Trinity (34 page)

Skaric turned his back on them
both and slowly walked closer to the imprisoned soul. “I want to
know.” He sounded tired. “Because of him, countless people have
suffered. Because of him, Ysia turned her back on everyone. Because
of him, my people have been vilified and persecuted.” He half
turned to face them. “And I know the Wolves have done nothing to
help themselves. They made the situation worse by using a corrupted
form of magic and continuing the fighting. But I still need to know
why.” His eyes almost seemed to glow with an inner light of
desperation. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to know.”

It’s why you
left your people and helped me.
Kiana
nodded. “But you’re the only person that can ask him. You’re the
only one that can enter Ysia’s realm.”

Skaric shook his head. “I can
take other people with me.”

Kiana’s eyes widened. “What?
How do you know?”

“
Earlier… when
the wall was falling… I tried to escape into the pathways whilst
Berend was strangling me. He came with me.” He stared at her
earnestly. “I can take you with me.”

“
I think
you’re both forgetting something,” Nidan said. “That man’s mind and
soul have been trapped for a thousand years. What makes you think
that he’s got enough sanity left to answer your questions? And even
if he does, why should he?”

Kiana stared at him
open-mouthed.

“
Are either of
you prepared to
make
him tell you what he knows?”

Kiana shook
her head as a dark look crossed Skaric’s face. She sucked in a
sharp breath and held it.
No. Please don’t
say that you are. You’re not that person anymore.

Skaric’s expression softened.
“We can ask. If that doesn’t work, we could always bribe him.”

“
Bribe him?”
Kiana asked.

Skaric
shrugged. “Pretend that we can release his soul. That we
would
release his
soul.”

Kiana’s mouth
twisted in disgust. “That’s a horrible trick to play.”
Why did you have to suggest it?

Skaric looked away from
her.

“
We’ll do what
we have to,” Nidan said quietly. “Saving Miale is the most
important thing… isn’t it?”

Kiana nodded
reluctantly. “Now. We should go now.”
Before I lose my nerve
.

*

Kiana’s stomach lurched as
everything shifted around her, and darkness enveloped the room. The
light from the pathways and vortexes could not penetrate the
abyss.

“
Stay on the
pathways,” Skaric said.

Kiana tried to adjust to her
new surroundings. A sudden coldness gripped her. Her teeth began to
chatter and she slipped her hand from Skaric’s to wrap her arms
around herself. Nidan offered Kiana his cloak immediately. He
draped it around her shoulders and she huddled into it; the cold
still bit into her bones.

“
This is…
odd,” Nidan said. He blew onto his hands and rubbed them together;
his breath fogged like a cloud.

Kiana clamped
her hands under her armpits.
I hate this
place.
“We should do what we came here to
do.” She looked at the prisoner; felt his suffering. “Is it safe to
go closer?”

Skaric’s expression was
doubtful as he shrugged.

“
We’re alive,”
Nidan said. “Our bodies will anchor us, remember?” He didn’t sound
any more confident than Skaric looked.

Kiana rolled her eyes. “There’s
only one way to find out.” She walked past them both with fake
confidence that hid her fear.

The twin vortexes tugged
enticingly at Kiana. She stopped just to make sure that she could;
the pull was no greater than it had been before. Step by step,
Kiana edged forward. With every inch, her confidence grew until she
was standing beneath the prisoner. She looked up and her heart sank
as she saw how far above them he was. Even Skaric wouldn’t have
been able to touch the captive.

“
Hello?”

If the prisoner heard her, he
chose not to respond; Kiana wasn’t even sure that he could. Like
the other souls, he looked like a black void, an empty shape. Was
there even anything of his mind left?

“
Wait a
moment.” Skaric stepped in front of her and bowed his head in
concentration.

