If Skulduggery had known how close Gabe was to commenting on his charade, he might have been a bit quicker to remind Gabe of his own injuries and how much the Archangel was downplaying them. Instead, Gabe's subtle reminder of just how bad those injuries were pushed everything else to the back of Skulduggery's mind, including the twinge of good-natured grumbling that would have resulted from Gabe's reference to a Faceless One as a 'little problem.'
His voice was as level as always, betraying none of the worry, continuing Gabe's downplay to assist in reassuring the others. "We might," he began slowly, "have come back into this reality right next to my skull. That skull may or may not have been right in Guild's office. And the possibility that Guild saw us before we escaped, I'll admit, is fairly high."
"Guild saw you?" said Ghastly, reacting much more strongly to that immediate threat than he did to the Archangel sitting right in front of him. "He knows you're back?"
"We can't discount the possibility," Skulduggery nodded. "Now, normally, I wouldn't mind going to have a nice personal chat with him, but I think we can all agree that under the circumstances, it's best we don't run into him for however long this takes."
Nobody argued. Skulduggery took that as a general agreement, and an invitation to continue.
"We need someone who has a little experience with powerful, otherworldly beings," he explained. "And then we need somewhere to lay low for a while. One of those is immediately obvious, of course."
"Guild knows everywhere we're likely to be," Ghastly spoke up. He seemed to be speaking for everyone else in the church, two of whom hadn't stopped staring at Gabriel since Skulduggery introduced him. "He could have teams of Sanctuary agents combing Dublin, if he wanted. What is so immediately obvious?"
"Hm?" Skulduggery glanced at Ghastly, paused, and then shook his head. "No, I meant we know someone who has experience with powerful, otherworldly beings." He looked around at each of their blank faces, and gave a long, almost theatrically disappointed sigh. "Who do we know with a morgue capable of dissecting a god?"
Valkyrie was the first one to answer, although she still hadn't looked away from Gabriel. "Skulduggery, Kenspeckle doesn't like you."
"No," the detective agreed. "He seems to think I'm dangerously violent. Possibly even unhinged, now. But he does like you, Valkyrie."
She finally tore her eyes away from the Archangel and faced Skulduggery with a skeptical look. "He's not going to change his mind just because I tell him to."
"Why not? He enjoys challenges."
"Not when they involve you."
"You'll just have to change his mind, then."
"Skulduggery," Valkyrie insisted, her tone already growing exasperated, "even if he agrees to see you, and even if I can get him to listen, how are you going to convince him that Archangels exist, let alone that one-?"
She clamped her mouth shut then, as if she was just realizing what she'd said, and just realizing what that meant. Skulduggery knew the feeling all too well.
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His voice was as level as always, betraying none of the worry, continuing Gabe's downplay to assist in reassuring the others. "We might," he began slowly, "have come back into this reality right next to my skull. That skull may or may not have been right in Guild's office. And the possibility that Guild saw us before we escaped, I'll admit, is fairly high."
"Guild saw you?" said Ghastly, reacting much more strongly to that immediate threat than he did to the Archangel sitting right in front of him. "He knows you're back?"
"We can't discount the possibility," Skulduggery nodded. "Now, normally, I wouldn't mind going to have a nice personal chat with him, but I think we can all agree that under the circumstances, it's best we don't run into him for however long this takes."
Nobody argued. Skulduggery took that as a general agreement, and an invitation to continue.
"We need someone who has a little experience with powerful, otherworldly beings," he explained. "And then we need somewhere to lay low for a while. One of those is immediately obvious, of course."
"Guild knows everywhere we're likely to be," Ghastly spoke up. He seemed to be speaking for everyone else in the church, two of whom hadn't stopped staring at Gabriel since Skulduggery introduced him. "He could have teams of Sanctuary agents combing Dublin, if he wanted. What is so immediately obvious?"
"Hm?" Skulduggery glanced at Ghastly, paused, and then shook his head. "No, I meant we know someone who has experience with powerful, otherworldly beings." He looked around at each of their blank faces, and gave a long, almost theatrically disappointed sigh. "Who do we know with a morgue capable of dissecting a god?"
Valkyrie was the first one to answer, although she still hadn't looked away from Gabriel. "Skulduggery, Kenspeckle doesn't like you."
"No," the detective agreed. "He seems to think I'm dangerously violent. Possibly even unhinged, now. But he does like you, Valkyrie."
She finally tore her eyes away from the Archangel and faced Skulduggery with a skeptical look. "He's not going to change his mind just because I tell him to."
"Why not? He enjoys challenges."
"Not when they involve you."
"You'll just have to change his mind, then."
"Skulduggery," Valkyrie insisted, her tone already growing exasperated, "even if he agrees to see you, and even if I can get him to listen, how are you going to convince him that Archangels exist, let alone that one-?"
She clamped her mouth shut then, as if she was just realizing what she'd said, and just realizing what that meant. Skulduggery knew the feeling all too well.