"Hang on," Erskine called out, stopping the few who had made it to the doorway already. "We can't leave Solomon in here on his own. Someone's tried to kill him twice already."
"We can always leave Dexter to guard him," Skulduggery suggested, and just managed to continue making himself heard over a squawk of objection that promised to turn into a barrage of complaints. "For some reason, though, I don't think he's too enamoured with the idea. We'll have to take Solomon with us."
"You don't trust Tipstaff?" Ghastly asked.
"I trust Tipstaff to stay loyal to the Elders. I don't trust him to be able to fend off someone like Tesseract. Come to think of it, I shouldn't trust Dexter for that either. How are your ribs doing, Dexter?"
"Can we avoid waking him up?" said Erskine, circling around to Solomon's other side. "Is there anywhere safe we can leave - oh, look." Something in the Elder's voice turned teasingly soft. "He's still got his teddy bear."
"Why can't we wake him up?"
Erskine looked up at the skeleton detective and raised an eyebrow. "Because he's earned his rest. He went up against your armour, remember?"
If Skulduggery would have answered before, he certainly wasn't going to answer now. After a moment of awkward non-answering, Ghastly stepped over and picked up the sleeping Elder, leaving Erskine to catch the teddy-bear and place it proudly on the ex-Necromancer's stomach, a miniature little guardian.
"China," Skulduggery eventually said. "We can always leave him with China. Right now, there's nowhere safer."
"Nowhere safer than with China?" Valkyrie winced. "Do you realise how much of an oxymoron that is?"
"Yes, I do. It's also true, in this case."
Erskine snorted as he grabbed Solomon's coat off the head of the bed he'd been sleeping on. "Unless China decides to wear perfume again."
Skulduggery hesitated. "Why wouldn't China's perfume be safe?"
"Oh, never mind. You're probably right." Erskine deftly lifted the teddy, draped Solomon's coat over him, and put the teddy back in its place of honour atop the coat. "There you go, Ghastly. All set."
"I don't know how I would have managed without you, Erskine."
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"We can always leave Dexter to guard him," Skulduggery suggested, and just managed to continue making himself heard over a squawk of objection that promised to turn into a barrage of complaints. "For some reason, though, I don't think he's too enamoured with the idea. We'll have to take Solomon with us."
"You don't trust Tipstaff?" Ghastly asked.
"I trust Tipstaff to stay loyal to the Elders. I don't trust him to be able to fend off someone like Tesseract. Come to think of it, I shouldn't trust Dexter for that either. How are your ribs doing, Dexter?"
"Can we avoid waking him up?" said Erskine, circling around to Solomon's other side. "Is there anywhere safe we can leave - oh, look." Something in the Elder's voice turned teasingly soft. "He's still got his teddy bear."
"Why can't we wake him up?"
Erskine looked up at the skeleton detective and raised an eyebrow. "Because he's earned his rest. He went up against your armour, remember?"
If Skulduggery would have answered before, he certainly wasn't going to answer now. After a moment of awkward non-answering, Ghastly stepped over and picked up the sleeping Elder, leaving Erskine to catch the teddy-bear and place it proudly on the ex-Necromancer's stomach, a miniature little guardian.
"China," Skulduggery eventually said. "We can always leave him with China. Right now, there's nowhere safer."
"Nowhere safer than with China?" Valkyrie winced. "Do you realise how much of an oxymoron that is?"
"Yes, I do. It's also true, in this case."
Erskine snorted as he grabbed Solomon's coat off the head of the bed he'd been sleeping on. "Unless China decides to wear perfume again."
Skulduggery hesitated. "Why wouldn't China's perfume be safe?"
"Oh, never mind. You're probably right." Erskine deftly lifted the teddy, draped Solomon's coat over him, and put the teddy back in its place of honour atop the coat. "There you go, Ghastly. All set."
"I don't know how I would have managed without you, Erskine."