really blame her, if she'd actually seen -

For the first time since that fateful day three years ago, Valkyrie truly felt like she'd gotten in over her head.

[impudentsongbird]

That was something of the understatement of a lifetime. Gabriel's mouth quirked with wry but sympathetic amusement as he met Skulduggery's gaze over China's head, although the soothing motion of his hand didn't stop. "He is that, yes."

She recognised that it wasn't just Gabriel she had been attempting to control, then. The only way she could have controlled Gabriel was by wresting his name from God Himself. And she'd only gotten a glimpse; a distant blur of grey ocean on the horizon. Just enough for her to recognise His expanse, to know it would be too much for her to even try to understand. Gabriel couldn't understand Him.

"I owe you an apology, China," he murmured. "The path on which you walk is one whose end you won't like. I won't deny you needed that path illuminated. But I let my initial impression get the best of me, and I did not treat you with the care due to one of my wards, and for that I am sorry."

And he was. Maybe if he'd acted differently this would have been necessary. Then again, perhaps not. That was putting an awful lot of faith in China's ability to recognise when she was wrong, to put aside her hubris. It was quite possible only something such as this would properly make her realise just what sort of road she was on, and if nothing else the loss of her magic would force her to consider things in ways she never had before. Certainly, that experience would be beneficial for her. She was an arrogant woman, not a stupid one.

He knew she'd lost her powers, of course. Her magic, in the place of her mind. It was the kind of magic from which he'd been made, and it had overloaded her entirely.

In any case, magic or no magic, lesson needed or not, Gabriel himself hadn't handled the situation well. The apology was earned.

[neutralcollector]

And now the Archangel was apologising to her. China might have laughed if she was capable of discerning deeper meanings at the moment.

Facts rummaged around in her head looking for footholds that didn't exist. They drifted through her consciousness, following each other in some basic semblance of order, accompanied by no feeling whatsoever - only a certain kind of doomed acceptance. Somehow, someway, God existed. Gabe the American cowboy was also Gabriel the Archangel, who saw fit to rescue Skulduggery from the equivalent of a hell dimension. Gabriel himself may not come from here, but God was everywhere. The path China was walking, as Gabe put it, wouldn't lead anywhere good. Skulduggery had almost complete trust in Gabe. That feeling had to be mutual. An angel was Skulduggery's friend.

Skulduggery's angel.

Remus Crux.

The sliver of fear that crept through the shell of shock brought the rest crumbling down, and suddenly China could feel again - suddenly and violently. And it was the fear that overwhelmed her first. China had been relying on the minimal risk of Crux encountering Skulduggery, relying on that luck to hold out until her own work was finished and she could deal with the problem herself.

China no longer had that luxury. Could angels read minds? Could they hear prayers? Would Gabe know if the insane religious fanatic prayed to the Faceless Ones? And if he learned the truth, would he tell Skulduggery?

Of course he would. Time, very suddenly, became the most important thing in the world. Because if Skulduggery didn't kill her for it - and he would, probably in the most painful way he knew - the Archangel surely wouldn't let past mistakes and injustices slide, no matter how misguided they might have been. Crux needed to die before any of that happened.

China had never felt real panic before. Some vaguely cohesive academic part of her marveled at how it totally eclipsed normal, rational thought. It was like as soon as she came to the conclusion, every other drifting thought fled, crowded out of her mind. It would have been an interesting study, if this were any other moment in time. China was experiencing raw, unfettered emotion without her usual restraints, her usual control, her usual discretion. It was much, much worse than the random thoughts she didn't have any control over. At least those disappeared once she'd had them.

"I have to..." Suddenly China couldn't sit still, not until Crux was dealt with. But she couldn't even begin to come up with a suitable excuse. "I need to go."

Skulduggery was suspicious. She would recognise the way his head was tilted in her sleep, even without the slight change of expression on his face. But he didn't say anything, and so China looked toward Fletcher, the only Teleporter in the room she wasn't suddenly terrified of. "Would you mind, Fletcher?"

The boy started and looked around, uncertain. "Um... sure, I guess. Just back to your library, right?"

"Yes." China wouldn't have bothered being polite, but something unknowable spurred her on. "Thank you."

[impudentsongbird]

Gabriel felt China stiffen, felt the abrupt clarity of her thought, and let her pull away. He didn't know what she was thinking, although he could find out even without prying, if given the time. That was the strange thing about panic; everything was drawn up to a single point, and yet the emotion clouded its origins completely at first glance.

