Disclaimer: Um, I still think that I don't own any of Paolini's characters…

A/N: Tons of reviews! This is officially my top rated story! Yay! Thanks, guys! But you're really keeping me on my toes with this story. This is my third update in like five nights (well, fourth if you count the transition from The Mark to this one… but who's being technical? Lol). Normally, it takes a while for me to update! Speaking of which, I should update my LOTR story. Right, Kalisona? Lol. So, anyway, here's the next chapter! Hope you like it!

Ch. 4: Conflict in the Air

Eragon gasped as he was suddenly awoken by a scream. Not really realizing that he had dozed off, he looked wildly around him to try to find the source of the noise. His heart wrenched when he finally saw the cause in the golden rays of the rising sun.

Murtagh was lying tensed on the bed, sweat on his forehead as he struggled to fight back another cry. The line that ran along his back was faintly glowing.

Alarmed, Eragon rushed to his side. "Murtagh!" he shouted. "Hold on! It'll be over with in a minute! How long has this been going on?"

Even though he couldn't see Eragon, Murtagh could hear his brother's voice. All he could see were two, glowing red eyes surrounded by darkness… But the younger Rider had asked a question. How long had the attack been happening? He didn't want to worry him…

"Not… long." Murtagh muttered through his gasps.

Eragon looked at him with worry, gently turning his brother from his side to completely on his back. Then, he grabbed a cloth and wet it with cold water, placing in on Murtagh's burning forehead.

Don't let him lie to you.the younger Rider heard Thorn's voice radiating from right outside the window. Judging by your clocks, this attack has been lasting for about eight minutes now.

Eragon was stunned. Eight minutes?! An attack had never lasted that long before! He turned to Murtagh, whose eyes were tightly shut. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Eragon demanded, not meaning to sound as angry as he did. "I could have tried to help you earlier, and you wouldn't have had to go through this!"

Murtagh opened his eyes, his vision finally starting to return. "You were sleeping."he told him the pain in his back beginning to subside and fade away. "I didn't want to wake you. You need the rest."

"Well, you should have." Eragon replied, seeing that Murtagh wasn't so tensed anymore. "Next time, wake me immediately if you begin to feel the slightest hint of any pain at all. All right?"

Murtagh nodded, not saying anything as he closed his eyes and took a relieved breath. At least the scar had stopped burning…

Eragon sighed. He couldn't stay mad at Murtagh… not when he was like this. "How are you feeling now?" he asked with concern.

"Cold." Murtagh answered, beginning to unconsciously shiver.

Anxious, Eragon quickly took the cloth off of Murtagh's forehead and set his hand on his cheek, feeling that his temperature had suddenly dropped from blazing to normal temperature… maybe a little lower. He quickly covered his brother to try to stop his shivering, then said, "Hold on. I'll get another blanket for you."

Making sure that Murtagh was all right, Eragon quickly left the room to get another blanket. He sighed with worry. He could tell that the attacks were getting worse… Not knowing what else to do, he decided to reach out to someone he knew could help.

Saphira?he asked. Can you hear me?

I can hear you, little one. Saphira answered. Arya and I are about half way to Ellesmera. How is Murtagh?

Not well. Eragon told her. His attacks are lasting longer than they were, and now they're leaving him cold. That's also never happened before. I need you to tell Arya this.

There was a silence as Saphira relayed his message to the elf. Eragon waited anxiously, wanting to hear what they had to say. Finally, Saphira's voice entered his mind again.

Arya's worried about this news.the dragon said. She says that she doesn't know how far these attacks are going to go, or what effects they will have on Murtagh, which is scaring her. She thinks that the best thing to do at this point would be for Thorn to take you and Murtagh to Ellesmera and meet us there.

Okay. I'll tell them. Eragon replied. Thanks, Saphira.

You're welcome, little one.

After grabbing what he needed, the young Rider headed back to the room where his brother was. When he entered, he found that Murtagh was sitting up in bed, wrapped in his blanket and reading the book that Eragon had been looking at during the night. The older Rider looked up when he heard the door open, and he gave a small smile to his brother.

"Interesting book." Murtagh commented as he set it aside. "Curses are a… different sort of topic."

Eragon smiled, relieved to see that Murtagh seemed to be feeling better. Then, he set a heavy blanket and a tunic on the bed next to him. "Hurry and get this on."the Rider said, beginning to pack a few things into a bag. "Arya wants us to head to Ellesmera."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Galbatorix looked through an ancient book, sighing as he flipped through the pages. He was bored waiting for the Urgals to return with Murtagh, so he decided to think about what could be happening to his servant. A glowing scar was not normal, but he didn't know what could be happening to Murtagh.

Suddenly, the king paused when his eyes ran over the word "curse". As he read on, Galbatorix's face darkened. Morzan… he thought. What have you left behind on your son?

At that moment, the door to the room opened and Galbatorix's head shot up. An Urgal entered, growling softly. "A blue dragon has been spotted by the troop."he repeated in his language. "It is ridden by an elf."

Even though it wasn't Murtagh they had discovered, Galbatorix grinned as an idea came to him. "It is not the one you are looking for," he replied, "but bring them to me alive."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Eragon continued to read as he and Murtagh flew over Alagaesia on Thorn's back, but not because he wanted to read for fun. An idea had been coming to him ever since he had first looked at Arya's book, and he wondered if someone could have possibly laid a curse of some kind on Murtagh's scar. It seemed probable, but he wasn't sure who could have the kind of power to accomplish it.

