"You didn't get a whole lot of details, did you, boy?" Corrival said gruffly, hiding the smile with his glass, but still with a twinkle of fond exasperation in his eyes. The amusement only lasted so long, and Corrival lowered the glass with a sigh.

"China Sorrows led Skulduggery into the trap with his family," he said bluntly. "Skulduggery found out. From what I heard he'd lost all control and it was a very good thing Gabe was there." He chuckled, but it was grim. "I didn't see it, but I saw the place afterward. It all happened at Prave's Church. The only one who suffered was Remus Crux, and given how insane he was death was probably a mercy."

Probably. The reminder that the man hadn't been killed by Skulduggery, but by an Archangel, made a chill run down Corrival's back, and he spent a moment contemplating his whiskey before realising he should probably say that. "It wasn't Skulduggery," he added. "It was Gabe. Apparently Crux was beyond help. And now I have his body in my freezer, because Bespoke dragged me out of retirement to help clean up after an Archangel."

His voice had that strange lilt of wry resignation, but combined with a kind of tense blankness which indicated how close Corrival had gotten to the edge Erskine was dancing on.