The day Skulduggery first chose his name burned brightly in his mind, clear and vivid among the surrounding memories, which had grown hazy over time. However, he hadn't even told Valkyrie about it, and this man - harmless though he seemed - was still somehow rubbing Skulduggery the wrong way. He just couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Well now," the detective replied good-naturedly, "sorry to disappoint you, but that's a secret."

So Gabe had heard of the true dangers, but hadn't encountered them yet. Skulduggery watched him start stringing some beads onto a length of twine as he spoke, his fingers clumsy for no more than a few seconds before the beads began slipping on with ease. "Then there isn't much left for me to warn you about," he answered. After a slight pause, during which the bloody fingernail crept unwelcome back into his mind, Skulduggery decided to give Gabe the same advice he'd given the Once-ler. "If you're ever in the Sun Room at night, and everything looks darker than it should be, just run. Trust me, the consequences aren't worth whatever you were searching for."

Watching the way Gabe almost had to practice the dexterity required, regardless of how short that practice was, reminded Skulduggery of his earlier comment, and now he was curious. "You said you were finding it a bit difficult to get used to it yourself," Skulduggery said. "What did you mean?"