As the Cleaver swung, the ground seemed to latch on to Ghastly's knees. It spread instantly, turning his legs to concrete, then his torso, his arms, his head, his entire body in the time it took the scythe to cross the space between them, and when the Cleaver tried to take his head, he could only chip at the neck. Stephanie instinctively knew what he'd done - this was the last Elemental power, earth, the power Skulduggery had described as purely defensive, and purely for use as a last resort.
[…]
“How long will he stay like that, do you think?"
Skulduggery took a moment. "I sincerely don't know, Valkyrie. It's the most unpredictable power we have. He could be stuck as a statue for a day, a week, or a hundred years. There's no way of knowing.”