Trinity (26 page)

Kiana pursed her lips. That seemed
to make sense, but why didn’t Nidan feel it too? Why didn’t the
horses? Why didn’t she? She was Miale’s vessel after all.

Skaric stumbled again, barely
catching himself in time to avoid crashing to the ground.

Nidan stopped his horse,
dismounted and held the reins out towards Skaric. “Your turn to
ride.”

Skaric didn’t argue; he looked
almost grateful as he accepted the reins and pulled himself onto
the horse’s back.

Nidan pulled his cloak out of one
of the saddle bags and handed it to Kiana. “It will help against
the dust.”

Kiana looked down at him as she
accepted the cloak. “Please tell me you remember enough of the map
to guide us.” Clumsily, she managed to toss the cloak over her
shoulders without having to let go of the reins completely. She
fastened the clasp and pulled the hood up to shield her eyes. Her
mouth felt disgustingly gritty.

Nidan shrugged; his expression
became tense. “I hope so. From what I remember, if we keep
travelling due east, we should reach a river by nightfall.”

A river sounded nice. It would be
somewhere to camp, fill their water flasks and wash some of the
dust from their skin.

“
I don’t
understand why people are so afraid to come here.” Kiana glanced
across at Skaric as she spoke, but he seemed too preoccupied with
his headache to answer her.

“
Myths build up
about places where bad things have happened,” Nidan said. “Besides,
why would anyone want to come here?” He kicked at the ground,
sending more loose dust into the air. Both of the horses snorted
and shook their heads. “The land is useless. Dead.”

Dead.
How many people died
here?
Kiana shuddered and looked
down at the ground, trying to picture a time when it had been
anything other than fine dust; she couldn’t. All she saw in her
mind was acres of fields covered with the dead. The taste of dust
in her mouth suddenly made her feel sick. Letting go of the reins
with one hand, she grabbed a water flask from the saddle, took a
large gulp, swilled her mouth out and spat as much of the dust out
as she could.

‘
Very lady like,”
Nidan said, smirking.

Kiana wrinkled her nose and mouth
at him as she secured the water flask’s cap. “Didn’t one of the
ruling lords live in Orholt before the war?”

Still smirking, Nidan nodded.
“Yes, before the war there were thirteen ruling lords. Now there
are only twelve.”

Kiana half closed her eyes,
remembering. “In Norlea, the drawing showed fourteen.” She recalled
the image: fourteen men standing beneath a single crown.

“
The Wolves used
to be part of Gettryne. They were one of several clans, united by
one ruler.” Skaric was staring directly ahead.

The crown. “The gods wanted one
ruler for Gettryne.” Why hadn’t Kiana realised that before? It
should have been obvious. “That’s why they entered the bodies of
mortals and made themselves vulnerable. They were trying to unite
us all.” She felt a stab of pain in her heart. “They failed.”

Nidan patted her hand
comfortingly. “In an odd way, they succeeded.” He glanced at
Skaric. “Everyone united against the Wolves.”

Nidan was right. Gettryne
had
been united: by hatred.
Kiana watched as Skaric tucked his chin against his chest. His
blank expression turned into a dark glower.

She
shook her head sadly. “That’s not what the gods wanted.”
Why would anyone have wanted this? All
the hatred; all the death. It’s pointless.

They
lapsed into silence and set as brisk a pace as they could manage.
Kiana fixed her gaze ahead. She longed to reach Orholt. She knew
the answers to all her questions would be there. They
had
to be there. She pulled Nidan’s cloak tighter around her
shoulders and neck, even though its heavy thickness was making her
sweat. She grimaced at the thought of the dust on her body turning
into a sticky paste.
I really
need a bath!
In Blackoak Tower,
every day had started with a hot bath. Afterwards, she would sit by
the fire or on the balcony as Erynn combed her hair out. The
corners of her mouth dropped at the memory. That life had been
destroyed.

