Ghastly started to laugh, then stopped when it made his head hurt more than it already was. "Dexter and Erskine know for a fact that I don't."
Dexter certainly teased him about Paris enough times. If everything Ghastly had ever tried to make the man stop didn't work, Corrival's testimony certainly wasn't going to do the trick. And if it did, Ghastly would be eternally grateful for it.
The only reason it took him more than a few minutes to find Skulduggery's name in the phone was that he couldn't figure out what the order of the alphabet was. S, he was pretty sure, came before U, but he kept reaching the U's without seeing anything. And then he remembered that Skulduggery was actually the skeleton's first name, which meant he should be looking for P, which meant...
There. Pleasant, Skulduggery. Stupid hangover.
Ghastly pressed the call button before he could change his mind.
He wasn't surprised when the phone almost made it to the answering machine before he heard Skulduggery pick up. He was surprised to hear a certain note in Skulduggery's voice, implying that he truly had been busy, answered hurriedly, and probably didn't even glance at the caller ID beforehand. "Detective Pleasant."
"Skulduggery." Ghastly didn't even give the detective a chance to be surprised, let alone to answer. "Does Scarab still have the Desolation Engine?"
To Skulduggery's credit, there was barely a hint of hesitation. "He has one of them, yes."
"I know where he's - wait. One of them?"
"Long story. The one he stole is back in the Sanctuary, safe and sound. Turns out, he has another one. You know where he's what?"
Ghastly shook his head. Figured that he'd get to miss everything important. "I know where he's planning to set off that Engine."
"How?"
A precipice. Ghastly knew, somehow, in this instance, that the way he answered the question would influence how their relationship was repaired. If Skulduggery knew that Ghastly trusted him with the truth, that would go a long way. But if Skulduggery didn't believe Ghastly, that could do just as much damage on both their parts. Which was the least dangerous option? That was the sort of roundabout and constant thinking Skulduggery did, and Ghastly didn't enjoy it under normal circumstances.
In the end, he decided to go with the truth. His head hurt too much for anything else. "God told me."
Silence on the other end of the line. Ghastly nodded slowly. "I know how crazy it sounds, but I ran into Him yesterday, and before I knew that - "
"I believe you."
Ghastly stopped. "You do? Why?"
"Let's just say we've been seeing the effects of your meeting. Where is Scarab detonating the Engine?"
"At the Stadium. There's a game there today. He's going to kill 80,000 people live on air."
"Of course." Skulduggery's voice faded as he spoke to someone else, possibly with a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, and then he was back. "Thank you, Ghastly. I don't think we'd have gotten there in time without your help."
"Don't mention it. I'll meet you there. Corrival's probably coming with me."
"Ghastly - "
"Neither of us are going to mention it, Skulduggery, if you don't. 80,000 people are about to die. I'm not about to sit by and let that happen just because I can't work with you. If and when that conversation ever happens, you'll know, and it'll just be the three of us. Clear?"
This time, there was a silence, with one burst of static that cut painfully through Ghastly's headache. That silence ended abruptly. "Are you sure?"
"No. I'm not. So don't let me change my mind."
"... Alright."
"This isn't me forgiving you," Ghastly added. Mostly, he knew, to convince himself, as evidenced by Skulduggery's response.
"I know." Another pause, one that seemed to last a lifetime. "Okay. Drive safely. I'll see you both there."
This time, Ghastly did laugh as he flipped the phone closed again. Drive safely. It was such a bizarre and out-of-place comment to make in a situation like that. So... normal. Normal in a conversation that should have been anything but.
The laughter kept Ghastly distracted until he joined Corrival in the kitchen, until the pain began swimming back in. "Thanks for the phone. Want to help find a bomb and possibly arrest Scarab?"
no subject
Dexter certainly teased him about Paris enough times. If everything Ghastly had ever tried to make the man stop didn't work, Corrival's testimony certainly wasn't going to do the trick. And if it did, Ghastly would be eternally grateful for it.
The only reason it took him more than a few minutes to find Skulduggery's name in the phone was that he couldn't figure out what the order of the alphabet was. S, he was pretty sure, came before U, but he kept reaching the U's without seeing anything. And then he remembered that Skulduggery was actually the skeleton's first name, which meant he should be looking for P, which meant...
There. Pleasant, Skulduggery. Stupid hangover.
Ghastly pressed the call button before he could change his mind.
He wasn't surprised when the phone almost made it to the answering machine before he heard Skulduggery pick up. He was surprised to hear a certain note in Skulduggery's voice, implying that he truly had been busy, answered hurriedly, and probably didn't even glance at the caller ID beforehand. "Detective Pleasant."
"Skulduggery." Ghastly didn't even give the detective a chance to be surprised, let alone to answer. "Does Scarab still have the Desolation Engine?"
To Skulduggery's credit, there was barely a hint of hesitation. "He has one of them, yes."
"I know where he's - wait. One of them?"
"Long story. The one he stole is back in the Sanctuary, safe and sound. Turns out, he has another one. You know where he's what?"
Ghastly shook his head. Figured that he'd get to miss everything important. "I know where he's planning to set off that Engine."
"How?"
A precipice. Ghastly knew, somehow, in this instance, that the way he answered the question would influence how their relationship was repaired. If Skulduggery knew that Ghastly trusted him with the truth, that would go a long way. But if Skulduggery didn't believe Ghastly, that could do just as much damage on both their parts. Which was the least dangerous option? That was the sort of roundabout and constant thinking Skulduggery did, and Ghastly didn't enjoy it under normal circumstances.
In the end, he decided to go with the truth. His head hurt too much for anything else. "God told me."
Silence on the other end of the line. Ghastly nodded slowly. "I know how crazy it sounds, but I ran into Him yesterday, and before I knew that - "
"I believe you."
Ghastly stopped. "You do? Why?"
"Let's just say we've been seeing the effects of your meeting. Where is Scarab detonating the Engine?"
"At the Stadium. There's a game there today. He's going to kill 80,000 people live on air."
"Of course." Skulduggery's voice faded as he spoke to someone else, possibly with a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, and then he was back. "Thank you, Ghastly. I don't think we'd have gotten there in time without your help."
"Don't mention it. I'll meet you there. Corrival's probably coming with me."
"Ghastly - "
"Neither of us are going to mention it, Skulduggery, if you don't. 80,000 people are about to die. I'm not about to sit by and let that happen just because I can't work with you. If and when that conversation ever happens, you'll know, and it'll just be the three of us. Clear?"
This time, there was a silence, with one burst of static that cut painfully through Ghastly's headache. That silence ended abruptly. "Are you sure?"
"No. I'm not. So don't let me change my mind."
"... Alright."
"This isn't me forgiving you," Ghastly added. Mostly, he knew, to convince himself, as evidenced by Skulduggery's response.
"I know." Another pause, one that seemed to last a lifetime. "Okay. Drive safely. I'll see you both there."
This time, Ghastly did laugh as he flipped the phone closed again. Drive safely. It was such a bizarre and out-of-place comment to make in a situation like that. So... normal. Normal in a conversation that should have been anything but.
The laughter kept Ghastly distracted until he joined Corrival in the kitchen, until the pain began swimming back in. "Thanks for the phone. Want to help find a bomb and possibly arrest Scarab?"