Chapter 2: Well, I'll Bee
Belissar awoke with a start, sitting upright. He blinked for a moment, then gasped and reached for his back. He didn’t feel anything there. No arrow shaft, no wounds, no pain, not even blood. He blinked again.
Had it all been a dream?
Just then, vivid memories passed through his mind. He could smell the smoke of flames just outside his window...and the scent of blood. He heard the screams of the villagers, the roar of burning houses, and the angry shouts of soldiers. He could see sunlight reflecting off metal blades before they plunged into his neighbors. He could remember the sharp pain stabbing into his back.
He turned pale and began to sweat. No, he didn’t think all that was a dream after all. Not to mention the fact that he apparently hadn’t awoken in his bed...or on the ground where he had fallen.
He finally thought to look at his surroundings. He was...well, he didn’t know where. All around him was empty white space with only a single feature. A glowing sphere hovered in the air a bit in front of him.
“Am I...dead?”
He couldn’t think of any other explanation for his current surroundings, and the sudden lack of mortal wounds on his back. But at the same time...this did not match anything he had been told. Where was the Hall of Judgement? Where was the God of Death?
Just then, he heard a buzzing noise. He began glancing around until he saw it. A single bee, buzzing around the glowing sphere. She flew up to him and he held up his hand by reflex. His eyes widened as she landed right on his finger. She was missing an antenna, just like the one from the spider web.
“Don’t tell me you died too?”