Trinity (5 page)

Berend’s mouth briefly relaxed
into a smile. He was looking forward to this.

“
Alpha, we should
hear Raynar’s report first,” Berend said. Not that he wanted to,
but he had to keep up appearances.

“
It can wait,
can’t it, Raynar?”

Raynar bowed his head and nodded.
“Of course, Alpha.”

Berend followed Adalric out of the
hall. The Alpha’s shoulders were tense, and Berend hadn’t missed
the look of concern on Adalric’s face. It made him sick.

As they walked across the
courtyard, Berend surveyed the devastation. The stonework was
blackened, and almost all of the wooden buildings in the courtyard
had been burnt. Now only charred skeletons remained. The bodies of
horses lay in the ashes of the old stable block. The only
outbuilding that was still standing was the barracks, which they
had turned into a makeshift infirmary.

Inside, apothecaries were working
tirelessly to patch together warriors and those nyxii that could be
saved. Bowls of sweet incense were burning, making Berend’s nose
wrinkle. The incense did little to deter the flies that buzzed
irritatingly as they searched for festering wounds to settle on,
but it did mask the stench of bitter herbs, blood and death.

Brokk led them to the final bed
where Adalric’s son lay. His face was turned from them, his
breathing brisk and obviously pained.

“
His burns are
healing far faster than natural,” Brokk said without looking at
Adalric. “But at the moment, the damage is still deep and he is in
considerable pain.”

Adalric took a hesitant step
closer to the bed. “But he’ll live?”

Brokk nodded nervously. “Yes.”

“
Thank you.”
Adalric dismissed Brokk with a vague wave of his hand.

The
apothecary nodded, bowed and then quickly scuttled off to tend to
another patient. The man was a coward. It was obvious what he was
thinking: Skaric’s burns were being healed by the magic of Pios;
there was no other explanation. It would have been better if
Skaric
had
died.

“
Skaric?” Adalric
said, his voice unusually gentle.

Berend curled his upper lip. How
could Adalric show his coward of a son any compassion? He watched
as Skaric slowly turned his head to look at his father. The boy’s
face was slightly red with traces of peeling skin on his nose and
cheeks. The rest of his body was wrapped in clean bandages, making
it impossible to see the true extent of the damage caused by the
fire that should have killed him.

“
Did we find
her?” Skaric’s voice was barely more than a whisper.

“
No,” Adalric
said. “But that isn’t your fault.”

Berend held back a growl.
It was your fault.

Adalric stepped closer to the bed.
“You did well. Without your bravery, we would never have breached
the walls.”

Bravery?
Skaric was a
coward. Everyone knew it, yet Adalric wouldn’t admit it.

Skaric stared at his father with a
blank expression. There was no pride in the young man’s face.
Berend couldn’t wait to see what happened when Skaric owned up to
his dishonourable actions.

“
But afterwards…”
Adalric’s voice was hesitant.

Berend supressed a smile. He
waited, hoping.

“…
Afterwards you
acted like a coward.” A coward had no business living, let alone
being the Alpha’s heir. “Why? Why didn’t you accept your
death?”

Skaric closed his eyes. “Would you
rather I had died?”

Yes, you should have died.

Adalric sighed heavily. He looked
like he was about to shake his head.

“
Better to die a
hero than live a coward,” Berend said quickly.

Skaric opened his eyes and stared
at Adalric. “I’ll accept any punishment you think fitting,
father.”

Berend looked to the Alpha,
waiting to hear the coward’s fate. Lashings would be a good start.
Serving the women folk would bring shame upon him. Death would be
preferable, but Berend knew that wouldn’t happen; they had lost too
many nyxii in the assault on the tower. That would be the
excuse.

“
There will be no
punishment,” Adalric said. “Rest. We can talk again when you are
fit and healthy.”

Berend gaped open-mouthed as
Adalric turned to leave the infirmary. He quickly clenched his
teeth and began to follow, but then paused and looked back at
Skaric. Adalric had to be shown that he was making a mistake.

