Read Online A Just Farewell by Brian S. Wheeler - Free Book Online

darken
before visiting the boy’s work, and another of the unbelievers’
castles, with so many levels of blinking blue and pearl lights,
orbited overhead to crowd the stars. Abraham’s eyes felt very heavy
when he heard the soft footfalls of the clerics returning to
inspect his efforts, and he forced a dry swallow to gather what
strength remained to keep his legs straight as the high cleric’s
long beard and wrinkled face appeared at the edge of his hole.
     
    “I’m surprised to see you still standing
after such a hot day, Abraham,” the high cleric smiled. “Let me see
your hands.”
     
    Abraham held his fingers and palm to the
high cleric’s inspection, trying his hardest not to wince as the
wind drifted across his sores so that pain throbbed about his
skin.
     
    The high cleric nodded. “You’ve accomplished
much with the shovel. There appears to be room for two more men
within your hole.”
     
    A pair of additional beards peeked upon
Abraham from the edge of the hole, the faces of the two clerics who
had accompanied the high cleric during his visit to Rahbin’s home
early that morning. Both of them dropped into the hole and took a
position next to Abraham, who felt the warmth of their breath as
they shared the space the boy had that morning cleared with a
shovel.
     
    “You must be very hungry, and no doubt very
thirsty,” observed the high cleric, “but there remains one more
test you must endure before you may climb out of your hole and
return to our village.”
     
    One of the bearded clerics punched Abraham
in the chest, and the boy dropped upon the ground as his breath
rushed out of his body. The heel of a boot slammed into Abraham’s
head and filled his ears with a ringing that forced him to sob just
as a hand clutched his hair and slammed his face into the ground.
Abraham tasted blood fill his mouth, and he covered his face with
his arms as the pair of clerics kicked at his side and struck at
his head. What had he done wrong? Had he worked the shovel so
poorly as to deserve such an attack? He had done his best to stand
strong, and his effort seemed to have only attracted another
beating. He felt betrayed, and thus Abraham released his restraint
as the blows struck him, and he sobbed and cried as the clerics
continued their onslaught. Finally, after he gasped for breath as
pain screamed from his ribs with each inhale, the clerics ceased
their beating and climbed out of the hole.
     
    “We leave water with you now, Abraham, and
food.” The high cleric’s voice sounded as calm and kind as it had
the moment his long beard first peered down upon the boy. “Things
as simple as drinking and eating will no doubt pain you now, but
all of this is also a measure of your strength. You must know,
Abraham, that the Maker desires only strong tools, more so than
ever now that we ready to take our battle against the unbelievers
into the stars.”
     
    Abraham heard the clerics’ footfalls echo
away towards the village while he sobbed, curled in a tight ball,
his arms still covering his face to protect himself from the fury
he anticipated falling upon him. The Maker seemed merciful, for a
cool breeze drifted into the hole and helped Abraham catch his
breath and steady his heart, so that the boy soon stretched a
shaking arm to the pouch of water, whose contents pained his hurt
teeth and stung his cut mouth. Abraham left the food where it
remained, too hurt to protect it from whatever rare animal or
common bug might attempt to scavenge from it during the night, and
the boy’s beaten body soon enough fell into sleep.
     
    And the burrowing cockroach with the orange
shell painted in dark swirls returned to the edge of that hole and
silently spied upon it all.
     
    * * * * *
     

Chapter 7 – A Lamb Taken to Slaughter

    The cleric with the short, dark beard and
the wide, menacing shoulders chuckled as he looked upon Abraham and
the bleating lamb.
     
    “Why haven’t you yet accomplished what we
ask of you,