Of all the reactions Skulduggery might have been expecting, physical violence was somewhere at the bottom of the list. Hadn't Sora talked about the threat of sedation like it was common knowledge? And it hurt, too. The foot Rita had stomped on wasn't nothing but bone anymore, and even through the fuzzy layer of slipper, the stomp had been enough to send small pinpricks of fire up his leg.

Skulduggery managed to bite back any sounds of pain, lest they draw the attention of someone who could administer a sedative, but his face twisted more than it had all day. Perhaps that was the reason a genuine smile broke through his features less than a second later. "Sore subject?" he asked as he walked gingerly over to the table. "I'll try not to bring it up again." No promises, of course.

He stopped just before picking the books up, and then turned back to her, his face as impassive as before. "If I were to come and examine that potential secret passageway tonight, would you want to come? You seem like you know your way around, and I'd like a look at that morgue later."