"We're stopping?" Roran asked in disbelief. "Again, Eragon?"
Eragon shot him a rather nasty glance. The two cousins- or actually, once-thought-to-be cousins- still weren't on the best of terms, however, they had returned to speaking, as it was rather inconvenient to speak with sign language.
"I SAID…" Eragon explained slowly, very exasperatedly, "…we can't be tracked, or else they'll kill all of us for sure! That's why we keep doubling back…"
They'd been traveling for over a week now. Eragon was constantly having to take long detours around cities or doubling back to make sure that none of Galbatorix's soldiers were following them.
"How far away is Helgrind, anyway?" Roran grumbled as Saphira began spiraling down towards a small clearing in the center of a forest. Her huge wings beat rhythmically until they hit the ground with a shaking thud. Eragon, who was used to this by now, took it easily, but Roran's jaw bounced and his teeth clicked sharply together. His limbs flopped like a puppets against the dragon's scales, and Saphira let out a roar of annoyance, which set a few trees nearby on fire.
Saphira! Careful! Eragon thought sharply as he leapt onto the thick, springy grass and began unpacking his small bags. The stench of tightly packed sweat-soaked clothes filled the air as he opened the first bag.
"Is there a stream around here?" he said aloud, more to himself than to Roran.
"Yeah, right over there." Roran said, pointing. Eragon took out a small bar of soap and carried his belongings over to the stream, where he began to scrub vigorously at them. Roran, whose things smelled even worse, joined him. After a while, they hung the garments up on branches to dry. It was getting cold, so Eragon spoke a few terse words, and a neat circle of grass pulled itself out of the dirt, leaving a cleared circle. Dead branches from trees all around them shot into the circle (one hitting Roran's face on the way, giving him an unpleasant-looking black eye) and immediately a small fire kindled itself alight. Roran's mouth dropped open. He still couldn't get used to Eragon's magical powers.
For the rest of the evening, they sat huddled around the fire, not talking much. Eragon kept rather warm because Saphira had draped her wings around him like a big heated tent, but Roran sat shivering on the other side of the fire. He finally drifted off to sleep, and occasionally mumbled in his dreams, "Katrina. Helgrind. Dragon…"
So, little one… Saphira rumbled as Eragon picked a tiny bit of fish in his fingers. I've been hearing news about the magicians that Galbatorix is training to replace those Twins.
Eragon looked up at Saphira. Her eyes were glinting in the firelight. What have you heard?
Galbatorix is using children. Saphira said gravely. He's training gifted children in sword-fighting and magic. He hopes that one of them will become the next dragon rider.
Eragon clenched his hands. The Varden doesn't have so many people. There aren't very many gifted children to train. And there's nobody to train them, either.
Exactly. Said Saphira with a long sigh that blew out the fire. Eragon rekindled it quickly before it got too cold and took up another piece of fish. Saphira continued. They're saying that-
Who's 'they'?
I've heard people talking here and there. Nobody I know by name. As I was saying, they're saying that Galbatorix…may have a daughter.
A DAUGHTER? In his surprise, Eragon squeezed his hands together so hard that the piece of fish he was holding burst and sprayed fishy juice all over him. Saphira snorted with laughter.
Yes, a daughter. That's where the idea started, they say, the Empire wants to raise a whole generation of children who can be lead by the daughter.
Eragon was so troubled by this news that he stayed quiet for a long time. The hope of Orik and Nasuada had been that Galbatorix would soon grow too old to keep up the Empire…however, with Murtagh and his daughter and this new legion of children…Eragon shuddered. The thought was too awful. Children…working magic for Galbatorix…
Cadi awoke with a gaping yawn and looked around her balcony.
I'm waiting down here.
Cadi gasped and sat up straight. She still wasn't accustomed to Murtagh's presence in her mind, even after a few days. Looking over the railing, she saw Murtagh resting on a sofa. He grinned up at her. She threw on a velvet robe and tied the sash as she hurried downstairs to meet him.
"What's going on?" she asked, looking out the window to the main square of the city, where the clock read nearly eight. She was usually woken up at four!
"Guess what?" Murtagh said. "It's a special day today, Cadi."
"Yeah? What's happening?" she asked eagerly.
Murtagh whisked out a large black box from behind his back, and Cadi gave him a wary look as she opened it carefully. He grinned like a cat. Then she gasped as she lifted out a beautiful, ornate emerald green robe, covered with diamonds so tiny that you could only see their sparkle. The long bell-like sleeves were also rimmed with diamonds and white fur, and a matching cape was lined with dark brown, striped fur. In the middle of the cape was a huge, dinner-plate sized diamond set in the middle of a hand-embroidered silver eye.
"Oh, they're gorgeous!" Cadi gasped, holding it to her body and twirling around. "What's it for?"