For the first time Kiana became
aware of his soul glowing around him. She gasped at the pure
brilliance of the white aura and then stared in horror as she saw
the ugly tears that marred it. She watched as Skaric’s soul flowed
out and away from him, forming a new path that led upwards and
ended just in front of the prisoner’s feet. When Skaric raised his
head he looked exhausted and pale. Dark rings surrounded his eyes
threatening to swallow their brightness. He extended his hand,
inviting Kiana and Nidan onto the path.

Nidan glanced at the path and
then at Skaric, a nervous expression played across his face. “How
long will it last?”

“
Long enough.”
The lack of confidence in Skaric’s voice was unnerving.

“
Let’s do this
as quickly as possible,” Kiana said. She proceeded up the path,
smiling at Skaric as she passed him. It seemed insane to her that
he had ever believed he was useless.

As they approached the end of
the narrow path, Skaric expanded it into a platform so they could
stand three abreast. They were close enough to touch the prisoner;
none of them did. Flanked by her two companions, Kiana looked up
and stared at what should have been the prisoner’s head. She
expected to see darkness. She saw his face.

It was as
though she was peering at him through a thick, black veil. His
features were there, but they were shadowy. Kiana hadn’t expected
him to have a kind face. He had short hair that was as dark as
Skaric’s and was clean-shaven. Kiana twisted her fingers together.
He looked nothing like a Wolf.
The war
changed the Wolves more than I realised.
The prisoner’s eyes were firmly closed, his brow was creased:
a silent reaction to the taunting parade of souls beneath him. As
Kiana regarded him, she realised that she found him attractive,
something she instantly chastised herself for.
He murdered Miale
. Kiana had to
remember that as compassion for the prisoner threatened to
overwhelm her. Deep within Kiana, Miale’s soul stirred with
recognition. Kiana’s own concerns and compassion were almost
deafened by the goddess’ fear.

“
Hello?” She
said.

The prisoner made no response
at all.

“
Maybe he
can’t hear you,” Nidan said.

Kiana pressed her lips together
and extended her hand, carefully reaching through a gap in the
white light that trapped him. She placed the palm of her hand
against his cheek. Kiana hadn’t really expected to touch anything
solid, but her fingers touched a very real, excruciatingly cold
surface. She resisted the urge to pull her hand away. “Hello?”

Slowly, the prisoner’s eyes
half opened. The dark depths of his pupils swallowed the light and
reflected none of it back. He looked at Kiana without really seeing
her. His expression became anguished and he tried to flinch away
from her. The prison flared brighter and he groaned in pain.

“
Please go.”
His cracked voice was quietly heart breaking.

A whisper of a gasp escaped
Kiana’s lips. “You can hear me?”

The muscles beneath his eyes
twitched slightly as he struggled to focus on her. “Why are you
here? Haven’t you punished me enough, Mira?”

Kiana narrowed her eyes in
confusion. “Who’s…?”

Nidan placed his hand on
Kiana’s shoulder, silencing her. “Maybe he’s referring to Miale’s
first vessel? The woman he killed? Perhaps you should play
along.”

Kiana’s eyes widened. She moved
her hand away from the prisoner’s face.

“
You share the
same soul,” Skaric said.

“
Please go.”
The prisoner closed his eyes tightly. “Please go.” He repeated the
phrase over and over, muttering it quietly to himself.

Kiana’s chin trembled. “What’s
happened to him… it’s awful.”

Nidan’s fingertips brushed her
arm. “He murdered Miale. He doesn’t deserve your pity.”

Kiana flinched away from
Nidan’s touch as she stared at the prisoner. “He doesn’t look like
a murderer. He doesn’t even look like a Wolf!”

“
Nor do I. But
it doesn’t change what I’ve done, does it?” Skaric said
quietly.

Kiana bowed her head. “But the
only one punishing you is yourself.” She breathed in deeply. “This
man is being punished by a goddess.” She looked at Skaric for
confirmation. “He’s being kept here by Ysia, isn’t he?”

Skaric nodded. His skin was
blanched of colour.

Kiana bit down her concern for
him. “I haven’t come this far to walk away without answers.” Tears
stung her eyes and threatened to freeze before she had shed
them.

