Valkyrie had just hung up with Tanith when Gabe's voice sounded so clearly in her head that for a moment she glanced around wildly, expecting him to be in the car somewhere.

But of course he wasn't. He was just in her head.

Just in her head.

Valkyrie's life had taken a very strange turn lately. And considering just how strange her life had gotten three years ago, that was saying something.

Her heart skipped a beat when she heard about Kenspeckle, but she couldn't let herself think about that. Not right now. Kenspeckle would be okay, because Skulduggery was on the case. Kenspeckle would be okay because an Archangel was on the case. The only person Solomon could rely on was Valkyrie - at least until they got to the hospital, where Tanith would be waiting for them.

Still, Valkyrie felt a surge of irritation as she shoved the phone back into her pocket. Why would Scarab and Sanguine kidnap an old man? What could that possibly gain them?

She'd kept as vague as she possibly could on the phone, but because of Tanith's dislike of Solomon, she'd had to mention something. So she'd settled on something at least slightly mundane - the least eyebrow-raising part - and told Tanith that the Temple would now be trying to kill Solomon because he gave his 'weapon' up. And Valkyrie didn't miss the cabbie's hands growing taut on the steering wheel as they drove.

When he took a breath to speak, however, it wasn't to ask about that, true to his promise. "Gabe?"

Valkyrie froze. Did she say Gabe's name? Yes, she did. She told Tanith she believed it was Gabe who drove Solomon into giving up Necromancy. And since she didn't actually say the word 'Necromancy,' she couldn't understand why that was what the cabbie was asking about. "Friend of ours."

"Oh." The cabbie hesitated. "Is he friends with someone called Skull Pleasant?"

Valkyrie had to fight the urge to snap her fingers behind her back as terror worked its way through her. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I just gave them a ride earlier today." He gave a laugh that sounded very forced. "Small world, huh?"

Valkyrie blinked. Skulduggery and Gabe took a cab? She thought they had Fletcher with them. Maybe they didn't, but still, what were the odds of taking the exact same cab as the two of them had?

It was a hell of a coincidence to add to the list of strange things that had happened in the last couple of days. Valkyrie couldn't help but wonder if Skulduggery would have solved a mystery with just that little tidbit of information, made connections Valkyrie wouldn't even begin to think of. Even with a friend bleeding out next to him.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Small world."

Next to her, Solomon's eyes had closed. Valkyrie put a hand on his shoulder and gently shook him. "Solomon, don't. Come on. We're almost there. You can't let them win. Stay awake." She looked desperately back at the cabbie. "I think he's slipping. What else do I do?"

"He's in shock. But I don't have a blanket or anything, so as long as he's warm and lying down and his leg is elevated with pressure on it, there's nothing else we can do. Just... keep him talking. We're almost there."

What was Valkyrie supposed to say? She'd known Solomon for a year, and most of that was centered around her Necromancy lessons. She couldn't think of anything to center him with, not with the cabbie sitting right there.

No. No, she was supposed to keep him talking. She could ask questions. She could ask questions that wouldn't lead to anything involving sorcery or magic or awkward questions from the cabbie. Yep. She could also carry this cab all the way to the hospital.

So Valkyrie was reduced to simply begging. "Come on, Solomon. Just a few more minutes."