Later. Once China had left, had the chance to get away from what was frightening her, and think things through to bring the panic back under control.

The Archangel looked gratefully at Fletcher. "Thank you, Fletch. I wasn't meaning to ask much of you this morning, but she's really not in any condition to drive. I'll make it up to you, okay?"

He sat back, giving China's hand a squeeze, and then let Fletcher take her. It was only once they were gone that he let the frown crinkle his brow, mentally brushing aside the fog of China's panic in the resonances still left in her wake. There was a face there. Someone he recognised, or ought to--not someone he'd met before, though. A memory of a memory.

Gabriel let it come naturally, in the back of his mind, and glanced toward the others. China Sorrows wasn't the only one affected by this. "Everyone else okay?"

[skeletonenigma]

Just as Fletcher smiled at Gabe and put his hand on China's arm, Skulduggery almost seemed to start out of a trance. "Yes, Fletcher," he added, almost... awkwardly. "Thank you."

Ghastly was by no means a detective, but even he was starting to put pieces together. Skulduggery treating China the same way he always had was understandable, if lamentable; he didn't know how helpful she'd been over the past year. But making an effort to be nice to Fletcher? And specifically right after Gabriel had thanked the Teleporter?

If Ghastly didn't know any better, he'd think Skul was trying to make a good impression on the Archangel - make up for the imagined past wrongs he never seemed to talk about. But Ghastly did know better. So what was really going on?

"Peachy," was Skulduggery's response to Gabe's query. He sat back down at the table and nudged his cards over a few inches. "I suppose we shouldn't have expected any better."

"What exactly did she see?" Ghastly asked more seriously, even though he was fairly sure he knew the answer. Fairly sure everyone here knew the answer. A part of him just needed to hear it out loud. Granted, the rest of him was trying to disown that part of him very violently, but Ghastly was able to beat the sensible part into submission.

~~

"Are you okay?" Fletcher asked as soon as China collapsed into her desk chair, barely able to stand upright.

She managed a bitter laugh. Okay. She would be okay, of that China was certain. It was the one constant in life, that everything changed. This, how she was feeling now... it would pass. It would fade. She would be able to think clearly again.

But until that happened? China was strangely unafraid to admit it. She wasn't okay. "No," she answered, her voice weaker than it had been even back at the safe house seconds ago. "But I'll live. You don't need to pretend concern."

"I'm not," Fletcher insisted. "China, you look terrible. I've never seen you like... do you need help?"

Unfeigned concern was somehow even worse. China broke eye contact with the boy and waved him away. "Please, just go."

And he did. It took him a moment, but he did. China let several minutes pass by, minutes she used to collect herself, before she tried standing up again.

She was still weak on her feet, and she still didn't have her magic. It didn't even feel bound - woven up and trapped, ebbing just on the edge of her consciousness - it simply felt gone. For how long? Forever? Was she doomed to live out life as a mortal now? Would she age, wither, and die in the space of a few short years?

China paused next to the bookshelf and placed her hand carefully against it. The comfort of the library didn't wrap itself around her. The locations of books didn't fill her mind. She didn't feel a subtle shift in the library's layout as the more relevant books to her mood came up to the front.

She was cut off. Cut off from everything she ever cared about, everything she held dear. And -

China almost fell to the floor as she realised what that meant. Her stomach clenched, and her half-stumble sent her head throbbing again.

The magic of the library was probably destroyed completely. And China wouldn't know. She couldn't know, cut off from it like this.

A vague anger formed a cold bubble in her center. It might have taken her over, if China could think about revenge. Revenge against an Archangel. The thought was laughable. But the anger in her center did have the unintended side effect of solidifying her earlier panicked plan.

It didn't have panic behind it anymore. Now, it had cold purpose.

Without her magic, China was forced to rely on some of her more menial means of getting rid of someone. She slowly and carefully left the library, made her way over to the apartment - which, predictably, seemed so barren now - and went straight for her gun.

[impudentsongbird]

Carefully Gabriel rose and made his own way back to the table, sinking down into his chair again and reaching for the cards. "Maybe," he admitted to Skulduggery, "but it would have been nice to see. She lost a lot today. Through her own actions, but even so--things aren't going to be easy on her for a while."

He would have to put in more effort at visiting, perhaps. But later. Right now, she needed her own space.

Gabriel smiled at Ghastly, a bit wearily but mostly just serene. "Imagine having never seen the ocean before, and then being dropped onto a beach. You'd believe, you'd know, the sea went on forever. That's what China saw. My name is already owned by Someone else, Ghastly. All that I am pales in comparison to He Who lies behind me, and it was from Him she would have had to wrest it."

