Trinity (9 page)

Berend forced himself up onto one
elbow. “What are you going to do?”

Adalric stopped and turned slowly.
“Send men to look for my son.”

“
To what
end?”

Adalric’s eyes narrowed. “To bring
him back for questioning.”

Berend couldn’t allow that to
happen. “Let me go.”

Adalric’s lips pressed into a thin
line. “You aren’t fit.” He turned to leave.

“
Skaric is like a
brother to me.” Berend risked a smile as his words halted Adalric.
“This madness that has taken him… Perhaps the incarnation of Miale
cursed him in some way. Let me find him and bring him back to you.
Perhaps his mind can be healed.”

Adalric half turned; distrust
danced in his eyes. “You called my son a coward and a traitor.”

“
That is what his
actions suggest.” Berend had to be careful. “But maybe there is
another explanation. Let me find him. I won’t let any harm come to
him unless he resists too violently.” He hoped his words sounded
reasonable.

Adalric nodded slowly. “As soon as
you are fit, gather men you can trust. Bring Skaric back to me.
Alive.”

Berend nodded and smiled as
Adalric left. There was no way he was going to let Skaric return
alive.

*

The evening sky was deepening from
red to indigo, just visible through gaps in the canopy above
Kiana’s head. They had managed to outpace the Wolves. Once in the
forest, Nidan had made sure that their tracks became a churned up
mess, before setting a relentless pace that had left all three
horses lathered in sweat and breathing harshly. Too exhausted to
travel further and too far from Valgate to double back under cover
of darkness, they had been forced to stop.

The first thing Nidan had done was
check what provisions the Wolves had been carrying. It turned out
to be enough food for four to five days, if the two of them ate
sparingly. They wouldn’t be in the wilderness for that long. Nidan
would guide them back to Valgate the next day. For the time being,
Kiana felt exposed. The only benefit to their current predicament
was that she would have time to give the Wolf answers to his
questions in payment for his help. Without him, they would have
died in that field.

They had propped the Wolf up
against a tree. He still wasn’t showing any emotion on his face,
though his skin was pale and his side wound seemed to be oozing
fresh scarlet blood. Not knowing his name was annoying. His
animosity was annoying. In fact, everything about him was
annoying.

Kiana crouched down in front of
him. “You had questions?”

The Wolf looked at her with his
cold eyes. He breathed in deeply. “Why did you stop to save
me?”

That was easy! “It was wrong to
let you die.” She shrugged. “All life is sacred, even if the Wolves
have forgotten that.”

Anger clouded his face, making his
gaze seem even brighter and colder as it bore into her.

Shivering, Kiana glanced over her
shoulder at Nidan. “You need to heal yourself… and him.”

Nidan was looking through one of
the saddlebags. He paused and stared at the Wolf and then Kiana.
“I’m not healing him again.”

Kiana stood and turned to face
him, her hands on her hips. “He saved our lives!”

Nidan scowled. “Probably so he
could take the glory for killing us himself after he’s asked his
pointless questions!”

Kiana looked back down at the
Wolf. There was so much anger in his eyes, but she didn’t believe
he wanted to kill her. He’d already had several chances and hadn’t
taken them. How could she convince Nidan that the Wolf wasn’t a
threat? “Heal yourself then.”

Nidan gave her a lopsided grimace.
“I can’t. It’s impossible to use the magic of Pios to heal
yourself.”

Kiana wanted to scream. “Then at
least clean and dress your wounds. Surely you’ve been taught how to
do that?”

Nidan nodded. It looked like he
was going to continue looking through the saddlebags, but instead
he paused. “We should tie him up.”

Kiana rolled her eyes. “Not now. He’s not in a fit state to do
anything.”
Except cast
magic.
She turned her back on
Nidan again, crouched down and tried to smile brightly at the
Wolf.
If he really wanted us
dead, we would be by now.
“Next
question.”

The Wolf was still staring at her,
but he was also trying to open and close the fingers on his left
hand. They were all dark with bruises.

