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

did he know. No one seemed to believe anything he said, with many of the senior officers quite hostile in their questioning. Joelle later said they were just scared. Quinn added that they might be looking for scapegoats to save their own heads from the king’s executioner.

            All the debriefed soldiers were assembled at sundown and marched to their old garrisons. Tane and his comrades found all their personal property had been removed from and piled in front of the barracks, which was housing new recruits. The sergeant in command ordered them to find their personal property and fall back into formation.

            Quinn was frantic before locating his pack, with all his personal effects stuffed inside. To Tane’s surprise, he immediately dumped the pack’s contents and began going through his stuff piece by piece.

            “Trusting bastard,” Raven grumbled, shaking her head. “He can’t find it in himself to trust anyone. Thinks everyone is out to steal everything he has.”

            “Maybe he’s been robbed before,” Tane offered.

            “So have I,” Raven countered, “but I’m not obsessed.”

            Tane looked at Joelle and Armin, who nodded as well.

            “Most mercenaries have been robbed at one time or another. Usually by the very people we are hired to protect,” Joelle said. “Most mercenaries forget about it after a period of outrage.” She looked sadly at Quinn’s back. “What he lost must have been very important to him.”

            The others all nodded agreement.

            Suddenly, a mischievous smile claimed Raven’s face.

            “All my things are just dumped on the ground,” she said in an overly loud voice, winking at Tane. She had no “things,” just the clothes she had been “recruited” wearing. She gathered up the few items the army had issued her and slanted a wicked look at Quinn. “I don’t have anything to carry them in. Maybe Quinn will let me keep my stuff in his pack?”

            Quinn’s head snapped up and around, a look of horror spreading across his face.

            “No!” he said. “You just want an excuse to get your thieving Ashtarite hands into my pack! Stay away from me!”

            Eyes atwinkle, Raven eased closer to Quinn, who began to repack with urgency. “Oh, Quinn. I wouldn’t steal from you. We’re soul-mates, lover. Oh...that’s pretty. Can I look at it, Quinn?”

            “No!”

            Chuckling, Tane turned away to look for his pack. He found it soon enough, pausing to glance inside. Everything appeared to be there, so he headed back to the formation. He saw a bemused Raven still tormenting Quinn, trying to sneak a hand into his pack. The half-elf was proving quite vigilant, in a frantic sort of way.

            The sergeant finally ordered Raven to leave Quinn alone, much to her delight and Quinn’s embarrassment. Tane thought the sergeant did it on purpose, because he tried to hide his grin. But a heartbeat later the sergeant was all business, ordering everyone to fall in.

            They were marched to new quarters, more to the west and centrally located on the south walls of the city. The Royal Army’s fortified barracks beside Stone Dragon Gate were luxurious compared to their previous quarters. Like before, the barracks hugged the outer walls, but here they had direct access to the battlements. Instead of section-sized bays, they were assigned to platoon-sized bays. The bunks were also a bit longer and wider, with racks to hold their weapons on each end and foot lockers to store their gear and personal property.

            Tane quickly found a top bunk and jump up into it. They had fifteen minutes before the supply room opened, where they could draw new boots and anything else lost during their retreat. Of course, the sergeant had warned them to expect to have the cost of anything requisitioned taken out of their pay.

            “What are you doing?” Raven said. “That’s my bunk.”

            “Not this time,” Tane said. Rubbing his head, “Bottom bunks and me don’t get along too well. Take the next one over.”

            Raven scowled, but sat on the lower bunk.

            “No, I’ll take the bottom bunk. I don’t mind being on bottom,” she said, and winked at him mischievously. “Besides, I don’t think anyone but you would help me make my bunk.”

            Tane chuckled as the Vikon couple gave him a hard look. He didn’t care. He liked helping Raven.

            “What now?” Tane asked Quinn as he claimed the next top bunk over. “Our platoon and company are gone. Maybe our whole battalion.”

            Quinn immediately stuffed his pack into the foot locker, and produced a brass lock to secure it. Raven gave a scandalized gasp. Quinn snapped the lock closed and gave her a smug look.

            “The way I heard it,” Raven said as she got up and strolled over to examine Quinn’s lock. “All the survivors, both auxiliary and regular, are being thrown in together and given a section of wall to defend.”

            “What about officers?” Quinn said. He was beside himself with worry of Raven, though trying valiantly to hide the fact. She was bent over with the lock in hand, turning it this way that that. “What company are we assigned to? Who is going to lead us?”

            Raven shrugged, though Tane thought her nonchalance a bit forced this time. She only gave the lock a cursory look, then stood to gnaw on her lip a long moment before answering.

            “There aren’t enough commissioned and non-commissioned officers who survived the battle to form up proper companies and battalions,” she said. “I heard that officers and sergeants of the army and city guard will be assigned whole sections of walls, and command over anyone fighting there.”

            Quinn shook his head woefully.

            “Sweet Mother, how did I get myself into this one,” he groaned.

            “But we still have each other, lover,” Raven said, winking mischievously at Tane.

            “Don’t call me ‘lover!’”

            “That’s right,” Armin said, glaring at Raven from the next bunk over. Then a tiny smile played at the corners of his eyes and mouth. “Elves call their lovers ‘bondmates.’”

            “Don’t