Trinity (19 page)

Kiana turned back towards the
horses grazing a short distance away. Suddenly, her pupils
contracted into tiny pricks as her eyes grew wide and her mouth
dropped open. Raising her hand, she pointed at the road behind
them. Skaric’s stomach lurched as he saw seven riders moving at a
fast pace towards them.

“
Wolves?”
Nidan said.

Skaric peered at the riders,
which were quickly becoming more than dark shapes. Bile rose into
his mouth as he recognised Berend’s hulking form. “Yes.”

“
We can’t hope
to get down into the valley fast enough,” Nidan said. “We stand and
fight. Your magic will even things out.”

Skaric’s hands began to shake.
He tried to think of another way, but his mind was barraged with
the memory of searing pain and sizzling flesh. Instead, he faced
Nidan. “My magic… I can’t...” Skaric looked down; he should have
told them sooner. Guilt twisted in his gut; he should have been
able to break past his fear of casting magic. If he didn’t, they
would die. Just the thought of flames feasting on his body made
Skaric’s stomach heave. “I can’t!”

Nidan’s eyes narrowed. “What do
you mean you can’t?”

Skaric couldn’t bring himself
to answer.

“
You should
have told us,” Nidan said through clenched teeth.

“
Don’t argue.”
Kiana said in an urgent tone. “Please!”

The Wolves were getting closer
by the heartbeat, allowing Skaric to see that one of the riders
wasn’t wearing armour. “They have a nyxus with them.” He curled his
hands into fists.

Kiana stared at them both with
wide eyes. “What are we going to do?”

Nidan’s lips curled downwards
into a small, angry crescent. “We head south and hope to outrun
them.”

Skaric shook his head. “We
won’t be able to. We have to go down there.” He pointed to the
path. Nidan opened his mouth to object but Skaric cut him off.
“Take Kiana and the horses. I’ll follow you soon.” He grabbed the
dagger from Nidan’s belt.

Nidan’s eyebrows drew down over
his eyes. “What are you going to do?” He deliberately spoke
slowly.

Skaric winced at Nidan’s
reaction. Hadn’t he earned the Guardian’s trust? He looked Nidan
directly in the eyes as he answered. “Make it harder for them to
follow. Now go!”

As soon as Nidan and Kiana set
off leading the horses, Skaric dropped down onto the path behind
them. He thrust the point of the dagger into the hillside, wiggling
it up and down to free one of the stones lodged there. A pattering
of soil dropped to the ground before the stone finally came away
and plopped onto the path.

Skaric repeated the painstaking
process over and over, ignoring the dull pain in his hands from
clutching the hilt so tightly. At first, he only managed to
dislodge pebbles, which wouldn’t be enough. Even though his body
felt weak, Skaric’s actions became more desperate as he heard the
sound of approaching horses; he managed to free a glut of larger
stones. The combination of pebbles and small rocks quickly made the
path treacherous for horses.

Skaric dared
to lift his head above the edge of the plateau. He could see the
faces of the Wolves. Every man was familiar to him, especially
Vali. Skaric’s skin became cold.
Not you.
I didn’t want you to be the one who was sent to kill me.
It had been a foolish wish. Vali was the obvious
choice. The only choice.

Skaric ducked down again and
scanned the winding path for his companions. Nidan and Kiana had
travelled at a reckless pace and were several twists below him;
better to take risks than die at the hands of the Wolves. Unwilling
to waste any more time, Skaric quickly began to lower himself down
the steep hillside, using hand and footholds to lower himself down
at first, before dropping the rest of the way to the path
below.

He had almost reached Kiana and
Nidan when a shout caught his attention.

“
Skaric?”
Berend was standing at the top of the plateau with his men; they
had all dismounted. “It is you, isn’t it? I almost didn’t recognise
you without your beard. I knew you were a coward and a traitor, but
a woman?” The war leader began to howl with laughter. The other
Wolves joined in. Except for Vali.

Skaric knew he was within
striking distance of Vali’s magic. He glanced over his shoulder at
Nidan and Kiana; thankfully, they were just out of range and still
moving further away. Skaric expected to see Vali raise his hand and
begin to cast, but he didn’t. Without taking the time to wonder
why, Skaric lowered himself down the slope and ran after his
companions.

