Trinity (22 page)

“
Skaric!”
Guilt gripped her as she shook him as hard as she could with one
hand. In her other hand, she clutched the hilt of Nidan’s sword
tightly as though its very presence would protect them.

Skaric’s eyes flickered open.
Kiana saw his pupils expand and shrink as he struggled to focus on
her. She didn’t want to think about how much pain he had to be
in.

“
We have to
run,” she said urgently. “They’ll be coming soon. Can you
stand?”

Skaric nodded and pushed
himself to his feet. He wavered, almost collapsing. Kiana ducked
under his arm to brace him. She looked towards the town wall, her
stomach sinking as she saw that the gathering of torches was moving
towards them.

Kiana half
supported, half dragged Skaric through the rambling graveyard, away
from the hideous sight of the charred corpse. All the time, she was
aware of the guards pounding up the hill, their shouts filling the
still night air. Kiana heard the rough voice of the redheaded guard
shouting orders that she couldn’t quite make out. The once dark
terrain became flooded with light, illuminating Alamea’s
grave.
And the Wolf’s
body
. Kiana shuddered at the memory of the
man’s screams and the sight of the fire.

The pool of light spread out,
searching for them. Men fanned out over the hillside, shouting to
one another. They had to get away from the graveyard. Kiana forced
Skaric to move back down the hill, towards Linden but away from the
guardpost.

“
By
Pios!”

Kiana jumped at how close the
voice sounded. She heard at least one man wretch violently. The
guttural sound made her stomach heave.

She glanced around, wide-eyed,
but they were still beyond the light of the brands.

“
Summon the
Guardians!”

“
Poor
bastard.”

“
There should
be a girl out here, too. Keep searching!” the red-headed guard’s
voice rang out over the cacophony of shouting.

They think
the dead Wolf is Skaric.
Kiana glanced at
Skaric. The moonlight illuminated the whites of his eyes as he
stared directly ahead, his expression slack. Tears welled up in her
eyes and she began to breathe harshly. She became lightheaded and
her hands shook even more. Kiana took several deep breaths until
the graveyard stopped spinning. They had to keep moving.

Her heart thumped in her chest
as they reached the dark shadows of the wall. She could see that
two men guarded the entrance to the town. She swallowed hard; there
was no way back inside.

“
We have to
keep moving,” Kiana said, as much to will herself to carry on as
anything. Although her words were calm, her voice shook as much as
her body. Every time she blinked, she could see the after-image of
flames. The acrid stench rising from Skaric’s wounds filling her
nostrils made her nauseous.

They moved slowly round the
wall, staying as close to the stone structure as possible.
Gradually, the shouts of the guards and the light of their brands
became distant. Even then, Kiana didn’t let Skaric stop and rest.
She had no idea how far they would have to go to be safe.

Safe.

It suddenly
seemed like an odd concept. One of the Wolves was still out
there—perhaps the entire pack was—yet she was hiding from the city
guards, men who should have sought to protect her.
They will kill Skaric. They’ll see his burns and
know what he is
.

Skaric slipped through her
grasp and dropped to the ground. Kiana sagged down beside him.
Fresh sobs wracked her body.

“
We have to
keep going,” she said.

In the glow of the wall’s
lanterns, Kiana watched as Skaric hugged his burnt arm and curled
his knees up to his chest. He laid still, teeth clenched, breathing
hard, staring into the darkness with wide, fearful eyes. They
couldn’t stop. They wouldn’t be safe.

Kiana glanced around. A deep
ditch ran parallel to the wall. She had no idea what it was and
didn’t care; it was the best cover they could hope for. Kiana
tugged at Skaric, but he didn’t respond. Crouching behind him, she
used all her strength to roll him into the ditch before sliding
down after him. They had gone as far as they could.

Dislodged dust worked its way
into her throat and nose, making her cough; Kiana suppressed the
sound with her hands. Then she began to cry. “I’m sorry,” she said
between sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

She was relieved when Skaric
shifted his gaze to stare at her.

“
It was my
fault we went to the graveyard at all. I’m so sorry.”