In the back of his mind, he was teasing out that image. An image of a man, insane and insistent, driven by revenge. Gabe didn't quite react to Fletcher's reappearance, because he was too busy staring at his hand on the facedown cards.

Everything in a soul is tinted by that soul. Gabriel had seen that face before, in Valkyrie's--tinted by fear. In China's, it had been tinted by the same, but a different kind. Valkyrie's had been shock and pure fright.

China's was the resigned fear which came with cold intent.

Killing intent.

Gabriel looked up and directly at Valkyrie. "Valkyrie, I'm sorry to bring this up," he said, "but it could be important. Who is that man? The one who met with you at your house the night before Skulduggery and I arrived in this dimension? Not Solomon. The other one."

[skeletonenigma]

"He didn't meet with me," Valkyrie contradicted Gabe. "He attacked me."

Skulduggery glanced up, just as startled by the abrupt change of subject as by what Valkyrie was saying. Solomon was at her house? Solomon was at her house the night before he returned? And there was another man who'd tried to kill her. The detective was again reminded of just how many people wanted the young girl dead - how many he didn't see the need to tell her about over the years - and how many of them didn't even try to get near her for fear of Skulduggery hunting them down and taking revenge. A legitimate fear, of course, but... Skulduggery hadn't even thought about what his disappearance would mean for Valkyrie's safety. He supposed he'd always assumed Ghastly and Tanith would take care of her.

But with Valkyrie alone and vulnerable in her house, someone had tried. Someone had tried to snuff out her life. Skulduggery couldn't let that slide even if he wanted to.

He took his hand off the table and visibly straightened, careful to keep his tone level and his face only mildly concerned. "Who was he?"

"Crux," Valkyrie replied. "Remus Crux." She hesitated, then looked away from Skulduggery to talk instead to Gabriel. "He was Skulduggery's replacement at the Sanctuary last year. Kind of a pathetic guy. We made fun of him. But something happened at Aranmore Farm and... we think he might have gone insane. It doesn't matter. That's the first time we've seen him since Skulduggery disappeared. China warded Haggard so that Crux can't get back in without us knowing."

Doesn't matter. Valkyrie truly thought it didn't matter. Crux was still alive? Skulduggery didn't try to stop his face's eyes from narrowing. His replacement as Prime Detective at the Sanctuary had certainly began with the best of intentions, shoddy though his execution might have been. To go from that to attempting to kill someone - attempting to kill a teenage girl - why? Simply because he went insane? What could he have possibly gained from it? They needed to find out.

Of course, Skulduggery recognised that he was only justifying the anger that rose in him like a fist, but he ignored the instinct to dispel it. Crux was dangerous now. He would need a little bit of fire in his bones if he wanted to deal with the threat.

Besides, his reasoning always seemed to sharpen with that red-hot fire behind it; one look at Gabe and Skulduggery knew where the question had come from. "China was thinking about him?"

[impudentsongbird]

Gabe had been trying to be discreet--for Valkyrie's sake, yes, but more pointedly, for Skulduggery's. The last thing the detective needed was more reason to let his control lapse. So Gabriel winced at Valkyrie's blunt assertion, torn between feeling relieved she didn't seem to be wondering how he'd known (or at least unbothered by it) and chagrined she hadn't stopped to think.

"Remus Crux," Gabriel murmured, and the name helped solidify the person even though Gabriel had never met him before. He was another detective? Apparently the Sanctuary had issue with finding suitable people.

For a moment the Archangel remained silent, staring at the loveseat where China had lain. Something ... something. Something beyond the intent to kill. China had known where to find him. Gabe couldn't tell where, but maybe with time he'd figure it out. He tore his gaze from the sofa and turned back to Skulduggery. "Breathe," he said softly, his eyes on Skulduggery's. The way the detective's anger was taut with restrained action didn't bode well. "Why would China want to kill him?" He paused. "Why would her realisation of my true nature make her want to kill him so much that she would panic with the desire to?"

[skeletonenigma]

What was it with Gabe and breathing? There were plenty of other ways to say 'Be careful,' especially given that Skulduggery didn't actually need to breathe.

It was also slightly off-putting that the Archangel could tell so easily now. Back at the Institute, he'd needed physical contact to read Skulduggery's emotions, and affect them in some small way. It was both heartening and disconcerting that he didn't need the same physical contact here. Heartening because Skulduggery had never had someone so firmly attuned to his mind before, and it could be helpful - the last resource he needed to control the anger once and for all. Disconcerting for more obvious reasons.

