Belly of the Beast Warren Thomas (e novels for free .txt) 📖

to his feet. The half-elf froze in place at the sight of Jessy, then kicked out at both Raven and the Vikon couple.

            “Up! Intruder!” Quinn bellowed, pulling his sword.

            “No!” Tane cried.

            Too late.

            Quinn charged with sword high. Raven and Armin were barely a step behind him. Tane heard Joelle’s voice rise up in a chant. With no time to think, Tane stepped in their way and held up his hands as he heard Jessy’s sword rasp out of its scabbard.

~**~**~

            What do I do!

            Tane stood just paces away, his back to her. Another dozen paces behind him three warriors charged forward to kill her. She would leave Tane in their unholy hands if she ran away. The alternative was to kill Tane where he stood, obviously trying to save her life.

            She knew what Ashtar wanted her to do. What Nizar wanted her to do.

            Forgive me.

            Jessy pulled her sword and stepped toward Tane’s vulnerable back as tears rolled down her face. Her only consolation was that his comrades would kill her within seconds of killing her beloved cousin. She and Tane would go before the Gods together, and she prayed he was able to forgive her.

            “Watch your back!” the first of Tane companions shouted.

            Jessy hesitated. She could not attack Tane face-to-face, much less kill him. The thought of looking into his face, his eyes, at the very moment he realized she had betrayed his love and trust stopped her dead in her tracts. And that was long enough.

            An instant later, three warriors passed Tane and bore down upon her. Instinct took over.

            Jessy lashed out at the first man, her blade striking his and sliding off. A quick twist of her wrist and her sword point drove toward his belly. The point hit hard, driven by both his charge and her fear. She felt resistance, then the blade slipped before piercing the armor.

            A howl of pain and rage tore the night air, striking fear into the depths of Jessy’s soul. Like a trapped animal she lashed out at the other two warriors. The woman cursed, then growled a threat while the man cried out a battle cry.

            Jessy threw her helmet into the man’s face, and then slashed at the woman’s legs. Her tactics broke up their attack. The woman jumped aside as the man stumbled past her. But he wasn’t entirely disoriented, for he managed to cut at her back. Her chain mail turned aside his attack, but brought home the deadly danger of her position.

            “Stop!” Tane shouted, with far more authority than Jessy would’ve guessed he possessed.

            At that moment a tortured screech sounded above them and the night sky lit up. Jessy was surprised to see a rainbow of bright light arching over the battle site from the upraised hands of the armed and armored woman, dressed in the robes of a priestess of Dakar.

            Everyone paused for a split second in the arcane light. She was startled to see that everyone wore the black and gray of Dakar, including Tane. Then Jessy found herself staring into the angry green eyes of a tall woman, sword in hand. The two male warriors were both on their feet again, so Jessy bolted into a dark patch of brambles.

~**~**~

            “Stop it! Stop it now!” Tane commanded. “She’s my cousin, you fools.”

            When Raven and Armin broke off their pursuit at his words, Tane took a deep breath and shouted, “Jessy! Come back! No one will hurt you!”

            “No!” Raven said.

            “What? She’s my cousin,” Tane insisted.

            “Why was she wearing the black and gray of Dakar’s mercenaries?” Quinn said.

            Tane paused. He didn’t recall what she wore. It could’ve been black and gray. But, no, not Jessy. He knew her. He knew how she thought, and what she believed in. Jessy would never serve Dakar. She would rather die.

            “You’re mistaken,” Tane said.

            “No I’m not,” Quinn said as he slowly sat down.

            “You’re wounded!” Tane said, stepping to his friend’s side. Then, “It’s not Jessy’s fault. You were attacking her. She was only defending herself.”

            “How bad is it?” Raven asked as she joined them.

            “Joelle!” Armin called. “Quinn’s hurt. Hurry.”

            The light vanished, plunging them all into blackest night. A moment later Joelle knelt beside Quinn.

            “Tane, help me get his armor off,” Joelle said. “Armin, you and Raven take guard.”

            “No, I’ll help you,” Raven said, eyes bright as she looked at Quinn’s bleeding wound. “You might need some of my life energies.”

            Looking at Raven, Tane knew she’d never leave Quinn’s side. He stayed Joelle’s objection, and left Quinn to the women’s care. His eyes immediately went to the last place Jessy was seen.

            “No,” Armin said, intercepting him halfway to the brambles. “It’s a trick.”

            “It’s my cousin Jessy.”

            “Really?” Armin asked. “Tell me, Tane, what are the chances that your cousin would just so happen to find you in the middle of nowhere? In the middle of the night? And wearing Dakar’s colors?”

            “Stranger things have happened,” he said.

            Still, Armin had a point. Why was she there? How did she know to look for him? Or, did she just stumble upon him?

            “Don’t you think it strange that she’s wearing the uniform of the people trying to stop us?” Armin continued. “And why would your cousin be so deep inside Dakar’s conquered territory? Think, Tane. Magic. That could’ve been one of Dakar’s mercenaries bespelled to look like your cousin, or even a priestess.”

            That horrifying thought registered. By the Gods, why hadn’t he thought of that! Since joining the army, all he’s seen was battling Gods, wizards, and priests. Magic was their favorite weapon. He had already been bespelled once, and Dakar’s priest even turned him into a zombie once. Surely that most evil God could’ve riffled through his mind and learned all of his memories and secrets. Dakar could very easily know all about his family, enough to trick him.