Lacy reached out for Luke’s hand again, as he deflated in on himself. “I hope so,” he said quietly. “I really do.”
The Healers came a short time later. There were several of them, which Orlando told them was unusual. One, Willow, was in charge, and it was she that went to Solomon first.
“Hello, Willow,” he said. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“And you, Solomon,” the woman replied, the whole exchange sounding slightly formal to Lacy. Then, Solomon burst into his characteristic smile once more, and hugged the woman tightly.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, releasing her. “I wanted the best to look at my friend, Luke, and I was hoping it would be you.”
“I should by taking care of this,” Willow said, lightly tracing the wound in Solomon’s face.
“Ahh, one of the others can handle this. Luke, though…well, how much do you know?”
“Not enough,” a deep voice said, and Lacy turned to see Jediah enter the room. “We haven’t told much of anyone what’s been going on. But it’s time now. Willow, gather the others and sit. We have things to tell you before you begin.”
CHAPTER 38
Luke listened to the others tell their stories with growing unease. He heard Shireen and Orlando talk about their trip to the north of here, and felt disquieted as they described the fear they had felt at night. When they talked of the Rustling Elms compound, and what they had found there, his heart froze in his chest and he labored to continue breathing. It was as if he too were dragged away, into the darkness with this Thaddeus fellow, whoever he was.
“Thaddeus has returned,” Willow, the supposed healer said. “He is at Whispering Pines, recovering from his wounds. They were severe, although I suspect more than I had thought, now that I know what caused them.”
“What?” Shireen cried, rising to her feet. “He’s alive? Thank all the gods!”
“See him in a bit, Shireen,” Jediah said quietly. “Right now, we have our own to tend to.”
“Of course,” she replied. She sat back in her chair, but Luke noticed how her hand sought out Orlando’s and squeezed tightly. Neither did he miss the grateful look that passed between the two of them at the news of this Thaddeus’s safe return.
He wondered if Lacy had had that same expression when Solomon had carried him, over his shoulder no less, out of the woods and dumped him at her feet. If so, he imagined it was for the tall, handsome warrior. The rescuer was usually the one getting the accolades, not the rescued. But he was being silly. Lacy loved him, that was evident. It was simply the almost overwhelming magnetism of Solomon that was picking at him, nothing more.
Then, Solomon told of his short time on their earth, a concept that still felt so strange to Luke. He was really in another world, a place that didn’t exist for anyone else that he knew, other than Lacy. And yet, it really didn’t seem all that strange to him. He was sitting at his ease inside of a giant tree, listening to people wearing swords and armor talk, and it felt as natural as anything in his life ever had.
Lacy tugged his hand and he came back to the conversation, only to realize that they were all looking at him.
“I’m sorry, what?” he said, feeling his face flush.
“Tell us your story,” Jediah said. “How is it that you came to be in service to a Soul Gaunt?”
“I wasn’t in service to it!” He felt his temper flare up again. “It wasn’t like I had a choice.”
He told them then of what had happened, of leaving home, finding solace in the quiet of the woods. Surely these people, if anyone, would understand that. How he had wandered further than he thought, night had fallen, and it had come for him.
His voice broke at that point, and he stared at the floor, not really seeing it, but reliving the darkness, the cold, and the fear.
“I couldn’t get away,” he whispered. Then he was suddenly aware of how pathetic he must sound. “Well, could any of you?” He raised his eyes and stared at them, one by one, challenging them to tell him that they could have, so that he could tell them they lied, and that they wouldn’t know. “You would have, of course,” he said, when he came to Solomon. “But any of the rest of you. No one of you could have.”
“No one is blaming you.” This from Solomon. He was the last person that Luke wanted to hear from at the moment. It’s easy to be magnanimous when you’re so on top of things. “We're trying to understand why it took you as it did. Why, and I’m sorry to even say this, it didn’t simply kill you.”
