Chapter 19

AUBREE

We rode away from the fire where the soldiers were being consumed by hungry flames. Eragon and our new companion did most of the work. I looked away, tears stinging my eyes at all the lives that were taken. It reminded me of the battle at the Burning plains and the stink of the fires that had consumed men from both sides. The thought still made my stomach churn.

It hit me then how much my mind and body had started to grow accustom to this life style I had been thrust into. My body had lost the little amount of fat it had and my muscles were strong, in all I felt more alive than ever before. My thoughts were interrupted as the horse I was riding collided with the one the soldier was riding.

"Oops, sorry I was not watching what I was doing." I blushed and knew I was as red as a tomato. He was watching me and that made it all much worse.

"No need for pardoning, it was a thing any person could do." His smile was warm and I had to remind myself that I barely knew him, plus my heart partly belonged to Eragon. I say partly because there had been no spoken agreement saying we were dating. I wonder if they even call it dating here. Or did they call it courting? I have no idea. I decided to avoid that little subject. I wondered for the first time what the soldiers name was. I cleared my throat, and pushed back all the self doubting and other such nonsense.

"Um, what's your name?" it seemed through all the excitement, names had never been put forward. I thought that now was a good time to change that.

"My name is Dorian; I was a horse merchant's son. Then one night I was told that my father had not paid enough tribute to the king, our house was sold and my father was thrown in the dungeon. My mother and I were left to fend for ourselves. My sister had died the previous year from fever. I was forced into service a month later. They told me my mother had died of an infection three months after I had left. I don't know if my father is alive. All I care about right now is finding a way to get revenge for all the pain the King has caused me and my family." He said this with surprisingly little emotion.

I sat stunned and silent. He had gone through so much. I could never imagine losing my whole family and still wanting to get up every morning. I felt my respect and admiration for him growing. He had suffered so much and yet was still holding it all together. I felt obligated to tell him my story, or at least the bits that would not freak him out too much.

"Well, my name is Aubree; I came from a faraway land where many things are different. No one ventures on the sea because it is so treacherous. Then, Eragon came and he was followed by Murtagh." I spat his name like poison was on my tongue.

"Murtagh took one of my friends and I came back with Eragon to find and rescue her, but things have gotten a bit complicated…" I trailed off, not wanting to continue into the touchy subject. We were traveling into the pass between the mountains that would lead to the valley where the hidden door to the mountain-city lay.

As the day grew on and the sun climbed higher and higher, the cool shade of the mountain was a blissful relief. Saphira and Eragon were high in the blue sky. Saphira was only defined by her sparkling scales from the reflected sun. We stopped by a stream to water the horses and stretch our legs. I filled up my water skin and splashed some over my face. A sudden urge had me knee-deep in the water, my skirt bunched up around my legs. The cold water cooled my feet that had been stuffed into my boots. I sat on the bank, my legs half submerged in the water. Then I rested my head on the upper slope of the bank

Feeling the heaviness of my eyes, I thought that I could close them for a few minutes. I waited till I thought I could open them and feel more rested. When I opened them I gasped because the landscape that surrounded me was a startling contrast to what had previously been there.

My surroundings comprised of ash, rock, and the foulest smell that my nose had ever picked up. The sky was a bleak dark gray and black. The hills and little mountains that had once possibly been green and beautiful, c looked dead and desolate. I had a strong feeling that this land had been perverted and poisoned long before I ever saw it.

As I spun around, hoping to find some far off place where beauty and sunshine still clung to the land, I shivered in fear, for before my eyes, was the most revolting sight of all. It was a mountain volcano. Lava seemed to slide down its face in individual streams, stopping and paddling to form a lake of fire.

I tore my gaze away from this abominable sight, just wanting to get away. But there was more. I was then faced with another horror. There stood before me a tower of black stone. And on the top most point was an eye. It was no ordinary eye, the outside of the eye was inflames and the pupil was a slit like some devilish cats. As I stared, I became transfixed by the eye. I was startled as a voice, as cold and merciless as diamond entered my mind.

'I see you changeling, you fear me.' This was a statement, not a fact. I shivered as he went on.

'I will find you, changeling.' Then he showed me an image of me but a darker, more sinister and cruel me, than I could ever imagine myself. I screamed bloody murder, wanting to escape this nightmare that seemed to be too real to comprehend. I realized I was falling; I had stepped backward and was falling into the lake of fire…

When I hit the lake, instead of feeling heat it was ice cold. I coughed and spluttered, trying to get air.

Then I closed my eyes, waiting to embrace death. I felt myself slipping away…

Then light embraced me and my eyes opened.

I was lying on the bank of the stream, soaked and coughing my lungs out. I gulped in air, feeling my chest expand and the air going in and out. I then focused my eyes on the light that was shining over me. It was a torch and Dorian was holding it. Eragon was by my side, panting and dripping wet like me.

"What happened?" my throat hurt and my voice came out in a rasp.

"You started to scream and thrash about beside the stream then you rolled over and fell in. I came in after you." Eragon's eyes looked troubled and relief was mixed in there too. I shivered at the memory of my dream, or whatever it was. The eye still hovered in front of me, mocking me with its unnatural flame.

My eyes refocused as Eragon led me to the warm fire. A warm presence was at my back and I leaned against Saphira's side. I sighed and felt a blanket being pulled over me. My shivering started to abate and a cup of stew was placed at my lips. Warmth seeped back into me and the terror of my dream started to recede. The silence was broken as Eragon crouched before me.

"I can't stay much longer; I have just received word that I am needed at Orin's side. There is an attack. My help is needed sorely. I am sorry but you will have to go on with Dorian." My eyes started to overflow. He couldn't leave me, not like this. I didn't want to leave him! He was my tie to the world I had left. At the same time I did not want to see battle again, not until I was ready. I nodded and wiped the tears away. I was warm and safe for now that was the important thing.

"Okay, just don't take too long and, and be safe. I really don't want to have to rescue you again." I forced out a laugh and tried to smile. He leaned down and kissed me, as I glanced toward Dorian I saw something flash in his eyes. I did not know what it was but for a moment I was afraid. Then everything was fine and Eragon pulled away. I sighed and leaned forward to let Saphira get up.

As they flew into the darkening sky, Saphira's words reached my mind,

'Be safe, changeling, I have not told Eragon but there is something about this human I do not trust. Be watchful.'

I started to shiver after they left and the fire was only warming my front. I shivered more and more, huddled in my blanket for warmth. It was still a little wet though and the wind was colder now that Saphira was gone. My teeth started to chatter and all the warmth I was trying to retain was seeping out. A voice called me from my world of ice, it was Dorian.

"I know this is not proper, but you look like you're about to turn into an ice statue and Eragon told me to protect you and keep you safe. So I believe keeping you from catching a cold includes that. I can provide warmth for you." I knew what he meant but did not know if I wanted to take him up on his offer. I knew I was freezing but I still wanted to keep some semblance of loyalty towards Eragon. I slowly shook my head even though every particle of my body screamed for heat.

I decided I would sleep as close to the fire as possible. So as I huddled in my blanket with Dorian on the other side of the fire, I slowly fell into a cold sleep. The Eye appeared again and I was falling off the cliff…

Then warmth surrounded me and I woke to find Dorian's arms wrapped around me and my head buried in his chest. He bent down and whispered into my ear.

"You need me, don't deny it." Then he whispered something else and my eyes slid close. The dreams did not come back and I slept on in oblivion. If I had only been awake, maybe I could have avoided what happened next, for as I slept Dorian tied me to his saddle and started to ride away. He rode the opposite direction of Eragon, towards the Empire.