ESCAPE AND THE RA'ZAC
I jammed my heels into my horse's flank and urged him to go faster. Hooves clattered sharply on the flagstone courtyard and I turned my head to see if we had been discovered. My stomach dropped when I saw two lines of soldiers emerging from the southern end of the castle.
"Hurry up Sabine!" Murtagh yelled.
I looked to my brother and nodded, flicking the reigns again. We followed hard on Tornac's tail as we made for the gate. I saw another group of soldiers waiting for us and gritted my teeth. I transferred the reigns to my left hand and drew my sword "we're going to have to fight" I yelled to my brother.
Murtagh grimaced and drew his sword as well. Tornac had drawn his sword also and he loosed a savage cry as we beared down on the soldiers. Murtagh and I yelled out as we started slashing at the soldiers. Soon the floor was slick with blood and it wasn't long before a small opening had appeared.
"Get out now! Both of you!" Tornac yelled as he ran his blade through a soldier's neck "go on!"
I tore past him and waited uneasily for Murtagh to follow. After killing another three soldiers, he joined me and we waited for Tornac.
"Tornac! Come on!" I yelled trying to control my skittish horse.
"Don't worry about me" Tornac yelled back as he stood firm in front of the gate. He was slaying any soldier who tried to get past. He parried one sword but couldn't defend himself against a second.
"Sabine come on!" Murtagh tugged on my sleeve as Tornac fell to the floor "we need to get away now!"
Murtagh sheathed his sword and yanked his horse's head around and started down the hill. I followed suit and soon caught up to him, wiping my eyes on my sleeve as I drew alongside.
"What do we do now?" I asked checking to see if we were being pursued.
"We need to get as far away from Galbatorix as we can" Murtagh replied dabbing at the corner of his eye with his thumb "we're going to need to be extra careful about the King's spies so shield your mind sister and stay close".
…
Ducking quickly out of sight of a platoon of soldiers, I melted into the shadows of the Golden Globe inn. For the past few weeks Murtagh and I had been hearing rumours that the Ra'zac were on the move. They were the King's specialist underlings, entrusted with missions of the highest importance, so for them to be roaming the Empire surely meant something was going on.
The day before yesterday we had arrived in Dras-Leona under the guise of a married couple heading back to our home from a family funeral. It was my idea and Murtagh thought it was the most hilarious thing I'd ever said. I told him to come up with a better idea if he hated it that much and was pleased when Murtagh got tongue-tied. So we went with my idea and started searching for more hints about what the Ra'zac were up to. I wasn't happy with the amount of soldiers in the city but we were close to Uru'baen.
I started moving around Dras-Leona as unobtrusively as I could and suddenly had an odd feeling. I searched the crowd for the source of this feeling and my eyes settled on a boy a few years younger than me. He had tousled brown hair and had a strung bow on his back. The fact he was armed intrigued me so I decided to follow and see what he was up to.
He ambled through the streets, stopping every now and then to look at stalls and displays. I was growing more interested as the hours passed and many questions were buzzing in my head. Why was he here and so armed? Is he alone? Is he an enemy? Mulling these questions over I continued to follow. Soon he stopped for some food before continuing in the direction of loud voices. I followed at a distance and soon found myself among the crowd at a slave auction. The piteous crying of a little girl on the platform made my heart contract, I dearly wished to help but she wouldn't get very far and I would alert the soldiers to my presence. The boy clearly had the same thought as he stalked away from the crowd with his knuckles white.
The boy wandered aimlessly for a while before he stopped in front of the cathedral. He paused and went inside. I held back and prepared to wait for him to return. Suddenly the sound of hissing reached my ears. I turned my head and quickly pressed myself as flat against the wall as I could, the Ra'zac were making their way towards the cathedral. The boy was in great danger and I could do nothing to help. My fear increased when I heard yelling, I nearly stepped out from the shadows but checked my movement when a group of soldiers made their way into the cathedral as well. Unable to help I turned on my heel and quickly made my way back to the inn were Murtagh and I were staying.
"What's wrong?" Murtagh asked as I burst through the door of our room; chest heaving and eyes as wide as they would go.
"The Ra'zac" I gasped "they followed a boy into the cathedral and it sounded like they attacked him". I sat down on the bed and tried to still my erratic heartbeat.
"We need to leave now" Murtagh said buckling on his sword belt and pulling his cloak around his shoulders.
I nodded and, after checking I had everything, followed as we slowly made our way towards the gates. Once outside I could hear the priory bell at the cathedral clanging loudly. We hurried through the city and through the gates before the soldiers reached them. We hid around the far edge of the city and tried to catch our breath.
"What do you think happened?" I asked.
"Clearly the boy you saw was no ordinary person, the Ra'zac wouldn't chase after him if Galbatorix didn't think he was a threat of some kind" Murtagh replied over the groaning of the gates.
