Skulduggery couldn't, in all fairness, dispute the accusation that he was being entertained. He wouldn't have minded keeping China in the dark a little longer, either, if only because seeing China in the dark was such a rare occurrence. In the end, however, his better sense won out.

"If I'm right," he said, "and the last thing you remember is Scorn destroying your library, then it's been three years since I last saw you. Or, if you prefer, since you last saw me. I've seen you since then, of course. The last time I saw you was only a few days ago, but you're not going to remember that, so it's barely worth mentioning."