Ghastly resisted the urge to laugh. "Do you? Solomon, I've never seen Skulduggery treat any child the way he treated you, except perhaps for Valkyrie. I told him trying to take you out of the Temple was a bad idea, and it was one of the first times he didn't listen to me." Just as he didn't listen about Valkyrie. "I warned him that it wouldn't work. He insisted it would. Turns out, we were both wrong."
That was the thing about Skulduggery, Ghastly had to admit. Even when he was wrong, he was right. He changed people, yes; manipulated them, betrayed their trust. But there was a reason those who became loyal to him never truly stopped. Skulduggery cared, in his own way. He simply expected more from the people around him. Too much, sometimes. It made you want his approval, because if he was impressed by something you'd done, you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was something to be proud of. That was why the people who became Skulduggery's friend were the sort of people able to make their own decisions, regardless of what the skeleton detective thought. That was why the Dead Men unit during the war became so successful.
"For now," Ghastly answered softly. "Just for now. It takes time to change peoples' minds. For now, you two are the only ones in history to ever successfully give up Necromancy. Use that, when it feels like you don't have anything else. I can guarantee you that Skulduggery is."
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That was the thing about Skulduggery, Ghastly had to admit. Even when he was wrong, he was right. He changed people, yes; manipulated them, betrayed their trust. But there was a reason those who became loyal to him never truly stopped. Skulduggery cared, in his own way. He simply expected more from the people around him. Too much, sometimes. It made you want his approval, because if he was impressed by something you'd done, you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was something to be proud of. That was why the people who became Skulduggery's friend were the sort of people able to make their own decisions, regardless of what the skeleton detective thought. That was why the Dead Men unit during the war became so successful.
"For now," Ghastly answered softly. "Just for now. It takes time to change peoples' minds. For now, you two are the only ones in history to ever successfully give up Necromancy. Use that, when it feels like you don't have anything else. I can guarantee you that Skulduggery is."