Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Tithe
    The Tithe
    The Tithe
    Ebook57 pages44 minutes

    The Tithe

    By KC Burn

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Seven years ago, Aric watched his best friend enlist in the United Human Coalition military and leave aboard a starship. Aric was a simple farmer, one of many who provided foodstuffs to the UHC. How could he possibly compete with the lure of space travel and the chance to see other planets? But it's time to move on with his life. Mourning "what might have been" was futile and only made his family worry.

    Seven years ago, Tobin had nothing to offer Aric beside his heart and a strong body. Not nearly enough for Aric's family, who'd already begun the search for suitable brides. Without prospects and unwilling to watch Aric marry someone else, Tobin enlisted. At least he'd have the excitement of seeing new worlds while fighting to protect humanity. But military life was not kind to him, and when he unexpectedly returns home, he has even less to offer Aric than before.

    Seeing Tobin again fills Aric with joy and he's bursting with feelings he'd never dared confess. But Tobin is a different man from the boy who left. Settling back into farm life might be well beyond his capabilities, and the unspoken feelings might be better off left unsaid. Because losing Tobin again could break Aric for good.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherKC Burn
    Release dateAug 12, 2023
    ISBN9781950068937
    The Tithe

    Read more from Kc Burn

    Related to The Tithe

    Related ebooks

    LGBTQIA+ Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Writer’ S Retreat

      May 18, 2020

      Writer’ S Retreat
      6 min read

    • Article

      Oat Grass

      Jun 25, 2020

      Oat Grass
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Bone Ships

      Oct 9, 2019

      RELEASED OUT NOW! 496 pages | Paperback/ebook Author RJ Barker Publisher Orbit The salty scent of the waves. The creak of the rigging. The soft glow of… corpselights powered by child sacrifices?! RJ Barker’s new trilogy is a pirate yarn wrapped in Ha

      1 min read

    • Article

      Books

      Dec 19, 2022

      Books
      10 min read

    • Article

      For The Wolf

      Jun 16, 2021

      ⏵ RELEASED 17 JUNE 480 pages | Paperback/ebook/audiobook ⏵ Author Hannah Whitten ⏵ Publisher Orbit Books Wolves run through fairy tales, flashing a tooth here, a tail there. But if you pick this up expecting to see familiar motifs popping up, you’ll

      1 min read

    • Article

      Martian wants Drabbles

      Jul 7, 2022

      Martian is a zine for SF drabbles and the team publish new ones twice a week. Drabbles are very short stories of exactly 100 words (excluding title) and they are tricky to write. Read what’s published here to see how other writers do it. The editoria

      1 min read

    • Article

      Super Power Couple

      Jun 15, 2022

      Super Power Couple
      6 min read

    • Article

      God Of The Woods

      Oct 24, 2024

      God Of The Woods
      7 min read

    • Article

      A Wonderful Life

      Dec 7, 2023

      A Wonderful Life
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Black Spider

      Nov 28, 2019

      The Black Spider
      22 min read

    • Article

      Show Stoppers

      Sep 19, 2019

      ONE late afternoon in August I popped into the 105th Gilsland Agricultural Show with The Media Queen and Mouse, her Scottish deerhound. Nearby Gilsland was popularised by Sir Walter Scott who arrived in 1797 in search of a wife and found one. As a re

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Wild Laughter

      Jul 24, 2020

      The Wild Laughter
      4 min read

    • Article

      Your Letters

      May 8, 2020

      In about 2015 I discovered my father’s death certificate on a Canadian site, which revealed he had remarried in Canada and he had at least one child who was the informant on his death certificate, but the signature was illegible. After much online re

      6 min read

    • Article

      I Ran Away From Home At 60!

      Feb 20, 2024

      Three decades ago, I celebrated my 30th birthday in the time-honoured tradition of all young people who think they are an adult but have no real idea about life, duty or personal responsibility – I got smashed. In fairness, I had quite a lot to get s

      4 min read

    • Article

      How I Went Viral

      Apr 15, 2020

      IT began, like so many things, in China. My friend Gerald, a techno-Jurassic, but, like all of us, having to learn fast, had accidentally hacked into my e-contacts. (My address book, need I point out, is more star-studded than that of du Maurier’s Re

