Solomon's Exile

by James Maxstadt

  “What do you want, Jamshir?”

  “Ah. It’s you. Very good. I was expecting that other one…Laurent? Something like that anyway. But you seem sensible enough.”

  “Get on with it,” she growled.

  Jamshir laughed again. He didn’t seem to be concerned or bothered about the dead bodies around him at all. Shireen wanted to signal the archers, tell them to kill him now, but she wasn’t sure that he didn’t have a way to still stop the Soul Gaunts. If he could be taken alive…

  She started to raise her hand, intending to signal the attack again.

  “Ah, ah.” Jamshir saw the gesture. “If you do, you’ll never know where Jediah is, or how to get him back.”

  “You lie.”

  “Maybe, but can you take the chance?”

  She had never wanted to kill anyone, or anything, as much as she wanted to kill Jamshir. The damnable part of it was that he was right. She couldn’t take the chance.

  “What do you want then?”

  “Call off your forces. Stand down and allow my men to come in without resistance.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Well, for starters, how about this? I swear not to enter your compound myself. General Bragnold will do it. And I won’t demand the forfeit of the entire House. Instead, he’ll negotiate a truce with you, and we’ll come to a suitable arrangement for Towering Oaks to pay for Jediah’s indiscretions.”

  “You honestly think we would agree to that? Or that he would?” Shireen asked.

  “That hardly matters. While I won’t demand the complete turn-over of the House, I must insist that Jediah is removed as Head of House.”

  “Never.”

  “Don’t be so quick to refuse. I have in mind to replace him with you.”

  Shireen laughed. “You really don’t know us at all, Jamshir. I would never betray Jediah, and I’m not interested in being the Head of any House.”

  “Too bad. Well, you can’t say that I didn’t try.” He looked around at the dead littering the ground. “My, there are a lot of silver and purple uniforms out here. Of course, there are even more of them over there, waiting. And…I could be mistaken, but I see quite a few in gray too. How many more do you have in there?”

  He smiled and turned his horse around.

  “Oh, and I won’t make the same mistake again. You are fierce fighters, indeed! I’ll keep my forces back, out of bowshot, but close enough to keep you here. You can choose to charge, of course. We’ll see how well that works when my archers have time.” He paused, and glanced up at the sky, and at the sun that was starting to dip below the trees. “Time. I wonder how much more you have?”

  Shireen climbed down from the viewing platform and gathered the company commanders to her. Soldiers went out of the gate, unarmed and under the flag of truce to drag the bodies of their fallen comrades back into the compound. Glittering Birch soldiers did the same with their own, and for all of his madness, Jamshir actually respected the time-honored tradition.

  “We have to attack,” Shireen said to the gathered commanders. “We have no choice.”

  “We can’t,” one of them told her. “The distance is too great. His bowmen will cut us to shreds before we can even reach his lines, and then there won’t be enough of us to matter.”

  “The Soul Gaunts will come,” she said. “As soon as it’s dark enough, which will be soon. Then Jamshir won’t even have to send his own troops in.”

  “How many could there be?” another protested. “I know they’re terrible, but we can surround them, pull them down and destroy them that way.”

  “Even if that works, Jamshir will come in right behind and mop up what’s left of us. We have no choice but to attack now!”

  “There is one other option,” Orlando said quietly. “We could leave. We don’t have to stay here. We could leave by the back of the compound, let Jamshir have the place until we get help.”

  “And who will help us? Once they know that Towering Oaks has been defeated, who will dare to stand up to him? No one. We need to attack, and take Jamshir alive. We can force him to stop the Soul Gaunts.”

  She watched the commanders look at one another, slowly coming to the realization that she was right. They were in an untenable position, and the only possible way out was to capture Jamshir.

  “Line them up,” Shireen said, trying to ignore the roiling in her stomach.

