Chapter 20

ABBY

Now, when I look back on the days following our daring escape from the empire, I only remember the endless flying. The first day, we flew so fast, at times I thought I would fall off because of the sheer force of the wind made by Thorn's beating wings. I didn't bother showing discomfort at first, partly because I wasn't comfortable with it, and partly because I didn't want to cause Murtagh anymore undo pain. God only knew he'd suffered enough in his relatively short life. Short for an immortal dragon Rider anyways.

This was one of the things he had told me as part of the story of his life, which made more depressing thoughts surface. I couldn't imagine living without him, as cheesy as that sounds. Still, as far as I knew, I wasn't immortal. I mentally cursed myself for not thinking of the consequences of loving him. Then, a rather shocking thought struck me, one that had me reeling from the weight of it. 'I don't care.'

Suddenly, without warning, Thorn descended in a sharp dive, making my stomach drop rather painfully . It didn't help I hadn't eaten much since we left Uruben either. For once, I was glad I had an excuse for not looking down as we sped in ever increasing speeds, to finally rest on the ground.

As we landed, another of the "private" conversations between dragon and Rider took place.

'Was going that fast absolutely necessary?' Murtagh demanded of Thorn. 'She could've fallen off!'

'Peace little one, you would have caught her.' Thorn reasoned in his calm, measured manner.

Murtagh mentally scoffed, 'I should be calling you that, not the other way around!'

Thorn gave a mental shrug, and fell silent.

That brought me to another point in my internal musing, how was I going to deal with these conversations that I wasn't meant to hear? I briefly wondered if Murtagh knew that this was even happening. So far, we hadn't spoken of it. Actually, now that I thought about it, we hadn't spoken about much of anything since our escape. We were concentrating fully on evading the empire, namely Galbatorix and his henchmen. Therefore, I was slightly surprised when we landed. Murtagh helped me off Thorn and sat me down in what I guessed was a clearing. "We need to talk." Was all he said? But I knew what he was referring to.

"I know," I said, hoping I could stay strong. "I think it's best for us to ask each other questions, so we can get to know each other…" I trailed off, hoping I didn't sound stupid or come off as shallow.

Instead of answering directly, Murtagh hesitated for a split second. Then, with just a touch of humor coloring his words, "You go first."

I let out the breath I hadn't realized I was holding in relief. "OK. First things first, how old are you?" If my question was surprising to him, he didn't show it.

"I am nineteen years old. How old are you then?"

I was surprised at how well he took to our little game, but answered anyways, "I'm seventeen. Your turn."

It took him a few seconds to gather his thoughts for the next question. "Do you have any siblings?"

I was slightly disappointed at how light the question was, but once again I answered. "Yes, two older sisters. What about you?" I was genuinely curious about that. I wondered if his family would approve of me. Probably not...

His answer came quickly. "Yes, a younger brother. As a matter of fact, you already know him…" He trailed off, and seemed to retreat into himself. I hated when he was vague, couldn't he just tell me who his brother was? It couldn't be that bad… right?

I spent the next minute thinking of all the people I knew who could possibly be Murtagh's brother, coming up with nothing.

'Do you need a hint?' I jumped off the rock I was sitting on and gave a startled squeak. I had completely forgotten about Thorn!

'Sorry, I'll admit I sort of forgot about you… but yes, a hint would be nice…'

'Oh thank you, now I don't think I'm going to tell you anything, maybe let you suffer, hmmm…'

'You better tell me something, you over grown lizard!' We both knew it was all in fun, so I had no qualms about Thorn possibly eating me. . He was, in my mind, an extension of Murtagh and therefore, fun to tease.

'All right, you win. The person my Rider speaks of is also a Rider. He is called Shadeslayer, Argetlam, among other names… He is vassal to the Lady Nasuada… He was gifted by the dragons… Is that enough of a hint?'

I wasn't able to answer him, because I suddenly knew who Murtagh's brother was.

"Ha! It's Eragon, isn't it?"

My outburst seemed to break Murtagh out of whatever thoughts had him captive. "Not fair, you had help! That's cheating!"

"I don't care if you think it was cheating, I found out didn't I? Who cares if I may have had some help…?" I knew we were both sounding like petulant children, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Then his mood shifted to something darker, less playful. "I didn't always consider him my brother. There was a time when I fought him… Do you remember when I left for one of Galbatorix's missions? That mission was to capture Eragon and his dragon Saphira. As you know, I failed… I failed him…" His voice trailed off, and I could sense what he was going through. At that moment I only wished I could take his pain away. But I knew I had a more pressing matter to ask about.

"How can I hear the things you and Thorn say, I mean when you talk as dragon and Rider?" I asked in a rush. As I expected, Murtagh didn't answer right away, and when he did, it was surprisingly brief.

"This is my theory. Ever since you came to Alagaesia, your dormant power arose. It doesn't happen to everyone, so count you lucky."

"What kind of an answer is that?" I seethed.

"I know you are not satisfied, but until we can get a fresh perspective on this, this is all I have to say on the subject. Besides, it's getting dark. We should probably sleep…"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I am kind of tired…" I reached my hand out towards where I thought he was. As he grasped my hand, I noticed for the first time, a tingly sensation going from the tips of my fingers, all the way down to my toes. I suddenly felt right, like I belonged here after all. Like I belonged with him.