The setting sun had stained the
sky red by the time they reached the shimmering river. The good
omen did little to raise Kiana’s spirits. The failing light
illuminated the peaks and troughs of the water’s surface as it
trickled lazily over a myriad of smooth stones. The sound echoed
around the emptiness of the Fallen Lands. It was not a comforting
sound. Kiana dismounted and knelt down on the bank. She would feel
better after washing the grime from her face. A shock of cold ran
through her as she plunged her hands into the water. She withdrew
them quickly but her teeth continued to chatter insanely.

Beside her, Nidan touched the
surface of the water with his fingertips. He snatched his hand back
as though it had just been burnt. “It’s not natural!”

Kiana nodded in agreement.
“Nothing about this place is natural anymore.” She stared at the
water. It was entirely void of life, like the rest of the Fallen
Lands.

They made their camp a short
distance away. Even then, the only sound Kiana could hear was the
tumbling water, disturbing her as she tried to settle into sleep
shrouded in dust.

When
Kiana woke, groggy and disorientated, she found herself lying in a
comfortable bed, surrounded by grey stone walls. The walls were
unadorned, except for a tapestry of the cup of wisdom. Her breath
caught in her throat. It wasn’t Blackoak tower; it wasn’t her
room.
Where am I?
Slowly, she turned her head; her neck
muscles were stiff and her shoulder blade clicked with the
effort.

An elderly servant sat by the bed,
and even though Kiana had never seen the woman before, she
recognised her. There was an odd sense of familiarity in the deep
lines on her face and the way her grey hair was arranged in looped
plaits. From where Kiana lay, she was just able to see the doorway
to the room. A Guardian stood facing her bed, with his back pushed
against the wooden door. His expression was grave.

Kiana tried to sit up but there
was no strength in her body at all, so instead she raised her hand.
She gasped.

“
Rest my lady,” the servant said, reaching forward with
concern. “You
must
rest.”

The hand that Kiana was staring at
wasn’t her own. It was old, gnarled and withered. Dark blotches
covered her paper thin skin, which was almost translucent in the
sunlight that poured through a nearby window. She moved her hand to
her head and clutched at lank wisps of grey hair.

“
My lady, please!
You must rest!”

It
was hard to breathe. Kiana’s heart beat slowed. Her hand flopped
onto her breast, and she was unable to summon the strength to even
twitch a finger. She couldn’t move. Everything was becoming dark.
The servant’s face began to blur. She felt like she was sinking
into darkness. She wanted to scream but no sound escaped from her
lungs. She couldn’t breathe. No air passed through her lips. She
heard the failing beat of her heart. Slower. Slower. Slower. She
was sinking and no one could pull her back. She wanted to scream.
She wanted to reach out for help.
Help me!
No one answered. No
air. The sound of her heart was gone. She felt nothing. She was
cold. Alone. Sinking.

Kiana woke screaming. She clutched at her throat and gasped in
the warm night air until her lungs hurt with the exertion. Skaric
was already next to her, yet not touching her. It was still dark
but the moon and stars bathed the landscape in an unnatural glow.
Although Skaric’s features looked grey in the dim light, his eyes
were still unmistakably blue. Just staring into the depths of his
eyes made her feel alive again.
I’m not dead. It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.

“
Kiana?”

Her chin trembled as she tried to
hold back her tears. When she found she couldn’t, she launched
herself forward and buried her head in his chest. Tension rippled
through him but Kiana didn’t care. She wrapped her arms tightly
around his back and allowed the tears to pour out of her until her
entire body shook with the effort. Finally, awkwardly, Skaric’s
arms wrapped loosely around her. Kiana relaxed deeper against him,
smothering her fear in his arms.

“
What happened?”
Skaric’s voice was stiff.

Can’t you bring yourself to comfort or be comforted? Was your
life so cold before I met you?
“A
dream…” It hadn’t been a dream. It had felt so real. “I was old. I
was dying. But it wasn’t me.” Kiana shook her head and looked up at
him through tear soaked eyes. Nothing she was saying was making any
sense. “It wasn’t me.” She pressed her cheeks against the rough
wool of his shirt. Dust transferred from his clothes to her skin,
making her face feel stiff as it mixed with her tears; she didn’t
care. He made her feel safe.