  The charge to the Glittering Birch lines was as bad as they feared. Arrows rained down, but the Towering Oaks soldiers kept going, running even as their friends collapsed to the ground. Shireen ran in the front, her sword in hand and Orlando at her side. Miraculously, neither of them were struck.

  This was the final battle. At the end of this, House Towering Oaks would be devastated, maybe too much so to ever recover. But if they could get Jamshir, they may save the rest of the Greenweald from his insanity.

  The Glittering Birch soldiers held on, fighting back fiercely, but the Towering Oaks soldiers that remained were relentless. They had been attacked for no reason, and knew that Jamshir was responsible for awakening an evil that most of them thought only legends and folktales. They fought with a fury that was unmatched.

  “We’re going to do it,” Shireen thought, as she dispatched another Glittering Birch soldier. “We’re going to get to him.”

  She could see Jamshir, still on his horse, still with General Bragnold by his side. He sat at his ease, watching the battle come closer to him with amusement.

  “I’ll wipe that smirk off his face,” she muttered, but she must have spoken louder than she thought, because Orlando laughed.

  “And I’ll help you,” he panted. “But first we need to get to him.”

  The Glittering Birch soldiers were beginning to fail. Even though they out-numbered their adversaries, the Towering Oaks fighters were too well-trained, and defending their home. Slowly, Glittering Birch fell back. In moments, it would be a rout.

  Over the din of the battle, Shireen heard a noise from deeper in the forest. A horrible, undulating wail. It was quiet, but growing stronger.

  “What is that?” Orlando asked.

  Shireen pushed the man she was fighting away and glanced up. The sun had dropped much further, and there was spreading darkness under the trees. The noise increased, the air grew colder, and soldiers stopped fighting on both sides, looking around with fearful expressions.

  Even over the dreadful sound, Shireen swore she could hear Jamshir laughing.

  CHAPTER 59

  They made a sorry parade as they trekked through the Greenweald. Luke was being supported by Lacy, and Jediah was being tended to by Willow, even as they walked. His injuries were extensive, and although Willow was healing them, the work was taking a toll on her as well. Out of them all, only Lacy and Daisy, who had returned as Solomon came out of the tree, seemed mostly whole.

  For his part, Solomon was exhausted. His legs were weights that had to be lifted with an effort for every step he took. His arms hung from his shoulders like two slabs of dead meat, and he was having trouble focusing.

  But there was no stopping. The Soul Gaunts were headed for Towering Oaks. While it was possible that they would go to Whispering Pines, he didn’t think so. They would try to take out the stronger House first. After that, who knew? Maybe Glittering Birch, itself.

  He had been infuriated when Thaddeus had gotten away, with the aid of yet another mysterious figure in a black cloak. The rage he felt had been so strong, so intense, that it took all his will-power to not lash out at anything nearby. But that would have only depleted his strength even further, so he had forced himself to re-sheath Justice, and he and Willow felt their way back to the stairs, down and out of the tree.

  “I need to go,” he said, when they were all gathered together. “The Soul Gaunts have a good lead, so I need to catch them. I’ll leave Daisy here with you and…”

  “No,” Jediah interrupted. “We’ll all go.”

  “You’re in no shape to move, certainly not qu
ickly.”

  “Don’t argue with me, Solomon. I’m still your Head of House. Besides, you’re not looking that great yourself.”

  It was true, he was swaying on his feet, trying to stay alert. The thought of the Soul Gaunts attacking his House was keeping him somewhat focused, but he could feel the weariness pressing in on him.

  “Besides,” Willow said. “I can help Jediah as we go. Maybe I can even do something for you.”

  Solomon knew when he was being outvoted, plus Jediah was right, he was the Head of House, and as such, he made the final decisions. So it was that they all left together, staggering through the forest, trying their best to keep moving.

  “You were right about the sword,” Solomon said as he walked along next to Jediah.

  “How so?”

  “Its side effects, and what you said happened to those who held it in the past. When I use it, I get this feeling of invincibility, like I can’t lose, or even be harmed. And it’s so much easier to lose my temper, or to feel that I’m better than anyone else. It’s like in return for its power, it’s amplifying my baser nature.”

