A/N: Here is the moment you've all been waiting for! I am inexperienced at battle scenes, so this one probably is a little rushed, but I worked hard on it, anyway. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Justice

Eragon was engulfed in complete darkness. Even with his keen Elvin eyesight, he couldn't see a thing.

"Is anyone there?" Eragon mentally asked, searching for the consciousnesses of his dragon and cousin. He suppressed panic, remembering Oromis and his lessons, one of which had been to control panic; harnessed, it could be a powerful ally. The rock face had been an illusion, and they had fallen through it. Fortunately, there was only a twelve foot fall from the "rock face" to the flat, moss-covered rock that they had landed on.

Eragon knew immediately that the stone ground that he had landed on was covered in moss, because it felt soft and sponge-like. He was extremely grateful for this, because it had cushioned his fall.

"Is that you, Eragon?" questioned the mental voice of Roran. He too was glad of the wet mire that he had landed on. He sat up and stretched his arms in front of him, feeling for a wall. His fingertips touched cool, hard rock that was covered with slime. Roran scooted over so that he could rest his back against it.

"I am here, little one. Is anyone hurt?" A note of concern was audible in Saphira's gentle voice.

"I'm fine, Saphira. What about you, Roran?"

"I will be, once we rescue Katrina."

"Then let us go and find her," thought Eragon. He too had found a wall and began pulling himself to his feet. When he was standing, he took a breath and whispered,

"Bjart brisingr!" a bright blue light appeared above his now visible palm. He looked around, getting a feel of his surroundings. They were in a round room. There was a path to his left that led away from the room that he stood in. Roran was to Eragon's right, leaned against the wall that Eragon's back was to, and Saphira was to Roran's right, her large head facing Eragon. The blue light from the young Rider's palm cast a bright blue light on Roran's face, showing the look of determination he wore.

"We should speak with our minds in here; he don't want to alert the Ra'zacs of our coming before we have to," Eragon told Roran.

"I agree, but don't you think they probably heard us fall? We need to find Katrina now, or the Ra'zacs may try to take her some place else."

"Good point, Roran. Let's go," said Eragon, giving Roran his non-flaming hand. Roran took it and stood up. The roof of the cavern was high, almost twelve feet in the place they were in. Eragon led the way to the doorway on the left, his palm glowing brightly. By the blue flame Eragon could see that the tunnel that they had entered was just as dark and dank as the room before it. Water dripped from the roof onto his head, and it did the same to the others.

As they made their way through the twists and turns of the tunnel, each member of the party was ready for an attack. Roran gripped his hammer with his right hand, and his left rested on his sword hilt. Eragon wore the belt of Beloeth the Wise, which held Valiant in its sheath. Saphira's teeth were bared, and her razor claws gleamed in the light that Eragon provided. Quickly and silently, they crept through the tunnel. It seemed that the dark, damp passage went on for eternity, but in reality it was only minutes. When they were beginning to think that they would never reach the end of the tunnel, they saw a faint light to the front of them. The faint yellow light became brighter and brighter as the party moved closer and closer to the end of the path.

Finally, they emerged into a large, square room that had been cut into the rock. Now it was apparent that this place inside Helgrind had been made especially for the Ra'zacs. A candle burned dimly on a shelf that had been cut into the rock. That was the light that they had seen. The candle only lit about half of the room; the other half remained dark. Roran stepped forward and grabbed the candle by its silver holder. He held it out in front of him, searching for his love. Since they now had a way to see without Eragon using magic, the Rider severed the hold he had on the magic and let the light he provided go out. The cave was silent as they walked farther into the big room. As soon as Roran had taken five steps forward, he gasped.

Twenty yards in front of him, shackled to the wall, was Katrina. Her copper hair was matted with blood and dirt, and covered the majority of her face. A small rock platform that had served as a bed was to her left. She groaned as Roran rushed forward and kneeled at her side. He brushed her hair from her face and embraced her. Her eyes opened and widened as she saw her fiancé's face. She began to laugh and cry at the same time, struggling against her chains.

"Eragon! Eragon, get over here!" Roran cried, tears of joy streaming down his face. Eragon ran over to his cousin, about to say,

"What is it?" but stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Katrina. Quickly, he looked the chains over. They were strong, but they could be easily broken with magic. He would have plenty of strength for a fight with the Ra'zacs because he had stored energy in the belt of Beloeth the Wise. He gathered the energy from a large diamond and then set about freeing Katrina. He searched his mind for the bump that was magic and harnessed it.

"Jierda!" Eragon watched as the shackles that held Katrina broke with a clank that echoed throughout the cave. The exhausted young woman collapsed and would have hit the floor had Roran not caught her in mid air. He picked her up gently. Her legs were slung over his left arm and he supported her shoulders with his right. She looked up at him, a look of complete happiness on her face.

Eragon stood beside Roran, enjoying the spectacle. He was happy for Roran. Anyone could see that they were perfect for each other. Roran looked down at his love, overjoyed to finally be reunited with Katrina.

"Katrina, my love, we will be out of this wretched place soon. I missed you, more than you could know."

