Trinity (21 page)

The guards looked Skaric and
Kiana up and down and then, smirking, exchanged glances.

“
Go right
ahead,” the red headed man said. “Who are we to stand in the way of
romance?”

Skaric bit
down on his lower lip as heat rose to his face. A surreptitious
glance at Kiana revealed that she was blushing too. He doubted
she’d understood the connotations of her innocently intended
words.
At least they won’t worry when we
don’t come back inside the walls tonight.

Skaric held his breath until
they had passed through the gap in the wall and were almost half
way up the hill. He didn’t relax. He couldn’t. Kiana led the way,
picking her way up the hill in increasing darkness; the light from
the walls did not reach to the top, forcing them to rely on star
and moonlight to guide the way. All too quickly, the sound from the
town faded away to nothingness. Skaric kept glancing around,
jumping at every pebble they dislodged and every pocket of
impenetrable darkness.

“
Will you
relax?” Kiana said. “The Wolves won’t come this close to the town.
They’re not insane.”

Berend might
be
. Skaric ran his thumb across the smooth
side of the sword’s pommel. The metal had been warmed by his hand
and was slightly sticky with sweat.
Let
Kiana be right
. He didn’t want her to find
out the hard way that he was no swordsman.

Kiana stopped at the crest of
the hill where a gravestone stood, much larger than the rest.
Someone had taken the time to cut back the brambles and weeds,
revealing the stone even though all the others around it were
overrun by nature. It had an intricately sculpted likeness of
Miale’s face in the centre; her hair flowed out and down either
side, forming columns that framed the inscription. Skaric watched
as Kiana crouched down and traced her fingertips over the single
word.

“
Alamea,”
Kiana said. “She must have been an incarnation of Miale.” She bowed
her head, clenched her hands in her lap and began to
cry.

Skaric stepped
back awkwardly, unsure why she was upset or what he should
do.
He tore his gaze away from her and
continued to glance around the graveyard. It bothered him that the
ground on the other side of the hill was engulfed in darkness.
Kiana snatched his attention away from vigilance.

“
I wonder what
she was like,” Kiana said, lifting her head to look round at him.
“All that’s left is a name. Is that all that will be left of me?
Will anyone remember me?”

“
Nidan will.”
Skaric looked down at the ground. “I will.”

Kiana stared at him. Tears
tracked their way down her pale cheeks, glistening in the
moonlight.

“
Let’s go back
into the town,” Skaric said. He was in no rush to be surrounded by
strangers that would kill him if they worked out who he was, but he
felt too exposed on the hillside.

Kiana stood. “What sort of life
do I have?”

Skaric stepped back as she
stormed towards him.

She planted her hands on her
hips as she stared up at him. “The only people who really knew me
were Guardians or servants. And you. I’ve been shut away from the
world and everyone in it and for what? Protection?” She was making
no effort to hide the anger in her voice.

Skaric glanced back down at the
wall. They were too far away for her words to carry to the
guards.

“
Being locked
in the tower didn’t protect me from the wrath of the Wolves, did
it?”

Skaric dipped
his gaze. The tower should have been strong enough to protect
her.
It would have been, if I hadn’t
acted.

“
All Alamea
would ever have known is the same four walls and the same faces.
Day in, day out. Every incarnation of Miale has been a prisoner.
How can that be right?”

“
I’m sorry…”
Skaric looked up sharply as he heard the soft scraping of boots on
pebbles. He pushed Kiana behind him and clumsily drew the sword
from its sheath.

Two dark forms appeared from
the dark side of the hill, the glint of drawn weapons in their
hands.

“
Wolves!”
Kiana’s voice came out as a high-pitched squeak.

Skaric opened his mouth to
order Kiana to run, then thought better of it. The Wolves would
split up: one to kill him, the other to chase her down. They either
had to stand together or run together. Neither plan seemed like a
good option; if they ran, they would be cut down before they
reached safety. The sword hilt felt heavy and clumsy in his grasp,
more like dead weight than an extension of his arm.

Even though it was dark, Skaric
recognised the Wolves: Hagan and Xaver, Berend’s lackeys. Both men
looked surprised as they set eyes on Skaric and then they both
bared their teeth as they grinned.

