In other words, Malicant might have been capable of tainting even energies from the Death realm. That was worrying. Useful, perhaps, for being able to tell the difference in taints and dark mists, but still. Worrying nonetheless.

Skulduggery opened his jaw to ask whether specific kedan or Foreigners in the city had the same dark mist covering them separately from Keeliai, but Wreath spoke first and succeeded in distracting him from that question completely. "Asti," he eventually said. "You asked Asti to remove the addictive qualities from necromancy."

On the one hand, Skulduggery was reluctantly impressed that Wreath seemed to have a change of heart about ushering in the Passage. But, on the other hand, the non-withdrawal must have been one of the most painful things he'd ever experienced.