Trinity (7 page)

“
Why… won’t… you…
answer… me?” Skaric’s voice was barely audible.

With his left hand, he began to
grope desperately for the knife. It was his only chance. He managed
to force his broken hand to close around the blade. It bit into his
skin but he didn’t care. He clumsily turned the knife round and
took hold of the handle.

Berend loosened his grip slightly and leaned down so that he
could whisper in Skaric’s ear. “You are a miserable wretch who has
brought dishonour on our Alpha. That
cannot
go
unpunished.”

Black spots were beginning to form
before Skaric’s eyes. The last of his energy was being choked out
of him. His body was becomming numb. Even though his muscles were
barely responding, Skaric somehow managed to find the strength to
thrust the dagger towards Berend. The blade sank into the soft
flesh of the war leader’s armpit; it wasn’t a deadly blow but it
was a painful one. The war leader cried out and fell back, the
dagger tearing free from his flesh, his hands pulling away from
Skaric’s throat. Skaric gulped in precious air quickly, making his
body tingle and his head buzz.

Berend closed his left hand over
the knife wound and glowered at Skaric. “You little…”

Still gasping for breath, Skaric
moved before Berend could finish and plunged the knife into the war
leader's right hand. It burst through flesh and bone and became
lodged in an exposed tree root that snaked across the forest floor.
Despite the sickening light-headedness that plagued him, Skaric
staggered to his feet. The forest span and his body swayed. He
risked pausing long enough to take a deep breath in an effort to
steady his senses and then sprinted towards the horses.

Skaric glanced back in time to see
Berend pull the knife from his hand and cast it aside. Fear pulsed
through Skaric’s veins. Berend didn’t need a weapon to kill him. He
couldn’t let the war leader get close to him again.

Standing, Berend lurched towards
him. “It’s my duty to ensure that you pay for what you have
done.”

With violently shaking hands,
Skaric grabbed the reins of his horse and pulled it round so that
the animal stood between him and Berend.

“
Did
my father order this?”
I need to
know
.

Berend's only response was to
continue forward.

Skaric waited, holding tightly
onto the horse until Berend was within reach. Then he fought
through the ache in his throat to scream as loudly as he could in
the animal’s ear. Terrified, the horse whinnied and bucked. One of
its hooves clipped Berend's knee. There was a loud pop and the war
leader collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony, screaming as he
gripped his knee.

Skaric’s stomach lurched but he
wasted no time in mounting the horse, despite the pain tearing
through his cut, broken fingers and side. He whipped the reins at
Berend's mount, which took fright and galloped deeper into the
forest. After urging his horse a safe distance away, Skaric paused
and allowed himself to look back. To his alarm, Berend had managed
to drag himself upright. The war leader tried to put pressure on
his injured leg but howled in pain. Blood poured freely from
Berend’s nose, drenching his heavy, dark beard and neck with a
scarlet river.

“
Did my father
order this?”

Berend smiled at him, though it
quickly turned into a snarl. “What are you going to do, Skaric?
Run? Like a coward?”

Skaric gritted his teeth together
and urged the horse forward.

Berend’s voice roared after
Skaric. “That’s all you’ll ever be! A coward! I’ll hunt you
down!”

Then the only sound was of hooves
pounding on the forest floor, and the only thing Skaric could make
himself think through a haze of dizzying pain was that he couldn’t
go back.

Chapter
Four

Nidan lay flat on his belly,
listening; it felt like they had spent more time hiding in scrub
than walking. He heard nothing except the breeze rustling the
leaves above his head. The whinny he had heard moments before
hadn’t been repeated. Pushing himself up onto his elbows, he
surveyed the forest. Nothing looked out of place. Nidan sighed,
satisfied the whinny had been another near miss. He averted eyes
and whispered a quick prayer to Pios. He helped Kiana up and then
led her towards the edge of the treeline.

The
forest had been cut back to make way for farmland, creating an
almost regimented tree line that butted up against open
ground.
Perfect for being hunted
down
. He looked across the
fields: those closest had been left fallow, the soil ploughed so
that it rose in a series of shallow troughs and peaks like a dark
undulating sea. Each field was bordered by a low hedge, creating a
giant patch work that led up to the walled city of
Valgate.

