Tenebrae looked at Skulduggery. “From that moment, I knew you were special. I knew I would need to keep an eye on you. A few years later, we Necromancers retreated to our Temples and fortified our positions. We decided to let the rest of the world fight among themselves. But not everyone respected our neutrality. Nefarian Serpine, in particular, seemed disinclined to leave us alone. He surrounded the Temple I was in, threatened us with utter destruction unless we shared some of our secrets. The High Priest chose me to be the one to venture out and teach Serpine what he wanted to know.”
“The red right hand,” Valkyrie said.
Tenebrae gave the slightest of nods. “Agonising death inflicted by merely pointing at your victim, providing he was within range. Serpine had heard about it and he wanted it. I taught him. During our lessons, we talked. He made clear his hatred of you, Skulduggery. He said you were the reason he was doing this. To be frank, I couldn’t allow that. You had such potential. I couldn’t allow this religious fanatic to kill you, so I altered what I was teaching. I added a little something. If ever this Necromancer power was used against you specifically, it wouldn’t be the end. Your soul, your being, would be for ever tied to your body. If I had known he was going to burn your corpse and reduce you to a mere skeleton, I probably would have taken that into consideration.”
Skulduggery’s voice was empty. “You brought me back?”
“No. I merely allowed for the opportunity. You brought yourself back, Skulduggery. Through sheer force of will, your soul regained its consciousness. From there, your body acted as if it were whole again, allowing you to talk, to move, to feel pain.”
“You. You did this. I’m alive today because of you.”
“Yes. Doesn’t that make you smile? Knowing you owe me everything?”