China blinked with confusion - and, for the second time in so many minutes, her smile dropped in favor of surprise.
There were very, very few people who were simply not affected like that, and to China's knowledge, none of them were alive today. That was startling enough. But China had never encountered anyone knowledgeable and brave enough to point it out, not even questioning what she had done; his whole demeanor changed in the blink of an eye, shifting swiftly and easily to something that put her in mind of the way Bliss used to hold himself. He must have heard of her, then, and that might have been easier for China to accept; but his smile just before he grew cold had been warm enough. No, China decided; he hadn't been told what to expect.
A sorcerer that experienced, that powerful, she would have heard something about by now. The mysteries just didn't stop, did they?
"I'm afraid I can't control it," China answered, though she did stop trying quite so hard. "I do apologize. I assumed Skulduggery would have warned you about me."
"Ah, yes. China can do that," Skulduggery belatedly warned the man. "Annoying, but harmless. Especially," he gave her a pointed look with his skull tilted slightly to the side, "when it doesn't have the effect she intended."
"So this was an attempt to embarrass me?" China couldn't help it; she laughed. "You'll have to try a lot harder than that." Was she rattled? Definitely. But embarrassed was a bit of an exaggeration.
China rose to her feet, noting with some annoyance that it wasn't with her usual grace. "Now then, I'd like to know exactly who I'm supposed to be helping." She almost managed to keep the curiosity out of her voice. Almost. "And Ghastly," she shot him a special smile, "Your disguise is ready by now, if you'd like me to activate it."
Skulduggery turned sharply to Ghastly. "Disguise?"
"I thought it might come in useful." Ghastly returned Skulduggery's gaze with a level look. "There were too many times this past year I couldn't keep an eye on things. In a minute, China. This is a little more important."
no subject
There were very, very few people who were simply not affected like that, and to China's knowledge, none of them were alive today. That was startling enough. But China had never encountered anyone knowledgeable and brave enough to point it out, not even questioning what she had done; his whole demeanor changed in the blink of an eye, shifting swiftly and easily to something that put her in mind of the way Bliss used to hold himself. He must have heard of her, then, and that might have been easier for China to accept; but his smile just before he grew cold had been warm enough. No, China decided; he hadn't been told what to expect.
A sorcerer that experienced, that powerful, she would have heard something about by now. The mysteries just didn't stop, did they?
"I'm afraid I can't control it," China answered, though she did stop trying quite so hard. "I do apologize. I assumed Skulduggery would have warned you about me."
"Ah, yes. China can do that," Skulduggery belatedly warned the man. "Annoying, but harmless. Especially," he gave her a pointed look with his skull tilted slightly to the side, "when it doesn't have the effect she intended."
"So this was an attempt to embarrass me?" China couldn't help it; she laughed. "You'll have to try a lot harder than that." Was she rattled? Definitely. But embarrassed was a bit of an exaggeration.
China rose to her feet, noting with some annoyance that it wasn't with her usual grace. "Now then, I'd like to know exactly who I'm supposed to be helping." She almost managed to keep the curiosity out of her voice. Almost. "And Ghastly," she shot him a special smile, "Your disguise is ready by now, if you'd like me to activate it."
Skulduggery turned sharply to Ghastly. "Disguise?"
"I thought it might come in useful." Ghastly returned Skulduggery's gaze with a level look. "There were too many times this past year I couldn't keep an eye on things. In a minute, China. This is a little more important."