What Lies East

Journey

"Stay with me…"

"I cannot."

"…stay with me until the first curve in the river."

She had. It had not been enough. It would never be enough. He had looked back on the distant shore, heard Roran's outcries of loss from the bank, watched Arya and Firnen touch down on the ground again. Part of him saw the boat as a prison ship. Though he had committed no crime, the boat was taking him away from everything and everyone he knew and loved as punishment for something he had not done. Yet the rest of him accepted that it was his duty to leave, and he smiled with the anticipation. He almost felt like laughing in excitement.

After all, it was the only way to keep from sobbing until the world ended.

Now they had been travelling across water all day without touching land, and Eragon was starting to get worried. How long would this take?

"Saphira and I will fly ahead to see if the shore is near," he said to the few elves still on board. "We'll return soon." Two or three nodded, but the rest were distracted with other things. He didn't even have to call Saphira; she was already falling from the sky, eager to fly with him and truly speak with him. Once he was on her back, he opened up to her, and they shared the entirety of their emotions through their link.

Honestly, I don't know what I would do if I didn't have you, Saphira.

And I the same of course, though I'd probably be in a lot less trouble, she teased.

I do not cause trouble, he replied, trouble finds me. She puffed out her gravelly chuckle, and he smiled. What do you think we'll find?

I cannot say, Little One. I suppose we'll find out when we get there. Which, judging by the horizon, should be fairly soon.

Eragon looked ahead, squinting his eyes a bit, and he could make out what looked like a shore line. A shiver went through his veins. There lay his future and the future of all Alagaesia, a thin line on the edge of the world. Perhaps there lay the future of more than Alagaesia, but how much? How much more was out there?

Dipping down toward the churning blue-grey waves, they looped around back to the ghostly white boat. Eragon called down to the elves on board, telling them how close land was, and they told him to go on ahead, to let Saphira get rest. They would only be an hour behind or so, especially the way the wind was whipping around, so Eragon decided it would be best. This started Saphira's protest, as she did not think she was tired. Still, she didn't seem to be against the idea of landing once the winds picked up more. They could see a shore of white sand about a league ahead, and immediately he and Saphira both knew something was wrong.

Various large machines made of metal lined the edge of the water, and surrounding them were men dressed in earthy green and brown colors. The men held long objects in their hands, and Eragon guessed they were weapons, but he wasn't sure. He had never seen anything like them before. Several went off, and one or two small metal pieces pierced all the way through Saphira's right wing, and she growled in pain. A stream of fire jetted out of her jaws, heating the air around them. This was not starting off well.

Rather than fight an unknown enemy, they fled the scene, and Eragon began muttering the words to an invisibility spell. When it was complete, they escaped and no one seemed to follow. They travelled in a different directions, trying to get their bearings , he caught a glimpse of name spelled in huge white letters as he turned around. Hollywood.