"I missed you, too, Roran," Katrina said, relaxing for the first time since her capture. They were absorbed in each other, and each took notice only of the other. Eragon now carried the candle, for Roran had his hands full with Katrina. His plan was to place Katrina on Saphira and let her ride out of the cavern because she was weak with hunger and thirst, and Eragon and Saphira agreed that it was the best approach. Roran was standing next to the place where Katrina had been chained, holding her. The inside of the cavern was silent but for the occasional sound of a drop of water landing on the cave floor. This worried Eragon, because if the Ra'zacs weren't with their captive, where were they? He didn't have to wonder for long. A paralyzing screech echoed throughout the cave.

"Roran, the Ra'zacs approach," Eragon whispered urgently. The older boy wasted no time in setting Katrina down on the platform which has served as a bed. Roran drew his hammer and planted his feet in a fighting stance. The shrieks of the lethrblaka grew louder. Eragon set the candle down and drew Valiant. The light of the candle shone on the silver sword, causing the blade to gleam. The young Rider delved into his mind, searching for the magic. He found it, grabbed it, and released with the words,

"Hljodhr lethrblaka!" Eragon's gedwey ignasia began to glow, and the shrieks of the lethrblaka were no longer audible.

"What did you do?" Roran asked.

"I silenced the Ra'zacs' flying mounts. Now they cannot immobilize us," Eragon answered.

"Thank you, Eragon. I couldn't have done this without you."

"We haven't done it yet, Roran."

"But still, it's nice having you around," Roran insisted.

They would have gone on talking, but four dark forms appeared in the doorway. Two of them looked like men, but both Eragon and Roran knew better. They were the Ra'zacs, the creatures that Eragon had hunted since Garrow's death.

Roran immediately charged the creatures who had murdered his father. He was almost to the nearest Ra'zac when it jumped with super-human agility and landed behind him. He whirled around and struck the beetle-like thing on its head with his hammer, causing a blood-like liquid to pour from the wound. The Ra'zac didn't seem hindered by its wound at all and attempted to bite Roran. As he bent backward to avoid the Ra'zac's deadly beak, he caught a glimpse of Eragon, who had sent a ball of blue flame hurling towards the Ra'zac he was fighting. Roran darted to the right and straightened, causing the Ra'zac to lunge at the place where he was just been standing. Roran took advantage of his enemy's weakness and inflicted another blow with his hammer, again hitting the creature's head. This time the Ra'zac staggered and fell, giving Roran the opportunity to draw his sword and plunge it into his opponent's chest. He placed his foot on to the Ra'zac's abdomen to hold it down and, using his sword, cut the enemy's head from its body.

While Roran had been battling a pupa, Saphira had been busy with the lethrblaka. As soon as Roran had charged, she had fallen upon one of the Ra'zacs' flying mounts. The creature had tried to use its scream, only to find that Eragon's spell had silenced it. Infuriated, it had attacked Saphira's wings with its sharp teeth and claws, ripping holes in them. With a vicious roar Saphira snapped her head around and bit the lethrblaka, tearing a large chunk out of the creature's side. It turned so that its back end faced Saphira's side and pushed off of her, launching itself into the air and throwing Saphira against a stone wall. She snarled and regained her balance, pursuing her enemy. The wound she had inflicted upon the lethrblaka was slowing it down. It landed, unable to fly. The dragon was waiting. As soon as it landed she used her right front leg to hold it down while she got a good grip on the lethrblaka with her mighty teeth. The sapphire dragon closed her jaws on the creature, causing an audible crunch to echo throughout the cavern as the lethrblaka was crushed.

As soon as Eragon had slain the pupa he had been fighting, he had been attacked by the second lethrblaka. The bat-like creature was both swift and clever, and the Rider had a hard time getting close enough to inflict a wound upon the creature. The ancient animal had managed to back Eragon into a corner, unable to move. The lethrblaka would swoop down and scratch Eragon, making deep gashes on his body, retreat to the air, then attack again before Eragon had time to move out of the corner. After the creature did this two times, Eragon gripped his sword and prepared to stab the creature through the heart the next time it came to scratch him. The young Rider saw that the animal was doing the maneuver again. It was flying towards him, and getting closer. As soon as it was within reach, he swung his arm, preparing to strike. The lethrblaka saw what its opponent was doing and knocked the sword out of Eragon's hand, leaving him helpless. Eragon was weak from battle, and didn't dare use magic for fear of using all of his strength and entering the void. The lethrblaka again swooped down, this time coming in for the kill.

Eragon crossed his arms over his face to protect his head from the vicious beast, anticipating the feeling of teeth and claws raking over his skin. It never came. Instead, he heard a voice scream the words,

"Letta Du Lethrblaka!"

Eragon removed his arms and was amazed to see the creature held in mid-air. Quickly, he grabbed Valiant and thrust the blade into the creature's heart. The animal fell to the floor, blood spurting from its wound. Eragon finished the creature off with a swift stroke of his sword.

He looked around and saw that Roran had slain the other pupa, and Saphira had taken care of the other lethrblaka. A figure in a dark cloak with a hood was standing in the doorway. He or she was completely soaked. The mysterious person removed her hood, shook down her wet, blond hair and said,

"Hello, Eragon."

A/N: Thank you to all of my reviewers; you all make me very happy, and I am overjoyed that you read my work.