It was hard to focus, really focus, on words and take them in. Oh, Solomon heard them, but the nuances of sound and intonation were a bit past him right now. The worst part was that some part of him knew they were, but he couldn't do anything about it.
"Sixteen-thirty-four," he mumbled. He'd been fifteen. He'd spent a year at the Temple by then, when some toady sent him out to buy foodstuffs. It had been the first time he'd set foot outside the Temple at all in that year.
He hadn't expected to be recognised.
Or to have to run from anyone.
Or use magic on them.
Or get rescued.
Especially not by a mortal-born young sorcerer with an impish twinkle in his eye.
The dead silence let him know someone had said something wrong, but for those few crucial moments, Solomon had missed what they were. Then Tanith Low was leaving, and part of Solomon couldn't help but feel relieved. Even in his condition, she was tense like a wire and he could guess why.
The sorcerer breathed slowly, deeply, and blinked up at Valkyrie as she came near. What was that smile, he wondered. A fake smile. Covering up something awkward. Like Skulduggery Pleasant's presence in his hospital room. His gaze flickered past her, to where Skulduggery stood by the door, quiet and unassuming. Skulduggery. Unassuming.
Why was she even there? It was almost amusing. Finally a way to tear her from Skulduggery's side as his student and Solomon was no longer a Necromancer. But she shouldn't have been there. If that was how she reacted to Lord Vile, why was she still willing to help and visit someone who'd been plotting to use her to kill three billion people? It didn't make sense.
Solomon's eyes were threatening to slide shut again when Valkyrie's words sank in. Like a lightning bolt a jolt of adrenaline swept through him, so intense that it made his eyes snap open properly, made him gasp and his whole body clench. The throb in his knee burst into agony, and for a few moments all Solomon could do was grip the bedspread and bite his lip, panting as he waited for it to subside.
The pain cleared some of the fog in his mind.
Kian.
Teddy-bear.
The cowboy fisherman.
The one that had glowed when he first looked at him.
All the blood drained out of his face and for a few moments he stared at Valkyrie with something approaching genuine terror. "The cowboy?" he whispered, and realised distantly that he was trembling. "The cowboy fisherman?"
No one living knew his given name. No one. Except Skulduggery, and he wasn't even alive.
There was a beeping sound nearby, loud and rushing, like a speeding train. It took Solomon a few seconds to realise it represented his own heartbeat.
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"Sixteen-thirty-four," he mumbled. He'd been fifteen. He'd spent a year at the Temple by then, when some toady sent him out to buy foodstuffs. It had been the first time he'd set foot outside the Temple at all in that year.
He hadn't expected to be recognised.
Or to have to run from anyone.
Or use magic on them.
Or get rescued.
Especially not by a mortal-born young sorcerer with an impish twinkle in his eye.
The dead silence let him know someone had said something wrong, but for those few crucial moments, Solomon had missed what they were. Then Tanith Low was leaving, and part of Solomon couldn't help but feel relieved. Even in his condition, she was tense like a wire and he could guess why.
The sorcerer breathed slowly, deeply, and blinked up at Valkyrie as she came near. What was that smile, he wondered. A fake smile. Covering up something awkward. Like Skulduggery Pleasant's presence in his hospital room. His gaze flickered past her, to where Skulduggery stood by the door, quiet and unassuming. Skulduggery. Unassuming.
Why was she even there? It was almost amusing. Finally a way to tear her from Skulduggery's side as his student and Solomon was no longer a Necromancer. But she shouldn't have been there. If that was how she reacted to Lord Vile, why was she still willing to help and visit someone who'd been plotting to use her to kill three billion people? It didn't make sense.
Solomon's eyes were threatening to slide shut again when Valkyrie's words sank in. Like a lightning bolt a jolt of adrenaline swept through him, so intense that it made his eyes snap open properly, made him gasp and his whole body clench. The throb in his knee burst into agony, and for a few moments all Solomon could do was grip the bedspread and bite his lip, panting as he waited for it to subside.
The pain cleared some of the fog in his mind.
Kian.
Teddy-bear.
The cowboy fisherman.
The one that had glowed when he first looked at him.
All the blood drained out of his face and for a few moments he stared at Valkyrie with something approaching genuine terror. "The cowboy?" he whispered, and realised distantly that he was trembling. "The cowboy fisherman?"
No one living knew his given name. No one. Except Skulduggery, and he wasn't even alive.
There was a beeping sound nearby, loud and rushing, like a speeding train. It took Solomon a few seconds to realise it represented his own heartbeat.