Blackmail. A bomb-threat made all the more plausible because everyone knew for a fact that Scarab had the Desolation Engine. He wouldn't have to go through the tedious process of proving it, and the Sanctuary was already weakened from a vampire attack. It was certainly an elegant possibility - although Skulduggery had to admit, he was a little bit biased. He'd spent a good deal of time at Landel's trying to teach Gabe about the subtleties of free will and detective work. It was good to see those lessons were paying off.
"Direct blackmail is too simple," he shook his head. "But closer, I think. The problem is, we still don't know everything. There could be a hundred other things Scarab has stolen we know nothing about. Which is why I'm drawn back to my previous question. If we can find either Dusk or Sanguine, things would be much easier."
His pointed look at both Ghastly and Valkyrie almost went unnoticed, as both of them seemed to be purposely avoiding his gaze, now that he had one. Skulduggery folded his arms and waited.
"There's a vampire," Valkyrie finally spoke up when the silence stretched too long. "Caelan. He might know where Dusk is."
That was it? "Alright," Skulduggery nodded. "Okay. Vampires aren't known for being helpful, Valkyrie. Where do we know this vampire from, and why would he be willing to help us?"
"He helped us find you." Valkyrie caught Skulduggery's gaze this time, and held it. "He led us to the guy who had your skull. We were going to use it to open the portal."
If the silence from a few seconds ago had stretched on uncomfortably long, this silence was stifling.
Skulduggery had a rule. When he felt a sudden spike of hot anger, he first treated it the way any normal person would, and that meant not saying anything. Close his eyes, count to ten. The only difference here was that everyone would see him close his eyes, and when he'd finished counting to ten, the anger hadn't even begun to subside.
Why? Why was it that everyone, even Tanith, even Ghastly, were risking everything for him? Letting Valkyrie practice Necromancy, letting Valkyrie talk to a vampire, letting that vampire actually help like it wasn't thinking about ripping all of their throats out every second, actively trying to endanger the whole world - and for what? To bring back someone who most everyone in the world was happy to see gone? Someone who deserved every single moment of the pain he was enduring? What right did they have? Was Valkyrie's potential death and now possible damnation worth it?
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"Direct blackmail is too simple," he shook his head. "But closer, I think. The problem is, we still don't know everything. There could be a hundred other things Scarab has stolen we know nothing about. Which is why I'm drawn back to my previous question. If we can find either Dusk or Sanguine, things would be much easier."
His pointed look at both Ghastly and Valkyrie almost went unnoticed, as both of them seemed to be purposely avoiding his gaze, now that he had one. Skulduggery folded his arms and waited.
"There's a vampire," Valkyrie finally spoke up when the silence stretched too long. "Caelan. He might know where Dusk is."
That was it? "Alright," Skulduggery nodded. "Okay. Vampires aren't known for being helpful, Valkyrie. Where do we know this vampire from, and why would he be willing to help us?"
"He helped us find you." Valkyrie caught Skulduggery's gaze this time, and held it. "He led us to the guy who had your skull. We were going to use it to open the portal."
If the silence from a few seconds ago had stretched on uncomfortably long, this silence was stifling.
Skulduggery had a rule. When he felt a sudden spike of hot anger, he first treated it the way any normal person would, and that meant not saying anything. Close his eyes, count to ten. The only difference here was that everyone would see him close his eyes, and when he'd finished counting to ten, the anger hadn't even begun to subside.
Why? Why was it that everyone, even Tanith, even Ghastly, were risking everything for him? Letting Valkyrie practice Necromancy, letting Valkyrie talk to a vampire, letting that vampire actually help like it wasn't thinking about ripping all of their throats out every second, actively trying to endanger the whole world - and for what? To bring back someone who most everyone in the world was happy to see gone? Someone who deserved every single moment of the pain he was enduring? What right did they have? Was Valkyrie's potential death and now possible damnation worth it?