"Gabe?" If there was one thing that could have distracted Skulduggery from confronting Wreath, it was the sudden realization that he should have thought to warn the Archangel about where the Temple was. It might not have meant anything normally, but Gabriel was hurt, in a way he never had been before. "Gabriel."
Gabe had fallen to his hands and knees, the ground underneath him crackling with a bright fire, shadows in the graveyard dancing away and rushing in like an ocean wave. Valkyrie jumped back with a cry; Skulduggery reached down to steady him, but before his hands could make contact, the Archangel disappeared.
Alarm flew through him, and Skulduggery leaped up and rushed over to the edge of the graveyard, hands outstretched as he let the tumbling air roll over his fingers. Valkyrie had recovered impressively quickly and was now right alongside him, just as worried, hopefully rattled enough by the sight to finally listen. Not that Skulduggery could care about that right now. How far would Gabe have gone? How far away would he be safe from those shadows? Just outside the graveyard, or was he now all the way on the other side of Dublin, collapsed and hurt with no one who knew and no one who would help...
The air rolled and he pinpointed a spot just outside the fence. Thank God. Skulduggery didn't even take a moment to appreciate that irony; he didn't waste any time reaching the gates and crouching next to Gabriel, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He couldn't even pretend to imagine what the Archangel was going through, but he knew how strong that power could get. He'd forgotten how it rolled off the crypt entrance in giant waves of invisible darkness, subtle enough to be undetectable by most. Even Skulduggery could barely feel it now, thanks to years of abstinence, though he had no doubt it would take minutes to retrieve it if he wanted to. Just like riding a bike.
"On second thought," Skulduggery told Valkyrie absentmindedly, "tell him to meet us down the street." His attention was completely on Gabe, and Skulduggery was sympathetic on a level he didn't usually reach. "Gabe, are you alright?"
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Gabe had fallen to his hands and knees, the ground underneath him crackling with a bright fire, shadows in the graveyard dancing away and rushing in like an ocean wave. Valkyrie jumped back with a cry; Skulduggery reached down to steady him, but before his hands could make contact, the Archangel disappeared.
Alarm flew through him, and Skulduggery leaped up and rushed over to the edge of the graveyard, hands outstretched as he let the tumbling air roll over his fingers. Valkyrie had recovered impressively quickly and was now right alongside him, just as worried, hopefully rattled enough by the sight to finally listen. Not that Skulduggery could care about that right now. How far would Gabe have gone? How far away would he be safe from those shadows? Just outside the graveyard, or was he now all the way on the other side of Dublin, collapsed and hurt with no one who knew and no one who would help...
The air rolled and he pinpointed a spot just outside the fence. Thank God. Skulduggery didn't even take a moment to appreciate that irony; he didn't waste any time reaching the gates and crouching next to Gabriel, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.
He couldn't even pretend to imagine what the Archangel was going through, but he knew how strong that power could get. He'd forgotten how it rolled off the crypt entrance in giant waves of invisible darkness, subtle enough to be undetectable by most. Even Skulduggery could barely feel it now, thanks to years of abstinence, though he had no doubt it would take minutes to retrieve it if he wanted to. Just like riding a bike.
"On second thought," Skulduggery told Valkyrie absentmindedly, "tell him to meet us down the street." His attention was completely on Gabe, and Skulduggery was sympathetic on a level he didn't usually reach. "Gabe, are you alright?"