But the next part... that was interesting.

"China wants to kill Crux?" Valkyrie asked, frowning.

"China panicked?" Tanith asked with the same level of confusion.

Ghastly was more thoughtful. He and Skulduggery both knew China better than anyone else in the room - neither of them were exactly surprised. "If China wants to kill Crux," he mused out loud, "because she panicked, then it would most likely be because she's trying to cover something up."

Valkyrie barked out a sort of half-laugh. "Crux is insane. Half the stuff he says doesn't make sense, and the other half is about how great the Faceless Ones are. What does China have to be worried about?"

"You guys didn't see her in the library," Fletcher added. "She really doesn't look like she could kill anyone, even if she wanted to. Did anyone else notice that her magic's gone?"

China wanting to kill someone wasn't exactly new, or noteworthy. The implication that she would actually follow through this time, and especially after learning an Archangel was walking the Earth? Slightly more noteworthy, but still ultimately none of Skulduggery's business; China had done many things during the war she regretted now, and if she thought killing someone was the best way to cover it up, that was her business. With the intended target being an insane lunatic who'd tried to kill Valkyrie, Skulduggery might even have given her his blessing, rather than try to stop her.

But the fact that she panicked. Yes, she was in a delicate state right now, after what she tried to do. But Skulduggery would have thought she'd be avoiding emotion at all, let alone something so volatile as panic. That was enough to grab his curiosity, and... to be perfectly honest with himself, it was also the last excuse Skulduggery needed to go and find Crux. What happened when he did eventually find the ex-Detective remained to be seen.

[impudentsongbird]

It was a fairly amusing way of saying so, for one. And it was discreet and covered any potential underlying implications with that humour, which protected Skulduggery's reasons for needing to breathe.

"But what?" Gabriel asked in confusion and with a sinking feeling. He knew it was lashing out. China didn't know how to react, so she was reacting the only way she knew how. It wasn't a completely damning action; once she had realised what she was doing, once she'd thought things through, she may be more prudent. But in the meantime someone would suffer for it, and it wouldn't do her soul any favours at all.

At Valkyrie's comment his head jerked toward her, and he blinked. "I thought he was a Sanctuary detective. He's a worshipper of the Faceless Ones?"

The location sharpened. Maybe he wouldn't have recognised it, given the way the threadiness of the resonances, but it was a church, and Gabriel knew churches. It wasn't an ordinary church, though; a manufactured one. Gabriel couldn't tell where it might have been. Yet.

"Her magic might be gone," he answered Fletcher without looking away from Valkryie, "but that doesn't mean she's incapable of killing someone. There are many ways to do that without magic." He declined to say it was something of a talent for humanity, but it was true. Even Skul used guns, which weren't in the least bit like magical at all.

[skeletonenigma]

Valkyrie shrugged. "He went insane. He probably caught a glimpse of them." A light of understanding dawned in her eyes. "Maybe that's how they got so many people to worship them. Maybe looking at them directly for too long blinds you to everything else."

It wasn't the first time Skulduggery tried not to think about something - especially since every new thing Gabe told them about God or his brothers tended to be images Skulduggery would have been perfectly happy living the rest of his life without. God surrounded by piles of teddy bears, amusing though it was, did nothing to enrich Skulduggery's understanding of the world. But trying not to think about something was uncommon enough that it unsettled Skulduggery, and so he spoke up, smoothly changing the subject to something more immediately helpful.

"If we're hoping to find out why she's panicking, the best way to do that would be to ask Crux himself. I'm willing to bet he knows something China would rather keep quiet. And we should protect him from her anyway," Skulduggery added with what he hoped was an acceptable amount of objectivity. "Since Valkyrie and I are unofficially reinstated as Sanctuary detectives and all."

"Even if we had the first idea of where to find him," said Ghastly with a quick glance at Skulduggery, "do you really think that's a good idea?"

"We can start with the Church of the Faceless," Skulduggery decided. "If he's a worshiper now, someone there will be keeping an eye on him."

Ghastly's quick glance became a full-blown Look. "You didn't answer my question, Skul."

"I may hit him a few times," the detective admitted after a moment. "He tried to kill my partner. I believe I'm entirely justified."

"And then what?"

"Then we ask him, very nicely, why China wants him dead, as well as why he tried to kill my partner. After which we will deliver him to the Sanctuary for possible psychological treatment. Then we get back to the investigation of the Desolation Engine, and hope Lucifer doesn't arrive until after that's over and we've saved a large group of people from being blown up. Any questions?"

