A Betrayal of Faith ✔

TWENTY-TWO: Ishin's Stone

Isiah was going to vomit. He bent over, hands planted on his knees and retched, but nothing came up. Nerin was next to him in an instant, awkwardly running a hand up and down his back. He couldn't see his friend. Whatever cave they had run into was pitch black. It made him nervous; who knew what hid in the dark. Something worse than Jonin's blade could be waiting for them.

Through the stone walls, Jonin roared, his words indistinguishable. They wouldn't have the equipment to get through the stone. If nothing was waiting for them in the cave, they would be safe. All they would have to worry about then was how they would get out. There was no light to see by, which meant no nearby exit.

He jumped when another, bigger hand grabbed his arm. "It's just me," Rina said. "Are you alright?"

He shook his head before he realised she couldn't see him. "No," he whispered. The Father was dead, killed in the most violent way possible. He'd done nothing to deserve it, but Sir Jonin hadn't cared. The knight had skewered him as though he were a piece of meat. It hadn't even mattered to him.

Isiah had barely known the man, but he was a high member of his faith, a pacifist faith. He didn't deserve to be torn down like he was nothing. There would be no one to look after the Sanctum anymore. No one would ever know about it because there was no way he would escape to tell anyone about it. The Sanctum would be forgotten again.

Too many people had died in such a short space of time. One of them had been at his hands and now one of them was his fault. If he hadn't decided that they should go west, the Father would still be alive. Now, he was a lump on the rocks where no one would ever find him. All because he'd tried to stop Sir Jonin from hurting them.

It wasn't fair. Nothing had been fair since he left the Mother and the Sanctum. He should have waited until after the Princess left before he started his pilgrimage. It would have made everything easier. He never would have gotten caught up in her mess. He would have just been another servant when war hit Vishera. He wouldn't have thought anything of it.

Knowing the truth didn't even make it worthwhile. He wanted to stop and lie down and never move again so that he wouldn't have to worry about whether or not he was going to die. Every waking moment, he thought about it. He was twenty, too young to be dealing with such things, definitely too young to be running from his death.

"Can you see anything?" Nerin asked, his voice loud in Isiah's ears.

"No," Princess Sharina answered, worry lacing her voice. "But I can feel the walls. There's some kind of path heading further in."

Isiah made a noise in the back of his throat as he straightened. "Further into what?" he asked. He hadn't even wanted to go in when he saw the cliff face opening, but Rina had pushed him in and there'd been nowhere else to go unless he wanted to face Jonin's sword.

"It seems like a cave to me," Rina said. "Maybe there's an exit further in." Or maybe there wasn't and they'd just walked to their deaths. There was only one way to find out.

He took a step forward and reached out an arm to touch the rough walls. "Then I suppose... We had best have a look around."

The faint sounds of their attackers' yelling followed them as they took the first tentative steps forward. There was no adjusting to the dark. Everything was pitch black, no matter how long they were there. After only a few steps, Isiah tripped on the uneven ground and stumbled into the wall. He hissed at the pain in his palm and the feeling of liquid slowly running down his hand.

He kept his other hand on Nerin's shoulder to make sure the boy was still there. Rina had hold of the back of his coat and occasionally tugged on it when they were moving too fast for her. Isiah didn't know what would happen if he lost that contact with them. He'd be lost almost instantly in the darkness.