"The egg ceremony." Murtagh beamed.
Cadi stopped twirling so suddenly that she fell over her feet and landed on the couch in a heap. "Excuse me? You said what?"
Murtagh was smiling as if he thought she'd be delighted. "The egg ceremony!" he repeated. "There's going to be a huge ceremony and feast because tonight, you're going to touch the egg to see whether you'll be a dragon rider."
Cadi felt as though somebody was stabbing her repeatedly in the stomach with a pitchfork. She remembered her nauseated feeling when she had ridden on Thorn. "But, Murtagh! I don't want to be a Dragon Rider!"
Murtagh's grin slid off his face.
"No, I don't! I hate flying!"
"It's not your choice, Cadi." Murtagh said earnestly, "Honestly, I thought you'd be delighted…but even if you're not, you've got to! King Galbatorix commands it- just think what would happen to you if you refuse! Besides, the egg probably won't hatch anyway. It hasn't for centuries."
Cadi sighed in relief. "I suppose so." She agreed, but the beautiful morning had been ruined. "So what time should I go down to meet Galbatorix?"
The king himself had been giving her lessons for the past few days, and she found them fascinating- ever so much more fun than Torren's had been! She didn't get any homework, but still, she felt her power growing by leaps and bounds. Just yesterday, she had actually lifted twenty children into the air, flew them across the throne room and set them down on Galbatorix's throne. Of course they'd been terrified, but Cadi had given them all prizes later for being 'good helpers'. Galbatorix seemed very pleased with her. Cadi wondered how she'd ever thought he was an evil man! Unlike Torren, who yelled and slapped her when she made mistakes, Galbatorix seemed amused by them. She was eager to get down there today for her lesson.
"Your lesson's going to be very quick today, Cadi." Murtagh said. "Galbatorix is getting ready for the celebrations, so he wants me to teach you a few words. Brisingr!"
A spout of fire shot from his hand and formed a wall all around them. The fire blazed bright red and orange, but didn't burn anything.
"Now," said Murtagh. "Say jierda adurna garjzla!"
"Break with water and light?" Cadi asked. "Okay. JIERDA ADURNA GARJZLA!"
Immediately, a huge jet of glittering water, blazing with blinding light, shot out of her palm and crashed through the wall of fire. The blue and red and white and gold colors were shot everywhere, and immediately Murtagh vanished it all with a wave of his hand.
"That'll be your grand entrance." Murtagh informed her. "Galbatorix also wants to use this occasion to show the people of the Empire your progress in magic. So, see that there?"
Cadi squinted in the direction that Murtagh was pointing. Far in the distance, at the edge of the city, was a cliff that ended in a narrow point, towering above the fields around it.
"That's where the ceremonies will be held." He said. "Better go get ready. We're bringing you to the baths first."
The rest of the day passed in a swirl of excitement for Cadi. First she was bathed and scrubbed from head to toe with ointment. Then she had to meet Galbatorix and go over the ceremony procedures. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw what looked like a little army marching by, with a huge silver box inlaid with many precious stones. After the meeting, she had her long, dark hair curled, which took quite a while, seeing that her hair was as straight as sticks. Then about twenty women did her makeup. Finally, at dusk, the women let her go and she ran into her room to change into the robes. They fit perfectly and made her feel like a princess. She looked into the mirror and knew that she looked beautiful.
There was a soft tap on the door, and Murtagh appeared, dressed in white from head to toe. His robes were white, lined with green and silver embroidery, and he held out his arm for her to take. They proceeded down the hallway, Cadi's heart beating rapidly. They passed a huge window, and she saw the cliff that Murtagh had pointed out earlier. It was now silhouetted against the setting sun, and the tiny flickers of ten thousand torches were bobbing around it. Down in the streets, crowds were screaming and dancing, toasting each other with goblets and cheering for "Lady Cadi of the Empire."
"Feeling nervous?" Murtagh asked as they reached the front hall.
"A little." Cadi sighed. "But I guess that's only natural, isn't it?"
They exited the palace doors, guarded by fifty soldiers, and the crowds began to scream and yell.
"Lord Murtagh's there!"
"Long live Lady Cadi!"
"Cadi, the greatest magician of our time!"
Cadi felt frozen stiff, but Murtagh, used to such crowds, waved at them and herded Cadi into the waiting carriage. It rumbled through the streets so quickly that the crowds screamed and rushed to get out of the way.
Cadi stared out the carriage window in excitement, carefully straightening her sleeves and robes. Before long, they'd reached the foot of the cliff, which was roped off to keep the crowds away. "How am I to get up there?" Cadi asked.
"Like this." Murtagh took her hand, and suddenly, they both flew up into the air, higher and higher, until they landed lightly on the top of the mountain.