Trinity (14 page)

“
Skaric?” Kiana
knelt down, keeping her voice quiet. She hadn’t heard the guard
move away. What if he tried to listen through the door?
“Skaric?”

Slowly, his right eye opened
halfway. Even that small action sent spasms of pain through
Skaric’s body. Kiana pressed her fists together at the knuckles,
tensing all her muscles. She wouldn’t cry or scream. She would stay
strong. It seemed to take Skaric a long time to focus on her and
then register whom she was; then his face took on an apologetic
expression.

“
I couldn’t let
her die.” His voice was weak as he spoke through clenched teeth.
His words were badly slurred and it took all Kiana’s concentration
to pick out the sounds.

She edged closer and put her hand
on his shoulder. “I know.” She felt Skaric trembling beneath her
touch.

He whimpered in pain. “Why did
they let you in here?”

“
They think I’m a priestess of Miale.”
Why are you showing pain so clearly? You were so
determined to hide it before.

Skaric’s right eye widened and his
left eye—gummed shut with liquid—tried to open. “You shouldn’t have
told them that. Word might get back to the Guardians… or the
Wolves.”

Kiana pressed her fingertips to
her lips as tears edged up her throat. “Don’t worry about that.
Don’t worry about anything, all right?”

Skaric seemed to try to nod but
ended up just groaning slightly instead. Kiana swallowed
repeatedly. She would not cry. If Skaric couldn’t be strong, she
had to be. She would be.

“
Nidan has healed
the girl. Innogen.”

“
She’ll live?”
Skaric’s voice sounded hopeful.

“
He hopes so.
She’s still unconscious.” Kiana forced herself to smile. “But when
she wakes, I’ll ask her what really happened, and she’ll tell them
you did nothing wrong. They’ll have to let you go.”

Skaric moved his head slightly.
His neck seemed to be stiff, but Kiana thought he was trying to
shake his head.

“
They think I’m a
priestess of Miale.” They’d listen to her. The villagers would do
as she said. “Ducarius told me that people accept the word of a
priest of Miale as truth.”

“
That was a long
time ago.”

The corners of Kiana’s lips
trembled. She hung her head. They wouldn’t listen to her. “When we
get you out of here, we need to do something about the way you
look.” She tried to make her voice sound hopeful.

Skaric stared at her. The silence
stretched on, made worse by the ever dancing flames. Kiana wanted
to extinguish the brand. She wanted to scream.

“
They’re going to
kill me, Kiana.” Skaric’s weak voice ruptured the
silence.

Kiana shook her head, squeezing
her eyes shut. He had to be wrong. She used the back of her hand to
gently stroke his face. Even her light touch seemed to make his
pain worse. She clenched her hands together in her lap. “How could
they do this?”

Skaric half smiled, though the
action was rendered ugly by his injuries and the fluttering light
of the flames. “I’m a Wolf, Kiana; don’t forget that. No one else
will.”

“
But you’re not
like them…” Kiana stopped as she saw his one-eyed stare become cold
and distant.

“
You don’t know
that.” His voice was filled with disgust. “You don’t know what I’ve
done.”

Kiana covered her face with her
hands and took several deep breaths. She would not cry. She would
not hate him. When she moved her hands, she realised that his gaze
had never left her. “Don’t do that.”

His stare didn’t waiver.

“
Don’t try to
make me hate you. It didn’t work when we first met, and it won’t
work now. Understand?” It was difficult not to raise her voice.
Kiana wanted to shout at him.

Skaric continued staring at her;
his right eye glistened in the darkness.

“
I’m not going to
let them kill you.” The emptiness of her words would have echoed
around the room to taunt her if they could have. Kiana knew she
couldn’t save him.

Skaric’s right arm strained
against the tight ropes. He groaned as his body spasmed and became
rigid. What was he trying to do? Reach out to her? Kiana put her
arm on his shoulder again and stroked him gently.

“
I’m not worth
dying over, Kiana. Promise me you won’t do anything. Just walk
away.”