  “That fits with what we know. If your baser nature was worse, I’d be worried.”

  “Don’t joke,” Solomon said. He lowered his voice. “I’m not sure I can control it.”

  “Then stop using it.”

  “I will, as soon as this is over. But you saw what it can do. It destroys those things with one blow, one touch really. Otherwise, every battle with even a single Soul Gaunt is huge. How many of our people can I save with it?”

  “At what cost, though?”

  “Any,” Solomon said.

  They walked on in silence, the evening drawing down around them. It was already getting dark enough under the trees that the Soul Gaunts could be hidden by it. He only hoped that in the slightly more open area around the compound, they’d be less inclined to attack, and would wait a little longer.

  “What is that lantern?” Jediah asked him.

  Solomon looked down at it. “I don’t know. Something the Guardian gave me. He said it might help, but I have no idea how.”

  “Hmpf. So that’s where you left the sword. Clever. You’ll have to tell me how you got it back later. But the Guardian doesn’t give things out randomly. If he said that lantern could help, then it can.”

  “I agree. I just don’t know how.”

  “Maybe if we…” But then Jediah stopped. There was a noise coming through the forest from the direction they were headed.

  “It’s them,” Lacy said. “That’s the same noise they were making when they left. We caught up with them.”

  “Maybe,” Solomon said.

  They continued on, hurrying along as quickly as they could. Luke seemed barely conscious, and Willow had done all she could for him. Jediah was walking more steadily now, but was still weak. Willow herself was pale and drawn, but still walked with her head held high.

  As they drew near, the noise started to change. The undulating wail echoing among the trees stopped. For a moment, there was silence. Then, a horrible screech erupted from the Soul Gaunts, sounding as if it was coming from all of them at once. It was followed by the screams of the Folk.

  Solomon ran forward, loosening Justice in its sheath, but not drawing it yet.

  In front of him was a battle, but unlike any he had seen before. Glittering Birch itself was in disarray in front of the Towering Oaks compound. Soldiers from both houses lay dead on the ground, but there, off in the rear, sat Jamshir, watching it all with a look of glee on his face.

  “What’s going on?” Solomon whispered to himself.

  Jediah stumbled to a halt next to him, his face a mask of horror. “He wouldn’t have,” he said. “Oh, Jamshir. You utter fool.”

  “You’re all staying here,” Solomon said, turning to them. “No, you too,” he told Jediah, forestalling his objections. “You’re in no condition to fight and I can’t watch over you.”

  He looked back, in time to see a Soul Gaunt swoop in on a Towering Oaks soldier, its claws raking the man’s face, taking him to the ground. The soldier’s screams were pitiful as the Soul Gaunt covered him, and blood began to seep out onto the ground. All around the compound, the same was happening.

  Soldiers fought back to back, doing their best to hold them at bay, but they were being swamped by two, three, or more Soul Gaunts. Some of them broke under the ever-present fear that the Gaunts generated and dropped their weapons, pleading for mercy, only to find that there was none.

  The temperature had dropped enough that the breath from both man and horse was visible in the night air. The Soul Gaunts reveled in it, swooping down on either one, claws extended, hissing and screeching.

  “Daisy, stay with them!” Solomon said. He pulled the lantern from his belt and tossed it to Jediah. “See if you can figure anything out with this!”

  Then he was running, pulling Justice from his belt. At first, it was all he could do to start moving, but then the sword gave him strength again, and he sped into the battle.

  The first Soul Gaunt he hit never saw it coming. Solomon slashed across its back while it was attacking a soldier and its cloak burst into flame. He moved on, not taking the time to check on the man he had saved.

  All the soldiers being attacked wore the colors of House Towering Oaks. Any others, those from Glittering Birch, fled the battlefield, and the Soul Gaunts let them go. Solomon noted this, and his rage increased. There was treachery here. Against his House and against him! How dare they! How dare Jamshir!

