A Betrayal of Faith ✔

TWENTY-ONE: The Mural

They'd only stayed for four days before Rina decided it was time for them to go. It might not be long enough, but she didn't trust that Sir Jonin had stopped searching for them. Isiah's idea to wait out had been a good one, but there was always a chance that it wouldn't work. For Rina, that chance was growing bigger and bigger with every passing day.

As the hours crawled by, she found herself longing for home more and more. War would reach them soon and she needed to be there to help them. Going towards the border meant going back the way they came, which meant there was a possibility that they could run into Sir Jonin again. She wasn't sure if she could cast another illusion to hold him off. The last time, they had only escaped through sheer luck.

Jonin could have already been called back to Ishmar to help with the war. He was the Captain of Harudan's Guard, after all, he would need to be there. The question was, had that already happened, or was he still searching for her? There was no way of knowing. All she could do was pray to Sol and Lune and hope that she made it to the border without complication.

The Father had been kind enough to supply them with food from his tiny farm beyond the garden. He had a few gold pieces saved up, old and faded, but they could still be used. There weren't many, but it would hopefully be enough to get them where they needed to go. If they were careful, they would be able to stay in villages and buy food without repeating what happened in the last village.

Isiah had quietly packed everything in their bags that morning. She hadn't spoken much to him since they arrived, mostly because he'd been busy speaking to the Father. She could understand it, the Sanctum was something new to him, he'd want to learn everything he could about it.

Had he told the Father about the person he'd killed? Part of her itched to ask, but she knew it wouldn't end well. It would be insensitive, but she was still curious. The Old Gods didn't condone violence, as far as she knew. What would the Father or the Mother say if they knew one of their apprentice monks had killed a man?

Seeing as the Father was still treating them with the same odd kindness he had shown them after they'd explained what they were doing there, it was apparent that Isiah hadn't said a word about the guard he'd killed. Rina could understand it. She wasn't exactly proud of herself for what she'd done either, but if she hadn't done it, she would be dead.

They sat in the sitting room while the Father made breakfast in the kitchen nearby. Nerin was still asleep last she had checked. He didn't need to be awake just yet. Rina handed Isiah her spare jacket to pack away and frowned at him. "Are you alright?" she asked.

He looked at her as if he was only just realising she was in the room. "I'm fine," he said and looked back down at the rucksacks. "Just tired." It didn't sound like the truth, but it certainly looked like it. There were dark bags under his eyes and his movements were sluggish.

"You should get some more sleep then. We still have a couple more hours before we leave," she said. Part of her was tempted to say they could stay another day. They wouldn't get far with Isiah that exhausted, but they needed to go.

Isiah shook his head. "I can't sleep. My mind won't be quiet," he replied, his voice so quiet that she almost didn't hear him. "There's so much I didn't know, so much to learn. Why didn't they tell me?"

She frowned, her eyebrows knitting together tightly. "Maybe they didn't know, Isiah. Things get lost in translation and it's been a long time since your religion was the dominant one in Vishera," she said as gently as she could. She sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What have you learned? Do you want to talk about it."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Does that matter?"

Isiah stayed silent for a minute. "No, I suppose not," he whispered and leaned back in the chair. "The Father told me about the mural out in the garden, I'm sure you've seen it. There's so much about the Beast I- We didn't know. He told me that a long time ago, when the Gods still walked among us, Ishin disappeared. The others stayed, but Ishin vanished from the realm as if they'd never been there at all."