"I never expected it to work." Billy-Ray didn't notice how Gabe actually needed the wall to stay upright, because after being thrown across the room like a rag doll, he wasn't in much better shape - certainly not in any shape to notice anything. Blood was trickling down the side of his head, he was pretty sure his arm was broken, and that didn't even begin to cover his bruised pride. "Just never expected you to kill it."
Could Remnants even be killed? Weren't they technically just angry ghosts? How did that even work?
The only thing Billy-Ray knew for sure was that with his head ringing like it was, only one arm, and no magic to use, his chances against Valkyrie Cain with her Elemental magic and her Necromancy were already frustratingly slim. And that was without factoring in the sorcerer from an alternate dimension who'd been fighting Faceless Ones all his life, could kill ghosts, and could appear from nowhere to throw people bodily across rooms without a second thought.
Billy-Ray was starting to think he couldn't begin to fathom who Gabe really was. He had no clue. And it was starting to scare him.
If it were just Cain, he might've stayed. But Gabe was with her, standing right there, looking for all the world like he was just disappointed with Billy-Ray's actions, rather than angry. "Okay, okay," he relented, putting up the hand that wasn't broken. "I'm gone. Leavin' Ireland tonight. I'll see all you fine folks some other time."
Scarab's plan had fallen through, after all. There was nothing left here for Billy-Ray. He tipped an imaginary hat to Gabe with a wide grin, then turned and left.
Guild's family were perfectly fine. Shaken, maybe a little in shock, but Billy-Ray hadn't hurt them. They were tied up with rope in a bedroom through the door on the right, and the rope was easily undone with a small flame flickering in the palm of Valkyrie's hand. Gabe helped calm Guild's daughter down with that smile and manner of this that, even in pain, just made you believe there was nothing but good in the world - only misguided people. In fact, the little girl sat on Gabe's lap during the cab ride back to the stadium, and Gabe told her stories that Valkyrie only half-listened to. There was one about God, actually, and that one Valkyrie did listen to, in the haze of someone who couldn't quite believe they were hearing a story about someone they'd actually met.
But she couldn't stop thinking about Fletcher. Skulduggery, when Valkyrie called, said that he hadn't seen or heard from him, and shutting off that part of her mind was a lot harder now that Valkyrie didn't have anger at someone to focus on. The cab ride couldn't have been any longer than it was from the stadium to the house, but it felt like nearly four times as long before the cab came to a stop near one of the Staff Only entrances.
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Could Remnants even be killed? Weren't they technically just angry ghosts? How did that even work?
The only thing Billy-Ray knew for sure was that with his head ringing like it was, only one arm, and no magic to use, his chances against Valkyrie Cain with her Elemental magic and her Necromancy were already frustratingly slim. And that was without factoring in the sorcerer from an alternate dimension who'd been fighting Faceless Ones all his life, could kill ghosts, and could appear from nowhere to throw people bodily across rooms without a second thought.
Billy-Ray was starting to think he couldn't begin to fathom who Gabe really was. He had no clue. And it was starting to scare him.
If it were just Cain, he might've stayed. But Gabe was with her, standing right there, looking for all the world like he was just disappointed with Billy-Ray's actions, rather than angry. "Okay, okay," he relented, putting up the hand that wasn't broken. "I'm gone. Leavin' Ireland tonight. I'll see all you fine folks some other time."
Scarab's plan had fallen through, after all. There was nothing left here for Billy-Ray. He tipped an imaginary hat to Gabe with a wide grin, then turned and left.
Guild's family were perfectly fine. Shaken, maybe a little in shock, but Billy-Ray hadn't hurt them. They were tied up with rope in a bedroom through the door on the right, and the rope was easily undone with a small flame flickering in the palm of Valkyrie's hand. Gabe helped calm Guild's daughter down with that smile and manner of this that, even in pain, just made you believe there was nothing but good in the world - only misguided people. In fact, the little girl sat on Gabe's lap during the cab ride back to the stadium, and Gabe told her stories that Valkyrie only half-listened to. There was one about God, actually, and that one Valkyrie did listen to, in the haze of someone who couldn't quite believe they were hearing a story about someone they'd actually met.
But she couldn't stop thinking about Fletcher. Skulduggery, when Valkyrie called, said that he hadn't seen or heard from him, and shutting off that part of her mind was a lot harder now that Valkyrie didn't have anger at someone to focus on. The cab ride couldn't have been any longer than it was from the stadium to the house, but it felt like nearly four times as long before the cab came to a stop near one of the Staff Only entrances.