A Betrayal of Faith ✔

THIRTY-ONE: Information

Turian and Emrick's library was bigger than any Isiah had seen before. Every inch of every shelf was covered in books. The ones that didn't fit were stacked in messy piles next to them, threatening to fall over every time someone walked past. A big arch window at the back of the room was the only source of light, casting shadows around the first floor of the tower.

He sat at a desk in the middle of the room, Emrick bustling about around him. Nerin and Rina were outside, training to fight again. On the table in front of him was Turian's note. It was short, but it said more than enough. Harudan had killed his people, all of them except the children. The Mother was dead.

The same thoughts had been repeating themselves over and over and over again since Emrick had told him the day before. He wanted nothing more than to get rid of them, but he couldn't. Because of him, because of what he had done, his people were dead. There was no going back to them, no forgiveness from the Gods, not anymore.

Part of him believed that he should have just let Harudan go through with his plans back in Ishmar, even if it resulted in the death of Rina. But it would have stopped him from killing so many people and it would have stopped his people from being slaughtered by a mad man. It was too late to stop it, but he couldn't help but think it.

Emrick walking by the table again pulled him from his thoughts. He was a strange man. Isiah had never seen someone like him before. He looked young, despite his curly grey hair, maybe only a year or two older than Isiah. His skin was almost white, hints of pale orange and blue poking out from underneath his rolled-up sleeves. Rina had said he was a halfling, someone born from both Askari and Ishini people. He'd heard of them, but he'd never seen one before. It was strange.

"Your accent," he said before he could stop himself. Emrick stopped and stared at him with piercing yellow eyes. "Where's it from?"

He looked surprised, his pale lips parting. "You haven't heard someone like me before?" he asked and Isiah shook his head. He couldn't explain it, the lengthened vowels and the slurred together words, as if he were speaking too fast. "I was born in the border towns. I kept the accent after I left."

His eyes widened in shock. "What were they like?" he asked. It was partly because he was curious, and partly because he wanted to take his mind off of everything. "The border towns?"

But Emrick only smirked and ran a hand through his curly grey hair. "You don't wanna know. Too dangerous for someone like you," he said.

"Someone like me?"

"Someone innocent," Emrick replied. Isiah went to shake his head to deny the words. He wasn't innocent, far from it. He couldn't be more guilty if he tried. Emrick never gave him a chance to speak. "Let me see the stone. I need to see exactly what it is I'm looking for."

It was still in his pocket. Even after everything, he was too scared to take it out and leave it somewhere. He didn't want it to end up in the wrong hands. He kept his fingers clenched tightly around it when he pulled it from his pocket and snapped his hand back the instant Emrick reached for it.

"Don't," he said. "It will burn you."

"But it doesn't burn you?" Emrick asked, curiosity in his voice.

Isiah shook his head. "No."

"Because you're the Beast that was Promised, I would assume." Emrick said the words more to himself than to Isiah, but he heard them anyway. He stared down at the stone. "I'm assuming the crystal Turian wanted me to research is similar to this."

"Crystal? You mean... Did Harudan take the crystal from the Sanctum of Ishin?" he asked. Panic flooded his veins and threatened to expel the small amount of food he had eaten.