[impudentsongbird]

"It could be," Gabriel agreed, and smiled a bit tightly. "Lucifer used the same trick a few times. Even I find it hard to look at him. He tends to take the beauty of everything else for himself." Oddly enough. Each of the Archangels' light tended to influence their surroundings in different ways according to how they'd been created.

Michael had been created to guide, and his brightness was steady. Lucifer had been created to shine, and so he put everything to shame. Raphael had been created to illuminate, and his light made clear things which were otherwise hidden. Gabriel himself had been made to encourage, and so his presence brought out the beauty around him.

Gabriel looked evenly at Skulduggery. He wanted to say he didn't think that was a good idea. It wasn't a good idea. Skulduggery could say all he wanted about 'protecting' Crux; the detective intended revenge. A petty, faint sort of revenge, but that didn't change the fact he was taking it on an essential invalid.

And apparently Skul knew exactly where this church was. It made sense; of course the detective would keep an eye on a hub for worshippers of the Faceless Ones.

"I agree that we should find him," he said quietly without removing his gaze from Skulduggery, "if only because of what it might mean for China if she proceeds." The Archangel might not approve, but it was Skulduggery's choice, and the detective knew better than anyone the consequences of going too far. Even so, Gabriel wasn't going to pretend to support that intent.

He only moved his gaze from Skulduggery to look ruefully at Fletcher. "We're putting you in the spotlight a lot all over again, aren't we? I'm sorry. Somehow I doubt we have time to drive back if we want to get to Crux first."

[skeletonenigma]

And there it was again, talking about Lucifer like he was a normal human being. Of course, to Gabe, he might as well be. Gabe would remember a time, very clearly, when Lucifer wasn't Fallen and not the Devil. Technically, Lucifer was Gabe's older brother. That sibling connection, that familiarity, would still be there; it was probably fueling Gabe's frustration with it all, and was also probably the reason for his fluster at getting mistaken for Lucifer by Finbar.

It wasn't going to make Skulduggery take any pity on Lucifer, if and when it came to that. But it did offer a certain perspective. Gabe had come close to Falling once, and while that hadn't entirely been his choice, it did mean that it might not have been entirely Lucifer's choice either.

Of course, Lucifer had an infamous hatred of humanity. There was always that.

The significance of Gabe's look wasn't lost on Skulduggery, but he didn't react to it - didn't even return it. He knew very well what Gabriel would think. But he had an advantage over the others; he'd gotten to know Gabe as a fellow prisoner, rather than an Archangel. He wasn't afraid of Gabe, or of what the Archangel might do if Skulduggery ever did lose control again. If anything, he wanted Gabriel to smite him, but he knew that would never happen. It had taken a situation of desperate proportions to convince Gabriel to smite a nonliving mountain.

"I don't mind," Fletcher insisted. "I like Teleporting. I've just never been to any Faceless church, but that's the only problem."

"Actually," Ghastly interjected, "you've been near there. Only about a twenty minute walk away. It's better than a three hour drive."

"Excellent." Skulduggery stood up. "Let's get started, then. Thank you, Fletcher." 'Appreciating' the Teleporter was a habit that Skulduggery was surprisingly determined to acquire, ever since Gabe took him aside. Fletcher had been willing to help rescue Skulduggery, after all. It was only fair he get some recognition in return.

The group Teleportation deposited them outside a seedy-looking cafe near the edge of Dublin. Skulduggery suppressed the urge to ask exactly what they'd been doing here over the past year, glanced around quickly to orient himself, and pinpointed the direction of the church. Ghastly was right. Twenty minutes or so. Maybe a little more, since they'd have to go slowly for Gabe's sake.

[impudentsongbird]

"When we get the chance," Gabe promised, "we can go through your magic and see what we can come up with. Anything which doesn't require me to over-extend myself," he added with a sidelong glance at Skulduggery. He'd promised. The reassurance he'd offered to China hadn't been much more than opening the dam gates just a smidge. Flight was entirely different.

The Archangel rose as well, rather absently taking both Fletcher's and Skulduggery's arms and bracing himself. Oddly enough, at least oddly for him, the abrupt memory of the last Teleportation made Gabriel hesitate just the slightest before doing so. His grip on Fletcher's arm was firm, but he couldn't help but hold Skul a bit tighter to help brace himself. This wasn't going to be pleasant.

