Gabe didn't mention details about the blackmail, Erskine noted. Of course he wouldn't. Not in front of Skulduggery. Not right now. But for God's sake, you couldn't just not tell someone why they weren't dead. Maybe Archangels were so used to telling people why they were dead that the whole concept was skewed for them. Or, more likely, Gabe would wait for a more opportune moment to say anything.
Under normal circumstances, Erskine would have beaten him to the punch. Skulduggery deserved to hear news like that from a friend, from someone he knew and trusted. The thing was, he knew and trusted Gabe. One could even argue that it made more sense for Gabe to break the news. The Archangel would know how to break it, he had a lot more than just Skulduggery's trust, and if all else failed, he had Skulduggery's true name.
Not that he should use it, Erskine clarified quickly for any potential eavesdroppers. Jesus, it was like having Hopeless nearby all over again, only now Erskine was out of practice.
He didn't set the jar down right away. It was much too light, and Gabe was the one who'd wanted it covered. The one currently asking Erskine to be gentle with it. Erskine couldn't help being insatiably curious, even if he wasn't foolish enough to whisk off the entire cloth in front of the two people Gabe would have been trying to hide the contents from. So he took a corner of the cloth, pulled it back, peeked in.
And immediately paled.
He didn't regret the act, because Erskine made it a point long ago never to regret satisfying curiosity. Nothing bad ever came from satisfying curiosity, no matter how badly his roiling stomach begged to differ. He was, however, wishing he'd... picked a more opportune time.
"What?" he heard Valkyrie ask. "What is it?"
Erskine let the cloth fall back into place. "Nothing." A little too fast, maybe? "Nothing important." And that was just disrespectful. "Nothing you need to know about." Except that she would, eventually, and her eyes were already narrowing at the dismissive response. Erskine's shoulders sagged. "Nothing you want to know about. Trust me."
"Isn't that something I should decide for myself?"
"In this case? No." Erskine very gingerly placed the jar down on the exam table Gabe had indicated. "Please tell me I've been carrying it around because you can fix this."
no subject
Under normal circumstances, Erskine would have beaten him to the punch. Skulduggery deserved to hear news like that from a friend, from someone he knew and trusted. The thing was, he knew and trusted Gabe. One could even argue that it made more sense for Gabe to break the news. The Archangel would know how to break it, he had a lot more than just Skulduggery's trust, and if all else failed, he had Skulduggery's true name.
Not that he should use it, Erskine clarified quickly for any potential eavesdroppers. Jesus, it was like having Hopeless nearby all over again, only now Erskine was out of practice.
He didn't set the jar down right away. It was much too light, and Gabe was the one who'd wanted it covered. The one currently asking Erskine to be gentle with it. Erskine couldn't help being insatiably curious, even if he wasn't foolish enough to whisk off the entire cloth in front of the two people Gabe would have been trying to hide the contents from. So he took a corner of the cloth, pulled it back, peeked in.
And immediately paled.
He didn't regret the act, because Erskine made it a point long ago never to regret satisfying curiosity. Nothing bad ever came from satisfying curiosity, no matter how badly his roiling stomach begged to differ. He was, however, wishing he'd... picked a more opportune time.
"What?" he heard Valkyrie ask. "What is it?"
Erskine let the cloth fall back into place. "Nothing." A little too fast, maybe? "Nothing important." And that was just disrespectful. "Nothing you need to know about." Except that she would, eventually, and her eyes were already narrowing at the dismissive response. Erskine's shoulders sagged. "Nothing you want to know about. Trust me."
"Isn't that something I should decide for myself?"
"In this case? No." Erskine very gingerly placed the jar down on the exam table Gabe had indicated. "Please tell me I've been carrying it around because you can fix this."