Everything Is Eternal (Book Two)

XIV

"All right," Will said in his best imitation of a gruff, commanding tone. "Where...where are we?"

"T-The sanctuary," the acolyte answered nervously, as if he was afraid the Dark had made Will unstable.

Will was too panicked at that moment to contradict that assessment. "I know we're in a sanctuary!" he snapped. "Which one?"

Either fear or loyalty kept the acolyte silent. Will couldn't waste time, hoping to get some information. He looked around at the row of doors in the desolate hallway. "Get the other cells open!" he ordered, pointing the club at them for emphasis.

"I can't... they're sealed and only Eternal Light can open them!"

"Then how did you..." Will trailed off as he noticed the discarded orb on the floor. "Of course. How do you get some of the Light out without the rest escaping?"

The acolyte refused to speak.

Will swung the club again. "Do you know how corrupted my soul is? Do you really want to mess with me?"

"There is no answer I can give you," the acolyte said. "You... all the prisoners are corrupted. I-If I h-helped you escape, I'd be helping the Dark grow. So I-I won't help you, even if you kill me."

Will considered himself a decent judge of a person's honesty. His instincts were telling him that no matter how much he scared the acolyte, he wouldn't help him. A dark thought slithered into his mind. Maybe the acolyte might be more willing to talk if Will bashed his knee. He even stepped near the acolyte, ready to bring the club down.

But he couldn't do it. Even though this bastard participated in torture. Even though this bastard had likely watched the drowning of innocents.

Because Will was supposed to be part of a movement that wanted a better way. Jon Knight always claimed that violence would prove the Sacred State's argument that they were corrupted. When he beat on the guard, it to reinforce the acolyte's conviction that Will's soul was poisoned.

What would Kate think?

With little time to make a choice, Will eyed the acolyte. "Strip."

"I... what?"

"Need I repeat myself?" Will asked sharply. "Strip! Or I'll bash in that guard's head!"

The acolyte bought Will's threat. He swiftly disrobed, an unnerving reminder of the last autumn, when Mitsuko did the same.

Will halted the acolyte before he could remove his underclothes. "That won't be necessary."

Without his sacred garments, it was obvious the acolyte wasn't old. Probably only three years younger than Will. Too young to do Sister Celine's sick bidding.

He had no time to entertain empathy for the acolyte. Instead, he ordered the kid to move the guard into the cell and then go into the cell himself.

"I'm sorry." Faint guilt washed through Will. "I didn't want to hurt anyone. I just... I won't be used by Sister Celine."

The young man looked at him with wide eyes. "The Si-Sister is trying t-to save your soul..."

"She doesn't give a shit about my soul. This is petty vengeance," Will said. "But I won't sink to her level. I won't hurt you."

He slammed the door shut. There was no need to lock it. Once the door was closed, the Light of the sanctuary began flowing through it. If Will was superstitious, he would fear the appearance of Light.

But Will had no time for that nonsense. He quickly wrapped the acolyte's robes around his body and pulled the hood over his bruised, shaved head. There was no reflective surface, so there was no way that Will could tell if the disguise was the slightest bit convincing.