"No," Solomon said with a light smile, the sort that hid not exactly pain but something that was far deeper than the smile suggested. "I think it's probably because of his father, but he'd tell you that he just thinks it's hypocritical. Of course, he tends to think that of most faiths."

He laughed quietly, and a little bit sardonically. "You know, I don't remember? It was a challenge we gave each other when I was a teenager--to figure out each other's birthday. I never told him I won. It wasn't often I managed to one-up him on something, so I wanted to savour it." He smiled then, mischievously. "It's good ammunition, these days."