Gradually, Kiana’s tears became
exhausted. Still trembling, she pushed herself far enough back that
she could see his face, but not so far that she broke the embrace.
She frowned. “Where’s Nidan?”

Skaric glanced over his shoulder.
“Restless, but asleep.”

Kiana eased herself out of
Skaric’s arms and looked over his shoulder. Nidan was laying close
by, his brow furrowed. Every so often his fingertips twitched and
his head rocked to the opposite side. Nidan looked afraid. Kiana
had never seen anyone look afraid whilst asleep before. “We should
wake him.”

She crawled away from Skaric,
across the dusty ground that seemed to crumble beneath her
fingertips. Gently, Kiana reached out and shook Nidan’s shoulders.
He didn’t wake.

She looked back at Skaric. “Did
you dream, too?”

He shook his head. “I’ve been
keeping watch.”

Kiana looked up at the moon but
couldn’t gauge how much time had passed. Skaric certainly looked
tired: his cheeks were pinched and there were deep lines beneath
his eyes. How long had he been watching over her? Had he tried to
wake her?

She reached down and shook Nidan
again. The Guardian was beginning to toss and fight in his sleep.
His teeth were clenched and a frightened murmur kept escaping his
lips.

“
Help me?” Kiana
said.

Skaric joined her by Nidan’s side
and shook him harder than she had dared. He still didn’t wake. “You
didn’t wake up straight away either.”

Her
heart missed a beat. He
had
been watching over her.
“How did you wake me?”

Skaric’s face crumpled with guilt.
“I didn’t. You woke yourself.”

When I died
.
Oh Miale.
“He’s going to dream his death.” Not his death. She hadn’t
dreamt her death but someone else’s.

Suddenly, Nidan sat bolt upright,
pulling away from Skaric’s grip. His eyes opened and he stared into
the stillness of the night, breathing heavily. In the moonlight,
Kiana could see that a cold sweat glistened over all of his exposed
skin.

“
Nidan? Are you
all right?”

It
was several moments before Nidan’s breathing calmed and he was able
to look at her and then Skaric. He put his hands over his face and
breathed slowly into them before nodding. “A bad dream. A
really
bad dream.”

Kiana put her hand on his arm. She
couldn’t tell which of them was trembling more. “Did you dream you
were dying?”

Nidan frowned and then nodded.
“How did you know?”

“
I did as
well.”

“
It wasn’t me
though,” Nidan said.

“
It’s this
place,” Skaric said quietly.

Kiana knew he was right. She
stared eastwards across the dismal landscape. There was just enough
light to travel by. She looked at her companions. They looked as
exhausted as she felt. “We should go.” Guilt tugged at her gut.

Nidan stared at her, his eyebrows
raised. “It’s the middle of the night!”

It didn’t matter. “I couldn’t go
back to sleep anyway. Not after…” she pressed her lips together and
swallowed hard. “I just want to get to Orholt as quickly as
possible and then get out of here. How far away are we?”

Nidan’s eyebrows knitted together.
“Another couple of days… I think.” He didn’t sound sure.

“
We can’t stay
awake that long,” Skaric said.

“
I know,” Kiana
said, nodding. “But right now, I don’t want to go to sleep again,
so we might as well get moving. Maybe tomorrow I’ll be less
afraid.”

Without another word, Nidan and
Skaric gathered their belongings and prepared the horses. Kiana
watched them as they worked, threading her fingers together as
though it would relieve some of her fear. It didn’t. Whenever she
blinked, she was back in the room again. She felt the strength in
her body ebb and flow, as though she was old and frail one moment
and then herself in the next. From the corner of her eyes, she
thought she caught a glimpse of the elderly servant, watching her,
but when she turned to look there was nothing there but
darkness.

A light touch on Kiana’s arm made
her jump and yelp in fear. She swung round and came face to face
with Skaric.

“
Are you all
right?” His touch solidified on her arm. As he held it loosely, her
fear drifted away on the breeze.

“
Yes.”

Concern etched his eyes as they
searched her face.