“
There’s no other
way?” Kiana asked.

“
The Wolves will
be watching the roads. We could go further north but the longer
we’re out here the more likely we are to run into
Wolves.”

Kiana put her hand on his arm.
"But surely there will be Guardians looking for us?"

"I doubt it." Nidan sighed. “The
only way they would have found out that Blackoak Tower had been
attacked is if survivors had reached the city.”

He
glanced at Kiana as her hand slipped from his arm She stared down
at the ground, blinking fiercely.
I should have kept my mouth shut.
He looked towards the city and the twin flags of Pios and
Miale that were flying proudly. No one had any idea that Miale was
in so much peril.

Kiana breathed in deeply and then
looked at him again. “You’ve got us this far. I know you’ll get us
into Valgate safely.”

Nidan grimaced. Maybe she was right, but what if they did
encounter a group of Wolves? The odds would be stacked against
them. He knew that the Wolves normally travelled abroad in packs of
at least six. Then there was their cursed mages. There was
nothing
that Nidan could do against fire magic.

He glanced up. It was early
evening and the sky was beginning to darken into deep shades of
red. Two days had passed since they had escaped the tower. They
could wait until nightfall to cross the fields but wouldn’t be able
to see danger until they blundered into it. Safety had never seemed
so close yet at the same time so far away. There was no choice.

“
Let’s go.” Nidan
broke out of the forest and headed across the slightly sloping
ground in the direction of the city, setting a good pace despite
the uneven terrain. The low sun caused their shadows to elongate
and stretch out behind them.

They
had just climbed through the hedge into the third field when they
heard the rhythmic thump, thump of hooves thundering across the
fields towards them. Nidan’s heart sank. He held his arm out in
front of Kiana, barely looking as she turned her fearful eyes
towards him. Nidan glanced back over his shoulder.
We can’t go back. We’ve come too far.
Pios, help us
.

As Nidan stood rooted to the spot,
he saw six riders clear a hedge two fields down. Nidan drew his
sword and dropped into a fighting stance, damned if they were going
to move any closer to their doom.

The riders approached them at a
leisurely pace as though they wanted to play with their prey. Nidan
could clearly see the telltale signs that told him they were
Wolves—their leather armour, emblazoned with a wolf head, their
long unkempt hair and the thick beards that masked the lower halves
of their faces. He tightened his grip on the sword and silently
begged the frightened pounding of his heart to slow down.

Suddenly, Kiana tugged on his arm.
He glanced back at her. She was pointing towards their left at a
lone rider that had just vaulted into their field. The rider pulled
the horse to a halt.

Nidan narrowed his eyes. “Another
Wolf, probably their scout.”

Kiana looked up at him, her mouth
quivering. “We have to do something! We can’t just stand here and
wait to die!”

“
We
can't run either. They'll cut us down before we reach the forest.
I’ll fight until they kill me.”
And they will kill me.
Nidan
sighed heavily. He looked at her as the Wolves’ horses picked up
pace. “I’m sorry. I can’t win this fight.”

Kiana tugged the dagger from his
belt. “I’ll fight too.” There was a grim expression on her
face.

Nidan smiled at her determination
and valour. He turned to face the Wolves as they dismounted. In
their position, Nidan wouldn’t have given up the advantage of being
on horseback, but the Wolves had over-confident smirks plastered on
their faces. They began to march forwards, drawing their
swords.

“
Stand behind me.
Don’t let them get near you.” Nidan hoped that the hedge at their
backs would prevent them from being circled.

Kiana nodded and obeyed.

Then
the Wolves were upon them. Nidan gritted his teeth and engaged the
first man, allowing fear and anger to flow through his body,
lending him strength and speed. Steel crashed against steel as
Nidan blocked blow after blow from first one, then two opponents.
Each time their blades struck his, he found his heels digging
further into the ground. He wanted to move and dance around their
attacks, but Kiana was behind him.
I can’t let her die. Pios, help me!

