"You know," says Skulduggery thoughtfully, "I've never been completely sure. When I first discovered this ability, the world barely knew water could exist as particles within the air, much less what those particles were."

It was just past the turn of the seventeenth century, after all. At that time, many people in Ireland still believed faeries caused thunderstorms. Skulduggery had needed to do a lot of experimenting on his own.

"It shouldn't matter while we're on the turtle," he continues after a moment, head tilted and gloved fingers steepled in his lap. "The surrounding ocean provides more than enough for me to work with. I'm not quite capable of parting the Red Sea, but I can certainly keep water supplies replenished."