A Betrayal of Faith ✔

THIRTY-THREE: Despair

Isiah's lungs burned as he gulped in air. He hadn't had to run so fast since Ishmar and it was starting to hurt. At the sounds of screams, he stopped and Nerin's arm was ripped from his grasp. He tried to get a glimpse of what was going on in the laboratory, but the path twisted and turned, obscuring his vision.

Rina rushed past him. "Isiah! What are you doing?" she cried, panic in her eyes and voice. No other footsteps followed them down the path yet, but it was only a matter of time. With a hiss of breath, he continued towards the boat and tried desperately to ignore the voice in the back of his head. It screamed for him to go back and help Emrick.

He didn't deserve to die for them; he barely knew them. And yet, he'd been so willing. For reasons Isiah barely understood, a man he had met only a couple of days beforehand was willing to sacrifice himself so they could get to a boat. It sounded so pointless. Isiah had the power to save him, if only he knew how to use it.

Rage flooded through him. He was angry with Harudan for everything he'd done, angry with Emrick for being stupid enough to sacrifice himself and angry with himself for being unable to stop it. If he was the Beast, it meant he could save people, but he was already doing a terrible job of it.

He tried to speed up when he heard footsteps pounding against the ground behind him, but his legs were so tired. Whoever was behind him would catch him easily, but Rina and Nerin were still far ahead of him. They would be able to get away if he caused enough of a distraction. Emrick had tried, but there were far too many for one man to deal with.

His fingers clenched tightly around the stone. There had to be a way for him to use it without hurting anybody. But it was fire, it was full of rage and out of control. The one time he had tried it, he'd hurt Nerin. He wasn't going to do that again.

He didn't get a chance to think it through before a hand grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked. He let out a yelp as he toppled to the cold ground and winced at the pain in his back. A guard stood above him, face obscured by the helmet they wore. It reminded him too much of the person he had killed back in Ishmar and those he had burned at the Sanctum.

The guard moved and Isiah finally caught sight of the blade in their hands. He rolled to the side and scrambled backwards on his knees. The stone sat in front of him, glowing the same orange colour, taunting him. Before he could think properly, it was in his hands and he was pushing himself to his feet.

The guard's sword glinted in the light of the stone. Isiah had no idea if they were one of the ones from the Sanctum, but he could tell when they froze that they had at least heard of what he did. "Stay back!" he roared, his voice breaking. He sounded like a child, not the Beast that was Promised.

Other guards came around the corner, closely followed by Jonin, whose sword was stained with blood. Isiah had heard the yells, but he had no idea who the blood belonged to. Emrick or Turian, or both. Either way, if he didn't think of something fast, his blood would join it.

There were too many of them. One was too many for him, but now there were four, and one of them was Sir Jonin. "I said, stay back!" he yelled again, his breath coming out in sharp pants. He had no idea where Rina and Nerin were, but he hoped that they had made it to the boat. If he died here, what would it mean for Vishera? He was supposed to be the Beast, but what happened if the Beast died before he could do anything?

Jonin smirked through his helmet and took a single step forward. It was enough for panic to flood Isiah's veins and for his hand to clench tighter around the stone. When he'd been trying to light the fire that night in the forest, it had taken all of his concentration, but in front of the guards, filled with panic and the fear of death, it took no time at all.