The Beast That was Promised ✔

SEVENTEEN: Stones

With the sack over his shoulder, he strode towards the door, only to stop when Benj called out to him again. "Keep my sister safe," he ordered with pursed lips.

"I think she can keep herself safe at this point," he replied with a short laugh. Rina was far stronger than her family thought, stronger than her brother at least. Of course, she needed more training, but she was one of the most passionate fighters he had seen, even if he didn't agree with all of her reasons.

Benj nodded, but there was a sadness in his eyes. "She wasn't the one who was supposed to be a Warrior," he told him, more vulnerable than Emrick had expected him to be. They weren't friends, merely allies, but things had changed for them both. "But I'm glad she's able to be. It's what she's wanted for a long time."

His reply came at once, without him properly thinking about it. "When all of this is over, vouch for her. Let her become what she's supposed to be. She can be a Warrior and a Queen. Things are changing now," he said. For a moment, both Askari looked offended by the suggestion, but slowly, their faces morphed into calm expressions of acceptance.

"Of course," Benj replied and there was something in his voice that Emrick couldn't decipher, something serene, like he'd had a life-changing revelation.

Without another word, Emrick left them. They would be leaving during the night when it was safer for them to walk, but he needed to go as soon as possible. He'd wasted enough time in the camp as it was and Liman was still days away. Isiah and Rina were waiting for him and his stone, he couldn't let them down. Letting them down meant dooming the entire realm to life under the rule of Harudan.

Outside, the world was calm. It had only been a few hours since he'd found Benj in the hut. The bodies of those who had been killed were hidden under tarps behind it, stripped of their armour and weapons. Emrick still wore his in an attempt to keep himself warm while he walked. Without Isiah, he was at the mercy of the winter and needed as many layers as he could get if he wanted to stay warm.

If he was lucky, the other search parties were still looking for the rogue group of Askari, but he doubted it. It had been so long that the Captain would have called them back and when Emrick's party didn't return, there would be an even bigger search in the southern part of town, which meant that both he and Benj's group had to move quickly and carefully.

He'd ordered them to stay as hidden as possible. There was no way he was letting them die so soon after saving them or else everything he'd done would be pointless. At least when he finally made it back to Rina and Isiah, he could tell her that he'd tried to save her brother.

At that moment, he was safe enough to leave without being caught. There was no one around to see him sneak off into the trees beyond the hut. A path led into them, but it was best to walk to the side of it so that he was better hidden should anyone try to follow him. He doubted they would, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He didn't want to arrive in Liman covered in injuries, even if one of them could heal him.

Most of the trees in the tranquil forest were evergreens, perfect for keeping him hidden. When Benj and the others left that night, it would be the perfect cover for them, if they were able to stay quiet until nightfall. After what had happened that morning, surely they would be able to. They weren't complete idiots, even if all of them were new to having to be sneaky and quiet, something that had made up the majority of Emrick's childhood.

Lost in his thoughts, he drifted into the trees. He had no compass and the sun was at its highest point in the sky, which made travelling east difficult, but if he kept in a straight line, he should be alright. He was so far behind. Even a night in the camp had put him further from Isiah than he thought possible. His detour around the crystal river had wasted far too much time and he was still stuck behind enemy lines. He had to move as fast as he could if he wanted to reach Liman, Isiah and the next Sanctum before Ziya fell, but he wasn't sure if he could do it.