Solomon's Exile

by James Maxstadt

“No,” Luke said. “That’s not right.” He climbed to his feet. “We should go, move around the place.”

  Thaddeus sat back in surprise. “Really? Suddenly you’re eager to go sight-seeing? There are still Soul Gaunts out there, you know.”

  “When the one had me on my earth, it didn’t care what I did during the day, or even at night, as long as I didn’t try to get away or disobey when it gave me instructions. When I did do something like that, it hurt me. A lot. But if I was good, it left me alone.”

  “And you think that same thing applies here? Even with all of them around?”

  “I don’t think they really think much of us at all. We’re off limits right now, thanks to your arrangement with that other guy. They’ll like scaring and mocking us, but otherwise, I don’t think they’ll touch us.”

  “That’s an awfully big assumption,” Thaddeus said. “I don’t think I care to put it to the test.”

  Luke shrugged. “Suit yourself. I’m tired of sitting here.”

  He started toward the door while Thaddeus watched him with amusement. “And what about light? How will you see?”

  Luke stopped and looked back at him. “I guess I won’t.” He turned and continued to the door, opened it, and stepped out.

  Thaddeus waited for a scream, or for him to come running back through the door, but neither of those things happened. After a minute or two had passed, he frowned and rose to his feet, his curiosity getting the better of him.

  Taking his stone, he exited the room and looked around. There was Luke, a short distance down the hallway, keeping his hand in contact with the wall and visibly shuddering when his fingers encountered unpleasantness. But he was moving ahead, in spite of the dread and the cold, he was ignoring everything around him and simply walking.

  Thaddeus shook his head and strode forward, catching up to him and slowing his pace to walk beside him. “Are all humans as obstinate as you?”

  Luke glanced at him. “This is nothing. You should try dealing with Lacy when she’s made up her mind.”

  He had to smile at the normalcy of such a comment, one that just as easily could have been made by any long-married man of the Folk. For a single moment in time, Thaddeus almost forgot where he was.

  Then he noticed that there were no Soul Gaunts nearby. They had the hallway to themselves, and the lack of the ever-present fear is what had allowed Luke to make his comment and for Thaddeus to respond to it in kind. He looked around, risking making the light from the stone brighter. But there were no protesting screeches, or sharp claws coming to snatch it away.

  “Where have they all gone?” he said, mostly to himself, but Luke answered.

  “They were around when I first came out. I don’t know where they went, though. Maybe it’s some kind of test, to see what we’ll do.”

  “Maybe. But I don’t think….”

  He was interrupted by the noise of the large main doors of the tree creaking open. He looked at Luke and without a word turned and ran to the staircase leading to the entry hall, the human on his heels.

  When he arrived, he slid to a halt and watched as the Advocate walked out the door. The Soul Gaunts were all gathered around, staying back from the sunlight that spilled through. They heard the Advocate talking, and the sound of Florian answering him.

  For a moment, Thaddeus fought the urge to run forward, holding his stone aloft and letting it blaze like the sun. But that wouldn’t do anything but guarantee that he’d be killed along with the rest. He dropped his eyes, and turned away from the stairs.

  “Where are you going?” Luke hissed.

  “Away from here. I don’t want to see this. I don’t think you do either.”

  He didn’t wait to hear a response, but returned to the room they had claimed as their own and shut the door. A few minutes later, it opened and Luke found his way inside.

  “You could have waited for me with the light,” he muttered, but Thaddeus didn’t answer him. He sat, his head down, staring at the floor in front of him, fighting down nausea.

  The scream when it came confirmed it. He was truly a traitor to his own kind.

  CHAPTER 46

  For a moment, Lacy couldn’t remember where she was. She rolled over enjoying the sunshine on her face and the feel of the soft bedclothes beneath her. The birds were singing outside and it felt like a beautiful day. Perfect for going out, working in the garden and then taking a dip in the pool. She smiled as she turned over to see if Luke was awake.

