Erskine stared for a moment in dumbfounded awe at the words magically appearing on the spare pages, then laughed and shook his head. "He must have had such fun watching me struggle. We'll see who's laughing when I'm through with him."

"They're not usually like this," Valkyrie tried to reassure her parents. "Well, they are, sort of. But they get things done too. Sorcerers don't elect people who don't get things done."

"I'll be able to get a lot more done, now." Erskine gathered the rest of the papers together and put them aside. "I may even manage to get some sleep tonight. Now, since Skulduggery's not allowed to say anything, Mrs. Edgley." Erskine grinned. "Did you really kick him in the groin, and if so, what happened? Valkyrie," he added, since the question had made the teenage girl burst into laughter, and made Skulduggery adopt an expression remarkably close to pouting. "How did he react?"