Eragon


Dedicated to Angela. You'll never know how important you are to me.


Prologue: Interception

"Failure is unacceptable."

"Understood," replied the Shade, making sure to keep his expression calm and noncommittal as the image in his mirror slowly morphed back into his own reflection. As soon as he was sure he could only see his own pale white face and maroon eyes glaring back at himself, he slipped the small mirror into his belt and cursed under his breath. The old fool demanded a flawless victory in the upcoming mission, and yet had assigned twelve incompetent barbarians to the task. And if the old fool was so worried about everything, why didn't he bother to come out and do things himself?

The Shade scowled and glanced behind him at his twelve subordinates, shifting around in their makeshift armor made of scrap iron and strips of leather, carrying worn and dull swords. To avoid identification, no official soldiers could be used in the mission, and so the Shade found himself stuck with hired mercenaries, chosen from the ranks of raiders and brigands, the scum of the mountains…but then again, all humans were scum. The Shade slowly slipped through the underbrush quietly, thanks to his lack of armor, eventually reaching the edge of the vegetation to find a small dirt path. He stopped, and raised his head slightly to sniff the air. He could smell the targets already.

So the spies had been right after all…The Shade had been skeptical. He glanced back at his underlings to hiss his final orders. "Fan out. We ambush them as they pass."

The raiders obeyed, groping blindly in the shadows of the trees as they tried to find suitable ambush positions. The Shade, however, saw perfectly fine with the faint moonlight seeping through the leaves above. Darkness was his element, and within it he was completely undetectable, slipping into position behind a thick tree without making a sound. He drew his sword at last, a long, thin blade, bearing a wire-thin scratch down its length.

Though the scent lingered in the air, no further sound came down the path. The target was still some distance away. That was fine. The Shade had long since mastered self-control, and suppressed his impatience. He made sure that his subordinates were ready as well, and went over all the information he had over again, making sure it all made sense.

When he had begun his hunt, the Shade thought he would have been looking for a large group of spell casters, and when the spies had told him the true method of transportation, he had refused to believe it at first. Now, he saw it all made sense. Teleportation was unfeasible. No amount of casters would be able to send the package such a distance with the necessary accuracy. Physical delivery by courier would be the surest way…and the fewer couriers, the less attention drawn, and the greater chance of success of the delivery.

The downside being, of course, that if discovered, they would be understaffed and easily intercepted.

A gentle breeze interrupted his reflection. The scent was stronger this time. His whole body began vibrating, and he gripped his sword ever tighter. "Get ready."

And there they were. Three horses, bearing the three couriers, cantered in single file down the dirt path.

The riders were lightly armed. For them, mobility and stealth were far more important than offensive power. Combat was the last resort. On the first horse was an elf with a slim build, wearing light and flexible armor, a sheathed short sword at each side of his belt, betraying his fighting style as close-ranged and relying on mobility. The last horse bore a heavier rider, an elf armed with a long spear and wearing chainmail and a helm.

These two guards, however, barely caught the Shade's notice. His gaze was fixed on the rider between them, a dark-haired elven woman wearing light armor akin to the first rider's, though her only weapons were a small bow and a sword on her back. In her lap was a small pouch, which she gently stroked with her hand, in order to constantly reassure herself it was still there. As the entourage made its way further and further toward the Shade's position, she whispered something to her two companions. In response, the heavier rider readied his spear and made his way to the front of the line, but nevertheless the three eventually passed the Shade's tree without any other indication of suspicion.

The Shade raised his sword up to his face and closed his eyes, forcing his heartbeat to slow. Just a few more seconds, and then…

His eyes snapped open as he felt the wind change. The breeze now moved toward the elves, and the horses snorted with alarm as they smelled the mercenaries. The riders stiffened and fought to control their mounts, desperately trying to turn around and escape before it was too late.

Only it was already too late for the front two riders. With inhuman speed, the Shade whirled around the tree and waved his hand, causing the two horses to suddenly collapse. Before the elves could rise from their fallen steeds, the mercenaries had leapt from their hiding spaces and descended upon them, hacking away at them and the horses, sending flecks of blood flying as their swords danced up and down.

