Trinity (32 page)

Skaric grimaced. “The position
of war leader isn’t handed down from father to son. It’s earned.
Only the fiercest fighter who has earned the most glory in battle
can become the war leader.”

Nidan whistled through his
teeth. “Right. So Berend is the best fighter amongst the
Wolves?”

Skaric nodded.

“
And he tried
to kill you?”

Skaric glanced sideways at
Nidan.

“
But you
survived, without using any magic?”

“
I was
lucky.”

Nidan laughed loudly. “Luck
seems to be your closest friend!”

Skaric scowled. He didn’t feel
particularly lucky.

He stopped as they arrived at
the last building. Ivy had invaded the gaps between the stones,
pushing the crumbling mortar out of its way. Looking up, Skaric
could see the wall leaning dangerously over him. He laid a hand
against the wall, pushing ever so slightly. The stone shifted as
though the entire wall was letting out a deep breath. It wouldn’t
take much to bring the wall crashing down. “Here. If we’re going to
trap Berend instead of fighting him, it has to be here.”

“
You’re
talking about collapsing a wall on him?” Kiana asked, her face
ashen.

Skaric nodded. He felt like an
even bigger coward now that he was looking her in the eyes.

“
Won’t he
realise it’s a trap as soon as he sees the building?” Kiana said.
“How are you going to make him stand right here?”

“
Bait,” Nidan
said looking straight at Skaric.

Skaric looked at the ground and
nodded.

Kiana gasped. “No! That’s too
dangerous!”

She looked
around, her eyes growing wider as she saw what Skaric had already
realised: there was no obvious way to escape. Although there were
several doors leading off the courtyard, none were within reach of
where they stood. That was what made it a good spot. Skaric would
stand and wait and Berend
would
come to him.

Kiana stared at Skaric. “Do you
want to die?”

“
No.” If there
was one thing he was absolutely sure of it was that he wanted to
live.
Isn’t that what led me to betray my
people in the first place?

“
We’ll work
out a way for Skaric to escape,” Nidan said in a confident tone.
“But we don’t have much time to set this up.” He headed inside the
remnants of the building.

Kiana placed her fingertips on
Skaric’s chin and forced him to look at her. “You can’t do this!”
Her eyes were wide and imploring as she held Skaric’s stare.

“
We don’t have
any other choice.”

“
We can fight
him. Nidan is a good fighter. Between the two of you, you defeated
six Wolves. Have you forgotten that?”

Skaric shook his head. “I know
how good Nidan is. But I also know that Berend is better.” Holding
his breath he took her hands in his. “Berend is coming. He wants to
kill you. You understand that, don’t you?”

Kiana nodded but her hands were
trembling. Skaric could sense her anxiety as she sniffed back
tears.

“
This is the
best way,” he said.

Nidan reappeared. Skaric let go
of Kiana’s hands and, cheeks hot, turned to face Nidan.

“
It will
work,” Nidan said, grinning a little too widely for Skaric’s
liking. Then his grin faded. “But I can’t see any way for you to
escape unless you can manoeuvre Berend to stand next to the
wall.”

Skaric puffed his cheeks out as
he released his held breath. He couldn’t rely on making Berend
stand anywhere. He stared down at his hands. “There is a way.”

“
How?”

“
When I was in
Ysia’s realm, you couldn’t touch me.”

“
You can’t be
serious!” Kiana said.

Nidan scratched his chin. “Are
you sure you will be safe there?”

Skaric shrugged. “As sure as I
can be.”

“
No!” Kiana’s
voice had almost risen to a scream. “You might not even be able to
step into Ysia’s realm. What if you can’t?”

“
It’s the only
way,” Skaric said in time with Nidan.

He didn’t understand why Kiana
let out a bitter laugh before covering her face with her hands. He
knew why she was afraid, but it was their best chance of defeating
Berend. Kiana’s safety made the risk pale in comparison.

