Skulduggery eyed Gabe - not that anyone apart from the angel would be able to tell. "Probably for the same reason most people wouldn't believe you if you tried to tell them that," and he pointed at the shameless dog lying spreadeagled on the floor under Valkyrie, "is the Archangel Raphael. Most religions breed distrust in some form or other. A lot of your most devout followers are simply terrified of being judged after death, rather than genuinely trying to live a good life. Atheists and agnostics judge an entire religion by their extremists. Belief in your existence doesn't equate belief in you."

He noticed, out of the corner of his eye socket, that Ghastly and Dexter were both growing much more serious. Skulduggery knew what that meant. And for the time being, the easiest way of dealing with the intense and conflicting feelings it triggered was to keep talking. So he did, slowly, enough that Valkyrie and Fletcher weren't any the wiser. Gabe, he'd never be able to fool. Tanith, he wasn't sure about.

"You don't," Ghastly agreed quietly. "None of us do. But you need to."

The tailor's hands were white on the back of the chair. From this distance, Skulduggery couldn't quite make out what either of them were saying, and that was probably for the best. He turned back to the others, keeping only a vague and cautionary eye on Dexter. "Necromancers, of course, are a prime example. They breed mistrust in the ground they walk on, and it's only partly due to their magic."

"It's because they're a dangerous cult," Valkyrie agreed. "And they think killing billions of people is justified."

"That might have something to do with it."

"Do you remember," Ghastly asked Dexter, "when Skulduggery disappeared, and we all thought Vile killed him?"