“
Given what Brokk
said, that shouldn’t be long. He did say that your wounds are
healing unusually fast. Do you know why?”

Skaric didn’t deign to give any
reply.

“
It seems
unnatural to me,” Berend said. “I’d wondered if you had found some
way to make the fire heal rather than destroy. But as we all know,
only Pios has any power over healing."

Adalric grasped Berend’s arm
tightly. “You should watch your tongue. Be careful with your
accusations.”

“
I’m not accusing
him of anything, Alpha. I’m simply curious.”

Adalric’s moustache bristled.
“Keep your curiosity to yourself.”

Berend bowed his head. “Of course,
Alpha.” He tugged his arm away from Adalric’s grasp and continued
to walk towards the exit. The sound of Skaric’s weak, pathetic
voice stopped him.

“
I forced a
wounded Guardian to heal me. I promised him his life, and then I
killed him.” Skaric’s voice was flat and expressionless as he
spoke.

Liar
. “Yet he left you with
considerable wounds.” Berend glanced back in time to see Skaric
grimace.

“
He obviously
misjudged the strength of a nyxus.” Finally there was a hint of
emotion creeping into Skaric’s voice. “He probably thought that if
he left me wounded I wouldn’t be a threat. He was
wrong.”

Adalric laughed. “A mistake the
fool will never make again! See,” he said, punching Berend lightly
in the arm. “There is an explanation for everything. We must go.
Raynar will still be waiting.”

Berend breathed in and out deeply,
but he said nothing as he followed his Alpha. He risked one parting
glance at Skaric. If the Alpha of the Wolves had one weakness, it
was his compassion for his son.

Skaric should have died.

Chapter
Three

Everyone within the remains of the
tower seemed to have a task to do: looking after the horses,
tending the wounded, burning the dead on both sides or readying
provisions for the next set of search parties. Everyone except for
Skaric.

His wounds were almost fully
healed, even though only one night had passed since he had been
consumed by fire from within. He stood in the shadow of the tower,
watching as his father stood talking to Brokk and Berend in the
centre of the courtyard. The apothecary was moving his arms in an
animated fashion. Skaric was trying to feign disinterest in their
conversation, but the surreptitious glances they took in his
direction made it clear they were talking about him. He doubted he
would ever be made privy to what they were saying.

Skaric forced himself to look away, turning his attention
instead to the jagged remnants of the portcullis. He stared at it,
unable to tear his gaze from the destruction. It was suddenly
painful to breathe as he took in the damage that
he
had caused.
My magic. Power
I dragged out of the earth… and my own people.
The memory made his healing skin itch, and he
suddenly felt deathly cold.

Again, he forced himself to turn
away and look at the handful of nyxii that hadn’t been sent out
with packs. They were doing exactly what he should have been:
training and honing their talents. He watched as the ground around
them died a little more with every spell they cast. All fire. Fire
hadn’t destroyed the portcullis.

“
You should be
with them.”

Skaric lurched round and came face
to face with Vali, who wore a loose-fitting grey woollen shirt and
breeches. He wasn’t carrying any weapons; the nyxii didn’t need
knives or swords, and they didn’t get close enough to combat to
warrant wearing armour.

Skaric pushed the panic from his
face and clenched his hands.

“
At
least, you should be helping to deal with the dead. You look fit
enough for
that
task.” Vali’s mouth twisted in disgust
as he contemplated the unpleasant task.

There were still plenty of dead
bodies that needed to be burned. They were stacked up in piles in
the courtyard, and the cloying, stomach-turning odour of burnt
flesh hung in the air. Skaric resisted the urge to scratch the
scars on his arms. No one in the tower had been spared. Those that
hadn’t died in the fighting had been rounded up and slaughtered.
Wolves didn’t take prisoners.

“
Why aren’t you
training?” Skaric hoped that his tone sounded casual.

