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

            “Let us pay our last respects,” he said, turning for the door.

            They left the temple. The Progressional remained lit up as well. The citizens of Caeren had cleaned it. And they’d and constructed two small mausoleums of white marble. One for Quinn, which remained empty. The other held both Joelle and Armin. Tane asked that they be laid to rest together, arm-in-arm. Together for all eternity.

            “Do you think their souls – “ Jessy started.

            “Shh,” Tane said. “They are together. Do not even consider anything else.”

            Jessy and Raven nodded. The very thought that… Tane’s heart hammered. He had to distract his chaotic mind by reading the tombs. Both proclaimed that Quinn, Joelle, and Armin were great heroes. Their names would be spoken in every temple across the land. The priests and people would praise their sacrifice, and pray for their immortal souls.

            “Sleep well, my friends,” Tane whispered, placing a hand on each marble tomb. “Together, we fought the good fight and won. I will forever be grateful for the time we spent together, good and bad. You honored me with your friendship. Thank you.”

            He stepped back to let Raven say her good-byes. Jessy hugged him, tears flowing.

            “I wish I’d known them like you did,” she whispered.

            After Raven, Jessy’s prayers for them were short. Tane led the way out of the ancient dwarven city. They found most of Caeren’s citizens outside waiting in the late afternoon cold, children up in trees. There were no Arisen priest as yet, but the Lord Mayor bowed to them.

            “You won’t seal the city until after a priest arrives to give the Last Rites?” Tane asked.

            “Yes,” the short, rail-thin man said, nodding.

            Indeed, all of the survivors looked on the verge of starvation, yet they labored hard to honor Quinn, Joelle, and Armin. Tane was grateful.

            He looked past them. Seven horses waited. They were all the mounts the two groups rode coming to Caeren. Tane was grateful they hadn’t eaten the horses. Beyond them waited three warhawks and riders. King Borric of Kestsax sent them to carry Tane, Raven, and Jessy back.

            The thought of flying scared him. Also, dread welled up. What would he find when he got home? The town was abandoned last he passed through. How many still lived to return home? What about his family? How many, if any, would return? Tane dreaded finding out as much as he needed to know.

            “Fly or ride?” Raven asked. “You’re call, Tane. Either way, I’m with you all the way back.”

            “Flying will get us home tomorrow,” Jessy said, looking a little excited. “Riding a horse just hurts my backside.”

            It had rained and snowed most of the last two weeks. The roads were a mess. It could take twice as long to get back to Kestsax on horses. Even longer and more miserable if they walked.

            “What do you want, Raven?” he asked.

            “I’d rather fly, but riding doesn’t bother me either.”

            He nodded. Turning to the Lord Mayor. “We accept King Borric’s generous offer of the warhawks. The horses belong to you, Lord Mayor. Please take good care of them.”

            “We will, Hero,” he said. “Thank you. And again, it hurts us deeply that all of our wealth was stripped away by the Dakarian priests, for we want to shower you all with gold. Thank you for everything you’ve done, Tane Kyleson.”

            They bowed to the Lord Mayor, and all the people of Caeren bowed to them. Then Tane led Jessy and Raven to the three warhawks. All three looked brown to him, but Raven referred to them as “golden.”

            The riders all wore head to toe leather. Raven claimed it protected them from the wind. Apparently, warhawks could fly long distances quite fast. So fast that the wind could “burn” a person’s skin like the sun. Seemed unlikely, but he was about to find out for himself.

            “Riders, we are ready to go,” Tane said.

            The three riders, two men and a woman, smiled. The blonde woman waved Jessy over, while Tane and Raven split between the other two. The warhawks laid down like a chicken in the roost, allowing everyone to easily climb up into the two-person saddles.

            Tane paused to study the saddles. They looked much like horse saddles, with one seat in front of the other. As best he could tell, they were constructed similarly with leather over a wooden frame. Four wide straps held the saddle in place, all coming together at a buckle in the middle of the bird’s chest. The female rider’s saddle was died white, while Tane’s saddle was left natural, and Raven’s saddle was red.

            The people of Caeren began chanting, “Long live our heroes!”

            Tane looked past them at the entrance. The fallen were the true heroes. They sacrificed everything.

            The rider helped him strap down into the saddle, giving Tane a sheepskin cloak to keep him warm, before taking his place in front.

            The warhawks rose up at a verbal command. And then, before Tane could steel himself, his bird leapt into the air. Vast, powerful wings thumped loudly. Tane felt it against his breastbone. But the bird rose up over the surrounding forest slowly, not straining at all. Looking back, he watched Jessy’s warhawk, and then Raven’s follow him up.

            They flew in a spiral well above the city. He looked down upon Caeren, empty at the moment. Tane had looked down from Kestsax’s city walls, and thought that was high. Riding a warhawk gave him an all new perspective.

            “How high will we fly?”

            The rider shrugged. “Couple hundred feet at least. We could reach a thousand feet or more, but it’s easier for the birds to fly lower.”

            They turned north. Side-by-side, the warhawks flew so fast the wind thundered in Tane’s ears. Soon, he found himself averting his eyes, feeling the burn as tears flowed.

            “Relax and enjoy the