Chapter 11.1

As we make our way to Das-Lenoa I sense that the white dragon is near the city.

"So how far away is Das-Leona?" Eragon asks.

"If we travel at a constant speed it should take a month to reach the town," Brom says as we ride along.

Four weeks pass and soon we reach the dark town. Eragon, Brom, and I decide to stay next to a lake that is about five miles from Das-Lenoa and then go to the city in the morning. Saphira curls up beside Eragon and soon all four of us are asleep. Later that night I'm awoken from my sleep by a very familiar white female dragon.

Come master, she commands as she walks toward the lake.

Why are you here? I ask after I've caught up with her.

Simple. I wished to tell you a few things before you go off to Das-Lenoa tomorrow, the white dragon answers.

Okay, I reply as I gaze at her in the almost pitch-darkness of the night with only the waning moon to provide me with feeble light.

The white dragon lays down and motions from me to get on her back.

Are you sure? I ask.

Of course Tamli, she replies as I climb onto her back.

With that she takes to the sky, her white wings making almost no noise as a small breeze whips past us as she flies over the lake. Without any warning she begins to merge our thoughts into one. I'm startled by this and try to fight back but to my surprise I can't. It's as if she is somehow blocking my powers from activating. Once she completes the task of bonding our thoughts into one, I can see what she's seeing somehow.

What's going on? I ask.

I've intertwined our thoughts into one and therefore allowed you to see through my eyes Tamli, she replies.

She circles around the lake a few more times before suddenly dropping from the sky. I hold on with all my might as she falls into the water below resulting in a large splash that I'm sure would have woken up Saphira or at least awoken Eragon. As we continue to sink, I find myself needing oxygen and so I desperately pound on the white dragon's scales to try and force her to rise but she is unresponsive. I slowly feel myself sinking as the light from the moon that reflects on the lake's surface slowly gets farther and farther away. Slowly my vision fades and I black out . . .

When I come to, the first thing I see is the white dragon. She stands over me like a protective mother growling softly and then turns to looks at me.

You are not hurt? She asks.

I look back at her. I think that she saved me back there in the lake.

I'm fine, I reply.

She raises her top upper lip just slightly and I realize that she's attempting to smile.

What happened? I ask.

After you passed out I regained my senses and so I grabbed you in my mouth and dragged you to the surface of the water and then out onto the shore where I've been watching over you from the past few minutes, the white dragon answers.

As she's saying this I notice that her body is shaking slightly.

Are you okay? I ask.

No I'm not Tamli, she replies. Spending all this time in a different world has weakened my immune system and so I believe that I have been infected with a strong and powerful virus, one that could destroy the dragon embryos before they are fully covered in their shells.

The reason that I was so reluctant to tell you is because that I've been busy with a few things concerning Murtagh and the dragon embryos and also I've been having strange dreams, she explains.

Strange dreams? Like what? I ask.

Well I guess you could call them visions but I think that Murtagh's in trouble in the future, she sighs.

What type of trouble? I ask. And by the way you still haven't told me your name.

I haven't and my name is Finca and as to the trouble I'm not sure what type myself, she answers as she opens her white wings.