Ghastly decided he rather liked this Council of Elders. They got things done. Put the same question to Meritorious, and you wouldn't have had an answer for weeks while it was debated and argued over and left to committees. Put the question to an old war general, and you got a vague wave of 'just be ready for the consequences.'
"Magic...?"
Ghastly didn't even turn around to see what Barney's face looked like; he caught Erskine's eye, and waved the wheelchair over. "Magic," he began, "is the least of what's going on here. Just tell me when to stop, and I'll stop."
Barney swallowed noticeably hard, blinked a few times, and then shook his head. "No. Better give it to me straight. Just... all out, at once."
Erskine appeared with the wheelchair, and the pair of former Dead Men dropped a short distance behind the rest of the group, walking alongside Barney. Allie's father wasn't the only one who probably felt a remarkable sense of surrealism as they strolled through the carnival, shouts and laughter on either side from parents and kids having fun, the sun beating down on them while they talked seriously about magic. And no one in pain or close to dying. Ghastly still wasn't used to doing things like this without, at the very least, a headscarf. He kept reaching up to try and adjust it, only to discover it wasn't there.
"Most of us," he told Barney, speaking slowly and keeping an eye on the man as they walked, "are sorcerers. Erskine and I are what we call Elementals. Solomon and Tanith are what we call Adepts. They're just fancy names for different disciplines, really."
"No," Erskine cut in. "You're going about it wrong. Barney, my friend, Ghastly wishes he wasn't a sorcerer. He's going to take all the magic out of it for you. Elementals have control over the four elements - "
"Control is a strong word," Ghastly interrupted Erskine right back. "We influence them."
Erskine rolled his eyes. "We influence them, then. Adepts can do almost anything else. Tanith walks on ceilings and unlocks doors. Solomon... used to be a Necromancer, and they tend to be highly religious sanctimonious gits, so we're all happy he isn't one anymore. He's physically blind now, and I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I think he can see souls?" He directed the last question at Ghastly, who shrugged. "He can see something, anyway," Erskine continued with a minor shrug of his own. "Something about the lifestream. He liked Allie. And Allie's a great kid, by the way."
Ghastly nodded. "With us so far?"
Barney's face was practically white, his lips were pursed, and he looked very much in danger of passing out. But, to his credit, he managed to nod. Ghastly put a hand on the man's shoulder, ready to catch him if he actually did pass out. "Ready for the next part?"
Another nod. Ghastly squeezed Barney's shoulder, and plunged on. "Now, Gabe and Rafe... they're - "
"Angels. Right?"
So Allie had talked to him. "Archangels. The Archangels. Gabriel and Raphael."
"Which we sorcerers are stunned by as well, let me tell you," Erskine added with a note of glee that he now got to watch someone else have to struggle with the news. Ghastly knew the feeling. "None of us believed in anything divine. We figured we'd have proof. Shows how much we know."
Erskine's comeuppance for the glee came less than a minute later, when Barney's head swiveled toward Ghastly. "So then Dad really was..."
"Yep."
"With teddy bears."
"Longstanding tradition with Gabe, apparently. He dragged me to this carnival not long before we ran into you."
"Hang on." Erskine stopped walking, Ghastly right alongside him, while it took Barney a few seconds to realise the wheelchair wasn't bumping along the grass anymore, and turn to face them. "You guys are talking about God."
"No. We're talking about the other mysterious Dad who's been wandering around in our lives."
Erskine stared at Barney. "You met God?"
It probably wasn't exactly what Barney needed to hear. Or wanted to hear. He opened his mouth to answer, faltered, clamped it shut, and started swaying on the spot. "I think I need to sit down."
Ghastly was immediately there, guiding him towards the wheelchair. "Are you sure you want everything all at once?"
Mouth right back to being clamped tight shut, all Barney could do was nod.
Ghastly took a deep breath. "Skul - Skulduggery Pleasant - is, in reality, a living skeleton. He's just wearing a really good illusion at the moment. He's currently in a relationship with Gabe. Rafe might have already healed your daughter, and if he didn't, he's going to. Corrival Deuce - " Ghastly took a moment to point - "is Ireland's Grand Mage, akin to a Prime Minister of sorts, but with absolute power over the sorcerers in this country. Erskine, am I missing anything?"
"Try Merlin."
"Oh, yes. As you've no doubt guessed, that's Merlin. No tricks or catches there, either."