Nor was it. For a few moments it made the dizziness come back with a vengeance, and Gabriel closed his eyes, leaning on Skulduggery and Fletcher until it passed. When he felt like it was safe to straighten up again the Archangel smiled a bit weakly at Fletcher, squeezed his arm in thanks, and let go.

He chose not to let go of Skul's arm. Somehow the Archangel felt he was going to need the support.

"Tell me about this church," he said instead as they began to move down the sidewalk. "If you know about it, why is it still there? I assume China knows about it because she used to be a member." It wasn't hard to divine. China Sorrows was a linguist, and while inside the mountain Skul had said that someone with a comprehensive knowledge of rune-lore had been on 'the opposite side'. And that wasn't even getting into the state of her soul. China was a woman who had chosen neutrality, not out of pacifism but because of self-preservation.

[skeletonenigma]

"It's still here," Ghastly replied as they walked, "because they're only a tiny group of worshipers who pose no threat, and Grand Mage Meritorious took pity on them."

Skulduggery glanced at him. The tailor's tone was impressively level for someone who had fought tooth and nail against the Sanctuary's decision back when it was made. Impressively level, but with the smallest hint of a detectable grudge. Skulduggery couldn't blame him - enough people had been furious about it that even Meritorious reconsidered - but Skulduggery had agreed with the Grand Mage in the end. It was easier to keep track of a following that was allowed to exist, rather than a secret group of devotees rebelling against a blanket ban of the religion.

But Skulduggery was fairly sure he hadn't told Gabe that China used to worship the Faceless Ones. Which implied that China had also been thinking about the church, that it would also be the first place she tried as she looked for Crux. It was a good thing they were getting there first.

"I didn't think there were any churches left in Ireland," said Tanith. "Wasn't this where most of the fighting happened? Wouldn't you want to wipe them out here, of all places?"

"Yes." Skulduggery was matching Gabe's pace at the back of the group, so the angel could continue to use him as a support, so Tanith turned around to walk backwards as he answered her question. "But it's also a Cradle of Magic, and therefore an example to the rest of the world. Meritorious wanted to be sure the war wouldn't start again. It worked, as you can see."

"I hate politics," Tanith grumbled.

[impudentsongbird]

In spite of the choice to have a pacifist assassinated, Gabe found he liked what he'd heard of Grand Mage Meritorious. That the sorcerer could take pity on his enemies after a long and costly war said a great deal about him, and most of it good.

What surprised Gabe was the extent of the conflict. For some reason, he had been assuming it had been an Irish civil war, although on reflection there had been every reason not to--Skul had said the Faceless Ones had ravaged the planet, hadn't he? "It wasn't only a war limited to Ireland?" he asked. "There are other churches, elsewhere in the world?"

Possibly in other 'cradles of magic', as Skulduggery put it. It did make the Archangel wonder how everything to do with them seemed to come down to Ireland alone. Weren't there worshippers, or potential openings, in the other cradles too?

Gabe smiled slightly. "Politics as a concept is pretty good. It's just when it's put into practice it tends to fall apart. Some people are too controlling and some people not enough. But it does make things interesting."

He chose not to mention that Hell was run somewhat like a modern democracy. Somewhat. Lucifer was too powerful for his younger cohorts to simply overthrow, but that didn't mean they couldn't make his life, pun intended, Hell.

[skeletonenigma]

"Oh, yes," Skulduggery answered darkly. "Churches of the Faceless are everywhere, each as weak as the last. They're supposedly peaceful now, but every Sanctuary keeps an eye on them. Mevolent was based in Ireland, but he had followings all over the world."

"See, here's what I don't get," Valkyrie spoke up, copying Tanith's backward walk so they could all see each other. "It was a gigantic war that went on for centuries, right? In every country. How come I never hear about it in normal history books? I get the whole secrecy taboo thing, but would Mevolent really have cared about it? It was a war. Why didn't anyone notice anything?"

"Because we're very good at the whole secrecy taboo thing," said Ghastly with a chuckle.

Skulduggery nodded in agreement. "Valkyrie, think about it. Would Mevolent really have wanted mortals to notice? Would he have wanted a whole planet of people who are very, very good at killing each other without magic and very easily panicked, to find out there was a small group of people who were trying to bring about Armageddon? He didn't want a reveal of magic anymore than we did."

Valkyrie let that sink in, her brow furrowing with the effort, and then she sighed. "Can we talk about something nice? Something fun? Like puppies. I haven't talked about puppies for a year. Let's talk about puppies."

