A Betrayal of Faith ✔

THIRTY-TWO: Preparations

She moved like a dancer, her sword an extension of her arm and her stance strong against the battering wind. Her movements were slow, she wasn't trying to fight anyone, but trying to remember the precision of each attack. It was meant to help her relax, to allow her to think over everything that she had learned.

Nerin was nearby, practising the same movements he had been doing for days. He was getting better, slowly. She'd been able to start sparring with him a little, but it hadn't exactly gone to plan. His stance was still weak, his legs too far apart and his arm still injured, so she had him practice the beginning movements again.

She should have been helping Isiah and Emrick load the boat with everything they would need, but she needed to take a break and think. It would be so easy to leave them and return home, but that would mean leaving Isiah, the supposed Beast that was Promised, alone with a child.

If she returned with Isiah and announced him to be the Beast, things would go over better. Her people may not believe in it, but if Isiah showed his powers, they would believe that he was useful. He was meant to save Vishera, which meant saving her people from the wrath of Harudan. To do that, he needed all of his powers. To do that, he would need someone who could protect him. Even though she desperately wanted to get back to her family, Isiah was now more important.

It hurt to think about it. She'd been so desperate to get back that she'd tried to run away from Isiah and Nerin in the middle of the night. And over a few days, she was ready to throw that away and follow the monk north. War would be raging the entire time and she would have no idea how it was going. She would have no idea how her family was faring.

Her foot slipped on an icy patch of grass and she stumbled. It took her only a second to catch herself, but that second brought her back to reality with a sharp jerk. She sighed and put her sword back in its sheath. The evergreen trees waved in the freezing wind, taunting her. She could just step into them and not look back. It would be so easy.

But she didn't. She needed to stay with Isiah and help him. He was the one who would save Vishera. She wouldn't just let him do it on his own. He'd never make it. Nerin may be training to fight, but they'd need someone willing and able to kill. Isiah wouldn't do it, that much was obvious, so she would have to.

"Stay here and practice," she ordered Nerin and strode down the snow-covered path that led to the river. The faint sounds of rushing water reached her ears the closer she got, accompanied by the sound of polite conversation.

Emrick stood in the small rickety boat, slowly placing a sheep-skin bag under the seat. He'd been kind enough to give them food and gold for their journey. Rina smiled sadly at the ground. Most of their survival had been dependent on the generosity of others. Without people like the Father and Emrick, they would have died long ago.

The halfling was strange. She'd seen a few of them when she passed through the border towns on her way to Ishmar, and they'd been very different to Emrick. Even with his accent, he spoke like a noble, not someone from the run-down towns that birthed criminals and killers. It was odd to hear posh words spoken in the twang of the uneducated.

"I am going to miss that stone when you leave," Emrick was saying as Rina approached. "Not even the fireplace can keep that warm when I'm sitting right next to it."

Isiah frowned and tilted his head sideways. "You don't have powers from Ishini?" he asked.

"I don't have any powers, no God blessed me," Emrick replied, a small smile on his face.

"How do you get anything done?" Rina asked before she could stop herself. Her ellinite bracelet was tight around her wrist and she twisted it with her fingers.