The stillness was gone. He wasn't quite sure what it had been replaced with, but whatever it was, it grew the longer Gabe kept speaking. Tenebrae could feel one of his hands start to shake; he folded it into his lap to hide that fact and didn't let the expression on his face change.
But he didn't try to deny any of it either.
Wondering how on earth this man knew any of what even Serpine never guessed was about the least useful thing Tenebrae could do, so he focussed instead on what to do now that the secret was apparently out. Most importantly, damage control. Judging by Valkyrie's reaction, she hadn't known any of this. That wouldn't normally have been Tenebrae's problem - in fact, he normally would have found that amusing - but there was every chance she would run back and tell the skeleton detective everything that happened here.
If Pleasant didn't have a reason to come back to the Temple, he wouldn't. But right now, as Gabe pointed out, the skeleton very much did.
Ravel, on the other hand... Ravel was right here. Ravel, Tenebrae would have to worry about. Right now, the man just looked incredulous, and that would likely continue on for a while. That was a good thing. If it didn't, if the incredulity did morph into the anger that would inevitably come, Pleasant wouldn't be here. Tenebrae would. And he didn't particularly feel like taking on someone who even during the war had a reputation for being powerful.
"I didn't bring him back," Tenebrae murmured. "I merely allowed for the possibility. His day-to-day Hell is really his own doing."
"Don't you dare."
Tenebrae raised an eyebrow at Ravel. That was the anger. It had come much too soon. The Elemental had taken all of about a minute to work through what must have been a life-shattering revelation, and now he was defending the man. "Don't I dare what?"
Ravel's eyes blazed as he took a step forward. "You brought him back. You made Vile possible. You turned him into the ultimate killing machine. Don't you dare act like this is all his fault. Don't you dare undermine everything he's been trying to do since then."
The words were edged with solid steel. This went beyond mere defence. This didn't make any sense, unless... unless Ravel had already known.
Which meant Valkyrie also did, somehow. Which meant they'd already had time to work through it. Which meant they'd be looking for someone, anyone, other than Pleasant to blame for what happened with Lord Vile, as per the mysterious rules of friendship.
Tenebrae was teetering on the edge of a precipice, and he could feel it. Gabe was absolutely right earlier. The High Priest was going to need to tread carefully if he was going to come out of this in one piece, all assets and reputation intact. The best way to do that was with the truth. Yes, Pleasant would find out, but better now indirectly from Tenebrae than years down the line with his anger simmering all the while. It was a risk Tenebrae was willing to take in the interests of immediate safety.
"I taught Serpine the ability of agonising death," he explained calmly. "It's a Necromancer trick, you know. Where do you think he learned it? When I did, I managed to make sure it would bind Skulduggery's soul to his body should it ever be used on him. But that is all I did."
"He's a skeleton."
"I noticed that, yes. I had no idea they'd reduce him to mere bones so quickly. Had I known that, I'd have been more careful."
"More careful?" Ravel's eyes were really burning. Tenebrae felt himself stiffen. "We searched for the cause of his resurrection for years. For centuries. And the whole time, it was just you?"
Tenebrae's pride rang. "Just me? It wasn't exactly easy to trick Serpine. Anything could have gone wrong at any moment."
"You don't call Vile 'going wrong?'"
"Vile was unfortunate. And no one was more surprised by it than me."
Ravel took another slow step forward. "If Vile wasn't the intention, why did you stop Skulduggery from dying?"
"I - "
"You wanted a tool. Necromancy wielded by a dead person. Thousands of times more powerful, right?"
"It wasn't - "
"And when he became Vile instead, did you do anything to try and stop it?"
"If I could get a word in edgeways," Tenebrae muttered, feeling his own anger slowly getting the better of him without really caring.
"Why didn't you try to stop Vile?"
Another precipice, but this time Tenebrae threw himself over it without question. "I did. But there's very little you can do when you can't say how you know someone isn't who they say they are. Lord Vile was the most powerful Necromancer our Order had ever seen. We didn't simply let him go."
"Why did he leave?" Ravel demanded.
"I suppose it's because he wasn't really interested in saving the world."
"Gee," Ravel snapped, every word spitting with acid, "I wonder why. Proud of yourselves, are you?"
"For creating Vile? No. For creating a Necromancer who, apparently, is still easily within grasp of it?" Tenebrae shrugged noncommittally. "I'd be lying if I said I regretted that."
