Any potential discomfort that might have existed between Solomon and Descry vanished in that moment. There wasn't any physical evidence of that, though Skulduggery wouldn't have been surprised if on the metascape, their souls meshed. But there was a look they shared, a camaraderie that spoke of similar circumstances no one else had the knowledge to understand. They'd probably get along very well, once one of them was warded properly.

Skulduggery had to stop himself from wistfully wishing things had been different where Solomon was concerned. He wasn't usually in the habit of wallowing in past events, endlessly wondering what he might have done differently. Even with Vile, he'd moved on. He'd had to. Laughing would have been impossible otherwise. But these days, Skulduggery was finding it more common to catch himself wallowing, which may have been a product of Landel, or may have been a reaction to being told at every possible moment how much of an idiot he was.

Gabe helped. Gabe's regal pawsteps and imperious attitude as he explained the set-up was making more than one person smile. It was, Skulduggery noticed, making Michael smile as well. It was a breath of fresh air in a situation stale with tension.

"Can we be sure this is going to work?" Erskine asked once everyone was standing where Gabe had herded them. "Is there a possibility for backlash?"

"It's going to work," Saracen assured him. "Stop worrying so much."

"I lead Ireland. It's my job to worry. How do you - " Erskine cut himself off as he realised what he was about to ask, and breathed out a laugh. "That's not nearly as comforting as it used to be."