Isiah and Rina were heading east towards the small port town of Liman, the best place to find a boat and get to the island the Mother and Father had pointed out to them. Walking along the bottom of the cliffs was the easiest, it meant they could only be attacked from three directions.
Getting down from the Sanctum had been difficult. The path had been hard to find at first, his panic stopping him from seeing anything clearly. Rina had been the one to find it, guiding him towards it while he shuffled around in overwhelmed silence. He'd never seen so much blood before, not even when Emrick had been attacked near Huton.
And once again, they'd been separated. At least this time, he knew for certain that Emrick was still alive. He knew that Emrick would stop at nothing to get back to them, for the sake of the Beast and the realm, and for his sake as well. But that didn't stop Isiah from panicking about it.
The path that led down the cliff face hadn't been used for a long time. Snow and rocks covered it, ice sitting beneath the snow that made them fall far too close to the edge. Rina continued to freak out whenever it happened, grabbing hold of anything she could, including him. Her grip hurt, but he never told her, not wanting her to panic anymore than she was, not when he was panicking too.
Due to their slow travel, it took them hours to get down, neither of them wanting to fall. The whole time, all he wanted was to go back up and somehow find a way back to the other side, to Emrick and to safety, but it was impossible. Emrick had left them quickly with the promise to get to them as fast as possible, while he'd still been sitting at the edge of the bridge.
The sun had set long before they'd gotten to the bottom of the cliffs, where ruins familiar to those at the fake Sanctum of Ishin sat. He and Rina had stayed the night in the only one that still had the majority of a roof, but he had barely slept, his dreams plagued with the events of the day before.
He'd almost lost Emrick again. It was as though he was cursed to lose the people he cared for the most. The Mother had been the first, then the rest of the fake Sanctum of Ishin, then Emrick far too many times. His dreams showed him scenes where he told Emrick to leave in order to stay safe but when he awoke, he found that it was the last thing he wanted even though it was so dangerous for him.
Watching the bridge fall had been like a nightmare and he still hadn't registered the fact that all three of them were alive and uninjured. Jonin was dead, fallen into the misty abyss. There was no way he should have survived and an awful part of him, the same part of him that had killed all those weeks ago, was grateful. He wouldn't be a threat to them anymore.
His dreams had also tried to show him what would have happened if Emrick hadn't tangled himself in the rope bridge. It was awful and he'd been unable to wake himself up from them. Watching the bridge fall had been bad enough and for the first few minutes afterwards, he'd thought his partner was dead.
It was the one thing that had scared him the most, what he'd wanted to hide when they'd been in Askarune's Sanctum because he'd only just met the people in his visions. But Emrick had found out anyway through a complete accident. He hadn't wanted them to be together because of it but he'd stupidly convinced himself that because they were together, nothing could happen. His eyes had been opened to the truth the second the bridge fell and Emrick disappeared into the mist.
He still wanted them to be together, but he should have been ready for the dangers. He'd thought he had been, but he wasn't. The whole time, he'd known that everything they did would be dangerous, but he'd just wanted Emrick by his side, as if their relationship would somehow protect him from harm. Previous experiences should have told him otherwise.
When Rina had woken from her seemingly peaceful sleep the next morning, she'd smiled at him and helped him get moving. Even with everything, she was still with him. He'd lost the Mother and the Sanctum, Nerin had been left behind to go back to his brother, Emrick was stuck on the other side of the falls, desperate to get to them, but Rina had been constant from the moment he left the Sanctum.
"Thank you," he whispered as they trekked through the thick snow.
She frowned at him, confusion in her eyes. "For what?" she asked.
"Being here," he replied. "I don't think I could do this alone."
There was a long silence before she spoke again. "He'll come back, Isiah. He's not dead," she said, but she had been there when he thought he was, screaming into the abyss.
"I know that," he replied. "But you've still been here, even when you didn't need to be."
"I tried to run away the first chance I got," she said, but there was a hint of laughter in her voice.
He shrugged and gave her a weak smile. "But you didn't, you came back. You saved mine and Nerin's lives that night," he told her. It felt like years ago, but it had only been a few weeks. So much had happened in those few weeks. All he'd ever wanted to do was go on his pilgrimage and live a peaceful life. The Gods had so much more planned for him though.
Rina let out a loud sigh. "I miss Nerin. He was a good soul," she said. They'd been friends, hadn't they? In a strange turn of fate, the royalty of opposing countries had become friends.
But she needed to know what Isiah had discovered. "I think he might have told Harudan about me," he said and she stopped in the middle of the snowy field they were walking through. The wind filled their silence, whipping at their hair and clothes.
"Why do you think that?" she asked and there was a hint of disapproval in her voice and eyes.
"Harudan had the book, but it never said anything about me being the Beast, but somehow Jonin had known, hadn't he? He'd said so," he explained and ran a hand through his hair. "I certainly didn't say anything. The only other person who knew was Nerin and he's with his brother."
Rina almost looked offended. "You really think he would do something like that? After how much he helped us. He killed for you, Isiah," she growled, glaring at him. And after such a kind conversation too. He'd messed it up, but he was going to stick to what he thought.
"I know. He shouldn't have but there's no changing that now," he said and sighed. "I don't think he did it deliberately, he wouldn't have, but I still think it was him. Somehow, he let it slip, but I don't blame him. He's a child. But Rina, can you think of any other explanation?"