“
Nice work
with the rocks,” Nidan said as Skaric joined them. “I hope it slows
them down enough.”

So do
I.
Skaric looked up again. The Wolves,
still on foot, were investigating the path. Skaric paused long
enough to peer over the edge. They had to reach level ground so
they could mount the horses and gain valuable distance on the
Wolves. They had to escape.

Skaric fixed his gaze on the
path ahead as they navigated a bend that was so tight they almost
doubled back on themselves. Four more bends, almost there. It was a
lie Skaric had to believe.

Pebbles began
raining from above. The horses reared up and whinnied in protest,
their ears twitching and their eyes so wide the whites were clearly
visible. Nidan and Kiana fought to hold the horses steady. Skaric
peered up. Two of the Wolves were at the top of the path, grinning
down at him as they kicked more stones over the edge; the
stones
he
had
dislodged. He bit his lower lip as guilt made his head spin. Skaric
pressed his back against the cliff face and edged past the second
horse. He caught hold of the animal’s reins, taking the burden away
from Kiana. She smiled at him in relief.

Another barrage of gravel fell
down. Instinctively, Skaric raised his arm. From the corner of his
eyes, he saw Kiana drop to her knees, wrapping her arms over her
head.

Nidan glanced back, hunching
his shoulders against the attack. “We have to keep moving!”

Skaric helped Kiana to stand
and then used all his strength to pull the frightened horse further
down the path.

No longer directly beneath the
Wolves, they paused at a turn.

“
They’ll
probably do the same again when we pass beneath them,” Nidan said.
“Damn them. Do Wolves always play with their prey? Why don’t they
just use magic?”

“
We’re too far
away.” Skaric still couldn’t work out why Vali hadn’t attacked when
he’d had the chance.

“
Keep moving,”
Nidan said. “It’s just small stones. We’ll lead the horses through
it.”

“
There are
larger stones too.” Why hadn’t the Wolves used those first? Skaric
knew Nidan was right: Wolves often played with their victims before
killing them—often making hapless prey believe they had a chance of
escape—especially when packs were confident they couldn’t
lose.

Nidan led the first horse and
Kiana jogged alongside him, hugging the cliff face. The Wolves
attacked them again. Skaric bit down a cry as a fist-sized lump of
stone struck his shoulder. His horse skittered to the side, its
hoof almost slipping from the path. Skaric dragged it forward and
looked up in time to see a large rock hurtling towards Nidan. He
cried out but it was too late.

The stone struck Nidan’s head.
The Guardian came to a sudden halt. His grip on the horse’s reins
relaxed. Nidan swayed and didn’t right himself. The weight of his
body carried him over the edge of the path.

Kiana screamed. Skaric could do
nothing but stare as his companion fell, struck the ground and lay
still.

“
Keep moving!”
Skaric said urgently. They had
to keep
moving. “Kiana!”

The assault had stopped.
Hesitantly, Skaric raised his face. He could just see the
expression on Berend’s face. The war leader was grinning
maliciously. Skaric set his mouth into a snarl and took several
heavy breaths as anger boiled in the pit of his stomach. He had to
stay calm; he had to save his companions.

After another
heartbeat, Kiana roused herself, seized the horse’s reins and ran
forward at a carelessly fast pace. Skaric’s heart hammered against
his chest as he followed her, praying that neither of them would
slip. The Wolves still weren’t following, but that didn’t seem to
matter.
Ysia, don’t let Nidan be
dead.

*

“
Run!”
Berend’s shout echoed down the cliff towards his quarry. “Run like
the coward you are, Skaric! But we will catch you, and we will make
you and Miale burn!”

His men stared at him with
nervous expressions plastered on their faces, waiting for
orders.

Berend ignored
their anxiety. “Clear the path!” He smiled.
There’s nowhere they can hide from me.
Berend clenched his fists and turned on Vali. “You shouldn’t
have stopped my men from attacking them.”