“
You might as
well surrender, Skaric,” Hagan said. “We all know you can’t beat
us.”

Skaric set his mouth into a
snarl. He couldn’t beat them in combat, but he did have the power
to snuff out both of their lives. His stomach heaved at the
thought. Skaric felt his sword arm begin to tremble. “Scream,” he
said. He heard Kiana gasp, but he didn’t look back at her. “Scream
as loud as you can, for as long as you can. Then stay behind me.”
He would shield her until help came, even if it cost him his
life.

Kiana didn’t scream.

Grinning fiercely, Xaver lunged
forward. Blindly, Skaric swung the sword in the way. Both swords
smashed together, causing pain to shiver down Skaric’s arm and into
his shoulder. He swept the sword round to defend against another
attack. Xaver’s actions were haughtily lazy. It didn’t matter; if
the Wolf actually tried, he would beat Skaric within a handful of
blows. Skaric knew it. Xaver knew it. Kiana obviously didn’t.

Xaver’s blade screeched down
Skaric’s and bounced over the hand guard, smashing against Skaric’s
hand. Skaric bit back a cry as pain radiated out from the wound;
his hand quickly became slick with blood, and he could barely find
the strength to hold the hilt.

Hagan began to laugh. The sound
sent chills down Skaric’s spine. His skin became cold as Hagan
nonchalantly began to move behind Skaric and Kiana. Skaric switched
the sword into his off hand and then raised his left hand,
extending it towards Hagan. His hand trembled. His stomach lurched.
Nothing happened. Hagan laughed even harder.

“
Give in,”
Hagan said. “The outcome will be the same. We’ll kill the girl and
drag you back to Berend so he can kill you. The only difference is
how beaten up you’ll
be.”

Skaric
narrowed his eyes as he transferred the sword back into his aching
hand.
They don’t want to kill
me
. He was eager to take any small
advantage he could get.

Skaric half turned, placing
himself in Hagan’s way whilst still barring Xaver.

“
You’re really
not going to make this easy on yourself, are you?” Xaver curled his
upper lip in disgust. “We really thought you’d take the coward’s
way out.”

“
That is what
you are, isn’t it?” Hagan said. “A coward and a
traitor.”

Anger blazed within Skaric.

“
We’re trying
to put things right!” Kiana said. “We’re trying to restore the
trinity!”

Both Wolves laughed so hard
they almost doubled over. Skaric jabbed forward but Xaver easily
swatted his sword away.

“
I’m bored,”
Xaver said. “This act of gallantry… does the Miale whore know how
fake it is?” He stepped forward swinging his sword in a wide arc.
“Does she know how much of a coward you really are?”

Skaric raised the sword to
block; realised too late it was a feint and stumbled backwards to
avoid the flat of Xaver’s sword. Behind him, Kiana squealed softly.
He felt her hand on the small of his back, preventing him from
falling.

Xaver surged forward
relentlessly, aiming a blow at Skaric’s side. Skaric had to twist
his arm awkwardly to block it. The effort sent a spasm of pain
through his elbow. Xaver didn’t pause. He aimed his next blow high,
grin wide, eyes sparkling in the near-darkness. Muscle memory
jerked Skaric’s sword arm up into a sloppy block.

He heard Kiana let out a soft
cry. From the corner of his eye, Skaric saw Hagan step towards him
with the pommel of his sword raised. Xaver aimed low. Skaric spun
to face Hagan. He swiped at the Wolf’s hand with his sword. Hagan
flipped his blade round and slammed the flat of it onto Skaric’s
shoulder. At the same time pain whipped against Skaric’s leg,
buckling it. He half dropped but immediately tried to right
himself. Hagan slammed the pommel of his sword into Skaric’s face.
Sharp pain racked his cheek as the bone cracked; blood oozed down
onto his chin. He staggered and almost fell but somehow managed to
find the strength to stay standing. It didn’t do him any good. Pain
blossomed at the back of his skull as Xaver assaulted him from
behind.

Skaric dropped to the ground,
the sound of the Wolves’ laughter ringing in his ears.