Kiana shook her head so quickly it
made the room spin briefly. “I can’t…” The fierceness of his gaze
made her close her mouth and nod her head.

It made Kiana sick to think that
the people who had seemed so kind earlier in the day had turned
into monsters before her eyes. Even plump cheerful Alish had
screamed and jeered for Skaric to be killed.

“
Promise me!” The
desperation in his face was too much.

Tears welled in Kiana’s eyes. “Why are you suddenly so worried
about my safety? I thought you still wanted to kill me…” She tried
to make her voice sound light and flippant. The failed joke hung on
the air between them, making the hut suddenly seem colder. Kiana
shivered.
Why did I say those
words?

Skaric closed his eye, though his
body remained tense. His chest shuddered and his breathing became
ragged. “I don’t.” His voice was so weak it was barely audible.
“Not any more. Not since you saved my life.”

Kiana leaned down to kiss his
battered cheek. “You know, Skaric, you are the most trustworthy
untrustworthy person I have ever met.” She felt him tense beneath
her touch.

“
Get the answers
you need to restore Miale.”

Don’t say goodbye.
“I will.
I’ll restore the
whole
trinity. I promise.”
Please don’t say goodbye.

“
You should
go.”

Kiana shook her head. She couldn’t
leave him alone. He was in pain, afraid and facing death. He didn’t
deserve to suffer alone.

Skaric’s right eye opened
slightly. “They’ll get suspicious if you don’t go.” His voice was
insistent, desperate.

Kiana shook her head even more
fiercely.

“
Please
go!”

Her hand dropped from his
shoulder. She was just making him feel worse. Nodding, Kiana pushed
herself back onto the balls of her feet and stood. She began to
walk backwards slowly, forcing herself to continue to look at him
and memorise every part of his face. Even if he was battered and
barely recognisable, she wanted to remember Skaric in that moment.
He had stopped looking at her and was just lying as limply as the
ropes would let him.

When she reached the door, Kiana
bent down to pick up the torch. The flames flickered with dizzying
intensity. The shadows in the bottom half of the room became
deeper, smothering Skaric. Tears began to trickle down Kiana’s
face. She brushed them roughly aside, turned and bashed her hand
against the door until it was opened for her. She didn’t look at
the guard as she ran past him into the darkness of the night. She
had to get away from the hut. Away from Skaric.

Chapter
Eight

Nidan stood outside the old temple, watching as Skaric was
dragged out into the sunlight. The Wolf’s face was littered with
bruises that had darkened into a variety of shades of purple and
blue. Nidan clenched his teeth as a shiver ran through his body. He
understood why Kiana had spent the night so distraught, but
understanding was
not
the same thing as agreeing.

It looked like the entire village
was present to watch the serving of justice; even the children were
eager to watch alongside the men and women. Some looked curious but
most looked angry or stared at the Wolf with disgust; none showed
any hint of pity or regret about what had been done to the unarmed
man. And why should they?

There was a cheer as the Wolf was
thrown to the ground. Both of the men that had held him gave him a
kick in the ribs before moving back a few paces. The Wolf didn’t
move at all; he probably didn’t have the strength to.

Nidan folded his arms across his
chest, refusing to feel pity. He watched as Cadman stepped forward
out of the crowd, followed by a couple who were leading Innogen by
the hands. Thanks to Pios’ magic, it was now impossible to tell
that she had even been hurt.

“
Innogen, tell us
what this man did to you,” Cadman said, his words coated in hatred
as he spat them out.

Nidan watched the girl as she stared at the Wolf. What
was
she going to say? Kiana was absolutely convinced that the Wolf
was innocent of any wrongdoing. Nidan was less sure. He wanted the
Wolf to be guilty.
There, I’ve
admitted it
.

But if the Wolf was guilty why had
he tried to save Innogen’s life?

Innogen’s eyes widened and her
mouth dropped open. She reached out and tried to step forward. Her
father wrapped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her back.

“
What did this
man do to you?” Cadman said.

