Skulduggery didn't try to hide a long, apprehensive look at Gabriel's wings. Angled and built for speed they may be, but they still stretched from one side of the room to the other, bent slightly against the walls and ceiling, large and impressive and - most importantly - every inch of them covered in small white feathers.
Gabe wanted him to preen and realign every single one of those. Skulduggery was certainly no stranger to long, repetitive, and menial tasks, but... what Gabe was describing would take a while. Time they didn't have, if they were still hoping to find Dusk or Sanguine or Scarab before they used the Desolation Engine. Caelan wasn't a lead anymore; Skulduggery wasn't going to try and ask Valkyrie for anything at the moment. Maybe later, maybe when she'd had time to think. And even then, he wasn't counting on any real help.
That did, of course, beg the question of what they were going to do next, but that could wait until Skulduggery's jaw was back in working order. Interrogating didn't really work when one couldn't talk. Although, in certain circumstances, being a living skeleton was all the intimidation Skulduggery had needed. It was amazing how many people assumed he was terrifying before he'd so much as spoken a word.
Gabe had the same concerns about time, it seemed. Good. But it was still going to take a while, and it was with no small amount of trepidation that Skulduggery got started on everything the Archangel said. 'Some,' he answered the question silently, fighting down a fresh surge of guilt at the sight of the torn down on Gabe's back. 'Not much.'
~~
China was silent as Solomon laughed, though she did catch the humour value at about the same time as the Necromancer. She'd never known a Necromancer to sincerely apologise for anything. She'd never known herself to sincerely apologise for anything. She'd never known any of the mortals' strange ideas about Creation to be accurate, either.
Although she didn't join in the laughter, her parting smile was more like her old self than China had been since she left for the safe house, and she quietly tsked. "Solomon, Solomon, Solomon. Whatever gave you the idea that I could be goaded into anything?"
It was the closest to accepting his apology China would ever get, and had the added benefit of serving as a farewell. She nodded politely to him as he left, and then the silence of her empty apartment closed comfortingly around her.
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Gabe wanted him to preen and realign every single one of those. Skulduggery was certainly no stranger to long, repetitive, and menial tasks, but... what Gabe was describing would take a while. Time they didn't have, if they were still hoping to find Dusk or Sanguine or Scarab before they used the Desolation Engine. Caelan wasn't a lead anymore; Skulduggery wasn't going to try and ask Valkyrie for anything at the moment. Maybe later, maybe when she'd had time to think. And even then, he wasn't counting on any real help.
That did, of course, beg the question of what they were going to do next, but that could wait until Skulduggery's jaw was back in working order. Interrogating didn't really work when one couldn't talk. Although, in certain circumstances, being a living skeleton was all the intimidation Skulduggery had needed. It was amazing how many people assumed he was terrifying before he'd so much as spoken a word.
Gabe had the same concerns about time, it seemed. Good. But it was still going to take a while, and it was with no small amount of trepidation that Skulduggery got started on everything the Archangel said. 'Some,' he answered the question silently, fighting down a fresh surge of guilt at the sight of the torn down on Gabe's back. 'Not much.'
~~
China was silent as Solomon laughed, though she did catch the humour value at about the same time as the Necromancer. She'd never known a Necromancer to sincerely apologise for anything. She'd never known herself to sincerely apologise for anything. She'd never known any of the mortals' strange ideas about Creation to be accurate, either.
Although she didn't join in the laughter, her parting smile was more like her old self than China had been since she left for the safe house, and she quietly tsked. "Solomon, Solomon, Solomon. Whatever gave you the idea that I could be goaded into anything?"
It was the closest to accepting his apology China would ever get, and had the added benefit of serving as a farewell. She nodded politely to him as he left, and then the silence of her empty apartment closed comfortingly around her.