Now that was a tone Ghastly hadn't heard in a while. Instinctively, he straightened up, reminded very forcefully that he was talking to his former general, and... honestly, he was really beating around the bush a lot more than he needed to. That wasn't how Ghastly normally did things, and it wasn't how Corrival was used to receiving bad news.
Straight to the point, then.
"Remember when Skulduggery disappeared for five years during the war?" he asked, and his own voice had grown dull. "When we thought he had been killed by Lord Vile?"
This wasn't exactly beating around the bush, but it was stretching out the point, and so Ghastly didn't wait for an answer. "We were half-right. Skulduggery was gone because of Lord Vile, but not because he was dead. Or, not killed permanently." Don't stop, don't pause, don't even look at Corrival's face. "Skulduggery's an ambidextrous sorcerer. An Elemental, and..."
He had to stop to take a breath, and it was a pause, and Ghastly's voice faltered. Luckily, he didn't think he would need to finish.
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Straight to the point, then.
"Remember when Skulduggery disappeared for five years during the war?" he asked, and his own voice had grown dull. "When we thought he had been killed by Lord Vile?"
This wasn't exactly beating around the bush, but it was stretching out the point, and so Ghastly didn't wait for an answer. "We were half-right. Skulduggery was gone because of Lord Vile, but not because he was dead. Or, not killed permanently." Don't stop, don't pause, don't even look at Corrival's face. "Skulduggery's an ambidextrous sorcerer. An Elemental, and..."
He had to stop to take a breath, and it was a pause, and Ghastly's voice faltered. Luckily, he didn't think he would need to finish.