[impudentsongbird]

It was interesting, Gabriel found, that the sorcerers here at once looked down upon those they called 'mortals' and yet feared them. From what Skulduggery had said, even Mevolent hadn't underestimated them, which was something of a surprise--Lucifer underestimated humanity every minute of every day.

Very insightful. But Valkyrie was right; things had been quite depressing of late. At her suggestion the Archangel noticeably perked up. "I love puppies," he exclaimed, smiling hugely. "I never stayed in one place long enough to keep any of my own, but Michael and Rafe both have. Of course, the puppies never actually stayed puppies, but they made very fine dogs too."

Granted, Gabe found the form of a cat to be more versatile for a variety of reasons, but when it came to sheer adoring playfulness, dogs were incredible. Especially given he could become one of them. They were wonderful to play with. "I remember once," he said in that tone of someone looking far back on a beloved memory, "while Rafe was in Jerusalem, his dog wound up being adopted by an orphanage there. He always grumbled about their 'theft', but ..." He grinned. "We knew better."

[skeletonenigma]

Ghastly was prepared to ignore Valkyrie's remark and move on, as he was sure Skulduggery would, and stop Fletcher or possibly even Tanith from responding. It wasn't something he really thought about either; even if Valkyrie was being serious, she would still have expected them all to ignore her. It was a throwaway comment.

Not, apparently, to the Archangel.

After a moment, Ghastly became aware that his mouth was open and quickly closed it. Most of the stereotypes he'd held since childhood were already being ripped apart at the seams - he should really be used to it by now. Gabriel latching onto a throwaway comment about puppies and running with it. Or flying with it, as the case may be. Archangels owning dogs.

If it weren't for certain things - like what happened with China earlier, or seeing Gabriel's true form at Kenspeckle's lab - Ghastly would never have believed it. And, if Gabe's behaviour was any indication, if it weren't for those same certain things, Ghastly wouldn't have believed that Archangels were capable of much more than owning cute puppies, let alone guiding humanity.

Valkyrie, after an initial moment of surprise similar to Ghastly's, was grinning from ear to ear. As was Tanith, Ghastly noticed. The pair made a strange sight, walking backwards together with identical mad grins on their faces. "Do you think I can use this to convince my parents to finally get a dog?" Valkyrie asked, just before hesitating and falling out of step with Tanith. "Wait a minute. Are dogs good with babies?"

Tanith's grin, if it was possible, grew even wider, and her gaze fell on Gabriel. "Can you turn into a dog like you did that dinosaur?"

[impudentsongbird]

It wasn't that Gabriel didn't notice Ghastly's amazement, exactly. It was just that the Archangel chose to ignore it. He knew that the truth about angels tended to break down what preconceptions had, and as far as he was concerned that was only a good thing. He was happy to keep doing it.

"That depends on the kind of dog!" Gabriel said cheerfully. "Puppies can be too rambunctious for newborns, but older dogs, especially bitches who have had litters in the past, can be very affectionate and protective."

Then his smile dropped and he looked solemnly at Tanith. "Tanith Low, I'm about to let you in on an angelic trade secret here. Use it wisely. Ever seen a pack of dogs romping in a park or alley?" He grinned. "Ten to one at least one of them is an angel."

[skeletonenigma]

Tanith had faced and helped to bring down a dark god in her time - a dark god in the service of a man wearing the armour of Lord Vile, to boot. She'd done a lot of amazing things, and she'd helped a lot of people. But as a warrior, and an Adept so focused on physical power, Tanith knew she would have a shorter estimated lifespan than most other sorcerers. She'd always wondered what would eventually outsmart her. A mountain troll? Three gods? Murder Rose, in a rematch?

She would never have guessed it would be a crack in the sidewalk she didn't anticipate because she was too busy staring at Gabe in outright wonder to notice it.

Ghastly was instantly there, reflexes as sharp as ever, catching her before she could fall flat on her back. It was, Tanith felt able to reflect later, a perfect movie-worthy moment. Their eyes met, her heartbeat quickened. A flood of emotion streamed through her as Ghastly leaned forward...

... and, ever the perfect gentleman, politely helped her back to her feet.

Right. With an effort, Tanith looked away and shook the feeling off. They'd agreed to wait until after all of this was over. Dinner at Ghastly's shop. Dinner and... whatever else happened naturally after that. Words could no longer express how much Tanith was looking forward to the date.

