"I'd be grateful for that." Ghastly wished he could consider himself simply a footnote in the story of Vile. He'd have been perfectly happy with that. He was perfectly happy with that, right up until that fateful morning in the Church of the Faceless. Until then, the only reason he'd believed existed for taking up more than a page in that story was being involved in Vile's death.

He shifted slightly with the thought. "And in more ways than one. Being the footnote to a sorcerer like Vile, even after being the only one to survive? You're as different from him as they come."

Being disregarded and overlooked was never pleasant. Even Skulduggery knew what that was like, which was why he'd been so detrimentally eager to become a sorcerer himself. But there wasn't much more Ghastly could say here without repeating himself or stating the obvious, so he stayed quiet - at least, until a new thought occurred to him. "Here's an idea. Why don't you ask him yourself? Ask him what you mean to him. He doesn't have a reason to lie to you, and he won't ignore a direct question."