  Then, the room came clearly into focus, and she remembered that she was in the Greenweald, an entirely different world, and that it was currently in peril from those vile creatures. Suddenly, the perfect summer day didn’t seem as glorious. There was no garden of her own here, no pool, and as she felt around, no Luke.

  She sat up. “Luke. Luke! Where are you?”

  There was no answer and no sound of anyone moving around the cottage. The place was pretty small so she was sure that if he were there, he would have heard her and answered. Then, there was movement from below and she breathed out a sigh of relief. But the noise became the click of nails and Daisy appeared, coming up the stairs and shaking her head. The dog looked like something was bothering her, like she had something in her ear or throat that she couldn’t dislodge.

  “What’s wrong, girl?” Lacy said, and climbed out of bed to tend to her.

  Daisy sat and allowed herself to be examined, but Lacy couldn’t find anything wrong with her. Although, now that she was up and moving, she had to admit that she felt a little off also. She had a strange disconnected feeling, like she was still dreaming, or of déjà vu. It was weird and no wonder she couldn’t remember where she was for the first few minutes when she woke.

  “I don’t see anything, girl,” she said, roughing Daisy’s fur. “But where’s Luke gone off to?”

  She rose and walked down the stairs, followed by Daisy, but as she suspected, there was no sign of Luke down there either. She went to the door, opened it and stood looking out over the Whispering Pines compound. There were a few of the Folk at work in the gardens and walking along the paths, but no sign of her husband.

  “Huh, maybe he went to find breakfast? No, that’d be silly. Florian showed us how to call the servants when we needed something. Besides, where would he go?”

  Daisy didn’t answer her, but she did stand by her side, her nose lifted in the air and sniffing. After a moment, she whined softly and went back inside, still sniffing. Lacy watched as she made her way to a chair in the corner of the room, stuck her nose on the seat and let out a soft woofing noise. She ran back up the stairs, came down them again, nose to the ground and back to another chair. Finally, she raised her head and looked toward Lacy.

  Lacy watched her do this. It was behavior that she had never seen a dog do, not even Daisy. But she didn’t understand what she was doing. Then, Daisy walked over to her, turned, and repeated the entire sequence of actions.

  “What are you trying to tell me?” Lacy mused.

  On the third pass, she started to get it.

  “Wait. Someone came in and sat in that chair? Then, someone, Luke, I guess, came down the stairs and sat in the other one. Then, they left. Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”

  Daisy barked once, then sat on her haunches, tongue lolling out of her mouth and looked at Lacy.

  “Wow, can’t believe I figured that one out,” she muttered to herself. “

  o Luke met someone here and they left. But why didn’t I hear them? And why didn’t you?”

  She thought of the fuzziness she had felt on waking, and about Daisy’s behavior when she first came up the stairs. Maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe they had been drugged, or…well, something.

  While she was thinking about this there was a soft knock on the door. She opened it to find the healer, Willow.

  “Oh, hi,” Lacy said, surprised by the early morning visit.

  “Hello,” Willow said. “I hope it’s not too early. I wanted to check on you and Lu
ke. Is it alright to come in?”

  “Of course!” Lacy stepped aside, letting the tall, graceful woman enter. As she passed, Lacy grimaced. She had never been tall, but the people here were making her feel like she was only half-grown.

  “How are you feeling?” Willow asked her.

  “Me? I’m pretty good actually. My arm is feeling quite a bit better, thanks to you. Not all the way there, but it doesn’t hurt so much to use it now. The constant ache is less, too.”

  “Excellent. I have to be honest, I wasn’t sure if what we did would work. We have very little experience in treating injuries from a Soul Gaunt. I’m sad to say, but most of the time…well, there isn’t the need.”

  Lacy shuddered. “I can understand that. Believe me, I know how lucky I was that Solomon came along. Speaking of, have you seen him?”

  “No,” Willow smiled. “I believe he has gone on his quest already. He’s not one to waste time once he’s put his mind to something. I am glad though that you’re doing so well. And Luke?”

  “Actually, I’m not sure.” Lacy tried to keep her voice light and not show the worry that was coiling in her stomach. “When I woke up, he was gone.”