Tenebrae barely had a moment to realise what a bad idea that admittance was when Ravel lunged across the desk towards him.
no subject
The stillness was gone. He wasn't quite sure what it had been replaced with, but whatever it was, it grew the longer Gabe kept speaking. Tenebrae could feel one of his hands start to shake; he folded it into his lap to hide that fact and didn't let the expression on his face change.
But he didn't try to deny any of it either.
Wondering how on earth this man knew any of what even Serpine never guessed was about the least useful thing Tenebrae could do, so he focussed instead on what to do now that the secret was apparently out. Most importantly, damage control. Judging by Valkyrie's reaction, she hadn't known any of this. That wouldn't normally have been Tenebrae's problem - in fact, he normally would have found that amusing - but there was every chance she would run back and tell the skeleton detective everything that happened here.
If Pleasant didn't have a reason to come back to the Temple, he wouldn't. But right now, as Gabe pointed out, the skeleton very much did.
Ravel, on the other hand... Ravel was right here. Ravel, Tenebrae would have to worry about. Right now, the man just looked incredulous, and that would likely continue on for a while. That was a good thing. If it didn't, if the incredulity did morph into the anger that would inevitably come, Pleasant wouldn't be here. Tenebrae would. And he didn't particularly feel like taking on someone who even during the war had a reputation for being powerful.
"I didn't bring him back," Tenebrae murmured. "I merely allowed for the possibility. His day-to-day Hell is really his own doing."
"Don't you dare."
Tenebrae raised an eyebrow at Ravel. That was the anger. It had come much too soon. The Elemental had taken all of about a minute to work through what must have been a life-shattering revelation, and now he was defending the man. "Don't I dare what?"
Ravel's eyes blazed as he took a step forward. "You brought him back. You made Vile possible. You turned him into the ultimate killing machine. Don't you dare act like this is all his fault. Don't you dare undermine everything he's been trying to do since then."
The words were edged with solid steel. This went beyond mere defence. This didn't make any sense, unless... unless Ravel had already known.
Which meant Valkyrie also did, somehow. Which meant they'd already had time to work through it. Which meant they'd be looking for someone, anyone, other than Pleasant to blame for what happened with Lord Vile, as per the mysterious rules of friendship.
Tenebrae was teetering on the edge of a precipice, and he could feel it. Gabe was absolutely right earlier. The High Priest was going to need to tread carefully if he was going to come out of this in one piece, all assets and reputation intact. The best way to do that was with the truth. Yes, Pleasant would find out, but better now indirectly from Tenebrae than years down the line with his anger simmering all the while. It was a risk Tenebrae was willing to take in the interests of immediate safety.
"I taught Serpine the ability of agonising death," he explained calmly. "It's a Necromancer trick, you know. Where do you think he learned it? When I did, I managed to make sure it would bind Skulduggery's soul to his body should it ever be used on him. But that is all I did."
"He's a skeleton."
"I noticed that, yes. I had no idea they'd reduce him to mere bones so quickly. Had I known that, I'd have been more careful."
"More careful?" Ravel's eyes were really burning. Tenebrae felt himself stiffen. "We searched for the cause of his resurrection for years. For centuries. And the whole time, it was just you?"
Tenebrae's pride rang. "Just me? It wasn't exactly easy to trick Serpine. Anything could have gone wrong at any moment."
"You don't call Vile 'going wrong?'"
"Vile was unfortunate. And no one was more surprised by it than me."
Ravel took another slow step forward. "If Vile wasn't the intention, why did you stop Skulduggery from dying?"
"I - "
"You wanted a tool. Necromancy wielded by a dead person. Thousands of times more powerful, right?"
"It wasn't - "
"And when he became Vile instead, did you do anything to try and stop it?"
"If I could get a word in edgeways," Tenebrae muttered, feeling his own anger slowly getting the better of him without really caring.
"Why didn't you try to stop Vile?"
Another precipice, but this time Tenebrae threw himself over it without question. "I did. But there's very little you can do when you can't say how you know someone isn't who they say they are. Lord Vile was the most powerful Necromancer our Order had ever seen. We didn't simply let him go."
"Why did he leave?" Ravel demanded.
"I suppose it's because he wasn't really interested in saving the world."
"Gee," Ravel snapped, every word spitting with acid, "I wonder why. Proud of yourselves, are you?"
"For creating Vile? No. For creating a Necromancer who, apparently, is still easily within grasp of it?" Tenebrae shrugged noncommittally. "I'd be lying if I said I regretted that."
Tenebrae barely had a moment to realise what a bad idea that admittance was when Ravel lunged across the desk towards him.