"And yet," said Valkyrie, "Two people did. Break in, I mean. Probably appeared out of nowhere. We're not asking if that's true, because we know it is. We're asking to - "

She cut off abruptly, and even though she had her back towards Ghastly, he was fairly sure he knew why. Experience had taught him that you could usually count on Valkyrie to be able to keep a straight face when the circumstances were important enough. Then again, experience had never really included a bickering Archangel telling Merlin he was jealous.

In a decision Ghastly would defend for years to come, he stepped forward in Valkyrie's silence and pulled out his phone. "There isn't really a Grand Mage at the moment," he spoke up, "as I'm sure you know. However, Corrival Deuce is in charge of things for the time being, and I think you'll find that we have his full backing to be here. Just give me a moment."

Corrival's number had become one of Ghastly's speed dials in the last few days, so it really was only a moment before he got an answer. "Corrival. Sorry to bother you. Our missing person problem from a few hours ago has a potential solution in Hammer Lane Gaol, but the Warden isn't letting us in. Would you mind talking to him?"