“
Nothing. I’ve
never seen him before. I was climbing and I fell.” She sniffed
loudly. “Why is he hurt?”

The crowd began to whisper amongst
themselves.The shrill cry of Innogen’s mother instantly silenced
them all. “What wickedness is this? What magic have you cast on our
child?” She spat at the Wolf.

The Wolf did not respond.

Nidan watched as shouts of agreement ran through the crowd.
They had no evidence that the Wolf could even cast magic, but that
didn’t matter to them. He was a Wolf; it was just another
accusation to add more fuel to the fire. Nidan snarled. He had seen
firsthand the devastation a Wolf mage could cause. If the Wolf
wanted to, he could slaughter them all. Why didn’t the villagers
stop to ask themselves why the Wolf hadn’t done that? Nidan shifted
his stance. Why
hadn’t
the Wolf used his magic to save
himself?

Innogen tried to object as she was
led away, but no one was listening to the girl, least of all her
parents. She was crying openly, screaming and reaching out to the
Wolf.

Nidan felt an odd shift inside
himself: his stomach suddenly felt hollow. Innogen didn’t see a
Wolf. She only saw an injured man. She didn’t understand why her
family was so angry. Nidan tried to smirk but couldn’t force the
action upon his lips. She was a child: innocent and naïve. What did
she know about the world or Wolves?

“
Enough!”
Cadman’s voice silenced the crowd. “I have seen and heard enough to
pass judgement.”

The
emptiness in Nidan’s stomach increased. Cadman had seen nothing
except a Wolf returning an injured girl to her home for healing. He
had heard nothing more except that same girl proclaiming the Wolf’s
innocence. Kiana had been right: not just about that but about
Nidan as well; he
was
letting anger and hatred drive his
feelings towards the Wolf. Skaric. The Wolf had a name.

There was only one judgement that
Cadman would pass, and the crowd knew it. They began a unified
chant of one word: death. It was a sentence that Cadman could pass
because the laws of the twelve Lords didn’t apply to Wolves. They
killed indiscriminately, so they were killed just as lightly.

Nidan couldn’t stand still any
more. He pushed his way through the crowd and stood facing Cadman.
“What’s your judgement?” He spoke loudly so that he could be heard
above the chanting.

Slowly the crowd began to hush.
Nidan was shaking. His mind was racing. What could he actually do
for Skaric?

“
Death.”

The crowd cheered.

There had to be a way… “How?” He
paused purposefully, waiting as Cadman’s forehead wrinkled in
thought. “Do you often perform executions?”

Cadman’s mouth flapped open and
closed a few times. “Death by sword!” He looked round at the crowd,
raising his arms to ellicit another cheer.

Nidan nodded thoughtfully as he
waited for the crowd to quieten down. “Will you run him through or
sever his head? It can take several blows to do the latter.” He
began to walk round, catching the gaze of as many people as he
could. “What do you intend to do with the body?”

Cadman did not have an immediate
answer; his voice stuttered over several failed attempts to speak.
“String it up on the walls of the village!”

There was another cheer.

“
And go against
Pios?” That hushed the crowd. “Pios teaches us that the body is
sacred and should be buried.” Nidan waited; surely Cadman wouldn’t
dare to argue.

“
He’s a Wolf!
Pios’ edicts do not apply to him.”

The crowd agreed with him,
cheering and jeering.

Think. Think
. Nidan forced
himself to laugh. “A body on the wall will turn away any traders
that might travel here as summer turns to autumn. What about your
children? Do you really want to give them nightmares because they
have to see a rotting carcass every day? Not to mention the stench
and the rats and birds. Have you seen what happens to a body that’s
left to fester, rot and be devoured by beasts?” Nidan hadn’t and
never wanted to.

Cadman’s face turned a deep shade
of scarlet. “And what would you suggest, Guardian?”

Nidan hesitated.
Let him
go?
That still wasn’t an option.
“I’ll take him out into the forest and kill him there.”

“
I won’t have his
body buried. Let the beasts devour a beast.”