"You may," Gabriel answered after a moment's thought, assuming Skul was talking about finding his name, rather than the crossing. "But I'll be as unintrusive as possible, to avoid you hearing the name. You might slide into a trance, or feel a bit tingly, but that's about it, I should think. After that it should only take a few seconds to establish a beachhead. I'll have to carry you."
There was no other way of making sure Skul would be protected, and that was the most important thing of all. Gabriel's wings would have to buffer them both, and that meant Skul had to be close by.
The Archangel stopped when Skulduggery did, and followed the skeleton's gaze back. A moment later he turned toward his friend again, shaking his head. "They won't be coming from that direction. The spirals cascade; even if the Faceless Ones manage to interrupt the first several, the ones at the back will condense and hold. And if they try to leave a fissure in the rock, the whole tunnel will come down."
Three-fold wards could, on occasion, be more powerful than the five- or seven-fold, but usually that was for spiritual matters. For sheer power, complexity and redundancy, there was nothing better than the seven.
"Is there a junction before them?" the Archangel asked instead. "A glamour or a sleeping spell should be enough to evade them for a little while, at least until we collapse the intersection or ward it properly."
Otherwise, they'd have to fight, and while Gabriel wasn't exactly afraid the Faceless Ones' servants could harm him--because it was unlikely they could--that didn't mean he wanted to get into a battle.
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There was no other way of making sure Skul would be protected, and that was the most important thing of all. Gabriel's wings would have to buffer them both, and that meant Skul had to be close by.
The Archangel stopped when Skulduggery did, and followed the skeleton's gaze back. A moment later he turned toward his friend again, shaking his head. "They won't be coming from that direction. The spirals cascade; even if the Faceless Ones manage to interrupt the first several, the ones at the back will condense and hold. And if they try to leave a fissure in the rock, the whole tunnel will come down."
Three-fold wards could, on occasion, be more powerful than the five- or seven-fold, but usually that was for spiritual matters. For sheer power, complexity and redundancy, there was nothing better than the seven.
"Is there a junction before them?" the Archangel asked instead. "A glamour or a sleeping spell should be enough to evade them for a little while, at least until we collapse the intersection or ward it properly."
Otherwise, they'd have to fight, and while Gabriel wasn't exactly afraid the Faceless Ones' servants could harm him--because it was unlikely they could--that didn't mean he wanted to get into a battle.