  Willow frowned. “Really? And he said nothing to you of where he was going?”

  “No. I’m not even sure when he left. Although…I kind of think he went with someone.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  Lacy told her what Daisy had done right before she got there.

  “Hmm. I think you may be right. Hunting Hounds are known for being quite intelligent, and I think that Daisy, as small as she is for one, may be even more so.”

  “Daisy is small?”

  “For a Hunting Hound, yes. Some of them are much larger than her. The Master of Hounds is known to have no love for Florian, or any other Head of House, so I suspect that he passed off a runt. Such a thing would amuse him, vile creature that he is.”

  “Runt?” Lacy bent over and scratched Daisy between the ears. “Is that you? I don’t think so. And even if you are, who cares?”

  Daisy pressed against her hand, and Lacy smiled in spite of her worry about Luke. When she looked up, Willow was watching them with amusement.

  “May I wait here? I really would like to check on Luke. While your arm was serious enough, I’m much more concerned with the damage that may have been done to Luke that we can’t see.”

  “But in the meeting yesterday you said that you thought he was okay.”

  “I said that I thought he was not working with the Soul Gaunts. I still think that. That doesn’t mean that he’s whole in mind and spirit though. That’s what I would like to check.”

  “Of course, you can stay,” Lacy said. “I mean, that’s not even a question. But I wish I knew where he went. Why don’t we sit down while we wait? I can get some coffee, or…do you have coffee here?”

  “Yes,” Willow laughed. “I think you’ll find most of our foods similar to your own.”

  “Great. Hold on then.”

  While Willow took a seat, Lacy rang the small hand bell that Florian had shown her. It made a delicate tinkling sound, and that was all. She had no idea how a servant would hear it, but a few minutes later, there was a discrete knock on the door. Lacy answered it to find a servant patiently waiting. She asked for coffee and if there were any sort of fruit pastry type things that they could get.

  When the servant had left, she lowered herself into a chair near Willow with a sigh.

  “Are you sure your arm is better?” the Healer asked her.

  “Oh yeah, my arm is fine. Why?”

  “When you sat down you sounded as if it was still bothering you more than you’re saying.”

  “No, my arm is fine. I just feel…I don’t know…off, I guess. Ever since I got up. I’ve had this weird fuzzy feeling in my head, you know? Like I can’t quite wake up all the way. Daisy was acting funny too, at first. It’s silly I know, but right before you came, I was wondering if we got drugged or something.”

  She laughed softly, but when she looked at Willow she saw that the other woman was looking at her with a deadly serious expression.

  “Describe the feeling to me. Especially when you first woke up.”

  “Oh, come on. I’m being silly. It’s waking up in a new place, you know how that is. Plus, finding that Luke’s out somewhere, and…”

  “Lacy,” Willow interrupted, “this is important.”

  “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  But when she was done talking, Willow rose to her feet. “Thaddeus,” she said.

  “Thaddeus what?”

  “He was here. He and Luke…I should have realized. Oh, how could I have been so blind?”

  “What are you talking about?” Lacy asked.

  “I was wrong. Luke’s mind isn’t healing, and neither is Thaddeus’s. The Soul Gaunts have them more firmly than I would have thought.”

  “Wait,” Lacy said. “That’s a pretty big jump isn’t it?”

  “Who else? What you’re feeling is the aftereffects of a spell that made you sleep. The Hound too, that’s the only reason she didn’t stir when he came here. Hardly anyone knows you’re here, and out of them, he’s the only one other than me capable of doing such a thing. For whatever reason, he came here, and Luke left with him.”

  “Where?”

  “You know where, Lacy. We have to go. It’s not safe here.”

  “I can’t leave! Luke won’t know where to find me!”

  “Exactly. For now, we have no choice but to consider him, and Thaddeus, dangerous. I’m sorry.”

  Lacy couldn’t believe her ears. There was no way that Luke would work with those things, or that he would have left her…But then she remembered that night in the woods. The night that she was attacked. Luke had lured her out into the woods, taken her to the thing. And then had left her by the side of the road, where who knew if help would come.

