Solar Throws Nick's Head

The fight had barely made sense before Solar made it cruel.

The false guards were still being pushed back when something flew over Maine and Jonah and landed between the party. For one frozen moment, the shape on the floor was unmistakable.

Nick Kremp's head.

Then Solar stepped into view with metal replacements at his feet and ankles, clomping through the hall like someone rebuilt in a hurry and proud of the noise. He was not as fast as he had been before. He said so himself. But he was back, and the point of his return was not only to fight.

It was to make the party believe Nick was dead again.

Solar had survived the earlier defeat and the Daz-arm incident, patched together through crude surgery and spite. Whatever speed he had lost, he had replaced with theatrical brutality. He taunted them, pushed the panic as far as it would go, and used the thrown head to force the party into motion.

Dhaz checked the head closely enough to break the trick.

It looked like Nick at first. Then it looked wrong. Under inspection, it was not Nick's head at all, but shapeshifter skin made into a nightmare prop. Solar may have believed the lie himself. He may have known exactly what he was doing. Either way, the scare had worked for the seconds that mattered.

The room became a hallway chase.

Solar had turned the infiltration into a personal pursuit.