“I don’t know. Don’t you get it? It’s not like we had conversations. The thing hurt me, and used me to lure Lacy and Ed into its reach. That’s all. I don’t know why.” His eyes burned with unshed tears of shame and frustration. Lacy reached for him, but he stood and drew away, not wanting her, or anyone to touch him.
“Enough,” a quiet voice said. The tall woman, the so-called healer, stood and approached him. “There will be time for questions later. For now, you need sleep, and healing, and forgetfulness.”
She put her hands to his temples, and he looked up into soft brown eyes. His anger started to ebb away and the room to fade into soft shadows. Not blackness, like when the Soul Gaunt had him, but a gently, light gray fog. He sat back down, Willow following him, keeping her hands placed gently on each side of his head. He wondered what Lacy thought of him now, but that thought too flowed out of his mind, and for a little while, he knew nothing more.
When he came to, he was lying in a large bed, his head pillowed by soft cushions. He watched the sunlight play on the wall of the room, the curtain blowing in the breeze causing the shadows to jump. He sighed, remembering his outburst and the shameful thoughts that had started to consume him.
Strangely, he no longer felt the shame. Not even at that outburst. It had happened, and quite frankly, he had had reason for it. But now, he was here, and he was safe, and so was Lacy.
Speaking of…he looked around, but his wife was nowhere to be found. No one else was in the room either, and for that he was grateful. He would lie still for another minute or two, and then get up and go find her and the others. Perhaps, with their help, he would remember more, and be able to help find a way to stop those terrible things from doing more damage.
That would be nice.
He was still thinking that when he slipped away into sleep again.
This time when he awoke, it was dark. But someone had left a couple of candles burning in the room. While they weren’t bright enough to wake him, or to do something like read by, they were enough to allow him to see the room, into all the corners, and be assured that nothing else was there.
There was movement, and he realized that Lacy was lying in the bed next to him. He didn’t know when she had joined him, but he was glad that they had let her. He rolled onto his side and put his arm over her.
He wasn’t particularly tired anymore. Maybe that was the effect of being active at night for the last several weeks now. But lying here, holding Lacy and feeling her breathe, felt nice, and he was in no hurry to rise.
He must have made a noise, or else she felt his embrace, because Lacy turned to him, staying under his arm as she did.
“Hey. Feeling better?” she asked.
“Yeah. Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize. You’ve been through hell. We all know that.”
“Thanks. Is everyone asleep? I guess I’m ready to talk about it again. Or at least try?”
“No, they’re around. But there’s no huge hurry. Nothing will be decided right now. We can stay here for a few.”
He suddenly remembered that he wasn’t the only one who was wounded. “How’s your arm?”
“A little better, I think. The Healer said it would still be awhile, but they think they got a lot of the damage undone.”
“Good. And Solomon?”
“He was insisting that Willow, the one who helped you, stay with you. But she overruled him. I think she’s the only person ever to do that. She said that you were fine for no
w, and that she had plenty of time to see to him. She took him off into another room, and we haven’t seen them since.”
I bet, Luke thought to himself, but shoved the thought down inside as being unworthy of both Solomon and the Healer. He was feeling better, but apparently, Willow hadn’t done enough to his mind to keep such petty thoughts at bay. But there were still some things he could do for himself. And the sleep that she had helped him get gave him a good platform to start from.
He smiled at Lacy, almost feeling it for real, and pulled her closer to him.
A short time later, they returned to the room where they had told the Healers of what had happened to each of them. Orlando and Shireen were still there, sitting apart and talking quietly with one another, a clear, yellow drink set on the table before each. Orlando glanced up and declined his head in acknowledgment of their presence. Shireen simply looked up, and then turned her attention back to Orlando.
Sure, we’re beneath her notice, Luke thought. The mighty warrior, who couldn’t even look at the dead Soul Gaunt until she was shamed into it. I wonder how she would have fared, being held by the thing for so long.