  “Oh, Luke,” she breathed. Instead of being angry, she found herself incredibly sad for him. In spite of everything, she knew that he loved her. If he was doing this, then it was against his will, or he was being coerced somehow, or something. There was some rational explanation.

  “Come,” Willow was saying. “We need to go. I’ll take you back to Towering Oaks. It’s not as nice, or comfortable, but there’s nowhere that’s safer.”

  Lacy nodded and calling Daisy to her, followed the Healer out the door, into the bright daylight.

  The path to Towering Oaks wound through the forest, passing huge trees with barks of gray, brown and silver. Ferns grew in abundance, and birds flitted through the branches overhead. As beautiful and peaceful as it was, Lacy had no time for it. She hurried along, trying to keep pace with the long-legged woman who led her, Daisy always walking by her side.

  “How much farther is it?” she panted. When she had come this way yesterday with Florian, she had been distracted by the Greenweald itself and the things he told her. It had made the trip seem short, but really, she had no idea how long it had taken.

  “A good distance yet,” Willow said, “but we can rest if you need…wait…what was that?”

  Lacy stopped and cocked her head, listening for whatever noise the healer had heard.

  “I don’t hear anything…” she started to say, but then a hissing noise came from the woods on her right side. Her head snapped around, in time to see a black shape hide behind a tree.

  “What was that?” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

  “I’m not sure,” Willow replied. “Let’s keep moving.”

  But before they could go, another noise, this time the cold chuckle that Lacy had heard before sounded. And not only from the side, but from all around. She spun and saw them. Approaching through the trees, out in the broad daylight, were Soul Gaunts. At least six of them, coming from every direction.

  Daisy let out a bark, and tried to surge forward, but Willow grabbed her. She bent down and whispered to the dog. Daisy glanced back at the two of them and then took o
ff, running between the trees in a flash and disappearing. The Soul Gaunts ignored her.

  “How?” she said, her voice quavering. “How are they here? It’s daylight! They can’t be here!”

  “Apparently, they can,” Willow said.

  The Soul Gaunts surrounded them, but made no move to touch them. Even from here, Lacy could feel the cold that emanated from them. It sank into her bones and made her feel even more helpless.

  One of them stretched out an arm and pointed back down the path the way they had come. Glancing back, Lacy saw the ones behind them part, so that they could pass between them. She didn’t want to, but the one in front of them moved closer. Anything was better than being touched by it, so she went, Willow walking proudly by her side.

  She admired the Healer. While Lacy felt like she was about to fall apart from the terror of what was happening, Willow walked like a queen.

  “Stay strong, Lacy,” she muttered, and took Lacy’s hand.

  Immediately, a warmth spread through her. One that helped to counter the mind-numbing cold from the Soul Gaunts. It didn’t remove it, but it did let her think more clearly, and find that anger that always welled up in her when she was scared.

  “Where are you taking us?” she demanded.

  There was no answer from the Soul Gaunts, other than another point, and another chuckle.

  “That’s really getting on my nerves,” she muttered, and Willow squeezed her hand.

  The Soul Gaunts moved them along the path, making them turn off and pass the way to Whispering Pines.

  “Ah,” Willow said quietly. “I should have guessed.”

  “What?” Lacy said. “Should have guessed what?”

  “Where they are taking us. We are going to Rustling Elms.”

  “Isn’t that where…”

  “Yes,” Willow said. “They’re taking us to their master.”

  CHAPTER 47

  A soft mist rose from the surface of the water, coiling above it in the warm, night air. Solomon stood on the bank, his mind going back to the last time he was there. It was right where he was standing that he had dragged himself from the water. He dove from there, and from over there also, looking for a hidden passage or an underwater tunnel that led deeper, but had found nothing. It was nothing more than a simple forest pool, formed from a stream that tumbled down the rocks, eroding the bottom and giving the water a place to gather before it overflowed the far side and continued its journey.