"The gates have stopped moving!" I said pointing at the now immobile gates.
"What on earth?" Murtagh mumbled as two people flew through the gates.
Once the horses tails had cleared the gates, the smaller of the two lowered his hand and the gates clanged shut. It was then I noticed he was the boy I had been following.
"He can use magic!" I exclaimed as they continued their flight away from the wall.
"Come on!" Murtagh called as he set off on a course that would take us in the same direction as the two but one that ensured we would stay hidden.
Once free of the outskirts of Dras-Leona I caught sight of the two riders again. They passed by a bank of trees and a large form moved out from the shadows. It was large, with glittering blue scales and enormous leathery wings. A dragon!
"No wonder the Ra'zac were hunting him" Murtagh said slight awe in his voice as the boy dismounted his horse and climbed onto the dragon.
The dragon took off and the remaining rider carried on along the road. We followed at a distance until darkness fell and we had to stop. We made camp near to where the boy and his dragon had made camp. We made sure to stay upwind so the dragon couldn't smell us or the horses and settled down to wait.
"Will the Ra'zac still be hunting him?" I whispered peering into the darkness.
"Most definitely" Murtagh replied placing his hand on his sword.
"What…" I stopped mid sentence as the sound of hissing wafted through the air, followed by the sounds of a scuffle and the roars of the dragon.
"They've been found!" Murtagh leapt to his feet and drew his bow from its leather case. He quickly strung it and knocked an arrow "come on".
I drew my bow as well and followed my brother as he stealthily made his way towards to other camp. Suddenly the darkness was rent by the flash of a lantern being lit. I stood still as the figures of the Ra'zac moved around tying up the man and moving towards the boy. The dragon roared again but soon quietened down and the Ra'zac proceeded to tie up the boy as well. Then they moved tied the dragon down and placed a muzzle over its snout.
"We need to help them" I whispered slowly knocking an arrow.
Murtagh was silent as the Ra'zac conversed with the boy. They hauled the man to the centre of the camp and forced him to his knees. One raised a dagger and aimed it at the man's throat.
Murtagh suddenly loosed an arrow into the shoulder of the Ra'zac, causing it to drop the dagger. I loosed an arrow as well and almost hit the other Ra'zac.
The uninjured Ra'zac scuttled to its companion and appeared to be searching the darkness. The man staggered up right just as Murtagh loosed another arrow. At a word he tottered in the boy's direction. Murtagh fired a few more arrows before turning to me.
"Go around to the other side" fire seemed to burn behind my brother's eyes.
I quickly made my way around to the other side of camp and, keeping clear of the dragon, started firing at the Ra'zac.
Hissing, the Ra'zac made to retreat to the road, but not before the smaller one kicked the boy viciously in the ribs. The larger one hesitated and grabbed the dagger from the ground and threw it in the boy's direction.
"NO!" the boy yelled as the man placed himself in the path of the dagger. It buried itself in his chest and he fell heavily to the ground.
I moved into the light as the boy fell unconscious and Murtagh soon joined me. Keeping a watchful eye on the angry dragon we moved the man carefully towards the fire and laid him on his back.
"Is he going to be alright?" I asked looking back at the dragon. It was straining against the chains in an attempt to reach the boy.
"I don't think so" Murtagh replied also looking at the dragon "do you think it will attack us if we freed it?"
"Hopefully not" I replied "I'll go and get the horses".
"Be safe sister" Murtagh replied "the Ra'zac may be nearby".
I kept my bow at the ready as I returned to our camp. I was soon heading back to Murtagh and I prayed we would be able to help the injured man. When I arrived back at camp, Murtagh had started boiling strips of blanket to use as dressing.
"I'm going to remove the dagger" Murtagh said "so I need you to place this on the wound as soon as I'm clear". He held up a thick wad of blanket and placed in my hand.
"Okay" I replied readying myself.
Murtagh grasped the hilt of the dagger and in one quick motion pulled it free. I quickly placed the wad on the wound and Murtagh handed me a long strip of blanket. Once we had secured the man's wound we turned our attention to the mighty dragon. It growled viciously at us when we got too close.
"Easy" I cooed "we just want to help, will you let us?"
After a span of many minutes the dragon seemed to relax slightly and it stopped struggling and held still. Cautiously Murtagh and I freed its wings and legs, and soon had the muzzle off as well. We stepped back quickly as the dragon leapt over to the boy and crouched over him. It was clear we weren't going to be able to help the boy until he told the dragon to back off so we retreated to the fire and prepared to wait.
-x-
A/N: So what do you think of the first chapter in my Inheritance Cycle story? I'm going to be following the book for the most part, but I will use bits from the Eragon movie if they seem to fit better. Stay tuned for more of Sabine's story.
Se onr sverdar sitja hvass
(may your swords stay sharp)