Finbar wanted to come. Convincing him that he couldn't was a matter of skill, perseverance, and luck, followed by a little bit of cheating as Skulduggery signaled Fletcher to Teleport once the psychic's back was turned. Finbar would get over it, and fairly quickly if past slights to his easygoing nature were any indication.
A large and very brightly furnished living room akin to China's apartment materialised around them. The furniture was slightly less elegant than China's own, like someone with a very good memory had cobbled it together at the last minute when they hadn't encountered China for a good few years. A radio was playing somewhere. Judging from the muted quality of the sound, it was somewhere in another room, and just playing loudly enough to reverberate through the walls. Tanith and Ghastly were rising from the biggest couch just as they and said couch blinked into existence.
That was about all the time Skulduggery had for observation; the instant everything became solid, Gabe's legs buckled underneath him. Skulduggery stumbled under the unexpected weight, caught them both with a well-timed cushion of air, and began half carrying, half dragging the Archangel over to the newly vacated sofa. Ghastly hurried over to help, and the awkward gait became mostly carrying.
"Where's the nearest bedroom?" Skulduggery asked as Gabe was gently settled on the cushions.
Ghastly jabbed a thumb back towards the door. "Just down the hall. It's the twentieth one we've found."
Fletcher stepped forward, but Skulduggery shook his head. "No more Teleporting. He can't handle it. Just let him have a few minutes."
"He looks worse than before," Ghastly commented. The tailor's face and voice were carefully neutral, but Skulduggery had known him long enough to recognize the concern. "What have you been doing?"
"Absolutely everything Professor Grouse told us not to do," Skulduggery said, and sighed. "We've had an interesting evening. Solomon Wreath may end up converting to Christianity. Guild offered me my job back; not in so many words, and we'll still have to be careful, but he did offer it. China's getting dangerously close to the truth because Sensitives everywhere are having visions of angels. Raphael and Merlin are on their way here now."
He paused and glanced over at Tanith, who hadn't stopped staring since Skulduggery first appeared in the living room. It took him a couple of seconds to remember why, and he glanced down at the skin on his hands. "Ah, yes. And Gabe's illusions can go a little deeper than a new suit, apparently."
"Really?" Ghastly was carefully looking anywhere but at Skulduggery. "I hadn't noticed. I forgot just how strange things seem to get when you're around."
"I do have that effect."
Ghastly's gaze settled back on Gabe, who looked, for all intents and purposes, like a physical being suffering a migraine. Pale, shaking, tears in his eyes, emitting quiet noises of anguish. It looked bad enough without remembering that Gabriel was an Archangel and shouldn't be anywhere near this state, let alone drowning in it.
A silent moment slid by, and then Ghastly glanced back over at Skulduggery. "Merlin?"
no subject
A large and very brightly furnished living room akin to China's apartment materialised around them. The furniture was slightly less elegant than China's own, like someone with a very good memory had cobbled it together at the last minute when they hadn't encountered China for a good few years. A radio was playing somewhere. Judging from the muted quality of the sound, it was somewhere in another room, and just playing loudly enough to reverberate through the walls. Tanith and Ghastly were rising from the biggest couch just as they and said couch blinked into existence.
That was about all the time Skulduggery had for observation; the instant everything became solid, Gabe's legs buckled underneath him. Skulduggery stumbled under the unexpected weight, caught them both with a well-timed cushion of air, and began half carrying, half dragging the Archangel over to the newly vacated sofa. Ghastly hurried over to help, and the awkward gait became mostly carrying.
"Where's the nearest bedroom?" Skulduggery asked as Gabe was gently settled on the cushions.
Ghastly jabbed a thumb back towards the door. "Just down the hall. It's the twentieth one we've found."
Fletcher stepped forward, but Skulduggery shook his head. "No more Teleporting. He can't handle it. Just let him have a few minutes."
"He looks worse than before," Ghastly commented. The tailor's face and voice were carefully neutral, but Skulduggery had known him long enough to recognize the concern. "What have you been doing?"
"Absolutely everything Professor Grouse told us not to do," Skulduggery said, and sighed. "We've had an interesting evening. Solomon Wreath may end up converting to Christianity. Guild offered me my job back; not in so many words, and we'll still have to be careful, but he did offer it. China's getting dangerously close to the truth because Sensitives everywhere are having visions of angels. Raphael and Merlin are on their way here now."
He paused and glanced over at Tanith, who hadn't stopped staring since Skulduggery first appeared in the living room. It took him a couple of seconds to remember why, and he glanced down at the skin on his hands. "Ah, yes. And Gabe's illusions can go a little deeper than a new suit, apparently."
"Really?" Ghastly was carefully looking anywhere but at Skulduggery. "I hadn't noticed. I forgot just how strange things seem to get when you're around."
"I do have that effect."
Ghastly's gaze settled back on Gabe, who looked, for all intents and purposes, like a physical being suffering a migraine. Pale, shaking, tears in his eyes, emitting quiet noises of anguish. It looked bad enough without remembering that Gabriel was an Archangel and shouldn't be anywhere near this state, let alone drowning in it.
A silent moment slid by, and then Ghastly glanced back over at Skulduggery. "Merlin?"
"I didn't ask."