"Why do you seem so nervous about it?" Ghastly replied after a moment of studying the man. "What was your name again?"
"If you're here looking for China Sorrows," the man snapped, "you're looking in the wrong place. Everyone knows she avoids anything to do with the Faceless Ones like a plague. If you're actually expecting to find her here, then she must be coming to kill me. It's obvious. I saw it coming."
"Really?" Ghastly glanced back at Skulduggery, and even though neither expression changed, the knowing look they shared was one of pointed amusement. This man had a laughably inflated sense of self-worth. They both knew the type. The Church of the Faceless did seem to be full of them. "I don't think she even knows you exist," Ghastly directed back at the man with a light chuckle. "I've certainly never met you before today."
The man tried to hold Ghastly's amused gaze for a moment, failed miserably, and practically wilted. "Prave. My name is Prave."
"Prave. It's nice to meet you, Prave. I'm Ghastly Bespoke. I take it China hasn't been around lately."
"No," Prave admitted sullenly. "She hasn't. Nor should she, if she knows what's good for her."
"What about Remus Crux?" Tanith took over, causing Prave to gibber all over again, but for an entirely different reason. "Has he ever been here?"
"You mean the ex-Detective from the Sanctuary? No. No, I've never seen him. Wasn't he dead? Didn't he die at the same time as Skulduggery Pleasant?"
Skulduggery watched him quietly from the back, and it was obvious even from there that Prave was lying - about all of it, not just the obvious fact that Skulduggery wasn't dead, although Prave wouldn't know about that. It was all deliciously ironic. The problem was, Tanith and Ghastly didn't seem to catch it, and Skulduggery wasn't sure if his voice would give the game away.
He glanced over to Gabe. The angel had been having trouble with the atmosphere of the church, evident from the way he leaned on Skulduggery's arm as they walked in and how he was breathing deeply to balance himself, the same way Skulduggery occasionally needed to. The last thing the detective wanted to do was interrupt with anything, but... given Gabe's convenient soul-reading ability, would he have caught it?
Just in case he hadn't, Skulduggery tried a prayer again: 'Gabriel, would you mind pressing Prave for a bit? Crux has definitely been here recently. It shouldn't take much more than a simple accusation. He's a bit of a coward.'
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"If you're here looking for China Sorrows," the man snapped, "you're looking in the wrong place. Everyone knows she avoids anything to do with the Faceless Ones like a plague. If you're actually expecting to find her here, then she must be coming to kill me. It's obvious. I saw it coming."
"Really?" Ghastly glanced back at Skulduggery, and even though neither expression changed, the knowing look they shared was one of pointed amusement. This man had a laughably inflated sense of self-worth. They both knew the type. The Church of the Faceless did seem to be full of them. "I don't think she even knows you exist," Ghastly directed back at the man with a light chuckle. "I've certainly never met you before today."
The man tried to hold Ghastly's amused gaze for a moment, failed miserably, and practically wilted. "Prave. My name is Prave."
"Prave. It's nice to meet you, Prave. I'm Ghastly Bespoke. I take it China hasn't been around lately."
"No," Prave admitted sullenly. "She hasn't. Nor should she, if she knows what's good for her."
"What about Remus Crux?" Tanith took over, causing Prave to gibber all over again, but for an entirely different reason. "Has he ever been here?"
"You mean the ex-Detective from the Sanctuary? No. No, I've never seen him. Wasn't he dead? Didn't he die at the same time as Skulduggery Pleasant?"
Skulduggery watched him quietly from the back, and it was obvious even from there that Prave was lying - about all of it, not just the obvious fact that Skulduggery wasn't dead, although Prave wouldn't know about that. It was all deliciously ironic. The problem was, Tanith and Ghastly didn't seem to catch it, and Skulduggery wasn't sure if his voice would give the game away.
He glanced over to Gabe. The angel had been having trouble with the atmosphere of the church, evident from the way he leaned on Skulduggery's arm as they walked in and how he was breathing deeply to balance himself, the same way Skulduggery occasionally needed to. The last thing the detective wanted to do was interrupt with anything, but... given Gabe's convenient soul-reading ability, would he have caught it?
Just in case he hadn't, Skulduggery tried a prayer again: 'Gabriel, would you mind pressing Prave for a bit? Crux has definitely been here recently. It shouldn't take much more than a simple accusation. He's a bit of a coward.'