"Oh, yeah." This time, Valkyrie kept her voice down as she spoke to Solomon, so only he would hear. "Everyone in Dublin woke up yesterday morning to find every single tall building painted completely red. And the sorcerers are just as confused as everyone else." She couldn't quite help a grin spreading over her face, despite still sorely wishing she was invited along on the excursion. "And it was all done in one night. It's very mysterious. Skulduggery's doing his best to make sure the perpetrators are brought to justice, of course."
By which Valkyrie meant that Skulduggery was making sure no one else ever found out. How he'd ever manage that, she didn't know. Sorcerers tended not to be overtly curious, but... somehow, she didn't think the sorcerers in this room were going to let go of the red town prank too soon. It was rare the magical communities didn't understand how something worked, after all, and in Valkyrie's admittedly limited experience, people got used to always knowing the answers.
Skulduggery pointed out, when she brought those concerns to him, that it also meant certain sorcerers would be more likely to make something up, just to save face. A lie would get passed around as truth, doing Skulduggery's job for him. Valkyrie reluctantly had to agree there wasn't much point in worrying, either way.
"Because you asked so nicely, Deuce," came Tenebrae's sardonic voice from where he still stood apart, "I am willing to put my own name forward for the role of Grand Mage, even though it will add greatly to my responsibilities and workload."
That triggered a room-wide reaction. Rolled eyes and cruel whispers abounded, and that was just what Valkyrie could pick out. Only a few weeks ago, she would have thought that was unfair; Necromancers had a reputation, yes, but it shouldn't bar them from taking on roles they could perform perfectly well. Now, she was pretty sure she was glaring with the best of them.
Tenebrae could not be Grand Mage. That would be taking Ireland in the exact wrong direction. Was he even qualified? With what they had planned for the Passage, and what he did to Solomon, and how little time he spent outside the Temple? Valkyrie glanced uncertainly at the others.
Erskine recovered from his shock smoothly enough to close his eyes and shake his head. "Still want to turn down your nomination, Corrival?" he asked, for once completely humourlessly.
"I will quit," Skulduggery added with a brief nod. "Become completely freelance. It's not as if I need the money."
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By which Valkyrie meant that Skulduggery was making sure no one else ever found out. How he'd ever manage that, she didn't know. Sorcerers tended not to be overtly curious, but... somehow, she didn't think the sorcerers in this room were going to let go of the red town prank too soon. It was rare the magical communities didn't understand how something worked, after all, and in Valkyrie's admittedly limited experience, people got used to always knowing the answers.
Skulduggery pointed out, when she brought those concerns to him, that it also meant certain sorcerers would be more likely to make something up, just to save face. A lie would get passed around as truth, doing Skulduggery's job for him. Valkyrie reluctantly had to agree there wasn't much point in worrying, either way.
"Because you asked so nicely, Deuce," came Tenebrae's sardonic voice from where he still stood apart, "I am willing to put my own name forward for the role of Grand Mage, even though it will add greatly to my responsibilities and workload."
That triggered a room-wide reaction. Rolled eyes and cruel whispers abounded, and that was just what Valkyrie could pick out. Only a few weeks ago, she would have thought that was unfair; Necromancers had a reputation, yes, but it shouldn't bar them from taking on roles they could perform perfectly well. Now, she was pretty sure she was glaring with the best of them.
Tenebrae could not be Grand Mage. That would be taking Ireland in the exact wrong direction. Was he even qualified? With what they had planned for the Passage, and what he did to Solomon, and how little time he spent outside the Temple? Valkyrie glanced uncertainly at the others.
Erskine recovered from his shock smoothly enough to close his eyes and shake his head. "Still want to turn down your nomination, Corrival?" he asked, for once completely humourlessly.
"I will quit," Skulduggery added with a brief nod. "Become completely freelance. It's not as if I need the money."