Valkyrie's eyes sparkled. "No wonder you can walk on water! Wasn't being able to steer a ship kind of a big deal back then?"
Skulduggery was saved from having to answer by his phone ringing, but he answered Valkyrie's question anyway. "It was an admired skill, and a common one. Certainly not required, though. I never learned it. I was too busy learning skills that were actually useful. And Solomon, I never said door knocker. I couldn't have. There's nothing on a sailboat that looks even a bit like a door knocker."
Paddy was fascinated, despite himself. He'd been just as awestruck over the two sorcerers' performances as everyone else. The way Skulduggery and Solomon talked the doctor into circles was almost embarrassing, and it spoke of a certain familiarity between the two that Solomon certainly hadn't mentioned to Paddy. That idea was confirmed a moment later by Solomon's own words.
"No," Skulduggery agreed. "We certainly haven't."
Was Skulduggery already a skeleton by then? How long had he been getting away with talking to people, when he couldn't make eye contact? Smile? Frown? Show even an inch of his face? Paddy had half a mind to ask if Skulduggery would take off his sunglasses quickly, but the other half his mind instantly and vehemently disagreed with the thought.
"Are you going to answer your phone?" Tanith asked, jabbing the skeleton in the arm.
"In a moment," Skulduggery replied, and Paddy became aware that the object he'd been fiddling with for the last ten seconds was, in fact, his mobile. "Smartphone. With a touchscreen. Infernal things, really." The ringing immediately stopped, and Skulduggery stepped away with a sigh. "There we go. Detective Pleasant."
"It..." Paddy verbally stumbled as Gabriel hugged him. It was a very strange sensation; being hugged by a young, vaguely middle eastern barefoot university student, and knowing - knowing - that it was the most natural thing in the world. Warm, comforting, and genuinely grateful. "It was my pleasure, really. Thank you." He laughed. "And if ever you need more holy water, please don't hesitate to call me. That goes for you too, Solomon."
no subject
Skulduggery was saved from having to answer by his phone ringing, but he answered Valkyrie's question anyway. "It was an admired skill, and a common one. Certainly not required, though. I never learned it. I was too busy learning skills that were actually useful. And Solomon, I never said door knocker. I couldn't have. There's nothing on a sailboat that looks even a bit like a door knocker."
Paddy was fascinated, despite himself. He'd been just as awestruck over the two sorcerers' performances as everyone else. The way Skulduggery and Solomon talked the doctor into circles was almost embarrassing, and it spoke of a certain familiarity between the two that Solomon certainly hadn't mentioned to Paddy. That idea was confirmed a moment later by Solomon's own words.
"No," Skulduggery agreed. "We certainly haven't."
Was Skulduggery already a skeleton by then? How long had he been getting away with talking to people, when he couldn't make eye contact? Smile? Frown? Show even an inch of his face? Paddy had half a mind to ask if Skulduggery would take off his sunglasses quickly, but the other half his mind instantly and vehemently disagreed with the thought.
"Are you going to answer your phone?" Tanith asked, jabbing the skeleton in the arm.
"In a moment," Skulduggery replied, and Paddy became aware that the object he'd been fiddling with for the last ten seconds was, in fact, his mobile. "Smartphone. With a touchscreen. Infernal things, really." The ringing immediately stopped, and Skulduggery stepped away with a sigh. "There we go. Detective Pleasant."
"It..." Paddy verbally stumbled as Gabriel hugged him. It was a very strange sensation; being hugged by a young, vaguely middle eastern barefoot university student, and knowing - knowing - that it was the most natural thing in the world. Warm, comforting, and genuinely grateful. "It was my pleasure, really. Thank you." He laughed. "And if ever you need more holy water, please don't hesitate to call me. That goes for you too, Solomon."