"Triplicating spell?" Erskine's voice wasn't incredulous so much as it was almost resigned. Almost, but not quite. There was an edge to his tone, the same edge that was in his eyes as he looked at his fellow Elder. "There's a triplicating spell? You've listened to me complaining for the last hour, and it slipped your mind?"
Like Corrival, Skulduggery decided to leave the pair to it. Unlike Corrival, Skulduggery shifted his attention because he knew that he was going to have to explain himself again, and very soon.
"Fifteen." Valkyrie shifted, uncomfortable under the scrutiny. "Almost sixteen. Meritorious didn't - "
She cut herself off, possibly knowing her intended defence wasn't the sort of thing that would satiate her parents at the moment. She was wrong, besides. Meritorious had minded. He'd just figured it wasn't his place to tell her what to do, any more than Skulduggery considered it his.
Before Valkyrie could say another word, Skulduggery decided he might as well head things off, and stepped forward. "Before you decide to fire me, I realise mistakes were made." Melissa's act of violence, if nothing else, had at least convinced him of that. "I'm perfectly willing to scale Valkyrie's involvement back - or to let her go completely, if I don't have her parents' permission to continue. This is, of course, with the full understanding that her parents would then be the ones responsible for her constant sulking, and not me."
As if to demonstrate his point, Valkyrie was already sulking. And glaring, pointedly, at Skulduggery. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she was trying to avoid looking at Corrival. "I don't get any say in this?"
"No." Desmond was the one who answered her, gently but firmly. "You've had your say. We all know what your say is. You didn't let us have our say, and it's high time that changed, and high time you know what it feels like not to have any input on major decisions."
"This is my life we're talking about!"
"This is our daughter we're talking about, our daughter whose life could have ended any time these last few years and we would never have known. I'm sorry, Stephanie, but you forfeit your right to have a say in this when you decided not to tell us what was going on."
no subject
Like Corrival, Skulduggery decided to leave the pair to it. Unlike Corrival, Skulduggery shifted his attention because he knew that he was going to have to explain himself again, and very soon.
"Fifteen." Valkyrie shifted, uncomfortable under the scrutiny. "Almost sixteen. Meritorious didn't - "
She cut herself off, possibly knowing her intended defence wasn't the sort of thing that would satiate her parents at the moment. She was wrong, besides. Meritorious had minded. He'd just figured it wasn't his place to tell her what to do, any more than Skulduggery considered it his.
Before Valkyrie could say another word, Skulduggery decided he might as well head things off, and stepped forward. "Before you decide to fire me, I realise mistakes were made." Melissa's act of violence, if nothing else, had at least convinced him of that. "I'm perfectly willing to scale Valkyrie's involvement back - or to let her go completely, if I don't have her parents' permission to continue. This is, of course, with the full understanding that her parents would then be the ones responsible for her constant sulking, and not me."
As if to demonstrate his point, Valkyrie was already sulking. And glaring, pointedly, at Skulduggery. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she was trying to avoid looking at Corrival. "I don't get any say in this?"
"No." Desmond was the one who answered her, gently but firmly. "You've had your say. We all know what your say is. You didn't let us have our say, and it's high time that changed, and high time you know what it feels like not to have any input on major decisions."
"This is my life we're talking about!"
"This is our daughter we're talking about, our daughter whose life could have ended any time these last few years and we would never have known. I'm sorry, Stephanie, but you forfeit your right to have a say in this when you decided not to tell us what was going on."