Trinity (4 page)

“
We need to find
somewhere to hide,” Nidan said. He could just make out several
gashes and fissures gouged into the rock in the gathering
darkness.

“
Can’t we keep
running?” Kiana raised her hand to point downstream. Almost
immediately she allowed her arm to drop limply by her
side.

“
You’re
exhausted. I’m exhausted. Besides, the Wolves will expect us to
head for the main road to Valgate,” Nidan said.

Arms crossed, hands resting on
opposite shoulders, Kiana moved to stand beside him. “They’ll send
more men there, won’t they?”

Nidan nodded. “But if we head north, we can reach Valgate by
going across country
and
avoid the main road.” He looked down at
Kiana’s face, which was cast in shadows in the failing light. Her
eyes were wide and fearful.

“
There isn’t
anywhere to hide,” she said. “I can keep going.” She sounded so
defiant that Nidan wanted to believe her.

He narrowed his eyes, stepped up
to the rock and used his fingertips to explore the tallest fissure;
it was longer than the height of an average man. Already, the
shadows were making it look smaller and less significant, but Nidan
could see that it extended back into the rock face. It was just
wide enough for a person to squeeze through; at least, he hoped it
was wide enough.

“
I think there’s
a cave here.” Nidan glanced at Kiana; her expression was
doubtful.

“
Won’t the Wolves
see it?”

“
It’s almost fully dark.
If
they’re searching for us
by night they’ll need to use brands. That will limit their vision.
They’ll never be able to tell this is a cave entrance.”

Kiana tilted her head to the side
as she gazed at the entrance. “Can we fit?”

“
I hope so!”
Nidan forced a grin to his lips.

Kiana paused for a moment. “We’d
better get going then,” she said bravely. “Before those bastards
find us.”

Nidan raised his eyebrows.

“
What? Haven’t
you ever heard a girl curse before?”

He
shrugged. “Several times. I just haven’t heard
you
curse
before.”

Kiana laughed, though the sound
was strangled and forced and the humour didn’t reach her eyes.
“Even the incarnation of Miale is allowed to use bad language, you
know.”

Nidan laughed with her; only
his
laughter was real.
Despite their desperate situation and everything that had happened,
she could still make a joke.

Taking a long deep breath, Nidan
pushed himself into the narrow entrance. He had to keep his
breathing shallow, and there was a section that was so narrow it
felt like he would become trapped. He was glad that Kiana was
considerably slimmer than he was. His face scraped against the
unforgiving rock, grazing his cheek.

Nidan froze, holding his breath as
an unwelcome sound filled the forest: the unmistakable snap of
twigs under boots. There was too much noise for it to be Finn and
Ciall. Nidan caught his breath and offered a silent prayer to Pios.
He made himself carry on. Behind him, Kiana had stopped and he
could hear that her breathing had become faster.

“
You have to
move,” Nidan said through gritted teeth.

Kiana didn’t respond and seemed to
be frozen with fear.

After two more paces, Nidan broke
free of the narrow entrance and stepped into a pitch-dark space. He
turned round but Kiana was blocking any remaining light from
outside the cave. Feeling the wall carefully, he found the entrance
and managed to locate her hand. Her soft skin felt cold to the
touch.

“
You
have to move. If you don’t, the Wolves will find you. You
have
to move.”

Nidan tugged gently and let out a
sigh of relief as Kiana responded. As she stepped into the cave
beside him, he heard the sound of strangled sobs escaping her
control. He pulled Kiana close and gently covered her mouth,
willing her to be silent.

He listened. The footsteps were
closer. He could hear the sloshing sound of at least, two men
tromping through water. Three more walked across the rocky ground.
Through the narrow entrance, he could just see the flickering
orange glow of fire. Briefly, he was able to see Kiana’s unusual
amber eyes, wide with terror, and the fine features of her pale,
untanned face. Then the fire moved away and the cave was once more
plunged into darkness.

An age seemed to pass before Nidan
heard the footsteps moving away in the direction that he and Kiana
had been travelling. His heart thudded against his chest. The
Wolves had been too close. If Kiana had dallied any longer, they
would have been captured and killed. But they still weren’t safe.
They had to stay silent so their hiding place wasn’t discovered.
His tongue suddenly felt like a lead weight. Visions of nyxii fire
blazing through the narrow entrance plagued his mind. He could feel
the torture of imagined heat on his skin.

Nidan did not let go of Kiana
until he was convinced that the Wolves had moved away. As soon as
he did, he felt her sink to the ground. He wanted to find some way
to reassure her but didn’t dare speak. Instead, he explored the
cave. It was deeper than he had expected.

“
Let’s go further
in.” Nidan kept his voice low.

He helped Kiana to her feet and,
stooping, led the way through the dark until his hand hit the back
wall of the cave. Exhausted, Nidan dropped down to the ground. He
wrinkled his nose against the stale musty smell. The walls and
floor were damp. No sunlight was able to filter in to warm the
rock, so the cave was cold. It didn’t matter. It was somewhere to
rest. Somewhere to close his eyes for a few moments.

Nidan was shocked into waking when
Kiana spoke.

“
The Wolves don’t
take prisoners, do they?” Her voice sounded miserable. Even though
she had spoken quietly, her words echoed softly around the
cave.

Nidan shifted uncomfortably. Water
had seeped through his clothing, chilling him. “No, they don’t.”
There was no point in lying to her.

“
Everyone will be
dead. Everyone.” Her voice quavered as though she was about to cry
again.

“
You should get
some sleep.” He didn’t know how to comfort her; words would do
little to console her.

“
You should sleep
too.”

“
I will, when
you’re safe.” Nidan had to stifle a yawn with the back of his hand.
Pios! He was tired.

He felt Kiana shift her position
slightly as she affected a cough.

