"Frankly, I'd rather he be there," Corrival muttered. "He's a priest. He knows more about souls and things than any of us. Even the Prophet's new to this whole thing."
"Your faith in my ability to adapt is overwhelming," Solomon said as Raphael led him back into the room, trotting faithfully by the Elder's side like he'd been there all his life.
"Since when has 'new' been a synonym for 'unadaptable'?" Corrival countered.
"My mistake. Here I was assuming the Dead Men learned their art of the veiled insult from you."
Rover laughed. "Corrival's too honest for that."
"Well, we still have a little while before Merlin is ready," Descry murmured, stretching his arms over his head. He let one fall with a thud against the floor and lowered the other to rest back on Saracen's head. "That's more than enough time for you to introduce us all to Paddy."
It took Solomon a moment, and the shifting turn of the mirrored lanterns reflecting his face one by one, to realise the mind-reader was talking to him. He looked away. Descry Hopeless's soul was like looking into a line of mirrors reflecting each other over and over--not overwhelming like the fracturedness of the reflections, but still an irritant with his wards down as they were. If Solomon looked, he wondered if he could see his own thought in the man's soul.
He didn't look. He didn't look, but the lanterns spun out with curiosity.
"Probably," he agreed. "I imagine I should renew my wards before you perform the spell, too.'
'Probably,' Rafe said, lifting his head and tilting it from where he sat, cross-legged, at his side, the corona of the dog-shape around him. 'This is going to be a powerful spell. I can give you a hand doing it. You'll need all the energy you can get.'
"Encouraging." Solomon looked up at the ceiling to avoid the flickering images in Hopeless's lanterns. "I thought you were meant to be a mind-reader."
The lanterns' light splashed lazily across the room. "I may be dead, but there's only so far I can control my own soul."
"Try harder."
After a moment, the lanterns withdrew somewhat. The curiosity was dimmed, but not completely banked. It was enough.
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"Your faith in my ability to adapt is overwhelming," Solomon said as Raphael led him back into the room, trotting faithfully by the Elder's side like he'd been there all his life.
"Since when has 'new' been a synonym for 'unadaptable'?" Corrival countered.
"My mistake. Here I was assuming the Dead Men learned their art of the veiled insult from you."
Rover laughed. "Corrival's too honest for that."
"Well, we still have a little while before Merlin is ready," Descry murmured, stretching his arms over his head. He let one fall with a thud against the floor and lowered the other to rest back on Saracen's head. "That's more than enough time for you to introduce us all to Paddy."
It took Solomon a moment, and the shifting turn of the mirrored lanterns reflecting his face one by one, to realise the mind-reader was talking to him. He looked away. Descry Hopeless's soul was like looking into a line of mirrors reflecting each other over and over--not overwhelming like the fracturedness of the reflections, but still an irritant with his wards down as they were. If Solomon looked, he wondered if he could see his own thought in the man's soul.
He didn't look. He didn't look, but the lanterns spun out with curiosity.
"Probably," he agreed. "I imagine I should renew my wards before you perform the spell, too.'
'Probably,' Rafe said, lifting his head and tilting it from where he sat, cross-legged, at his side, the corona of the dog-shape around him. 'This is going to be a powerful spell. I can give you a hand doing it. You'll need all the energy you can get.'
"Encouraging." Solomon looked up at the ceiling to avoid the flickering images in Hopeless's lanterns. "I thought you were meant to be a mind-reader."
The lanterns' light splashed lazily across the room. "I may be dead, but there's only so far I can control my own soul."
"Try harder."
After a moment, the lanterns withdrew somewhat. The curiosity was dimmed, but not completely banked. It was enough.