Again, he pushed the thoughts down as fast as they rose in his mind. What was wrong with him? When the Soul Gaunt had him, all he could think about was how grateful he would be to get away from it, how much he missed Lacy, and how badly he wanted to make amends. Now, he was here, in another world, and every other thought was some snarky comment about someone who had done him no wrong.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true though, was it? While Shireen had done him no physical harm, she certainly hadn’t been friendly either, not even when it was revealed that her precious Solomon would be a smoking ruin without his help. That was fine. He didn’t need her approval, or anyone else’s, except maybe Lacy’s. But the fact that Shireen treated Lacy that way as well…that was what was really intolerable.
Not that he could do anything about it.
The door on the far side of the room opened, and Willow entered, followed by Solomon. The change in the man was drastic. While his eye was still gone, the gash in his face had been healed, the wound closed, leaving only a white scar that ran from his right temple, down across the bridge of his nose, and into the left corner of his mouth. It left him with a slight upturn to his lips there, but on Solomon, it only served to add more character to his face.
He also moved more easily now, showing no sign of pain in his shoulder, or in his arms which were now crisscrossed with white scar lines.
Luke could feel a darkness in his mind, like a cloud waiting to obscure the sun. It was there, pushing at him, fueling the derision he was feeling for everyone around him. If the healer could help Solomon, why couldn’t she help him?
Maybe she doesn’t want to, he thought. Then, maybe I should ask her.
But he didn’t really want to. He didn’t want her touching him again. He put a smile on his face that he didn’t feel, and called out to Solomon. “Look at you! A couple of hours with a Healer and you’re almost like new.”
Solomon smiled at him. “Willow can work miracles. How are you feeling?”
“Better. Much better. You’re right about the miracle working. I’m ready to finish up telling you all what happened with me, if you are.”
“Are you sure?” Lacy asked him, her face a mask of concern.
“Yeah, I’m positive. Don’t worry. Like I said, she worked a miracle for me too.”
They were returning to their seats when the door opened and an obvious servant entered. For such an “enlightened” place, there sure were a lot of second-class citizens around, Luke thought.
The man spoke to Jediah, listened to his murmured reply, and left.
“A moment before you begin,” the Head of House said. “We have two others joining us.”
Two tall men, dressed in shades of green entered, and Shireen and Orlando jumped to their feet. “Thaddeus!” Shireen said, and rushed forward.
She embraced the man, while Orlando clasped his hand warmly.
Luke watched as Thaddeus’s eyes scanned the room over Shireen’s shoulder, finally coming to rest on his own. It was like an electric wire had been planted in his brain. He jerked back, tearing his gaze free.
“Luke?” Lacy said, “are you okay?”
“Yeah. No, I’m fine. Just a sudden stab of headache. It passed.”
But when he looked back, Thaddeus was still staring at him, and the pain in his head was every bit as strong.
CHAPTER 39
The ride from the Whispering Pines compound to Towering Oaks had been strange for Florian. He and Thaddeus hardly spoke, and their escort trailed a respectful distance behind, so it was mostly made in silence. Which gave him plenty of time to try to sort out the maelstrom in his head.
He didn’t believe a word that his cousin had told him. Not about the true nature of the Soul Gaunts and not about the intentions of the mysterious man that controlled them. What he was really afraid of though, was whether or not Thaddeus did. If he did, it meant that he had been fooled, taken in, and his mind broken by what had happened to him. Florian could see that, considering the dark, the pain and the constant fear that the things generated.
But if he didn’t truly believe what he had told Florian, then that meant that Thaddeus, for all intents and purposes, was now working with the enemy. That was a thought that he didn’t even want to entertain. It was unthinkable. Wasn’t it?
He glanced over at his cousin, who rode along with a hood cast over his face, despite the warmth of the day. Almost as if he were hiding from the Greenweald itself.
“Take your hood off,” Florian said, breaking the silence. “You look ridiculous.”
