26.
some rest. You're going to have a bad day tomorrow."
"Good night!" North nodded his head and went to his room. He tried to rest, but after a couple of hours, got up and went into the living room. Looking down the hall, he saw that the door to the office was still open, and the lights were on. His mother's room was closed. Hopefully she and his aunt were sleeping. With great care he slipped open the door to the balcony. Going to the edge he leaped off, dropping for some distance before he fully opened his wings and soared upward. The city was dark this late at night, with only a few entranceways showing light. In the darkness he dropped to a rooftop. Standing totally motionless he listened but heard no wing beats or hum of a flier. No one was following him. Taking off again, he gained altitude. The building he was headed for was old, and lay in the older part of the city. He knew if he was caught there, there would be more trouble, but he had to go. They would not let him in through the entrance, but he knew another way. Fying to the back of The Temple Of The Dead, he landed on the narrow roof before the small windows that were used to let in the afternoon breezes. As he'd hoped one was not completely closed; with some effort, he managed to lift it as far as it would go, and he was thankful that he was not full grown. Otherwise, he could not have squeezed through.
Coming out on a narrow balcony, he carefully scanned the hall below. It was lit only by prayer candles, but there were so many they gave good light. There was no one there, but those that lay in the two coffins before the altar. North hesitated. Should he attempt to fly down, or use the stairs? Seeing how high up he was, he made his decision. Stepping out over the railing, he fully spread his wings and leaped outward.
Swirling around The Great Hall and landing between the two coffins, he saw that one had a clear top, and had already been sealed, and was ready for The Tomb. The other was dark, and closed with latches, and he knew this was the one he wanted. Going to it he undid the latches and opened the top. When he looked iinside he froze. It was his father's body, but it was stripped to its undershorts. His face was covered with cuts and burns. His hands were tied behind his back, and his feet together. His arms, legs, and chest, were covered with cuts and bruises.
"Father! What have they done to you?" North cried, and fell to his knees. He began to cry. What had been built up in him all day was released. For a while, the man left him, and he was a boy....but not for long. In a short while the tears left him, and he could again bring himself to look once more.
His father had not died as they'd said. There was a wire wrapped around his neck that had been tightened until it had taken his breath. He saw something else too. Initials had been burned into his father's chest. Looking at them, he knew only one person in The Lord's Guard with those initials.
"The Trumpet Of God!" he whispered to himself. "I will remember.