"Well," Erskine said, biting his lip, "technically, Merlin and the two angels come from another dimension. Gabe came to rescue Skulduggery from... basically a sorcerer's version of hell. Rafe and Merlin followed to rescue him. It's a tangled web."
no subject
"Magic...?"
Ghastly didn't even turn around to see what Barney's face looked like; he caught Erskine's eye, and waved the wheelchair over. "Magic," he began, "is the least of what's going on here. Just tell me when to stop, and I'll stop."
Barney swallowed noticeably hard, blinked a few times, and then shook his head. "No. Better give it to me straight. Just... all out, at once."
Erskine appeared with the wheelchair, and the pair of former Dead Men dropped a short distance behind the rest of the group, walking alongside Barney. Allie's father wasn't the only one who probably felt a remarkable sense of surrealism as they strolled through the carnival, shouts and laughter on either side from parents and kids having fun, the sun beating down on them while they talked seriously about magic. And no one in pain or close to dying. Ghastly still wasn't used to doing things like this without, at the very least, a headscarf. He kept reaching up to try and adjust it, only to discover it wasn't there.
"Most of us," he told Barney, speaking slowly and keeping an eye on the man as they walked, "are sorcerers. Erskine and I are what we call Elementals. Solomon and Tanith are what we call Adepts. They're just fancy names for different disciplines, really."
"No," Erskine cut in. "You're going about it wrong. Barney, my friend, Ghastly wishes he wasn't a sorcerer. He's going to take all the magic out of it for you. Elementals have control over the four elements - "
"Control is a strong word," Ghastly interrupted Erskine right back. "We influence them."
Erskine rolled his eyes. "We influence them, then. Adepts can do almost anything else. Tanith walks on ceilings and unlocks doors. Solomon... used to be a Necromancer, and they tend to be highly religious sanctimonious gits, so we're all happy he isn't one anymore. He's physically blind now, and I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I think he can see souls?" He directed the last question at Ghastly, who shrugged. "He can see something, anyway," Erskine continued with a minor shrug of his own. "Something about the lifestream. He liked Allie. And Allie's a great kid, by the way."
Ghastly nodded. "With us so far?"
Barney's face was practically white, his lips were pursed, and he looked very much in danger of passing out. But, to his credit, he managed to nod. Ghastly put a hand on the man's shoulder, ready to catch him if he actually did pass out. "Ready for the next part?"
Another nod. Ghastly squeezed Barney's shoulder, and plunged on. "Now, Gabe and Rafe... they're - "
"Angels. Right?"
So Allie had talked to him. "Archangels. The Archangels. Gabriel and Raphael."
"Which we sorcerers are stunned by as well, let me tell you," Erskine added with a note of glee that he now got to watch someone else have to struggle with the news. Ghastly knew the feeling. "None of us believed in anything divine. We figured we'd have proof. Shows how much we know."
Erskine's comeuppance for the glee came less than a minute later, when Barney's head swiveled toward Ghastly. "So then Dad really was..."
"Yep."
"With teddy bears."
"Longstanding tradition with Gabe, apparently. He dragged me to this carnival not long before we ran into you."
"Hang on." Erskine stopped walking, Ghastly right alongside him, while it took Barney a few seconds to realise the wheelchair wasn't bumping along the grass anymore, and turn to face them. "You guys are talking about God."
"No. We're talking about the other mysterious Dad who's been wandering around in our lives."
Erskine stared at Barney. "You met God?"
It probably wasn't exactly what Barney needed to hear. Or wanted to hear. He opened his mouth to answer, faltered, clamped it shut, and started swaying on the spot. "I think I need to sit down."
Ghastly was immediately there, guiding him towards the wheelchair. "Are you sure you want everything all at once?"
Mouth right back to being clamped tight shut, all Barney could do was nod.
Ghastly took a deep breath. "Skul - Skulduggery Pleasant - is, in reality, a living skeleton. He's just wearing a really good illusion at the moment. He's currently in a relationship with Gabe. Rafe might have already healed your daughter, and if he didn't, he's going to. Corrival Deuce - " Ghastly took a moment to point - "is Ireland's Grand Mage, akin to a Prime Minister of sorts, but with absolute power over the sorcerers in this country. Erskine, am I missing anything?"
"Try Merlin."
"Oh, yes. As you've no doubt guessed, that's Merlin. No tricks or catches there, either."
"Well," Erskine said, biting his lip, "technically, Merlin and the two angels come from another dimension. Gabe came to rescue Skulduggery from... basically a sorcerer's version of hell. Rafe and Merlin followed to rescue him. It's a tangled web."