Vali’s thin lips relaxed into a
grin as he nodded towards a pack that had just returned. “I’ve been
out hunting for Miale since last night.” He looked Skaric up and
down; his grin melted into a smile. “It’s good to see you on your
feet.”

Is
it?
Skaric searched Vali’s face
for a moment; his smile looked genuine enough. He wanted to believe
that Vali’s words were sincere.

“
People are
talking about you,” Vali said quietly, whilst maintaining a casual
expression on his face. “They say you’ve lost your
nerve.”

Skaric felt the muscles in his
face tense at the accusation. The worst part was, the rumours were
right.

“
Add to that how
quickly you healed…” Vali shook his head. “By the Darkness, Skaric,
I thought you would be the last person to bring shame on yourself,
let alone your father.”

Skaric clenched his teeth. “Just
what are people saying?”

“
That you made a
deal with Pios.” Vali’s gaze bored into Skaric’s eyes as though he
would find an answer there.

Skaric forced himself to laugh; it
sounded hollow, even to him. “I forced a Guardian to heal me and
then I killed him.” How many times would he have to repeat the lie
before he believed it?

Vali continued to stare at Skaric
for a moment longer. He sighed heavily, shrugged and threw his
hands up in a submissive gesture. “Don't blame me. I’m just letting
you know what the others are saying. Look, do yourself a favour and
get over there, and show everyone that you aren’t scared of casting
magic.”

Skaric couldn’t make himself nod and move towards the
nyxii.
Vali is right. I am
afraid.

Vali took a step closer, his
expression serious. “You know as well as I do that failure isn’t an
option for us. People should be hailing you as a hero, but instead,
they’re calling you a coward and insinuating that you might be a
traitor.”

Skaric ran his hands over his face and shook his head. He
didn’t understand what was so cowardly about wanting to live, but
he knew he would be damned for it. He
should
have killed
Miale. That would have saved him from humiliation. She had been
right there in his grasp. Skaric pressed his lips together to stop
himself from grimacing. He had let her walk away because he was
afraid to die. No one knew about his missed opportunity. No one
could ever know. He had to find a way to prove himself again. In
the meantime, he hoped his father’s status would protect
him.

“
If you don’t
want to find a knife in your back, you’d better do something to
stop their wagging tongues.” Vali’s expression hadn’t changed, but
there was concern in his eyes. His words destroyed Skaric’s
hope.

“
What does it
matter to you?” Skaric only managed to stare at Vali for a
heartbeat before he looked away. Adalric wouldn’t protect him; if
anything, being the son of the Alpha would bring death on him even
faster. He tried not to wonder who would be sent to kill
him.

Vali pursed his lips and narrowed
his eyes slightly. Then he forced out a laugh and slapped Skaric on
the top of his arm. “If you’re not around, who else am I going to
compete against? There’s not one other nyxus that can match either
of us in skill and you know it. So stop being a coward!”

Vali wouldn’t be the one to kill
him.

Skaric didn’t
watch his friend walk away. He felt torn between anger and
gratitude. Eventually, he made himself look back to the nyxii and
tried to gather up the courage to stride over to them and show off,
as he would have done only days before. He took the first steps but
stopped as he left the shadow of the wall. The morning sunlight
struck the skin on his face and hands. Fresh pain made his skin
tingle and become unbearably itchy. He stared down at the pale pink
remains of the burns that covered his hands.

Curse the Guardian that had healed
him. Curse Miale. Skaric’s chest tightened as a flood of confusion
crashed into his mind. It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense. He
tugged his sleeves over his hands, bowed his head to shield his
face from the sun and strode quickly towards the makeshift
infirmary.

*

During the night, Nidan had heard
two more groups of Wolves passing by the cave entrance. Eventually,
he had fallen into a fitful but necessary sleep. When he woke, his
joints were stiff, cold and aching. He had a parched mouth and
growling stomach. Light filtered into the cave, though it brought
no warmth with it.