      3 min read

    • Article

      Four Of A Kind

      May 3, 2023

      Four Of A Kind
      4 min read

    • Article

      Howard’s End

      Sep 10, 2020

      EVERYTHING comes to an end, and I have decided to make this my final article. For many, this will be a considerable relief – especially my two long-suffering children, William and Alexandra, whose adventures and misdemeanors have long provided me wit

      3 min read

    • Article

      Ricko’s Not-so-modern Life

      Dec 11, 2018

      Ricko DeWilde steps off of a small wooden boat on the Nenana River and onto dry land. The steep, muddy ridge he must ascend to continue our goose hunt is too tall for him to see over the top, but it’s not too tall to climb. He eyes it warily. “I don’

      8 min read

    • Article

      THE DUKE OF Edinbrough Hotel

      Nov 13, 2019

      THE DUKE OF Edinbrough Hotel
      6 min read

    • Article

      How the Cicada Screams

      Dec 1, 2020

      How the Cicada Screams
      7 min read

    • Article

      Book Club

      Aug 18, 2021

      Book Club
      5 min read

    • Article

      Dude’s Last Hunt

      Jul 17, 2023

      Dude’s Last Hunt
      6 min read

    • Article

      Green Ticket To Ride

      Feb 19, 2024

      Green Ticket To Ride
      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Tithe

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Tithe - KC Burn

      Chapter 1

      Aric Durain leaned over the tub and dumped a pitcher of water over his head. The sharp chill was refreshing, even if it wasn't the full shower he'd hoped for. He'd barely had time to grab a meal here and there for the past week. With three of his farmhands recovering from a Krezan parasite and two major pieces of farm equipment waiting for parts, Aric had had no choice but to work long, grueling days to ensure his farm's tithe was ready when the transport ship arrived. Today.

      Three hours of sleep would normally fray his patience, but he didn't have time for temper. He had to travel to Cang, the closest port city, to hand over his farm's tithe, as he'd done every year for the past thirteen years. At twelve years of age, he'd been so proud his father had entrusted him with such an important task. Back then he'd also had the company of his best friend, Tobin. It had been a mini holiday for the two of them, to take a skimmer into the port, watch the ponderous berthing of the great transport ship in the sky, then turn over the tithe tally to the quartermaster. After that, they'd spend hours watching the tithes get loaded onto the ship before heading back to the farm, arriving just as dusk fell.

      For the past seven years, he'd done it alone.

      Using a grubby towel, he scrubbed at his face, hair, and chest, hoping the friction would not only dry him off but take most of the week's ruchaba dust with it. Ruchabas might be a legume so packed with nutrients a person could survive on nothing but a diet of them, but Aric sure as shit wouldn't want to. He'd lost his taste for the mealy things long ago, but they were of immense value to the United Human Coalition's military, so his farm did well, as did all the ruchaba farms on P-591.

      A quick inspection of the towel assured him he was, if not clean, at least better than he'd been ten minutes ago.

      After grabbing a brush, he ran it through his wild red tangles, just enough to temporarily tame them before he donned a simple but flattering navy shirt. He tucked it into the waistband of his pants and managed to avoid catching sight of his plain farmer's face in the mirror.

      Now if only he could also manage to avoid his sister, Rissa, he could count this day a success.

      He strode out of his room and through the common areas of the farmhouse to the door.

      Not fast enough.

      Aric. Let me go this year.

      He turned to face his sister standing at the doorway to the kitchen. She'd arrived the previous day to check that the hands were on the mend, and as early as it was, he hadn't expected to see her again before he left for Cang.

      Don't worry about it. I'm ready to leave already.

      He'd sent his remaining farmhands ahead to convey the ruchabas to the port. All that was truly required was for a Durain to present the tally to the quartermaster sometime over the next two days, while soldiers loaded the crops into the belly of the transport ship.

      Rissa's russet brows drew together.

      Why do you do this to yourself? It's been seven years. He's never coming back. Tobin Wichary is gone. Accept that. Move on, please.

      He shrugged. How could he explain it to his sister when he couldn't explain it to himself? Spending the day watching the activities of the transport was more like a pilgrimage or a memorial than because of any real hope Tobin would return. Even if Tobin came home, there's no way he'd stay. The ruchaba-covered dustbowl of P-591 couldn't compare to the glamour of space travel and the excitement of other planets.

      There's a nice guy in the next town. A friend of Garrett's.

      I don't know, Ris.

      "Please. Just meet him. I'm worried

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1