It was, Gabriel realised all at once, a very delicate argument he probably shouldn't be involved in. 'Hit first and ask questions later' was very far from the experience he'd had with the detective, though there had, granted, been extenuating circumstances.

The fact was that the Archangel suddenly found himself in a position where, due to the nature of his being, any condemnation or support ran the risk of being accepted as his Master's Word. And although Skulduggery's beliefs about himself as damned were erroneous, he wasn't a perfect person, and whether or not he was a bad influence on Valkyrie was far from a subject Gabriel had any right to judge on.

So the Archangel said nothing on the topic and only smiled a bit wearily. "Luckily, I rather doubt there's anything around here in need of a smiting, and he's going to need to see my wings anyway. Thank you, Skul."

Kenspeckle was waiting for them impatiently down the hall, bustling around the room to check his equipment. It was one of the larger rooms, because there were a lot of people; Gabriel noted with relief that it ought to be just big enough to hold him. "About time," he snapped when they entered. "Pleasant's gone off on business again, I see. Good." He pointed at one of the examination tables. "You. Whatever your name is. Sit and off with your shirt."

"Gabe," Gabriel said with a friendly smile, and Kenspeckle's eyes narrowed. Gabriel ignored the obvious suspicion and leaned on Tanith as she guided him to the table. "My name's Gabe. Thank you, Tanith."