“
Why didn’t
you scream?” His voice was hoarse and emotionless.

“
Wolves play
with their prey,” Kiana said, her voice trembling. “They were so
confident they could beat you… but if I’d screamed… if guards had
come… they would have just finished it.” It had made sense to her
at the time.

“
They were
going to kill you!”

She shook her head and pressed
her trembling hands to her lips. “But they didn’t. Because of
you.”

He had used his magic for her.
Why hadn’t he simply let her die? It made no sense that he had done
so much to protect her. Kiana’s mouth felt dry as she imagined what
might have happened if Skaric hadn’t been able to use his magic. As
it was, he had paid a terrible price in order to save her from the
Wolves and her own stupidity. “I’m so sorry.”

She looked Skaric over, taking
stock of his wounds. His cheek was swollen and bloody but the
injury paled in comparison to the ugly, foul-smelling burns on his
arm. The flames had destroyed his sleeve, leaving his arm exposed
up to the elbow. Tentatively, Kiana undid the cord that laced the
neck of Skaric’s shirt. He didn’t react, not even to pull away. She
gently folded the fabric of the shirt to the side and gasped.
Skaric’s chest was covered in glistening white blisters. Kiana
remembered what Nidan had said about the magic of the Wolf mages:
that it burnt them from the inside out. Tears filled her eyes
again.

“
I
understand,” she whispered, gently lacing his shirt for him again.
“I understand why you were so afraid to use your magic.” She looked
him directly in the eyes. “Promise me you won’t again. Promise me
you won’t hurt yourself like this again?”

Skaric opened his mouth to
speak and then closed it as his expression became hopeless. His
gaze dropped from hers as he went back to staring at
nothingness.

Seeking to comfort and to be
comforted, Kiana edged closer to Skaric and lay down beside him,
resting her arm across his shoulder.

“
I’m not
hurting you am I?” she asked.

“
No.”

Kiana closed
her eyes. She tried to remind herself that Skaric’s actions had
been driven by his own desire to survive; yet somehow she knew that
wasn’t wholly true.
Please don’t walk away
from me when all this is over. I couldn’t bear it.

Chapter
Fourteen

Nidan woke with a start. He lay
staring at the ceiling, trying to piece together the jumble of
memories in his mind. He remembered the Wolves; the cliff and then…
Nothing. Darkness.

Propping himself up on his
elbows, he gazed at his surroundings. There were six neatly made
beds down both lengths of the room; a plain wooden door at one end
and a tall window at the other, allowing bright sunlight to stream
through and illuminate the room. Elaborate candleholders stood at
regular intervals, each bearing a dozen unlit candles in varying
states of use. The dormitory smelt slightly stale.

Hung on the stone walls were
embroidered banners alternating between Pios’ cupped hands and
Miale’s cup of knowledge. Beside each bed there was a chair on
which sat neatly folded black uniforms.

Nidan’s heartbeat increased. It
looked identical to the room he had spent eight years sleeping in
whilst training in Ironhold. He expected to hear the familiar knock
of wooden training weapons coming from outside the window but heard
nothing.

How long had he been
asleep?

Nidan cursed and then swung his
legs out of the bed, inhaling sharply as his bare feet touched the
stone floor. Like in Ironhold, a draft whispered through the
chamber, cooling the flagstones that had been worn smooth by
thousands of pairs of feet. But Nidan was sure he wasn’t in
Ironhold; he couldn’t be.

The door opened and an elderly
Guardian, dressed in the traditional black garb, stepped into the
room.

The old man smiled kindly at
Nidan. “You’re awake.”

Nidan nodded hesitantly. “Where
am I?” It felt like such a foolish question. What he really wanted
to know was where Kiana and Skaric were.

The Guardian moved a few
shuffling steps further into the room. “In Pios’ temple in Linden.
I healed you last night.”

Yesterday. Nidan’s jaw fell
slack as he stared stupidly at the Guardian. “Th… thank you.”

“
You had a
broken leg and a bad head injury. Don’t you remember?”

