That was settled, then. Skulduggery couldn't lay a hand on Sanguine, not with Anton in the room. Theoretically, he shouldn't need to, but he still felt a modicum of regret as he and Fletcher followed Anton through the doorway. He'd really been looking forward to meeting the Texan cowboy again, and it felt a little like a surprise gift whipped away before he had the time to properly enjoy it.
Billy-Ray Sanguine, when he came into view, was waiting for them with a lazy smile on his face. "Took y'all long enough."
Professional objectivity. Skulduggery surveyed Sanguine silently. Nothing unusual about his appearance or his demeanour - if you didn't count a healthy serving of hubris and swagger. Which Skulduggery most certainly did. Sanguine still believed he had Gabe hostage, still believed his plan was going perfectly well. Which meant he did have a plan for getting the Remnant, and for getting the key from Anton.
If the worst should happen, Skulduggery honestly hoped they used Gabe as a test run. He just wished he could be there to see it.
Sanguine was seated at the table in the room, feet in their thick cowboy boots resting casually on the wooden surface, chair tipped back onto two legs as he grinned up at them with his arms folded. Skulduggery was the first to sit at the same table, just as casually, if a little more elegantly. "You've been making a spectacle of yourself recently."
"Have I?" Sanguine's grin turned into a smirk. "Word spreadin' already? Huh. Ya know, normally I wouldn't boast, but this is just so perfect. 'Cause you can't do anythin' to me, can you?"
"I don't need to," said Skulduggery. "We're just talking. What are you planning?"
Sanguine laughed. "Right now? With the Remnant? Or more long-term?" His laugh tapered off and he fixed Skulduggery with an even look. "Or with your friend? Last I saw, he wasn't happy. Somethin' to do with a vampire."
~~
Why was Valkyrie surprised? They were talking about a group of people who were ready to kill half the world without so much as blinking, just as soon as the right saviour came along. That was, no matter what arguments Solomon might have had to convince her otherwise, downright evil. Why was she surprised that it took an Archangel to make Solomon see that? Why was she surprised that now he did, he was trying to get as far away from the Temple as possible?
She was surprised because getting as far away from the Temple as possible did not equate giving up Necromancy forever.
That was what he was doing, wasn't it? Giving up magic. Completely. Giving up everything that made him him. He'd start to age again, he'd have nothing to defend himself with, he... he'd have to give everything up, because he was right. The Temple really would come after him. God, no wonder he thought even Valkyrie might attack him.
Her anger grew cold, and seemed to spread throughout her body. If he thought she was still taking the Temple's orders, that she'd ever taken the Temple's orders, he had another thing coming. "And what have you been doing to me? What did my... what did my soul look like?"
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Billy-Ray Sanguine, when he came into view, was waiting for them with a lazy smile on his face. "Took y'all long enough."
Professional objectivity. Skulduggery surveyed Sanguine silently. Nothing unusual about his appearance or his demeanour - if you didn't count a healthy serving of hubris and swagger. Which Skulduggery most certainly did. Sanguine still believed he had Gabe hostage, still believed his plan was going perfectly well. Which meant he did have a plan for getting the Remnant, and for getting the key from Anton.
If the worst should happen, Skulduggery honestly hoped they used Gabe as a test run. He just wished he could be there to see it.
Sanguine was seated at the table in the room, feet in their thick cowboy boots resting casually on the wooden surface, chair tipped back onto two legs as he grinned up at them with his arms folded. Skulduggery was the first to sit at the same table, just as casually, if a little more elegantly. "You've been making a spectacle of yourself recently."
"Have I?" Sanguine's grin turned into a smirk. "Word spreadin' already? Huh. Ya know, normally I wouldn't boast, but this is just so perfect. 'Cause you can't do anythin' to me, can you?"
"I don't need to," said Skulduggery. "We're just talking. What are you planning?"
Sanguine laughed. "Right now? With the Remnant? Or more long-term?" His laugh tapered off and he fixed Skulduggery with an even look. "Or with your friend? Last I saw, he wasn't happy. Somethin' to do with a vampire."
~~
Why was Valkyrie surprised? They were talking about a group of people who were ready to kill half the world without so much as blinking, just as soon as the right saviour came along. That was, no matter what arguments Solomon might have had to convince her otherwise, downright evil. Why was she surprised that it took an Archangel to make Solomon see that? Why was she surprised that now he did, he was trying to get as far away from the Temple as possible?
She was surprised because getting as far away from the Temple as possible did not equate giving up Necromancy forever.
That was what he was doing, wasn't it? Giving up magic. Completely. Giving up everything that made him him. He'd start to age again, he'd have nothing to defend himself with, he... he'd have to give everything up, because he was right. The Temple really would come after him. God, no wonder he thought even Valkyrie might attack him.
Her anger grew cold, and seemed to spread throughout her body. If he thought she was still taking the Temple's orders, that she'd ever taken the Temple's orders, he had another thing coming. "And what have you been doing to me? What did my... what did my soul look like?"