It is time.
Tera looked up from her finished handiwork; although she had had no instruction, she had been able to buckle on Saphira's saddle with little obstacles. Stringing her bow and sheathing her sword, she swung herself up onto the saddle.
With a powerful leap, Saphira exploded into the air, pumping her massive wings. Below, the horses skittered away from the gusts of wind. Tera shrieked in fright; this was the first time her feet had left solid ground, and she remembered, with a pang, that she had a slight fear of heights.
The smooth rhythm of Saphira's wings beating the air did nothing to lessen Tera's anxiety as she clung to one of her neck spikes. As they soared towards Gil'ead, Tera's anticipation of the rescue mission obscured her terror of flight. They flew high, so as not to be seen from the city. The higher they climbed, the colder it got, and Tera pulled her cloak tighter around her thin frame.
Eragon is alive and well, but he is weak, Saphira said.
You managed to contact him, finally? replied Tera, relieved.
Yes. He was drugged, which is why I could not earlier.
They circled silently for another ten minutes, when Saphira said, puzzled, they need five more minutes.
Let us get closer, so if there is trouble, we can come to their aide, Tera said.
Saphira took them over the center of the city, circling the turrets of the citadel. Soldiers were strategically placed along the stone walls, patrolling the worn paths. Still high enough to be mistaken for a bird, they waited for the signal.
Suddenly, soldiers rushed off the roof and down the stairs, although many remained, postures stiff.
"Now!" cried Tera, brandishing her sword.
With a triumphant roar, Saphira descended towards the surprised soldiers.
Saphira's enormous feet came down on two unfortunate soldiers, their screams piercing the air. Leaping off Saphira with a dancer's grace, Tera smote the nearest soldier on the helm, creating a resounding hum of vibrating metal. The soldier collapsed, unconscious. Deftly knocking an arrow, she shot another through the breast. Saphira was causing her fair share of damage as well. She tore through mail and plated armor, dismembering many with her razor-sharp fangs. The cries of wounded men rang through the air, attracting more attention than the pair wanted. Once outnumbered, the few remaining soldiers fled, leaving Saphira and Tera to their task.
Saphira began to tear at the floor, tearing out chunks of wood and stone with vicious ferocity. It was slow going, for the fortress had been built solidly.
It did not take long for reinforcements to arrive. Flooding the stairwells and blocking the only paths of escape, the soldiers lined up, swords drawn, terror in their eyes.
Alone in the attack –because Saphira was still burrowing through the ceiling- Tera loosed two arrows before the soldiers could react. She engaged in a duel with the captain of the squad, while the rest attacked Saphira with little headway. He was stronger and bigger than Tera, and he managed to rip her sword out of her grasp. As he brought down his sword for the fatal blow, Tera ducked and somersaulted through his legs.
The captain's sword shrieked as it collided with the wall of the terrace, and he whirled around to face her. His breath caught in his throat, however, and he looked down.
There, sticking out of his breast, above his heart, was Drak'nàor; blood dripping down his emblazoned tunic.
His final breath escaped him, and he collapsed to the ground, dead.
Tera felt bad that she had resorted to trickery, but only for a moment. She retrieved her sword and dagger and hurried over to Saphira's aide, where she was being overrun, blood running from her wings where she had been pricked by swords and arrows.
I am almost finished, but I need you to hold them off, or else I will not be able to get us out of here, was Saphira's anguished cry.
I won't be able to kill them all, thought Tera frantically. Desperate, she reached for the magic and cried, "BRISINGR!"
A great ball of emerald flame erupted from her palm and instantly killed every soldier, oddly leaving Saphira untouched. The drain of energy was instantaneous, and she collapsed to the ground, fighting to stay conscious. As her vision faded, Tera saw Saphira rip away the rest of the roof and stick her head through the opening. Before she lost consciousness, she felt a pair of rough hands gently lift her onto Saphira's saddle…
Tera stirred. Her eyes fluttered weakly, but she could not bring herself to sit up. She heard the worried tones of the men conversing, and she struggled to focus on what they were saying.
"I just don't know how we are going to transport both of them! Saphira can carry two at the most, and she's tired. I don't know if she can even carry one at the moment!" she heard Eragon say.
"We have to focus on whether the elf or Tera can survive the journey! We don't even know if Tera will live through another night. She's been out cold for two days; shouldn't she be awake by now?" Murtagh shouted, frustrated.
Tera tried to sit up again, but she was still too weak. However, she did attract the attention of the men, and they came running to her side.
"She's alive!" she heard the relieved cry of someone.
"What…happened?" asked Tera groggily.
"You nearly killed yourself, that's what!"
"No…how did we…get away?" she protested.
Her vision cleared, and she saw Murtagh leaning over her. "Thanks to you and Saphira, we escaped almost unscathed. We flew to the camp and had a tough time trying to transport both of you."
"Both of us?"
Murtagh chuckled. "Eragon stumbled upon an imprisoned elf."
An elf! That means either that Galbatorix has found the elves' haven, or he happened upon it by chance. If he has found their lair, then I may be too late!
She noticed that both Eragon and Murtagh had peculiar expressions on their faces as they looked at her, as if she was about to explode or she had a rare disease. "What?" she asked self-consciously.
Eragon and Murtagh exchanged fleeting glances. "Well," Eragon began, "We didn't know that you could use magic."
"How did you know I did?"
"Saphira told me."
She waited for them to make their point, but when they said nothing, she said, "Why does it matter?"
"Just…how…when did you learn?"
She considered telling them, and then stated simply, "While you were in Gil'ead, Murtagh, I was bored. So I picked up a pebble and used some of the ancient language. Don't you remember, Eragon? We conversed for hours on the properties of magic. I just applied the theory. I had no idea I had the ability."
They shrugged, but they still had an air of unease. They stood and began to gather their meager belongings and slung the packs over their horses' saddles. "We shouldn't dawdle long," Eragon said warily, "The soldiers must have found our trail by now, so we must be cautious,"
By unspoken consent, the trio trekked through the brush until the sun began to wane towards the western horizon.