Nidan half shook his head. He
remembered racing down the twisting path; he remembered the Wolves
and the rocks; then everything went blank.

“
Your agitated
companion said that you had been injured in a riding accident.” The
Guardian’s grey brow rose questioningly. “Your horses are in our
stables; we are a lot cheaper than taverns.”

Nidan knew that the temple of
Pios didn’t charge anyone for anything; donations were gratefully
received.

“
Is… is my
companion still here?”

“
No. He said
you could find him at the Wheel and Flagon inn.”

Nidan exhaled
slowly. Skaric was still alive. The fact that he’d bothered to get
Nidan to safety suggested that Kiana was too. Nidan needed to know
she was safe; that they were
both
safe.

“
I… should
go.”

“
You’re still
weak and your leg will feel tender for a few days. You are more
than welcome to stay here and rest. The temple of Pios is always
open to those who need his help.” The Guardian stopped, paused and
then spoke more slowly and less insistently. “What’s your
name?”

“
Nye.” The
dishonesty hadn’t bothered Nidan in Norlea, but he had never lied
to a member of his church before.

“
My name is
Peadar.” As the white-haired Guardian smiled again, the skin around
his mouth and brown eyes wrinkled.

Nidan nodded
his head in response. It was an effort not to bow formally to his
elder.
I can’t let him know I’m a
Guardian. I can’t betray Kiana.
He hoped
that she and Skaric had found somewhere safe to hide; they couldn’t
actually be in the tavern, not without money. Nidan breathed in
slowly as he debated telling Peadar that Kiana was with him. That
would keep her away from the Wolves and the folly of her
quest.

“
Are you all
right?” Peadar said.

Nidan realised
that he had been staring blankly ahead. “I’m fine… just…” Kiana
would hate him if he betrayed her, but she would be safe.
She would be a prisoner
again
. He snapped his mouth
shut.

“
Just…?”

Nidan forced himself to shrug
and smile. “Thank you for your offer of hospitality, but I really
should go and find my friend.”

Peadar paused, pressing his
lips together. “You’re not planning on leaving the town today are
you?” When Nidan stared at him, Peadar carried on. “It’s obvious
you’re not from Linden.”

“
We’re…
travelling to visit family in Fairlake.”

“
You should
delay a few days then.”

Nidan frowned. “I’m sure I’ll
be fine to ride.” He made a show of flexing his toes. “I can’t even
tell I was ever injured.”

“
A man was
attacked just outside the town last night. By Wolves.”

Nidan sank back down onto the
bed, gripping the sheets tightly in an effort to keep his
expression neutral. “Wolves?”

Peadar nodded gravely. “A
cursed mage was amongst them.”

“
Them? How
many? Were they caught? Do you know who was killed?”

Peadar held his hands up
against Nidan’s barrage of questions. Narrowing his eyes, he
regarded Nidan carefully for several moments before replying
carefully. “Well… Wolves generally travel in groups of six.” He
studied Nidan. “No, they were not caught. They fled before we got
there. We found the burnt corpse of man.” He drew in a breath that
whistled through his teeth. “We don’t know who it was but no one
has been reported missing, so we assume it was a beggar or a lone
traveller.”

Nidan’s legs suddenly felt
weak. He pushed himself onto the bed and began to weave his fingers
together in an agitated fashion. “When exactly did this… attack…
happen?”

“
Just after
dusk.”

Would the
Wolves have killed Skaric and taken Kiana? Possibly.
I don’t know that’s what happened; it might have
nothing to do with us at all
. Nidan
couldn’t will his heart to stop racing or his hands to stop
trembling. It was too much of a coincidence for him to
dismiss.

“
Needless to
say, we have Guardians patrolling outside the town. What few we
have left, anyway.”

Nidan looked
up sharply. He mulled over what to say. He had to be careful;
displaying too much knowledge of the Guardians would betray him and
Kiana. Not that it would matter if she were dead.
No, don’t think that way. It would be obvious if
we were in a time of Thanatos.
“Have you
had problems recruiting new Guardians?” Nidan hoped his tone was
innocent.