Block, block, strike. His blade
bit into the neck of a Wolf, causing a fountain of blood to spring
forth. The man looked surprised and fell, only to be replaced by
the next.

They're playing with us.

There was no reason why the five
remaining Wolves couldn’t just attack as one pack and finish
them.

Nidan forced the air out of his
lungs in a war cry. He fixed his teeth into a snarl and parried,
dodged and weaved, tying the Wolves up in a not-so-merry dance as
he struck with a solid kick and then a sweep of his sword.

I’m
better than them
. He’d win if it
was two to one, but the odds were far worse than that. He cut down
a second man. Four left, plus the scout.
They know I’m a threat.
He waited for them to stop tormenting him and surge
forward.
Is this how Wolves
kill?

He felt Kiana’s hand touch his
back. “He’s coming!”

As all four Wolves swarmed in,
Nidan felt the ground shaking beneath his feet as hooves thundered
across the field towards them. His sword hand was shaking just as
badly.

“
Pios!” The tip
of a sword sliced through Nidan’s tunic, cutting into his skin. The
warmth of blood blossomed and soaked the fabric.

There were too many Wolves. But Nidan knew why they were
toying with him.
They want me to
see Kiana die first. Bastards
.

The
rider reached them and didn’t stop. The horse charged straight
through two of the Wolves, knocking them out of the way. As it
reared up, the rider pulled at its mouth, forcing it to wheel
round. Its hooves came down, smashing into the head of one of the
Wolves. The Wolf dropped to the floor, his skull caved in. Kiana
screamed shrilly; the terrified sound sent a shiver down Nidan’s
spine. He didn’t take his eyes off the fight.
Three down; three left
.

From the corner of his eye, Nidan
saw the armourless rider gallop away and then circle round to make
a return pass. He was hunched over oddly.

“
It’s the Wolf
you healed!” Kiana said; she sounded glad.

Nidan shrugged and blocked another blow. All he knew was that
the odds had suddenly changed. He didn’t doubt that once all six
men had been dispatched, he would also have to fight the mage.
Perhaps the bastard wanted all the credit for murdering Kiana to
himself.
It doesn’t matter. If
we survive, I’ll kill him then.
Nidan hadn’t brought Kiana so far to let her die. He
would
get her to safety.
I have
to, for Brid
. The distant memory
of his sister sent a surge of energy through Nidan’s
body.

The mage was
upon them again, but this time, the Wolves were not as unprepared.
Two continued to engage Nidan whilst the third slashed his sword
into the chest of the rider’s horse. The horse screamed and
continued galloping until all the energy had bled from it. It
crashed to the ground, taking its rider with it. The mage was
pinned beneath the weight of the horse, helpless. Nidan didn’t
care. Whether the mage had helped them or not, he was still a
Wolf.

He failed to block another blow,
which cut into his left shoulder. He cried out in pain. One of the
two Wolves tried to lunge around him whilst the other pressed in to
attack with fury. They weren’t playing anymore. Nidan allowed his
attacker to strike him. It was only a glancing blow, but it still
stung his arm. It didn’t matter. The trick gave him the opportunity
to spin round and not only block, but also deliver a fatal blow to
the Wolf who was about to bring his sword down upon Kiana.

Quickly, Nidan turned back to the
last two Wolves. He blocked another rain of blows, perpetually
moving to make himself a human shield for Kiana. He glared at the
Wolves. “Run! You can’t win. Four of you are dead already; I don’t
want to make it six.” Brave words considering he was still
outnumbered.

One of them grinned back. “Only
someone about to lose would speak like that.”

Nidan bore down upon the Wolf. He
blocked a blow and followed it up with a cross-punch to the second
attacker’s face. Blood gushed from the Wolf’s nose and he staggered
back with a cry. Nidan brought his sword up to defend against
another attack. The he dropped beneath the blow and swept his leg
round to pull the Wolf’s feet out from under him. The surprised man
dropped to the ground hard but quickly tried to right himself.
Nidan was faster. He flipped his sword round in his hand and drove
it into the man’s gut. Blood spilled from the Wolf’s mouth. His
body convulsed once and then lay still.