She became aware of Valkyrie staring, and realised that her cheeks had grown red. Embarrassed, Tanith mumbled a quick thanks to Ghastly and turned back around to lead the group on, hiding her face and trying to think about anything - anything - else. Puppies. Right. Adorable puppies and packs of dogs that angels slipped into on a whim and... no, this wasn't helping. This was what had caused her to trip in the first place.

Desolation Engine. Scarab and Sanguine and Dusk. Remus Crux. Tanith had honestly wanted to take a shot at the guy ever since he arrested Valkyrie, but she'd refrained from doing so - mostly because she either thought he was dead, or else knew that Skulduggery would take care of it better than she could.

Oh, right. And Lucifer.

"You'd recognize Lucifer, right?" Tanith threw back over her shoulder to Gabe, ignoring the somewhat abrupt change in conversation mood. "If and when he does come? No matter what he looks like?"

[impudentsongbird]

Gabriel wasn't laughing. He definitely wasn't laughing, because laughing would seem like he was laughing at the pair, and that would be more humiliating than he meant it to be. But the Archangel was definitely grinning wildly at them, his eyes shining with joy. Tanith could probably feel it, even turned away.

Of course, that question damped things down a bit. Gabriel's smile dimmed, but didn't go away. "Yes. I'd know him. Lucifer can't hide from me. He can make it difficult, even make me have to look hard, but he can't hide."

He was the Messenger. That meant he could find anyone, anywhere, even if it took him a bit of time. Except for one thing, on this occasion. "Well," Gabriel amended, glancing to the side at Skulduggery, "he wouldn't be able to, except I'm hardly in the condition to go searching."

[skeletonenigma]

Skulduggery stood by his earlier assessment of the situation: it was about damn time. Ghastly had teased him enough times about getting married so early - relatively early, of course, considering Skulduggery was only about 60 at the time - when the tailor had never had a real relationship in his life. Honestly. It was about damn time.

Getting dragged through that portal and all kinds of hell for a year was completely worth it, if Skulduggery's disappearance had been the trigger.

"It's a good thing we weren't going to go searching, then." Skulduggery returned Gabe's look with the barest hint of approval, mixed with a dash of gratitude. "Maybe we will when we have an Archangel who wasn't attacked by a Faceless One on the way here outside of time and space. Otherwise, we have enough trouble to deal with right in front of us."

~~

The church was exactly the same as the last time Skulduggery had set foot in this part of town. It was a low, squat dirty building that didn't look any different from the surrounding low, squat dirty buildings, in a failed attempt to keep from drawing attention to itself. The inside wasn't much better; there were pews and an altar of sorts, and Skulduggery briefly wondered what Gabe would think of that - the stolen relics of worship twisted to feature a race of dark creatures humanity wouldn't be able to begin to understand. He also wondered, just as briefly, what the man scurrying towards them now would think if he knew exactly who he would be talking to. The thought put a small smile on the detective's face.

"Can I help you?" the man asked with a sort of snobbish nasally tone, and the same holier-than-thou attitude so many worhsipers of the Faceless Ones seemed to adopt. Skulduggery couldn't remember his name, or ever having met the man before.

Ghastly spoke in place of Skulduggery, who everyone agreed should probably stay quiet and use his hidden identity as a last resort. "Has China been here recently?"

"China Sorrows?" The man glanced furtively around, suddenly not quite so holier-than-thou. "Why?"

[impudentsongbird]

"Oh, dear." Gabriel grinned. "If we're going to rely on Rafe for that it's going to take a long while. We'd be better waiting for Michael--at least he's a tracker himself! Or ..." And this was added on thoughtfully. "Or maybe we should get ourselves a dog."

The discussion of which occupied the rest of the journey to the church, with everyone weighing in as to what kind of dog they should get to track Archangels. When they arrived there Gabriel was both thankful and not for the distraction; thankful, because it was a distraction, and he was finding he was growing weary of the never-ending aches and pains he had to endure.

Not, because stepped into the church was like being slapped in the face, and Gabriel flinched and lifted a hand to press the palm of it against his temple. It wasn't as bad as necromancy, but there was a discordant, unceasing tone sounding in this place--a reverberation of all the worship and faith to evil. It sounded a bit like the Faceless Ones themselves.

Something the Archangel was most definitely thankful for was the fact that, firstly, he had Skulduggery supporting him; and, secondly, they were at the back of the group, which meant Gabriel didn't have to face this worshipper up close.

Instead Gabe shifted closer to Skulduggery, taking a deep breath and drawing on the calmness, the amusement, in the detective's soul. They didn't relieve the off-key note completely, but they pushed it into the background, like a faintly-there buzz.