He pressed his palm onto the
ground and pushed up in an effort to stand. Xaver stamped down on
Skaric’s sword hand, forcing him to release the hilt. The Wolf
kicked the blade, sending it spinning across the grass out of
reach. Then Xaver used his foot to push Skaric onto his back.

Kiana dropped to her knees
beside him and took hold of his arm. She clung on tightly as tears
cascaded down her face. Pain made Skaric’s senses hazy; his vision
was fuzzy, causing an odd white glow around Kiana.

“
Why didn’t
you scream?” Skaric whispered, trying to stand again.

He struggled as Hagan dragged
him to his feet. Kiana tried to hold onto him, but Skaric was
dragged away from her, his arms twisted against his back.
Neutralised, Skaric could do nothing but watch as Xaver dropped his
sword and grabbed Kiana. In the same movement, the Wolf pulled a
dagger and pressed it to Kiana’s throat. A tiny strand of blood
slid down her pale neck.

Skaric could barely breathe.
“Let… her… go.”

The Wolf laughed haughtily and
spat in Skaric’s face. “You never did know when to quit, did
you?”

Skaric pressed his lips
together and stared at Xaver. He was bruised, battered and bloody;
his joints ached and pain throbbed in his skull. It didn’t matter;
he couldn’t let Kiana die.

“
It didn’t do
you any good, did it? You’re still going to watch the Miale whore
die,” Xaver said. He used the dagger to tilt Kiana’s head upwards,
revealing the vulnerable length of her neck.

As Kiana whimpered, Skaric
shook his head angrily. “No…” He began to tug the life from the
ground beneath him. “I’m…” Energy flowed into him as he felt the
grass wither and die. “Not.”

“
Really? And
how are you going to stop us?”

Fire burst into life at
Skaric’s fingertips, hungrily licking at his sweat-soaked skin. His
stomach somersaulted as pain sizzled beneath his flesh and raced up
his arm until it found Hagan’s hand. The Wolf’s scream tore the
night sky asunder as he released Skaric and staggered back. There
was a thud as Hagan’s body hit the ground, then a series of soft
thumps as the pitiful man continued to flop and writhe.

Ignoring the man’s shrieks,
Skaric held his burning hand towards Xaver. Kiana was still between
them, but it would only take one slight motion to make the fire
bridge the gap. Xaver would let go of Kiana, wouldn’t he?

“
Run.” Skaric
shivered at his own icy tone.

Xaver’s eyes were wide as he
stared open-mouthed at Skaric. “Berend said… he told us… your
magic…”

Skaric set his
mouth into a snarl. “Berend lied. Now run!”
Please run!

Bile choked
Skaric’s throat as the stench of burning flesh filled his nostrils.
His legs almost collapsed beneath him.
Run!
Hagan’s screaming had faded out
to an odd gurgling sound, but even that slowly ebbed
away.

“
Do you want
to die?” Skaric didn’t even attempt to keep his voice quiet. The
guards would have heard Hagan’s screams. Soon, men would pour up
the hill. They would kill him but Kiana would live.
“Run!”

Xaver released Kiana and fled
down the other side of the hill. Skaric watched the Wolf run until
he had vanished into the darkness. He looked down at his still
burning hand. The external flames were slowly creeping higher. His
nerves screamed as the internal blaze spread up to his shoulder and
chest. Skaric willed them to stop, but whether it was from fear,
pain, or confusion, the magic refused to answer his call.

“
Skaric?”
Kiana was standing. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she stared at
him.

Skaric almost
cried as he saw the terror in her eyes.
She’s afraid of me. Of what I’m capable of
. “I couldn’t let you die.” The air rushed out of his lungs as
she flung her arms around him and buried her face in his
chest.

“
It’s all
right,” she whispered. “You can let it go now.”

Skaric choked back tears.

“
Let it go.”
Kiana embraced him tightly. “Let it go.”

Finally, the flames winked out,
leaving pain and charred flesh behind. His energy spent, Skaric’s
eyes rolled back and he collapsed into Kiana’s arms.

Chapter
Thirteen

Through eyes blurred with
tears, Kiana could see brands gathering at the foot of the hill.
The faded whisper of shouts reached her ears. They were running out
of time.