The Wolf allowed his hand to slide
to the ground where it rested in the crook of a tree root.
“Thousands of people have been killed in your name, yet you take
the time to save me? It doesn’t make sense.”

It’s all the senseless killing that doesn’t make sense.
“Most of those deaths occurred before I
was even born.” She paused, choosing her words carefully.
“Recently, it’s your people who have brought the war to us. Not the
other way around.”

He chewed on his lower lip.
“Before your current incarnation was born.”

Kiana felt like she was being led
into a trap but nodded anyway.

“
Your soul is
immortal. Even if the bodies you are born into are mortal, your
soul will carry all of your memories.”

Kiana knew very little about the
soul. That had been Ysia’s domain, her role in the trinity. Kiana
wondered if the Wolves had preserved knowledge of Ysia’s power and
if everyone else had purposefully forgotten. She sat forward onto
her knees. “The only memories I have are my own.”

The
Wolf shook his head as though denying her words. “Why did Pios save
you, but do
nothing
to save Ysia?” Every muscle in his face
and shoulders was taut.

Kiana returned his stare; her mind
raced with questions. “I don’t know.”

The Wolf’s eyes widened; they
looked desperate and slightly less cold. “How could you have
condoned so much killing? You and Pios could have brought
peace!”

Kiana shook her head. Tears brimmed in her eyes. She couldn’t
answer his questions.
Why can’t
I answer his questions?

“
You could have
stopped all this!” He staggered to his feet.

Kiana shifted her weight backwards
as he stared down at her. Behind, she heard Nidan hurry closer.
Without looking at him, Kiana held the flat of her palm up to order
him to stop. The Wolf was not a threat. The injured man breathed
heavily and tried to walk away, but the leg that had been pinned
beneath the horse gave way and he sank to the ground. Kiana
couldn’t quell her tears as he hunched his shoulders and bowed his
head. She clenched her hands into fists, forcing herself to stay
still.

“
Why did you save
me?” The Wolf’s voice was almost inaudible. “Why did you and Pios
turn your backs on us? You could have saved us.”

That was more than Kiana could
bear. She felt tears strangling her throat and brimming in her
eyes. Crawling forward, she knelt beside the Wolf, ignoring the
sting of twigs pressing through her dress. Kiana reached out to the
Wolf. She hesitated, knowing he wouldn’t welcome her touch. She was
aware of Nidan watching her every move; it unnerved her, but she
looked to him for help anyway.

“
I suppose that’s
the price for killing a goddess,” Nidan said with an uncaring
shrug.

Kiana glared at him.

“
That was the act of one man!” The Wolf didn’t look up as he
spoke. “
Not
Ysia.
Not
the rest of our people and
not
me.”

“
I know.” Kiana
touched his shoulder. “I don’t know why the gods didn’t stop the
war. I don’t know why Pios chose not to save Ysia. I don’t
know.”

“
But you should!”
The Wolf pulled away from her. His face contorted with pain as his
injured hand impacted with the ground.

Kiana felt her body shudder as
tears began to overwhelm her. He was right. She should know; she
was a god. “Is everything a lie? Am I just a decoy for the true
incarnation of Miale?”

“
No.” Both Nidan
and the Wolf spoke in unison.

It almost made Kiana laugh
bitterly. “Then why don’t I know?” She stared at each of them in
turn. Neither one spoke. Her chin trembled as she covered her face
with her hands.

She heard Nidan’s footsteps walk
closer. “You’ve done this! You’ve confused and upset her!”

“
Stop it!” Kiana
lowered her hands.

Nidan was standing over the Wolf,
his fists tightly clenched.

“
Please, stop
it.” Kiana’s voice had come out as a faint whisper but it was
enough to catch Nidan’s attention.

He took a step back and turned so
that he was standing side on to both Kiana and the Wolf. Tension
lined his face and muscles. He was at boiling point and Kiana knew
she was about to make him even angrier.

Kiana drew in a deep breath before
trusting herself to speak. “I don’t want to go into Valgate.”

Nidan’s mouth dropped open.