Thaddeus reached up and pulled it from his head, so that it hung down his back again. He blinked as he looked around, and then dropped his gaze to the ground in front of his horse. Not once did he look over at Florian.
“It’s bright out here,” he said. “A little too bright, I think. I don’t know what they did to me in there, but the sunlight hurts my eyes.”
Florian grunted. That was almost an admission that harm had indeed been done to him. “Keep trying. I’m sure you’ll get used to it.”
Thaddeus didn’t reply, and they continued to ride along side by side, not saying anything.
Then, “What will you do, cousin?”
Florian looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Solomon. What will you do when you see him?”
“I don’t know. Nothing, I suppose. I’ve spoken with Jediah and come to terms with what happened.”
“Huh. Strange.”
“What is?”
Now Thaddeus did look at him. “That you’ve come to terms with the man who was responsible for your daughter’s death. And it wasn’t even that long ago.”
Florian swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly dry. “Why would you say that?”
“I mean no harm. I just find it strange.”
“Do you think I’m doing the wrong thing? That I should demand his head on a pike again?”
“Far be it from me to make a decision like that,” Thaddeus said. “I made an observation, that’s all.”
Florian felt his temper begin to rise. “Well, keep it to yourself. If I want to hear your ‘observations’, I’ll ask for them.” He spurred his horse into a quicker trot, pulling ahead.
“Yes, cousin,’ he heard Thaddeus say from behind him.
In truth, Thaddeus’s words had cut deeply into Florian. There was a part, a huge part, that felt like he was betraying his daughter’s memory, by agreeing to forgive, and even work with, the man responsible for her death. And yet, he wasn’t truly responsible, right? He was there, but he wasn’t the one who had drowned her…
He had been through all of this. Over and over in his mind. He had spoken of it with Jediah, who, yes, had a vested interest in getting Solomon back, but was also his oldest friend. He had acted out in the grip of a father’s grief, and Jediah himself didn’t blame him for it. So how the
n could he blame Solomon for what had happened?
Because he had refused to obey the orders of both his Head of House and of his love’s father, that’s how.
Damn Thaddeus! As if he didn’t have enough to occupy his mind already.
They arrived at the Towering Oaks compound shortly after, and were shown to a large room where the others were gathered. This time, Florian didn’t ask, but simply reached over and tugged Thaddeus’s hood down, from where it had found its way onto his head again. His cousin didn’t so much as move, and Florian noticed that his eyes were fixed on a human male that was seated in the room.
But he wasn’t able to stare for long. Shireen bounded to her feet as they entered, and hugged Thaddeus tightly. The other one, Orlando, came over and patted him on the shoulder, both of them telling his cousin how glad they were to see him. It didn’t escape Florian’s notice that while Thaddeus didn’t pull away, he also didn’t return the embrace or the warm welcome. Instead, he continued to stare at the one-eyed human.
There was another human in the room as well, a female. She said something to the male, who looked at her, then returned his gaze back to Thaddeus. Was it possible that they knew each other? Thaddeus had been to that earth once before, but it seemed unlikely that he would run into someone that he knew here, in the Greenweald. Which begged the question, why were there humans in the Greenweald?
He’d get the answer for that later. But for now, he needed to focus, prepare himself for when he saw…
Solomon.
He was there, sitting rigidly in a chair, waiting for Florian to see him, his hand placed on top of the Hounds head. He had been wounded. There was a scar running across his face, and like the human, he too was missing an eye. If he had beaten the Soul Gaunt that made its way to that earth, it had cost him.
Florian waited for the anger to rise, to feel his blood begin to boil, but it never came. Instead, he simply felt sad. His daughter had had so much potential, so much life. It had all been snuffed out, because she fell for a man who everyone said, and Florian had to agree with, had been the best of them all. The strongest, the fastest, the most capable. Everyone loved Solomon, who took it all with a humbleness that never once rang false.
Solomon's Exile Page 23
