... Well, yes. Hell would, certainly. That was why Erskine might have expected a reaction like this to the news of what happened to Skulduggery. If a dimension ruled by Faceless Ones wasn't the closest thing to Hell there would ever be, Erskine didn't know what was.
Unfortunately, he had no idea what Anton's reaction to that was, because Erskine had spent the first couple of weeks upon hearing the news himself in isolation. Or, well. A form of isolation, anyway. A form of isolation in which he avoided anything meaningful, anyone he cared about, traveled to Italy, and spent his time enjoying the local flavours and the local women.
But something about the way Anton said those words stopped Erskine from answering, leaving nothing but a tentative frown on his face. Did something happen to Skulduggery, over there with the Faceless Ones? All Erskine knew was what Corrival had told him, which basically amounted to everything he'd just told Anton about.
It amused Erskine that the first thing Skulduggery did, upon coming home, was save the world all over again. But... he didn't actually know how Skulduggery got back. He'd assumed Valkyrie Cain had something to do with it, but Corrival was surprisingly vague about the details. At the time, Erskine hadn't cared. Skulduggery was back! What could be better?
Now, he was starting to wonder. Skulduggery didn't bring Hell back with him, did he?
Erskine swung his legs back onto the floor and stood up. "If something's happened," he demanded, "what are you doing moping around here? I can understand avoiding strife, but you were already in the thick of it. You don't leave strife when you're in the thick of it. What made you leave?"
Anton didn't exaggerate, and that was worrying. Erskine couldn't think of a 'betrayal' strong enough to make Anton act like this. Even if Skulduggery did something stupid to rescue himself, like invite the Faceless Ones back, Anton would still be helping. Angrily, probably, but he would be. It was what he did.
Something terrible, and something Anton couldn't do anything about. Something Anton Shudder couldn't do anything about. Couldn't, or wouldn't. Erskine felt something cold run down his spine.
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Unfortunately, he had no idea what Anton's reaction to that was, because Erskine had spent the first couple of weeks upon hearing the news himself in isolation. Or, well. A form of isolation, anyway. A form of isolation in which he avoided anything meaningful, anyone he cared about, traveled to Italy, and spent his time enjoying the local flavours and the local women.
But something about the way Anton said those words stopped Erskine from answering, leaving nothing but a tentative frown on his face. Did something happen to Skulduggery, over there with the Faceless Ones? All Erskine knew was what Corrival had told him, which basically amounted to everything he'd just told Anton about.
It amused Erskine that the first thing Skulduggery did, upon coming home, was save the world all over again. But... he didn't actually know how Skulduggery got back. He'd assumed Valkyrie Cain had something to do with it, but Corrival was surprisingly vague about the details. At the time, Erskine hadn't cared. Skulduggery was back! What could be better?
Now, he was starting to wonder. Skulduggery didn't bring Hell back with him, did he?
Erskine swung his legs back onto the floor and stood up. "If something's happened," he demanded, "what are you doing moping around here? I can understand avoiding strife, but you were already in the thick of it. You don't leave strife when you're in the thick of it. What made you leave?"
Anton didn't exaggerate, and that was worrying. Erskine couldn't think of a 'betrayal' strong enough to make Anton act like this. Even if Skulduggery did something stupid to rescue himself, like invite the Faceless Ones back, Anton would still be helping. Angrily, probably, but he would be. It was what he did.
Something terrible, and something Anton couldn't do anything about. Something Anton Shudder couldn't do anything about. Couldn't, or wouldn't. Erskine felt something cold run down his spine.