That was the one thing Skulduggery would never be able to wrap his mind around when it came to Archangels. They had nicknames for each other. He suspected he might have accepted Gabriel's identity sooner if the Archangel had introduced himself as 'Gabriel' from the beginning, instead of 'Gabe.'

"China is a collector," Skulduggery explained, "and a librarian of sorts. Very little happens in the world she doesn't hear about. She's useful, if not exactly trustworthy."

Ghastly shifted uncomfortably. "About that. She's actually been... voluntarily helpful lately. She's been working on a disguise for me the last month." He hesitated. "And I don't think she asked for anything in return."

"She's also unpredictable," Skulduggery added with a bemused glance towards Ghastly.

Right as Kenspeckle spoke, Valkyrie and Fletcher appeared in the middle of the room, each with a hand on a relatively large barrel and - predictably - already bickering. Most of Fletcher's words were cut off by the teleportation, but it wasn't difficult to figure out what the pair were talking about.

"-do not! If anything, you were the one he was staring at!"

"Fletcher," Valkyrie was teasing with a smirk. "It's a compliment. Take it as one. Seriously, if you stopped spiking your hair up like that-"

"My hair is cool!" Fletcher crossed his arms, face remarkably close to a pout. "And I do not look like an angel."

Valkyrie's tone grew deliberately condescending. "Fletch, for a few minutes there, you did. And you do again now. You're just going to have to deal with it."