She put her hand back on the
prisoner’s face and embraced the chill that numbed her fingers.
Almost instantly, he opened his eyes and stared at her again. It
was the same as before: he didn’t really seem to look at her at
all.

“
Please go.”
His voice was quieter and teetered on desperation. “Please
go.”

“
I’m not
Mira.” Kiana felt him quiver slightly. “We share the same soul but
we’re different people.” She stroked his cheek gently. “Do you know
how long you’ve been here?”

“
Too long.” He
averted his eyes. “Not long enough.”

“
Who was
Mira?”

The prisoner began to repeat
his plea, his eyes closing firmly.

Please don’t
be so lost that you can’t help us.
Kiana
pressed herself against the bars so that she could put her free
hand on the other side of the prisoner’s face. He opened his eyes
slowly. “Look at me. Can’t you see that I’m not Mira?”
Can’t you see that I’m alive?

His eyes searched hers with a
dark intensity that made Kiana shiver. She almost let him go,
almost stepped back.

“
What’s your
name?” She felt that she had to know.

He laughed bitterly. “Everyone
knows.”

“
I
don’t.”

His face muscles twitched.
“Hakon.”

“
Who was
Mira?”

Hakon’s
expression melted. “My hands killed her.” He didn’t seem to notice
the deep frown that creased Kiana’s brow. “I loved her.
He
loved her.”

Kiana gazed
into his eyes. His words didn’t make sense.
Of course not; he’s insane
. She
needed a way in: something that would push past the madness in his
tortured mind. “Tell me about Mira.”

Hakon shook his head and then
immediately convulsed in pain as the white cage seemed to press in
on him.

A lump formed
in Kiana’s throat. “I’m sorry.”
Isn’t it
enough that he’s trapped? Why prevent him from moving at
all?
Involuntarily, she recalled Skaric,
hogtied and unable to move in Norlea.
This
is worse. This is neverending torture.
There was no reason for her to feel any pity for Hakon. Nidan
didn’t. She wasn’t sure how Skaric felt, not any more. Kiana closed
her eyes. Miale’s fear still writhed within her but she had managed
to ignore it. She had to speak with Hakon.

Despite the chilling discomfort
that radiated through her hands, Kiana imagined calming thoughts
were pouring from her into Hakon.

“
Did you live
in Orholt?” Asking about Mira hadn’t got her anywhere.

“
No. First
time. It was so… big.”

“
You didn’t
live in a city because you were a…” she paused as she remembered
what Skaric had told her: before the Wolves there had been
different clans. “You were part of the Wolf clan?”

Hakon responded with the
slightest nod of his head.

“
Why were you
in Orholt?”

“
To see the
king crowned… my mother… head priestess of Ysia. She insisted. I
knew…” Hakon’s voice trailed off as he trembled again.

“
What did you
know?” Kiana’s calming thoughts snapped back into her mind; her
head suddenly thrummed with a deep, aching pain.

“
Mira. I
didn’t want to come. Knew Mira would be there. Miale’s
chosen.”

Kiana breathed out slowly. It
was hard to gather her thoughts as she tried to piece together the
fragments that tumbled out of Hakon’s mouth. She could feel despair
pooling around him again.

“
If you loved
her, why didn’t you want to see her?”

He shook his head and his body
shivered against the cruel punishment that followed.

Kiana pressed her hands harder
against his cheeks as he tried to pull away. “Why didn’t you want
to see her?”

“
Because…
mother didn’t approve. Train. Must train. Mira distracts.
Must
train.”

Kiana felt warmth on her bottom
lip as she let a deep breath escape her lungs. It didn’t help her
think. She knew that she was treading on dangerous ground. Already
Hakon’s answers were becoming more fragmented again. The very
mention of Mira seemed to act like a dagger boring into his mind,
destroying any shred of sanity that he had left. She had to
think.

“
Your mother…
you said she was the high priestess of Ysia? When the gods took
human vessels… was your mother one?”