  When he finished with the Soul Gaunts, Jamshir would be next. He paused, looking across the field to see the ruler of House Glittering Birch staring back at him. The expression on his face was unreadable, but he didn’t look happy. Solomon smiled, pointed Justice at him, and then ran to his next target.

  Soul Gaunts burst into flames every time he hit one, small pieces of white fire flying off into the night. With every kill he made, it seemed to get easier. But the Soul Gaunts started to avoid him. Rather than come near the flaming sword, they veered away, moving on to another attack, to claim another victim.

  The thought infuriated him. Cowards!

  Even in his rage, Solomon could hear the screaming of the dying, and the screech of the Soul Gaunts. He could smell the blood in the air, and feel the coldness seeping into his bones. The sword protected him from some of it, but he was starting to wear down. His movements were becoming slower, his swings not quite as powerful.

  “Too slow,” he thought. “I can’t get them all.”

  He stopped, and stood panting and swaying. He looked around him, watching as the Soul Gaunts continued with the slaughter. Jamshir sat, safely to the rear of what was left of his army, now reformed in front of him. This time, he laughed when he saw Solomon looking.

  The rage was beginning to fade, and with it went a lot of his strength. Justice was becoming heavier, and the flames along its edge were beginning to flicker.

  There was a sharp pain across his back. He spun to find that a Soul Gaunt had managed to get in close while he was distracted. The thought that he had actually been hit by one again, that it had dared, made his vision turn red. With a savage slash, he cut the thing almost in half, and the flames roared to life again, one small piece of it flying off into the night.

  He was slammed into from his blind side, and turned, lashing out with the sword. He barely managed to pull his swing, stopping the blade inches from cutting into Shireen.

  “Solomon!” she cried. “About time!”

  He couldn’t answer her. His breath was coming in gasps, and the momentary flare up was starting to die down.

  “Solomon? Hey! What are you doing? Come on! We need you!”

  Shireen’s voice sounded far away, like Lacy’s had back at the tree. He needed to answer her. “I’m here,” he muttered, and lifted Justice again.

  It was all he could do to follow her, slashing at any Soul Gaunt who came too close, but they avoided him easily now. The flames on the sword w
ere down to tiny tongues that crawled along it.

  “It’s not enough,” he muttered, as the Soul Gaunts kept killing and killing.

  CHAPTER 60

  Lacy could only watch as Solomon ran to the battle. She had never witnessed anything like this before and never wanted to again. Even from here, it felt surreal, a nightmare that had come to be a reality. The screams of the dying and the horrible noises of the monsters flying through the air. The sounds of horses being killed in agony. She wasn’t even sure when the tears began to flow, but they ran down her cheeks unchecked.

  A hand found hers and squeezed gently. It was Luke, recovered enough to see what was going on.

  “It’s not going to be enough,” he said quietly.

  “What isn’t?”

  “Solomon. Look. They’re staying away from him. They’re avoiding him and killing others. He can’t reach them all, there’s too many of them.”

  “No, he has to,” Lacy said. “That’s what he does, right? Everyone says so.”

  “I don’t think everyone realized how many of them there were.”

  It was true. The number of Soul Gaunts was astounding. They flew around the battle in great clouds of darkness, rising into the air, or flowing along the ground like a black mist. Soldiers died from being surrounded, or from being attacked from behind, or simply from being outfought, face to face.

  Solomon killed any that he was able to reach, and every time he did, a small piece of white fire flew from his sword, flashing across the sky and descending to enter the lantern that he had left with Jediah. Despite that, the lantern sat on the ground, cold and dark, showing no sign that it was affected by the fire at all.

  Jediah was studying it, his face thoughtful.

  “Can’t you do anything?” Lacy asked him. The Head of House Towering Oaks looked up at her, a slightly puzzled look on his face.

  “I’m not sure,” he said. “I might know…” And then he turned back to studying the lantern again.