Good. Ghastly didn't want Erskine to leave. That was good. That was... better than Saracen had managed in the immediate aftermath, to be honest. Not that Saracen was surprised -- Ghastly was a good man, the best of them. Even angry, he never immediately thought abount punishment (physical violence notwithstanding, since that was practically communication by now). He would probably even, very soon, want to know why.
Saracen hadn't wanted to know why. If Skulduggery hadn't hinged his entire existence on why, the skeleton probably wouldn't have wanted to know either.
The door opened behind them, out of Saracen's view, and in the timeline he eventually erased, he didn't look around. He didn't want to. He'd had five years to learn just how terrible someone's luck could turn, and the door opening felt like the other shoe dropping. He'd gotten Ghastly and Anton back, for however short a time -- of course that wouldn't come without a price.
When, eventually, Saracen did turn around and saw who was actually standing in the doorway, he barely had time to think before some old buried instinct took over and sent his mind back to about the time Ghastly punched Anton.
He still went up and hugged Ghastly. He still told Ghastly the last five years had been hell. The only thing Saracen changed, in fact, just about the only thing he could bring himself to do differently, was to turn and watch the door for about two seconds before Hopeless opened it. And then stand and stare, one arm still around Ghastly's shoulders, totally unable to move.
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Saracen hadn't wanted to know why. If Skulduggery hadn't hinged his entire existence on why, the skeleton probably wouldn't have wanted to know either.
The door opened behind them, out of Saracen's view, and in the timeline he eventually erased, he didn't look around. He didn't want to. He'd had five years to learn just how terrible someone's luck could turn, and the door opening felt like the other shoe dropping. He'd gotten Ghastly and Anton back, for however short a time -- of course that wouldn't come without a price.
When, eventually, Saracen did turn around and saw who was actually standing in the doorway, he barely had time to think before some old buried instinct took over and sent his mind back to about the time Ghastly punched Anton.
He still went up and hugged Ghastly. He still told Ghastly the last five years had been hell. The only thing Saracen changed, in fact, just about the only thing he could bring himself to do differently, was to turn and watch the door for about two seconds before Hopeless opened it. And then stand and stare, one arm still around Ghastly's shoulders, totally unable to move.