Chapter 10. Hunted
Arron and Katrina enjoyed flying on the neck of the giant owl and when they stopped to relieve themselves they plied Sol with many questions, but he told them not now. When they were done the Sundervara took and didn't stop until they reached the spine.
"Where are we…" Katrina asked, cutting her dress up to be more comfortable for travel.
"The spine!" Sol declared, "These lands once belonged to thee Urgals…"
"It is time for answers…You are more than you appear to be…"
He touched the amulet on his neck, "My real name is Solobum, I am a werecat, and this protects me from a curse that would condemn me to one form…" He sighed and told them of a prophecy that has been kept secret for over a thousand years. It foretold of a descendent of Stronghammer who would free the world from the Shapeshifter King.
"I have never heard of such a prophecy…"
Solombum laughed, "Of course not we have been keeping it a secret from the Emperor…He is very powerful and would have been able to stop it…We have been doing everything to keep him from knowing of the prophecy…"
"Am I the one the prophecy speaks of…" Katrina asked.
"Yes…" Sol went on to tell them of the Emperor's rise to power and his rule. "Only you can free us…"
"I am no warrior!" She declared.
The giant owl surprised both Katrina and Arron by touching their minds, ("You are more than think of yourself young heroine you have the blood of kings and dragon riders flowing through you…")
"You can talk?" Arron asked dumbfounded.
"Where are you taking us?" Katrina asked.
"If we told you that and you were captured before we got there all would be lost…" Solobum replied.
The next morning as they were breaking camp the Lethzerca could be seen in the distance flying towards them. ("Take the humans Solobum I will hold them off…")
"We should stay together!" Katrina said.
Solobum transformed into a great tiger, "He is right Katrina come one…" Arron grabbed her and placed her on Solombum's back then he got behind her and he dashed off into the mountain forest as the Sundervara fought the Lethzarac.
("We rest here humans…") Solobum said.
"Are you the cat from my dream?" Arron asked as Solombum readied a meal for them using magic. "Because I have been thinking on it and it seems odd that I have a dream that helps me break my oath to the Emperor and here you are…"
Solobum smiled, "Yes that was me…You have a part to play in all this just like the rest of us…" Solobum paused and sniffed the air, then he drew a dagger.
"What is it…"
Katrina screamed as an arrow came whistling at her but Solobum caught it out of the air. Ten dark armor warriors came out of nowhere. Arron jumped to action as he forged two swords in each hand and attacked. Within three moves Arron killed the first soldier and Katrina screamed as she threw a stone at the head of a soldier who was trying to sneak up behind him, Arron spun around decapitating the man. When the fight was over they burned the bodies and left riding Solobum.
` When they reached the tip of the spine they were met by another Sundavara. ("Where is Vako?") The giant owl asked when he revealed himself.
"Lethzarac ambushed us…he sacrificed himself so that we could get away…"
("These humans had best be worth it werecat…")
They all climbed up on the shoulders of the Sundavara for she was female and they flew across the plains towards the Beor Mountains. They were over Aberon when a blue dragon and her rider attacked them, it was Eragon and Sapphira.
("Eragon it is me Solobum…")
("We know who you are werecat, but the Emperor knows our true names and we are commanded to kill you and all who travel with you…")
The Sundavara dived with Sapphira on her tail, she went into a loop, but no matter what she did the giant owl could not loose the blue dragon Sapphira. Sapphira reared her head back and Eragon added the spell of the burning curse to it, the cursed flames struck the back portion of the Sundavara. She screeched in pain as she plummeted from the sky.
"ARRON NO!" Katrina screamed as he jumped from the Sundavara'a back. He laughed as weightlessness took hold of him. Arron forged a cross bow and fired arrows at both dragon and rider. The wards around Sapphira stopped the arrows as Arron drew closer to Eragon. He forged a sword and cut Sapphira's mouth as she tried to bite him.
Arron tackled Eragon as he sat in the saddle, they exchanged blows and Eragon disarmed Arron in one move, but Arron forged a dagger and cut the straps holding the saddle to Sapphira. As they fell Sapphira dove for her rider while Arron sealed himself inside his armor. When he struck the ground he made a small crater, his dark arnor had protected him from harm. As Arron staggered to his feet his hearing was filled with the roar of another dragon.