Murtagh sat in front of his brother with a heavy blanket over his shoulders, shielding him from the wind. He simply looked at the scenery beneath them, talking with Thorn through his mind every once in a while. He was very anxious to get to Ellesmera. Then maybe these attacks will stop happening… he thought dimly.

Don't worry, Murtagh. Thorn said, trying to cheer him up. You'll get through this. We both will. Together.

A small smile appeared on Murtagh's face. Thanks, Thorn.he replied. Without you and Eragon to guide me through this, I probably wouldn't be sane right now.

Thorn growled softly in response.

Eragon suddenly shut the book and tapped his brother on the shoulder to get his attention. "Murtagh," he said, raising his voice to be heard over the wind, "do you think it's possible that the scar on your back holds a curse?"

Murtagh turned his head around to face him. "Curse?!" he asked, laughing a little. "When I said that the scar on my back is the curse that I must live with, Eragon, I was using the term figuratively…"

"I know." Eragon replied. "But don't you think that it's at least possible? Think about it. The attacks from your scar aren't normal."

Murtagh froze, beginning to consider his words. He did have a point…

Suddenly, Thorn swerved sharply, nearly causing Murtagh and Eragon to fall off his back. Thorn, what do you think you're doing?!" Murtagh demanded as he regained his balance. Can you at least warn us next time before you do that?!

I'm sorry, Murtagh. Thorn told him. But I didn't have time to warn you before that bird nearly hit us.

Murtagh couldn't help but laugh. Thorn, it's just a bird.he replied. What possible harm could a bird do to a dragon?

Thorn grunted. It was you two that I was worried about.he muttered, disgruntled.

Eragon laughed a little as he saw what nearly hit them. A bird was nothing to worry about… Suddenly, he shut his eyes tightly when he felt a large amount of pain in his head.

Murtagh looked behind him again, instantly worried. "Eragon!" he shouted. "Eragon!"

Wincing, Eragon reached his mind out to his dragon. Saphira?! he asked, alarmed. What's wrong?!

Urgals. Saphira answered intensely. But there's only a small amount of them. We fear that there's a larger group heading toward you to capture Murtagh.

We're on our way, Saphira. Eragon told her. Hold on. He was confused when he felt sudden anger radiating from her.

No! Saphira said intently. Get Murtagh to Ellesmera. That's what's most important. Besides, they're probably after him. You can't put him in any more danger! Now, don't worry about us! We-!

Her thoughts were suddenly cut off.

Eragon was horrified. Saphira! he shouted. Saphira! Are you all right?! Saphira!

But it was useless. He didn't get an answer. Sighing, he looked up and found himself looking into the worried and confused eyes of his older brother. "What's wrong?" Murtagh asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Saphira and Arya have been ambushed by Urgals." Eragon answered hollowly. "But, she told me to continue on to Ellesmera…"

Murtagh gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry about me."he told him sincerely. "We can save Saphira and Arya first. I can wait."

Eragon looked at Murtagh with bewilderment. He knew that the older Rider was anxious to get to Ellesmera to try to get help for the scar on his back, but now he was saying that he didn't matter as much as Saphira and Arya…

Suddenly, Thorn swerved violently again. Murtagh clung on tightly, but Eragon felt his hands slip from the dragon's back. "Eragon!" Murtagh shouted from above, watching as his brother plummeted through the air.

Thorn glanced down at the younger Rider, moving his tail out and catching him before he fell too far. Then, he raised his tail, and Murtagh pulled Eragon up to safety. "Are you all right, Eragon?" he asked.

Eragon nodded, but he seemed to be shaken by his fall. Then, Murtagh turned his attention to his dragon. What did I just ask you, Thorn?he said. Warn us before you do that!

And again, I am sorry, Murtagh, Thorn replied as he swerved sharply a second time, but I don't think any of us want to be hit by arrows.

Murtagh looked down and saw that Urgals, a ton of them, were everywhere underneath them, shooting arrows at them. He recognized the type immediately. Poison arrows… he thought with dread. Thorn, fly higher! You can't get hit with these!

My pleasure. Thorn replied, flying higher into the sky. Murtagh looked back at Eragon. "These arrows are poisonous. Don't let them hit you." he said.

Eragon nodded and began to concentrate on his magic. "Brisingr!" (fire!) he yelled, sending blue flames down at the Urgals.

Murtagh tried the same, but a slight pain ran down his scar as he released the spell. "So… I can't use magic without pain…" he whispered to himself. "What use am I now?"

Eragon continued to send fiery attacks down on their attackers, but he was only concentrating on one side of Thorn. He had his back turned to the other side… but there were still a few Urgals there. One of them raised his bow and aimed at the young Rider, loosing an arrow.

This action did not go unnoticed.

"Eragon!" Murtagh shouted, quickly moving so that he was sitting against his back.

Hearing his brother, Eragon turned around to face him… and watched in horror as the arrow that was meant for him sunk deeply into Murtagh's shoulder.

A/N: I think this chapter is longer than some of my other ones… lol Anyway, yeah. This is the typical brother saves brother thing. But, I'm not just throwing it in there to torture Murtagh (or you guys, for that matter…), but him being poisoned is very important to the story. So, just keep hanging in there! Thanks for reading, guys! Oh, and in honor of Gloria Monday, January 10th is officially Official Torture Murtagh Day! Thanks a lot for all of the reviews! Later, guys!