He gave her a moment to think. They still weren't moving, stopping the middle of a frozen field, but he didn't feel any of it. How was Emrick faring without the flame stone? He would have to be struggling, but he would also be used to it, he hadn't had powers before Isiah had shown up. He'd had a relatively normal life.
Rina let out an irritated sigh and dropped her head into her hands. "You're right. Of course, you are," she whispered. "He wouldn't have meant it though, surely."
"I hope not."
It had to have been an accident, but even so, it had ended in near-death for all three of them. If it weren't for Belganine's stone, both Rina and Emrick would be dead and maybe even him. All because Jonin and Harudan found out what he was. There would always be danger for them if Harudan knew that he was the Beast that was Promised. If only Nerin had been able to stay silent.
"So what do we do?" Rina asked, walking ahead of him.
He hurried to catch up to her. "I'm not sure, keep moving for now. If anyone else has followed us, then you should be able to deal with them, right?" he asked. She was the only one who could protect him until Emrick met back up with them.
"For now," she answered, not sounding that happy about it. She wanted him to fight too, but he never would. "If Jonin knew where we were - because he did, he was waiting for us - does that mean Nerin also translated the book for Harudan?"
It had crossed his mind briefly, but he wanted to believe that Nerin hadn't. "I'm sure there are other people who could translate. Someone had to teach Nerin, after all. It wouldn't be so hard for a King to get someone to do that for him," he suggested.
"I hope you're right. He was supposed to be one of us."
"He is."
"We never should have left him behind," she said and pushed her white hair out of the way of her dark eyes. "We should have gone back for him, even if it hurt us. Harudan never would have found out the truth if we'd just gone back for him."
He hated how much he agreed with her. If only they could have gone back for him, but none of them had been strong enough to do so. "It's too late for that now. All we can do is keep moving forward. Maybe one day, we'll see Nerin again. We can ask him for the truth then.
"We have to keep focusing on getting the last stone. I need to find a way to deal with Ishin, if that's what I need to face after Harudan. Askarune seemed convinced that it was what I was born to do, but I don't know how I'm supposed to fix it. But, one thing at a time, I suppose." He was rambling, he knew that much, but he couldn't find it in him to stop.
Rina grabbed his hand, stopping his words. "You still need to work out how to use the fear and healing stones too," she said. He'd thought she was going to comfort him, but all she was doing was adding more to his plate. "I want to tell you not to worry about it, but I think now that's all you can do. You'll find a way to deal with it, Isiah, I know you will."
He stayed silent, staring off into the cliff-bordered horizon. He longed to be back in the fake Sanctum of Ishin, oblivious about the world. It had been better when all he had known was the basics of the tensions between Minisia and Brenmar, but even the idea of being so oblivious made him feel sick. At least he had been happier back then.
"I won't be able to attempt the fear stone again for a while," he finally said, his voice quiet. After watching Emrick fall and Rina almost die, he was sure he would finally be ready to use the fear stone. He'd faced his fear and even though he was still terrified of losing those close to him, he should have faced it enough to use the stone.
As for the healing stone, he had no idea why he couldn't use it. The power to heal people was something he desperately wanted, a sharp contrast to the deadly powers he already had, but instead, Rina was the one who could use it. He hadn't been able to heal Emrick up on the cliffs, despite how badly he wanted to. Rina had done it for him.
She had it in her bag and even though neither of them had mentioned it, she pulled it out anyway. It's green glow bounced off the cliff walls and the snow around them, reminding him of the colour of leaves in spring. "I don't know how I can use it. I don't know if I want to use it. It should be yours," she said, frowning down at it.
It should have been, but it wasn't. "If Teremtys is there, they could give us answers," he said.
"Maybe. Askarune didn't seem all that willing to tell us what we needed to know," she replied pointedly.
"I don't think he knew enough," Isiah replied. "I think it was enough that he came all the way here to tell us what we needed to know." And had died soon afterwards. Watching it happen had been awful, knowing that there was nothing he could have done about it. At least three of his Gods had died, all because he'd been born too late.
Rina sighed in response and tossed the stone in the air like it was a ball. It made him wince, but he didn't say a word. "I wish we knew why Emrick and I can use the stones. We shouldn't be able to. You're the Beast," she said.
"I think you're just holding it for me until I'm ready," he suggested with a shrug, trying not to show how much it hurt him that he couldn't use Belganine's stone. The fear stone, he didn't mind so much, he didn't want it, but he did want the healing stone.
"I hope so. But this is your power. You're a pacifist, a peaceful man, this should have been perfect for you. So why can't you use it?" she asked, but all he could do was shrug. He had no idea. It made no sense to him either, but there was nothing he could do about it. There had to be something they were missing.
He said as much to Rina and she pulled her sword from her sheath. He hissed in a breath, unsure of what she was doing, and let out a shocked yelp when she drew the blade across the back of her arm. He reached for her instantly as she wiped the blade on her shirt and put it back where it belonged.
Instead of holding her arm, she pushed the healing stone into his hands, but he felt nothing. With the strength and fire stones, he could feel the power in them, flowing around him like a stream, but there was nothing when he held the healing stone, just the vague feeling of refreshment flooding through his veins.
"I can't use it, Rina," he said.
She sighed and took it back from him. In an instant, the cut on her arm healed up, the flesh knitting back together. She wiped away the blood and it looked as if there had never been anything there in the first place. "Then, for now, I suppose it's mine."