The Shade ignored the mess as he turned his attention to the final rider, who had mastered her horse and was preparing to gallop away. She glanced back, and suddenly let out a cry at the sight of her fallen comrades, slowing her ride down for an instant as she hesitated.

That hesitation was enough. The Shade raised his hand and aimed his finger at her. A red bolt flashed from the tip of his finger and struck the confused horse, which collapsed without even a squeal. Abandoning her steed, the woman clutched the package to the chest and ran into the trees, seeking refuge in the shadows of the trees.

The Shade laughed. It was futile. He had prepared for such a possibility. As he sheathed his still unused sword, he raised his other hand and snapped his fingers. A ring nearly a half-mile across suddenly exploded into flames, creating the perfect barrier to keep the poor elf trapped. Without turning back to his subordinates, he gave his orders. "Find her. Take her alive, and I'll let you have fun with her before I take custody of her."

The promise had the desired effect, and the twelve raiders raised their swords and charged into the forest, roaring primitive battle cries. Fools; making such noise would merely warn the woman of their positions. It didn't matter, thought the Shade as he casually strolled down the dirt path, waiting.

He heard what he was waiting for within the minute: a death cry. It was followed by another, and the Shade immediately ran toward the source with inhuman speed, drawing his sword in order to hack away at any vegetation in his path. His eyes blinked uncomfortably at the intense light as he moved closer and closer to the edge of the ring of fire.

And there she was, standing right at the edge murmuring desperate words under her breath as she tried to extinguish the flames. In one hand she clutched the package, while in the other was her sword, red with the blood of her victims, two raiders that lay sprawled on the ground in pools of mud and blood. The Shade smiled and remained silent, savoring his victory and laughing inside as spell after spell failed to quench the wall of fire.

"It's hopeless," he said at last. "You're not strong enough to beat me."

The woman whirled around, sword at the ready, and clutched the pouch to her chest ever tighter. The Shade took a step forward, and she took a step back. The Shade stepped forward again, but she remained still, feeling the intense heat behind her that trapped her with her opponent. As she studied her enemy, her sword slowly shook as her arm tired. She quickly glanced behind her.

"Go ahead and burn yourself to death," he said, realizing what she was considering. "It will survive the fire, and I will merely collect it from your ashes. There's nothing that you can…"

He was interrupted by her sword, which flew through the air at him. With a grunt of surprise and anger, the Shade parried the thrown sword with his own, sending it flying away to embed itself into a nearby tree, quivering. "How rude!"

But she wasn't listening; she was using her bought time as best she could, pulling a blue object from the pouch and holding it above her head with both hands, desperately chanting under her breath.

The Shade realized what she was doing, and threw his own sword at her. He missed his mark, piercing her lung instead of her heart. She staggered at the blow, but remained standing as a flash of green light burst from her hands, consuming the large blue stone. The stone vanished with the light. As it did, her arms fell to her sides and she gave the Shade a proud and defiant smile, which remained even as she fell to her knees before finally slumping down unconscious on the ground.

The Shade did his best to remain calm, even as the realization of his failure slowly crept through him. He restrained himself, suppressing his growing rage, in order to think logically. It had been an act of desperation. She merely tried to send it anywhere that wasn't here, and with only her own strength, it couldn't be any more than a few miles away. This was a minor inconvenience, nothing more.

Yes, somehow spending maybe a week searching all over the wilderness for such a small object was only a minor inconvenience, but he needed to believe it, lest he lose control of his temper, which he could not allow at a crucial time like this.

After retrieving his sword from the woman's body, he threw her body over his shoulder and quenched the fire in his path with a wave of his sword hand. Afterwards, he raised the blade of his sword to his mouth, and licked away some of the blood as he made his way through the opening. The ring of fire closed behind him as soon as he had passed, and soon the ring began to slowly spread inward, becoming a complete and all-consuming circle of fire as the sound of the abandoned raiders' pained and panicked voices spread through the air.

Even in this situation, the Shade managed to smile and take some small satisfaction in the smells and sounds of burning trash.