“Why not there? Where else?”
“Whispering Pines. My House.”
He was hesitant to say it, but she needed to face certain realities right now. Later, when they were done rescuing their friends in Dunfield, they could deal with the situation here.
“It’s not your House,” he said gently. “At least, not in the way you mean. You’re not the Head. And your arrival is going to cause a great deal of confusion and uproar. Right now, we should go to Towering Oaks and get the help we need.”
“You go to Towering Oaks,” Celia spat. “I’m going home.”
“Celia, we don’t have time for—”
“Shut up! I’m sick of listening to you! I was doing fine in Dunfield before you showed up! I would have fixed it, but everything sped up when you arrived! Just like it always does!”
Solomon reared back like she had slapped him.
That was unfair. He only went there seeking her, to try to right a wrong and because he loved her.
At least … he did love her at one time. Now, looking at the furious, bitter woman before him, he wasn’t sure what he felt.
“Blame me if you wish,” he said. “I can accept that. But right now, I’m going to get help for our friends. Are you coming, or do you want to stand here and have a childish temper-tantrum?”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them and wished he could pull them back. It was much too late for that, however.
Celia’s face hardened, her eyes flashing.
“No.” Her voice was quiet and perfectly controlled. “No, I won’t stand here having a ‘temper-tantrum’. You go where you want to. I’m going home, to get help from my own House.”
“That’s fine.” Solomon started for the door. “Through this door, down the tunnel and out through the cave. Without the Guardian here, there shouldn’t be any tricks. From there…well, I’m sure you can find your way home.”
Without another word, he turned and left her there. Those first steps were some of the hardest he ever took, and his legs felt like two inanimate lumps that he had to force to move. He didn’t look back, even though he was dying to.
He could. He could not only look back, he could go back. Apologize to her for whatever it was he did, for Florian, for her being taken, for his inability to fix what was wrong in Dunfield. For all of it.
Only, he didn’t do any of that stuff. And at this point, his apology would fall on deaf ears. Celia was completely through with him, at least for now. Maybe later they would be friends again, but their time together was gone.
He was right about one thing, though. There were no tricks in the tunnel leading outside. The torches on the walls were unlit, but light filtered through from the open stone door leading to the outer cave.
There, he found a note, written on a piece of parchment and held down by a stone.
Solomon picked it up.
Solomon,
You’ll find this when you return, and I hope you come back home in good shape and with what you left to find.
I’ve gone to join my people, far from here. They are in need and I must answer that.
I wish you the best and hope to see you again.
Guardian
PS. I took the sword with me. It’s too dangerous for anyone, even you, to keep.
Well, that was unfortunate. Not so much Justice. Solomon might have been able to use it to kill the hunters more easily but doubted it would do much to uncover the true evil behind them. But the Guardian probably kept other items which could have helped.
There was nothing to do about that now. He’d go back to Towering Oaks, tell Shireen that she needed to continue as Head for a short while longer, and figure out the best move forward. Even getting back to Dunfield might require the help of the water spirit and Solomon had no idea how to convince her. For that, he needed better minds.
♦ ♦ ♦
If nothing else, it felt wonderful to be back among the trees again. After the gloom of Dunfield, the air felt amazingly fresh. The sun shone between the branches, and he felt like it had been years since he last truly saw it.
As good as the Greenweald made him feel though, he couldn’t escape what he’d left behind: Friedrich either taken by the hunters, or dead. Greta, Christoph and the other kids, Doc Mia and Old Sam, left to fend for themselves. And now the hunters breaking into homes.
And Celia. Honestly, at the moment, she felt like the least of his problems. Whatever was eating at her would fade, or they’d find a way to deal with it. Later. Right now, there were people’s lives at stake. That was much more important than her hurt feelings.
He quickened his pace, determined to get back to Towering Oaks and get the help they needed.
When he got there, he knew immediately that something was wrong. There were sentries posted, but they were spaced too far apart, as if there weren’t enough of them to go around.
“What’s going on here?” he asked as he neared the opening in the short fence surrounding the compound.
“Solomon! Thank the gods you’ve returned!”
It was always Solomon. Lord Solomon sounded odd to him, and he was from no noble family. He’d encouraged the use of his given name as long as he could remember.
“Not for long. There are people I left behind that need help. Where’s Shireen?”
“Oh.” The sentry dropped his eyes. “She’s not here. She disappeared a few days ago…”
“Disappeared? Where? No, never mind that, you obviously don’t know. Who’s in charge then?”
“Lord Orlando. Although, there’s becoming less and less to be
