- Chapter Seven -
Abruptly Changed
"Attack now!" Neirah called, leading the warriors into the fray while arrows rained down on the corrupted templars.
Envy's four arms swung wildly, sweeping the officers aside like rag dolls, it's eyeless face focused on Neirah. With a throaty yell, she slashed at its stomach, leaping aside when one of its slender arms swung at her.
Fear rushed through Brianna as the red templars continued to pour into the chantry. If this continued, they would be overrun. Brianna's mind spun, unable to form a cohesive thought. She grit her teeth against the cries of the dying and Envy's unearthly screeches, a wild cacophony that ricocheted off the high stone walls.
A shout rang out from the nearby scaffolding, a handful of archers surrounded by their corrupted brothers. With a speed that surprised her, Barris swung up the nearest ladder. Blood darkened his armor as he cleaved through the red templars with his sword, buying the archers more time.
The Inquisition held their ground, and briefly, the tide appeared to turn in their favor. Brianna remained crouched behind the pillar, several yards behind Solas. Her knees burned from holding the same position, but she didn't dare move. She almost lost her balance when a familiar crackling filled the space above their heads. Several templars spun wildly, looking for the source of the sound.
"Neirah!" Brianna yelled, but her voice was drowned out as a jagged rift tore open in the middle of the chantry, spilling howling demons. From across the room, she saw the horror on Neirah's face as the rift split open. Brianna lurched to her feet, stubbing her toe on the pillar as she rounded it. "Solas! Solas, we need to get Neirah to the rift!"
"Stay back, Brianna!" Solas called back, staff moving tirelessly. "Varric, send that group of soldiers over there to cover the Herald. Have them hold off the demon while she closes the rift."
Wordlessly, Varric loaded Bianca and set off across the scaffolding.
Simultaneously, several warriors rounded on the demon from behind, allowing Neirah a window to vault over the railing into the mass of demons below. Solas cast barrier after barrier, shielding Neirah from most of the claws and swords that swiped at her.
It wasn't enough.
Neirah raised her hand, her mark threading with the rift for a moment before a demon knocked her to the ground.
Panic propelled Brianna forward, with no plan, no idea how to help. She jerked backwards as Solas grabbed her arm.
"What are you doing?!"
She tore loose. "Neirah's alone up there. I have to go!" Ignoring his shouts, she pressed forward, stumbling over the twisted, broken body of an Inquisition soldier as she dodged a red templar's sword. In a glance, she saw the Envy demon sweep the remaining soldiers aside, honing in on Neirah. Pushing through templars, she found Cassandra and ducked beside her. "Help me get to Neirah!" she yelled.
Her face registered shock, but she nodded briskly. Yanking her sword from the twitching body of a demon, Cassandra lifted her shield and surged forward through the writhing mass of demons and men.
Envy swung over the railing, landing in front of Neirah. The demon pivoted to face her, wading towards her through the chaos. Panting, Neirah thrust her hand towards the rift, blood oozing from a gash across her face.
Brianna's heart lurched. Pushing past Cassandra, she threw herself between Neirah and the demon. Envy raised an arm to strike, jaw dripping with mucus as a gurgling scream rattled from its throat.
Neirah blinked past the blood in her eyes, her wild stare meeting Brianna's. Above them, her mark and the rift connected.
Mindlessly, Brianna seized Neirah's marked hand.
For the space of two heartbeats, a heavy silence draped over Brianna. Pressure built in her ears, and she tightened her grip on Neirah's quivering arm. Sound came rushing back with a roar, like water over a dam. Envy crumpled against the wall, howling, as if the sound itself had blasted outwards. Soldiers, templars, and demons alike were strewn around her.
When the rift snapped closed, Neirah wrenched her hand away, astonishment written plainly on her face. "What did you do?" she yelled.
Brianna gaped at the writhing forms scattered across the floor, rubbing at her ear absently.
Neirah shoved her aside. With a yell, she plunged her greatsword into Envy's middle. It's shrieks filled the chantry.
Brianna took a step towards her. "Nei-" A sudden force struck her from behind, sending her sprawling. She gasped, but couldn't hear the sound. An agonizing pressure built between her ears, and voices shouted as if from a distance. Grit burned her eyes as the ground rocked. She couldn't feel the floor. She couldn't feel herself. Brianna retched, the sound of her own tortured heaving miles away.
Hands gripped her arms and agonizing pain tore through her limbs. Someone was screaming. Was it her? A coolness seeped into her skin, and the burning began to fade. She was lifted from the ground, sunlight spearing across her lowered eyelids. She opened her mouth but no words would come.
"Bastard!" Neirah's voice sliced through her mind. "What was he thinking?"
"I need time with her," someone murmured against her. "The smite is taking its toll."
"She'll be okay." It wasn't a question.
Brianna felt herself laid on the ground, distantly aware of fur tickling the back of her neck.