“
You said the
Wolves wouldn’t find us here. Sleep while you can. You’re no good
to me if you’re exhausted.”

Nidan raised his eyebrows at her authoritative tone; it was a
shame his expression was lost in the darkness. He
was
exhausted, but that didn’t mean he was going to obey her. “I’m
trained to stay awake. Besides, it’s safer if one of us
does.”
I only hope that I
can
.

He felt her become tense.

“
Are
you trained to
die
?” Kiana drew in a ragged
breath. “Were you all trained to
die…
for me? Was Marcas
trained to
die
?” An anguished sob
escaped her. “Were Finn… or Ciall… or the other Guardians?” She
paused to sniff. “Were Erryn… and Ducarius? What… about… everyone
else who lived and… and worked in the tower?” She inhaled
sharply.

Nidan hesitated. What could he say or do to ease her grief?
Everyone in her life was probably dead.
Except for me and I barely know her
.

When he did speak, his voice came
out as a strangled whisper. “Guardians are trained to defend you.
We are… were… all prepared to die for Miale.”

Kiana grabbed his hand. She was
shaking.

“
The souls of the
Guardians and servants that the Wolves cut down will already be
with Pios,” Nidan said.

“
I wish the
Wolves hadn’t come.” She began to sob bitterly.

“
So do
I.”

Slowly, Nidan pulled his hand away
from Kiana’s and wrapped his arm around her, drawing her closer.
Under the circumstances, it was the only thing he could do. She
needed to be comforted. Kiana began to cry more freely. Although
she made very little sound, her entire body shuddered violently.
She buried her face against Nidan’s side, and soon his black tunic
was soaked with tears.

Like
him, Kiana stank of sweat, smoke and river water, but there was
also the faintest scent of lilac in her hair. Nidan’s sister had
worn a similar perfume. He tightened his grip. He had never been
able to comfort Brid; he had only been a child when she had
died.
It was my fault. I failed
her.
He wouldn’t fail
Kiana.

Nidan leaned his head against the
damp rock and stared into the darkness. With luck, all of the
Wolves would pass them in the night. With luck, he would be able to
deliver Kiana safely to Valgate.

*

Berend felt the shame of failure
burning in the pit of his stomach. It didn’t matter that they had
defeated the Guardians; Miale had slipped through their grasp.
After overrunning the tower and rounding up any survivors, the
Wolves had turned the drafty eating hall into a war room. Outside,
darkness wrapped around the tower whilst inside, the only light was
provided by a dozen flaming brands seated in sconces around the
hall.

He hovered at
the shoulder of the Alpha, Adalric, as they slowly circled a pack
of grim-faced men. Adalric’s height and cold blue stare made him
look impressive as he prowled around the men. Adalric’s arms were
folded across his chest; a stern expression his lined face as he
listened to the pack’s report, or rather their excuses.

Berend was sick of hearing about
failure. With every new report, his shoulders got more hunched and
his forehead more creased. His brows hooded his eyes and his mouth
was tight, hiding clenched teeth. Was it really so difficult to
hunt down one naïve girl who had never left the tower before that
day?

“
We tracked down
a fleeing group of Guardians,” one of the men said. He stood
completely still, head bowed in subjugation.

Berend didn’t know the pack
leader’s name, nor did he care. The pack still wore their leather
armour; the proud image of a wolf’s head was etched into each
breast plate. It was a shame the pack had nothing to be proud
of.

“
There was a girl
with them wearing Miale’s colour, but they were obviously a
diversion,” the man carried on. “If they knew anything about the
direction that Miale had gone, they didn’t say.”

Adalric leaned forward. “You’re sure that the girl was
not
Miale?”

The pack leader nodded. “Her eye
colour was completely normal. Besides, if she had been Miale, we
would have been plunged into the time of Thanatos as soon as we
slit her throat.”

Berend narrowed his eyes as he remembered the last period of
Thanatos and the madness that had gripped people. Alive, Miale
balanced people’s minds just as Pios balanced the physical body and
Ysia
had
provided balance for the dead. The Darkness only knew
what happened to the souls of the dead now that Ysia was
gone.

“
You tortured
them?” he asked, though it wasn’t really a question.

The man nodded. “But they wouldn’t
talk. The girl just cried and screamed until we killed her.”

“
The Guardians
are all well trained,” Adalric said grimly. “We know that. Thank
you for your report, Osgar.”

“
What should we
do now?”

Adalric looked down at the map
that was pinned out on the long wooden table in front of him.
Berend followed his gaze. The areas that had already been searched
and secured had been marked by ugly iron pins.

“
Rest for
tonight,” Adalric said.

“
We
already have more men resting than we can afford,” Berend said. If
he were in charge, no one would rest until Miale was found.
He was not afraid of exhaustion,
suffering or death. He would give anything to avenge Ysia, even the
lives of himself and his men. It was in their blood.

Adalric’s lips grew taught. “Our men are useless to us if
they are fatigued, Berend.” He addressed the pack before him
again.
“In the morning, head
north and scout along the main road to Valgate.”

Berend scowled. “We already have
packs searching that route.”

Adalric glanced angrily at the war
leader. “I’m well aware of that. I sent them there.”

Berend growled in his throat but
said nothing. He watched as Osgar and his pack stood to attention
and then left the room, their footsteps echoing over the pale
flagstones. Another pack stepped forward. More failure. More
excuses.

“
Raynar, what
news?” Adalric said.

After bowing deeply, Raynar opened
his mouth to speak. He barely got a word out before the door to the
hall opened and one of their chief apothecaries entered.

Adalric immediately held up his
hand to silence Raynar. “Brokk?”

“
Your son is
awake, Alpha,” Brokk said from the doorway, where he stood
fidgeting.

Adalric nodded and began to walk
away from the table.