“
His questions
have made me doubt everything I’ve ever been told about who I am.”
Kiana stared at Nidan, willing him to stay calm while she
explained. “I was told I was the incarnation of Miale and I never
questioned that. But the Wolf is right… I should have her memories.
I should be more than… than a person. More than just a girl… but
I’m not, am I?”

Nidan knelt down beside her, his
back to the Wolf. He gripped her shoulders gently. “The power of
Miale was greatly weakened by her first death. Imprisoned in the
body of a mortal, her power is stretched thin. It’s the same reason
why no one can channel her power anymore.”

Kiana sniffed back tears. “I was
told that.”

Nidan looked at her hopefully and
squeezed her shoulders. “Then that should be enough. That explains
everything. Your power is spent on keeping the balance of your
domain in order.”

Kiana shook her head sadly. “I
don’t think I can believe that anymore.” She felt his grip tighten
until her shoulders began to ache. She must have shown a hint of
pain on her face because he let go.

“
All because of
the questions of your enemy?” Nidan said.

Kiana nodded. But she didn’t just
feel confused. “This has to stop.”

“
What
does?”

She ignored Nidan’s question and
glanced at the Wolf. He had raised his head and was returning her
stare. A look of curiosity played over his face, and she thought
the anger in his eyes was thawing a little.

“
All this hatred
and fighting… it has to stop. The Wolves will keep trying to kill
me. No matter how many times Miale is reincarnated, they will try
to kill her every time. And we will always retaliate.”

“
Why shouldn’t
we?” Nidan said. “They’re the ones in the wrong.”

Kiana shrugged. Right and wrong
seemed like odd concepts all of a sudden. “It can’t go on.” She
pursed her lips as she continued to stare at the Wolf. “Why are
your people fighting?”

“
To avenge Ysia.”
His response was impassioned. It sounded like a phrase he had been
ordered to believe.

Kiana looked at Nidan. “Why are we
fighting?”

“
To protect
Miale.”

Kiana shook her head. She’d asked
the wrong question. “A thousand years ago… why did the fighting
start?”

Nidan frowned. “To avenge Miale.”
His mouth became downturned in dismay. “But it’s the Wolves who
have prolonged the fight!”

She shrugged. It didn’t matter. It
had to stop.

“
Our hatred is
justified!” Nidan said. “Miale was killed by the hand of a
Wolf.”

“
One man,” Kiana
said. “And all of us have been paying ever since. The fighting… the
madness during the times of Thanatos… we have to end it
all.”

“
How?”

That time, Kiana did laugh at the
joint response. Oddly, the laughter eased the tension in her body.
A crazy idea began to form in her mind. “We restore the
trinity!”

They
both looked at her as though she was mad.
Maybe I am
.

“
If Pios could
have restored Miale’s immortality, he would have done,” Nidan
said.

“
Ysia is dead,”
the Wolf said bitterly.

Kiana refused to believe there was
no hope. When they had run from the tower, Nidan had given her
hope; he had made her believe she could survive. The Wolf before
her, confused and hurting, was proof that the Wolves could think
differently, that they could look beyond their hatred. There was
always hope.

“
Orholt,” she
said eventually.

Nidan raised his eyebrows. “The
first city?”

Kiana nodded. “The trinity was
destroyed there. Maybe we can find a way to restore it there.”

Nidan clenched his hand in front
of his chest. “But no one has been there since Miale was
killed!”

“
It’s the only
place that all three gods appeared at the same time in mortal
hosts,” the Wolf said.

Nidan scowled at him.

Kiana nodded eagerly. “It’s the
only
time they took mortal
hosts.”

“
No,” Nidan said.
“The city was abandoned during the war. There’s probably nothing
there. We should go to Valgate.”

Kiana shook her head. She was
not
going to be shut away
again. She grabbed Nidan’s hands. “I can’t think of anywhere else
where we might find answers. Can you?”

Nidan stared at her. Kiana’s
heartbeat thudded loudly in her chest as she waited for his
response. She tried to guess at his thoughts, but his expression
gave nothing away.