“I thought I’d be back before you woke,” Desmond said to Lij. “I’m sure Kajika had more important things to do than walk a lost pickney.”
“It’s all right. I needed a break.” Kajika let go of Lij’s hand. The boy skittered off to play in the grass. “Preparations are well underway for the Green Corn Dance. They don’t need me for that.”
“Is that the ‘busk’ everyone was talking about?”
“Yes. It’s the centerpiece of our purification ceremonies. It symbolizes renewal and forgiveness. Think of is as a series of commitment rituals. You might like the stomp dances. It’s also customary to select young men as future leaders or shaman.”
“Inteus healing well?”
“Too slowly, by his measure. Our doctors wanted to keep him a little longer, but he’d hear none of it. He’s already overseeing repairs and doubling our security measures.”
“The incursion was an attempted coup d’état effectively, correct? It constitutes an act of war?”
“Albion declare war on one of the mightiest nations on the planet? Not even at the height of their madness. What was it Regent James Madison once said? ‘It is prudent such attempts should be concealed as well as suppressed.’”
“Surely, someone has to be called into account,” Desmond said.
“I assure you, no evidence will be traced back to Cayt’s employer. Or any high-ranking Albion official.”
“And who knows where Cayt disappeared to.”
“Inteus’s men tracked her as best they could, but she seems to have dropped out of sight.”
“So, besides her vanishing within your borders, which no one could admit to—”
“Admit? Because the letter of the law would stop them from reprisals? It’s their version of attempting to play by the rules they themselves set out for ‘civilized nations.’ You see how well they adhere to their laws.” Kajika turned to Lij. “But there are plenty of days ahead for talk of politics. I thought I’d return this wayward one to you.”
“Thank you,” Desmond said in the Creek language.
“You’re getting better.” Kajika turned and headed back.
Lij sat in the grass and played with his doll. Desmond crouched down beside him.
“How do you feel about being here?” Desmond asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Are you enjoying being around people a little more?”
“Fifty-three percent.”
“Where would you rather be?”
Lij mumbled a series of noises. He reminded Desmond of a mechanical calculator working through a problem but getting stuck.
“Are you scared?” Desmond asked.
The boy shook his head.
“I know what that feels like. It feels like we’ve been running all of our lives. I think you’ve been on the run longer than you’ve known any home. I’m sorry for that. But there are people after you. They don’t see themselves as bad. They may even think they have good reasons, but they are just selfish. You deserve the right to live your life and make your own choices. You’re so different in how you come at the world. I just want to protect that.”
A deer stopped short of where they talked. Unsure where to step, it didn’t near, but it didn’t flee either as Desmond stared at it. Finally, it took wary laps at the gentle-running stream. Perhaps catching their scent, it turned Desmond’s way. Studied him with passing fascination.
“This might be as good a place to call home as any. ‘As a dog wags its tail, its heart well.’ What do you think?”
Lij stopped playing, a thoughtful pause while he was locked in his internal deliberation.
“Home.” Lij pointed to Desmond. “You are my home. You keep my stories safe.”
Acknowledgments
This entire journey began with my mother telling me about a place in Jamaica that only allowed “outsiders” in one time a year. A “tale of two Jamaicas,” as it were. So, this book wouldn’t be possible without my mother (who still probably won’t read this, but she’ll love that I thanked her, so that should give me a pass for at least one Mother’s Day gift).
I’d also like to thank my wife and sons, who continue to support me and my need to tell stories. Thank you for your continued love, faith, and support. They also had to endure a research trip to Jamaica. Be strong, fam!
I’d also love to thank my writers group at the Harrison Art Center. You all were wonderfully savage on the early drafts of this and this wouldn’t be here without you.
Publishing with Tor has been a dream of mine. Their staff and artists (THAT COVER ART! Shout-out to Jon Foster and Christine Foltzer) are a great team of professionals. But I’d especially like to thank the great Lee Harris. It’s always a pleasure to work with him, and I always take comfort when I know my words are in his hands.
Lastly, a special “thank you” to my amazing agent, Jen Udden. You make this publishing journey a whole lot less scary.
About the Author
Photograph by Larissa Johnson
With more than fifty stories, MAURICE BROADDUS’s work has appeared in Lightspeed Magazine, Weird Tales, Apex Magazine, Asimov’s, Cemetery Dance, Black Static, and many more. He is the author of the urban fantasy trilogy the Knights of Breton Court. He coauthored the play Finding Home: Indiana at 200. His novellas include I Can Transform You, Orgy of Souls, Bleed with Me, and Devil’s Marionette. He is the coeditor of Dark Faith, Dark Faith: Invocations, Streets of Shadows, and People of Colo(u)r Destroy Horror. He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana, surrounded by family, friends, and a cat named Ferb. Learn more about him at MauriceBroaddus.com.
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Also by Maurice Broaddus
THE KNIGHTS OF BRETON COURT SERIES
King Maker
King’s Justice
King’s War
The Knights of Breton Court (omnibus)
Orgy of Souls (with Wrath James White)
I Can Transform You
The Voices of Martyrs (collection)
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
I. : Move Out of Babylon
II. : Black Shadow
III. : Fire
IV. : Untold Stories
V. : Here Comes the Hotstepper
VI. : Chant Down Babylon
VII. : Tomorrow People
VIII. : Many Rivers to Cross
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Maurice Broaddus
Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novella are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
BUFFALO SOLDIER
Copyright © 2017 by Maurice Broaddus
Cover illustration by Jon Foster
Cover design by Christine Foltzer
Edited by Lee Harris
All rights reserved.
A Tor.com Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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New York, NY 10010
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark ofMacmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
ISBN 978-0-7653-9428-6 (ebook)
ISBN 978-0-7653-9429-3 (trade paperback)
First Edition: April 2017
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Buffalo Soldier Page 10