"She better be. She saved my life, Solas."
"Allow me a few minutes with her, Herald. I will do what I can."
Neirah's shadow moved away as she muttered something about damn templars. Brianna felt the passing of time without realizing she had gone under, that familiar brush of cold moving over her body.
"Brianna. Can you hear me?"
She pried her eyelids open, Solas's face coming into focus. Her gaze drifted from the thin line of his lips to his dark eyes.
"How do you feel?"
Brianna coughed. "Like shit."
His lips curved. "I am glad to see you're pulling through."
"Neirah?" she croaked.
"She is relatively unharmed, thanks to your prompt intervention."
Brianna lifted her head, taking in the camp around her; Therinfal's walls, black in the distance. "What… what happened?"
Solas's brow furrowed as his palms hovered over her thighs, the healing coolness wrapping around her aching bones. His sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, his forearms tense as he moved slowly down her legs. "You were smited by a templar who mistook you for a mage."
"Mage?" She fumbled through her foggy memories, remembered Envy, flung against the wall. "What…?"
The chill faded from her legs. Finding Solas's hand, she clung to it as he helped her to a sitting position. Before he could withdraw, she gripped his fingers with her own.
Solas's gaze moved from their linked hands to her face.
"Solas. What did I do…?" He was so close. So beautiful. Her heart ached as she traced his freckles with her eyes, Neirah's horrified expression branded on her mind.
"Ser Barris is dead." A young soldier appeared beside them, blood partially obscuring the templar's sigil emblazoned on his armor. "You killed him with-"
Solas surged to his feet, planting himself between them. "It would be unwise for you to remain here." His voice was iced with deadly calm as frosted tendrils swirled through his fingertips. "It was a mistake. She is no mage."
"But Barris is dead."
The soldier's voice trembled, and Brianna stared, slack-jawed. Her mind locked up, thoughts frozen. She couldn't speak. She forgot how.
Solas murmured something to the templar, sending him away.
Hot shame coursed through Brianna, even as fear trailed ice across her bones. Twisting the blanket that covered her legs, she struggled to breathe through the weight that crushed her lungs. Solas knelt beside her. He was saying something, his steady voice drowned out by the pounding in her head. Her face burned like a furnace and she turned away from him, something far deeper and darker than embarrassment gripping her heart. "That… was me?"
"You didn't know."
She looked at him then, feeling moisture on her cheeks. "I'm normal."
He studied her solemnly. "He fell from the scaffolding. It was an accident."
Her eyes roved between his, excruciating guilt gnawing at her insides. "Because of the blast. Because of me."
Solas reached out and brushed her tears away, his eyes sorrowful. Brianna leaned into his touch, her heart thudding heavily. Everything about him was solid. Safe. She squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling for him to see her shame.
"I didn't mean to, Solas. I… I didn't…"
Solas leaned in, his breath warm on her cheek. "It was an accident, Brianna. You are not to blame."
She realized with a pang of guilt that she wanted him to kiss her, to make her forget. It was horribly, terribly wrong, but she wanted it anyway. Lashes fluttering, her gaze flickered to his lips, and his fingers tightened against her cheek as he stared back at her.
"If you don't let me see her now, Solas, I'm gonna have a moment." Neirah was towering over them. "You don't want to see that."
He stood swiftly. "Of course, Herald. Call me if I am needed." And he was gone.
With a look that said it all, Neirah crouched beside her. "The hobo, huh? You should've seen your face. You've got it bad, Peewee."
Brianna flushed, averting her gaze.
Neirah turned serious. "I'm sorry about that other guy. We tried to keep them away, but he slipped past somehow." She put a large hand on Brianna's shoulder. "Not your fault."
Brianna shook her head, lips trembling.
"Hey, look at me. I mean it, Brianna. If it weren't for you, I'd be dead."
"There were too many. The rift… None of it was supposed to be that bad."
"We lived, didn't we? There weren't many templars left after everything, so I just conscripted their asses. After the stunt they pulled with the red lyrium, I'm not taking any more chances." She paused. "One said that most of the templars had been called away shortly before we arrived. If what you said about Corypheus is true, I think he has them."
Brianna stared at her lap, bleary-eyed.
Neirah gripped her arm. "Stay with the Inquisition and help me figure it out. I'm glad you're here. We'll get through this, I promise."
Bruised and exhausted, Brianna spent the rest of the day wrapped in furs and propped against a tree near her tent, watching people move about the camp. Varric and Cassandra stopped by several times to check on her, but their visits did little to alleviate her self-reproach. After everything she had done, Corypheus still had his red templar army. Brianna felt sick.
As the evening wore on, everything ached, and in spite of her vigilance, she did not see Solas again. Her eyelids drooped, and Cassandra helped her to their tent. She tucked her in with a gentleness that brought tears to Brianna's eyes, and she drifted into a fitful sleep.