*

Berend appeared in the
shattered hole in the drawbridge far sooner than Skaric had
expected. He wasn’t ready. Cold dread seeped into his skin as
Berend climbed through the drawbridge and stared at him, grinning.
Skaric was halfway down the courtyard, purposefully looking for
somewhere to hide. He didn’t have to fake the fear that crept into
his expression. He stopped dead, unable to move under the weight of
Berend’s stare.

“
You couldn’t
run far enough could you, Skaric?”

Skaric forced
himself to walk backwards slowly. His heart was pounding so hard,
he thought it would burst out of his chest. What if Kiana was right
and the plan was too risky?
It’s too late
now.

“
Where are
your men, Berend? Did they turn tail and run?” Skaric watched as
Berend’s cheeks twitched at the taunt.

The war leader’s mouth
contorted into an angry snarl. “Where’s the Miale bitch?”

“
You won’t
find her, Berend.”

Berend sneered and then
laughed. “Really? Who’s going to stop me? You? Her Guardian? I know
she’s in here somewhere and I will find her. After I’ve finished
with you.”

“
You’re on
your own, Berend,” Skaric said, forcing courage into his
voice.

Berend began to close the gap
quickly. Skaric staggered backwards quickly, stumbling on loose
bits of stone.

“
You’re so
pathetic! You’re even weaker than the last time we met!”

That’s
exactly what you’re meant to think, you bastard.
Skaric forced himself to fall. He crashed to the
ground, falling onto his hip and wrist. Pain snapped through his
hand. He pushed himself back up to his feet, turned and ran down
the length of the courtyard.

When he reached the end wall,
he stopped and slammed his fists against the brick. Then he turned,
pressed his back against the stone and extended his left hand
forward, hoping he wasn’t overdoing it.

Berend’s laughter cut through
his mind. “We both know you’re not going to use your magic. You
can’t. You’re too scared.”

Skaric’s skin
began to crawl as Berend drew even closer. He narrowed his eyes
until he wasn’t really looking at Berend at all, but at the air
around him. The aura of Berend’s soul flickered around the war
leader. It was a dirty shade of grey, completely different to
Kiana’s and Nidan’s, even different to his own. It repulsed him and
made the pit of his stomach churn.
I’ve
always felt this way around him, I just never knew
why
.

Skaric lowered his left hand
and stood tall. “Why did you lie about my father?”

Berend’s face twisted into a
snarl. “I didn’t lie. You made a presumption and I didn’t correct
you. What does it matter now? You’re still a traitor. What are you
going to do? Run home and tell your father you made a mistake? That
you didn’t mean to get in bed with the Miale whore?”

Anger boiled inside Skaric.

“
Do you think
he’ll forgive you?”

Skaric
trembled with anger, fear and shame.
Don’t
move
.

“
Do you think
he’ll spare your life?”

Skaric’s nose
wrinkled as he smelt Berend’s stench. He was forced to look up as
the war leader towered over him, sword drawn.
Now, Nidan!

“
I hate
traitors. I hate weakness. I
hate
you.”

Skaric stared Berend in the
eyes; he couldn’t look at the sword. “You’ve always hated me.”

Berend leaned forward and
placed his left hand on the wall beside Skaric’s head. “Do you know
why?”

Now,
Nidan!
Skaric shook his head. He could
barely breathe.

Berend leaned even closer and
whispered in Skaric’s ear. “Because you were born.” His breath was
hot and pungent on the side of Skaric’s face. “Your father treated
me like his son. I would have been the Alpha after him.”

Skaric closed
his eyes.
I should have
known
. “I never wanted to be the Alpha,
Berend. I would have gladly abdicated to you.”
That’s a lie. You don’t deserve to be the Alpha.
Despite the stench, Skaric breathed in deeply and
slowly opened his eyes. It was an effort to fight past his fear to
stare Berend in the eyes again. “It doesn’t matter now. Neither of
us is going to go home.”