Vali stared at him coldly.
“They might have all been killed.”

Berend didn’t see a problem
with that. He searched Vali’s expression, looking for outright
hostility; all he saw was fierce loyalty burning in the young man’s
green eyes.

“
We can’t take
Skaric back to Adalric if he’s dead, can we?” Vali said.

Berend bit down the growl that
threatened to explode out of his throat. No matter how infuriating
the nyxus was, he wasn’t ready to get rid of Vali. Yet.

“
Don’t you
think it was strange that Skaric didn’t attack us?” Vali asked. “He
was close enough to us.”

Berend snarled. “And you were
close enough to him, but you didn’t attack either.”

Vali waved his hand
dismissively. “I didn’t want to kill him. I don’t see why Skaric
would have had the same qualms.”

Berend laughed. “Maybe he knew
he couldn’t beat us.”

“
I know how
skilled Skaric is, and so do you. I know he could have beaten us
all.” Vali’s eyes were narrowed in a thoughtful, almost calculating
expression.

“
He ran
because he’s afraid! Magic nearly killed him. He’s probably too
scared to use it anymore. It’s pathetic.” The words tumbled out of
Berend’s mouth before he had thought about them. “That’s why he
threw his lot in with Miale. Because he knew he would be ridiculed
for being such a pitiful coward.” He smiled to himself.

Vali’s expression became cold.
“And yet he used his magic against you, didn’t he? That is how he
beat you in the forest…isn’t it?”

Berend clenched his teeth. That
was the problem with lies; they had a habit of tripping you up.
“How dare you question the words of your war leader.” Berend spat
the words out as he used his height to overshadow Vali. Annoyingly,
the nyxus showed no obvious sign of fear. “Do your job: hunt Skaric
and the Miale bitch down.”

He peered over
the edge ignoring Vali, who was still staring at him. Skaric and
Miale had reached the bottom and were struggling to lift the
Guardian onto the back of one of their horses. That meant the
Guardian had to be alive.
Shame
.

The distance was a temporary
barrier between Berend and his prey. The hunt was part of the game.
Once he caught them, the fun would begin. Excitement bubbled at the
back of Berend’s throat. Nothing would stop him from killing
Skaric, especially not Vali.

*

After riding across a wide
stream, Skaric pulled up his horse, taking care not to dislodge
Nidan’s unconscious body, which was slung across the front of the
saddle. They needed time to see to Nidan’s injuries, especially the
head wound that was slowly seeping thick blood.

“
What’s
wrong?” Kiana asked, stopping alongside him.

Skaric looked back towards the
path they had descended. The Wolves were heading down it,
travelling at a more cautious pace than the companions had done.
“They’re too close.”

“
Then we
should keep going.” Fear crept into Kiana’s voice, though she was
trying to hide it.

“
They’ll catch
us. We need to slow them down.”

“
How?”

Skaric examined the ground on
the other side of the stream. The hot weather had dried and
yellowed the tall grass. “Fire.” He dismounted and began to rummage
through the saddlebags.

He heard Kiana catch her
breath. “Fire? I thought you couldn’t use magic?”

Cursing the loss of his flint
and steel, Skaric pulled out the crude bow and spindle that Nidan
had crafted for lighting fires.

“
Skaric!”
Kiana leant forward in her saddle to make a grab for his arm as he
passed her. She caught the fabric of his shirt in her fingertips
and held on tightly. “We should just run.”

Skaric looked
up, scowling. “We
have
to slow them down, Kiana.”

“
But a fire…
it will take too long to set one of any size.”

Skaric held a breath in his
throat as he fought down the urge to shout at her. “It hasn’t
rained in weeks. The grass is bone dry. With the wind, it will only
take a spark to start a wildfire.” He stared her in the eyes,
willing her to have faith in his knowledge of fire.

Her mouth quivered as her lips
parted. “A wildfire? Won’t that be devastating?”

Skaric shook his head. “The
stream will stop it reaching the fields, and the hillside will stop
it spreading further west.” He paused and tried to smile
reassuringly at her. The action failed, hampered by the pervading
fear that gripped him. “We don’t have time to argue.”