"What, he's sore about not getting enough gifts or something?" Pepper jokes. It was probably much more complicated than that, knowing Skulduggery, but a little lighthearted teasing wouldn't do any harm. "It is kind of a weird holiday, when you think about it, but... I like it."

This December will be the first Christmas without her dad. Pepper shakes the thought away after a moment; today is her birthday, and though her father is noticeably missing, this is still a good day.

"How'd you manage to figure out what his birthday was?" she asks, trying to maintain her usual cheeriness. Solomon was a PI after all (here anyway) - he must have some interesting methods to discover that kind of information.