Berend began
to laugh, but he stopped abruptly as the far end of the wall beside
them groaned and then began to fall. The bricks separated and began
to rain down on the ground, turning the path behind them into a
deadly assault course. Berend grabbed Skaric’s neck and slammed him
into the wall. Skaric gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs.
He tried to gulp more in but Berend’s hand constricted on his
neck.
Not again!
It would be a matter of heartbeats before the wall crashed
down on them.

“
You psychotic
bastard!” Berend pulled Skaric from the wall, only to knock him
back into it.

Skaric’s
vision blurred; he fought to clear his mind of all thoughts except
Ysia.
Now
. Nothing
happened. Panic clouded Skaric’s mind. He closed his eyes.
Ysia, help
me!

Skaric’s body shivered and his
stomach lurched. The pressure on his neck eased but didn’t vanish.
He opened his eyes. Darkness surrounded him. He wasn’t alone.

Berend stood in front of
Skaric, staring wildly around. “What magic is this?”

“
Ysia’s.”
Skaric hated that his voice came out as a pained croak.

Through the veil between
worlds, he could see the shadows of rocks falling. The waterfall of
bricks had almost reached their position.

Berend released Skaric’s neck.
“Liar!” He raised his sword.

Skaric’s heart leapt into his
throat. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed Berend’s sword
hand. Everything shifted.

Berend yelled
as a large brick slammed into his back, knocking him to his knees.
Skaric flung his arms up to cover his head and face. An explosion
of pain tore through him as a dozen or more sizeable fragments
rained down on him. He dropped to the floor, coughing violently as
rock dust filled his lungs. He saw the glint of sunlight on
Berend’s blade.
Ysia!
From somewhere he summoned up the energy to throw himself to
the ground. He felt the heat of sparks litter his face as Berend’s
blade struck the wall directly above his head.

Berend was standing again,
towering over Skaric, about to deliver a killing blow. But Skaric
wasn’t looking at the war leader. He was looking at the remnants of
the wall. In slow motion, the last third of the wall began to
topple over as one giant piece. Skaric couldn’t breathe. The air
whispered as Berend’s sword sang through the air towards his
gut.

I am not going to die here!

Skaric closed his eyes,
welcoming the bite of cold that made his whole body convulse. He
heard the echo of a terrible anguished scream. Warm tears trickled
down his cheeks. Without opening his eyes, Skaric forced himself to
stand. The silver pathway was solid beneath his feet. One shuffling
step at a time, he forced himself to walk.

After less than a dozen steps,
Skaric’s legs buckled and he dropped to the ground. Only then did
he open his eyes and look back. Through the veil, he could see the
wreckage of the wall—a cold stone tomb that should have claimed
him. He saw Berend’s limp and bloody hand sticking out from between
two rocks. Relief flooded through Skaric, allowing him to forget to
feel ashamed that he was crying.

Chapter
Twenty-One

Kiana’s heart felt like it had
sunk into her stomach as she waited for the plume of rock dust to
clear. Berend was gone: buried beneath the rubble. Less than a
moment later she saw Skaric wink into reality. Her heart leapt from
her stomach to her throat. She wasted no time in leaving the safety
of her hiding place. She held her skirt in her hand as she ran down
the spiral staircase. When Kiana reached the bottom, it took all of
her strength to push the iron door open. The door’s hinges were
completely rusted, and they screamed in a high-pitched tone as they
were flexed for the second time in a thousand years.

A smile snuck up on her lips as
she saw Skaric sitting in the courtyard, leaning back on his hand.
Nidan was already there kneeling beside him, a look of
concentration on his face.

“
I’m fine,”
Skaric said as Kiana approached.

She had tried to slow down but
in the end she hadn’t been able to move at anything less than a
sprint.

Nidan scowled. “I’ll be the
judge of that.”

From a distance, Kiana had been
able to see that Skaric was covered in melting frost and dust. Up
close she could see that the back of his shirt was torn as were his
sleeves. Thin traces of blood had seeped through the remaining
fabric. But he was alive, upright, and he was smiling. Kiana found
that his grin was infectious as she gave up trying to suppress her
own.