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

Chapter 63

            Tane called a halt to their headlong flight once the stitch in his side proved too much to endure. The long, hard run before their capture hadn’t hurt as much as the wild one hour ride along the trade road. The road was narrow, with many limbs hanging low under the weight of snow and ice. Tane and Quinn had suffered the most, their faces picking up more scratches and bruises. Raven and the Vikon couple were experienced riders and knew how to avoid such punishment. It was all Tane or Quinn could do to stay ahorse.

            “I was just starting to relax and enjoy the ride,” Raven said as she dismounted, grinning mischievously at Quinn’s grimace as he dismounted beside her. Then a look of shock claimed her face, “Shining Gods! I thought elves could endure more than any human! The world is truly coming to an end!”

            “It’s my human half that’s hurting,” Quinn said and sniffed haughtily. “The elven half barely realizes anything is amiss.”

            “By the pained way you’re walking, I’d say you’re human from the waist down,” Armin laughed.

            Joelle and Raven roared with laughter, while Tane shared a sympathetic look with the half-elf. Seeing what had happened to Quinn, Tane decided not to attempt walking until his groin muscles realized they had been granted a reprieve and relaxed.

            Squatting beside his horse, Tane asked, “So, does anyone know where we are? Or how far the next city is? How far Caeren is from here?”

            “You’re our glorious leader,” Raven said, sitting cross-legged in front of him. She patted the snow-covered ground in front of her, “Lay face down, my hero.”

            “In the snow?”

            “Yes. I know a thing or three about relieving cramps,” she said, grinning wickedly. “Not to say the savior of the whole world has cramps. I would never speak such blasphemy! I just want to get in your good graces in case you have any sway with the Gods.”

            “Your jokes aren’t getting any better,” Quinn grumbled.

            Raven winked at him, “You’re next, sugar thighs. So don’t go getting jealous on me.”

            Willing to try anything to relieve the pain, Tane did as Raven instructed. Armin made a crude remark when she began a deep massage of his buttocks and inner thighs. His face burned red under the laughter until he realized her ministrations were working. Soon, his muscles relaxed and he could move freely. Then she removed his boots and started in on his feet, which proved more soothing overall than the previous massage. Seeing the results, Quinn didn’t hesitated when Raven patted the spot Tane vacated.

            Halfway through Quinn’s massage, Armin asked, “Could you teach Joelle how to do that?”

            That got him an elbow in the ribs.

            “Where did you learn to do that?” Joelle asked, not sure that she liked the idea or not. As a Vikon, she was practically born in the saddle. But, frequently, the poor and desperate went to the Vikon for medical attention. Such a skill might prove useful, and profitable. “Is the skill common in the Tyr Mountains?”

            Raven was quiet a long moment, her face expressionless as she worked on Quinn’s knotted muscles.

            “No,” she said, then began working on Quinn’s feet by pressing firmly on certain spots. The half-elf sighed and relaxed further. “It’s common to trained slaves, though. and I’m highly trained.”

            For the first time, Tane heard bitterness in Raven’s voice when discussing her slave training. Before, she had treated it as a way to scandalized others, to taunt them with her beauty and skill in using it. At times she even flaunted it. Something told Tane that this was the real Raven showing through.

            Suddenly she slapped Quinn’s rump, “Up and at them, lover! You’re looser than a back-alley whore, and twice as ugly. But I love you anyway.”

            Quinn rolled over with a grunt, saying, “You have a way with words. And just when I was starting to like you.”

            She laughed and grabbed hold of his week’s growth of beard, giving it a playful tug. “I’m the love of your life, and you know it.”

            “Time to leave,” Joelle said, standing. “Now that our pedestrians are healed, maybe we can lengthen our lead.”

            Even Quinn laughed at that.

            Tane rose slowly to his feet, but made sure no one noticed his pain. He was painfully aware that he was the only one of the group that wasn’t a seasoned campaigner. The last thing he wanted or needed was for the others to ease up on their efforts for his sake. Then he saw Raven’s grimace of pain as she rose to her feet. No one else was looking.

            He remembered her injured neck. She still didn’t turn her head, or look up or down very much.

            “Wait,” he said. “Joelle, can you heal Raven’s neck?”

            “There’s nothing wrong with my neck!”

            “You can barely move – ”

            “It’s just a bruise,” she snapped, eyes blazing so hotly that Tane wondered what he’d done wrong. Didn’t she want to be healed? “I’ve been hurt worse than this dozens of times, and kept on fighting.”

            “I’m Gifted in healing,” Joelle said, thankfully taking Raven’s attention away from Tane.

            “But all magic takes a toll. Your strength is limited, or at least your store of energy,” Raven said, her rage starting to burn out. “If we’re attacked, we’ll need your magic. Some of us might sustain life-threatening wounds. I won’t allow you to waste it on such a minor injury. Leave me be.”

            “You can’t fight injured,” Quinn said.

            “Are you man enough to try me?” she said venomously.

            “But we want to help you,” Tane said, confused by her refusal. “You’ve done so much for us – ”

            “I’ve done nothing for you!” she screamed, tears spring from her eyes. “Shining Gods, I betrayed you! All of you! I’m the reason the priest could track us down!”

            Raven turned her