Chapter 15

"Concentrate Keres. You're letting your impatience get the better of you."Eragon's disapproving voice echoed in her mind as she staggered, clutching her head. As her master extricated himself from her mind, the searing pain vanished, leaving her panting and shaking. They had been at this for the past three hours, practicing mental defenses. The golden Eldunarí of the dragon Gladr was assisting them, alternately siding with Eragon and Saphira or Keres and Vikonyx. Despite not being her strongest skill, Keres was normally successful in attempting to keep others out of her mind. Today, however, she was failing utterly.

The strength of her exhaustion was overwhelming. After their battle with the dragons, Vikonyx had been given a solid four days to rest. Keres, on the other hand, had been given only half that time. If possible, her work rate had doubled and she now found herself attempting even more complex feats of magic. It seemed that Eragon was determined to find her breaking point and, at this point, she was wondering if he would succeed. Her knees and hands trembled as she knelt, struggling to slow her breathing as her head swam. The steely tang in her mouth warned her that she was mere moments away from losing the food in her stomach. The dull, pounding ache made her eyes water and her vision blur. All three of the dragons seemed to sense her condition. Gladr had been siding with her and Vikonyx more often than not and even Saphira was almost certainly holding back. Keres wasn't sure if she was resentful or grateful for the help.

"Again Keres."

She had barely managed to gather her thoughts before she felt the mental lance of Eragon's mind against her barriers. His mind was unlike any she had ever felt before. His resolve was like steel and the strength of his attack was like a tidal wave crashing down on her. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on the image of a glistening lake. There was a pause and then another burst of pain as he struck her again. She gritted her teeth, unwilling to yield as the pressure on her mind doubled. She could feel Vikonyx trying to shield her as best she could. The dragon was putting forth her full strength, striking back at Eragon and Saphira, attempting to beat them back. Keres could not even muster the energy to aid her. It was all she could do to keep the duo out of her mind. Then her knees buckled. Her defenses wavered as her left knee struck the ground hard. Her eyes snapped open and she struggled to keep from falling flat on her face.

That was all it took. Her barricades shattered as Eragon broke into her mind, driving his consciousness into hers like a blade. She screamed aloud, clutching her head with both hands.

"ERAGON ENOUGH!" The thunderous command brought the session to an immediate stand-still. The pain vanished, leaving her shuddering on the ground. Anger was clear in Gladr's voice as he rumbled like an avalanche. "Can you not see that this is pointless? You are paining her needlessly."

Eragon's response was short and clipped. "Her enemies will not afford her rest when she is in battle."

"This is no battle. This is torture. I will not condone it."

"Ebrithil" Keres murmured, speaking only to Gladr so that Vikonyx, Saphira, and Eragon could not hear her. She felt the dragon's consciousness press against her own. Despite the roiling storm of fury she felt within him, she was most struck by the concern for her well being. Yet again, she was reminded that, to this ancient dragon, she may well have still been a child. But she was not a child. Climbing slowly to her feet, she spoke. "I will be fine. It is alright."

There was a pause before the dragon answered her. "You are young and foolish. Do not be bull-headed. You will only injure yourself." When she did not respond, he sighed. "When we trained Brom, we did not think it possible to discover a rider more stubborn or reckless. Then we trained Eragon and again, we thought we had found the limit. It would seem that, once more, we have been proven incorrect." There was another pause and then he murmured, "Do what you will. But be careful, Keres Hvitr-Aug."

"Eka weohnata ebrithil."

The touch withdrew from her mind and, apparently, from the minds of everyone else in the clearing. Eragon was glaring at the satchel which held the golden orb. Saphira's tale twitched and Keres sensed the unspoken conversation passing between dragon and rider. The blue dragon seemed nearly as agitated as her former mentor. The sapphire tale twitched for a moment and then she snorted, sending a puff of smoke floating into the clear sky. A heartbeat later, Eragon turned his gaze back to Keres. "Again."

"No" She couldn't have explained how it had happened. The resolved had solidified almost instantaneously, borne out of the weeks of exhaustion and confusion and anger. Now it hardened like ice, sharpening her focus as she straightened, staring at her master.

"Keres" Vikonyx's warning hissed in her mind.

"What?" For the first time ever, something like disbelief colored Eragon's voice.

"I will not train anymore. Not until you explain what I have done to deserve this treatment." She turned her gaze to meet him. A cold, calculated rage was flooding through her. "I have done all you've asked. I put every ounce of my heart and soul into completing the tasks you've set before me. And yet, lately, you seem dissatisfied, no matter what I do. I would die for you, if you asked it of me, but I will not break my body and mind attempting to please someone who refuses to accept my offering."

Her white eyes glared into his brown ones. Fury had replaced disbelief on his face. She could see the color rising in his cheeks and the tension in his frame. Ordinarily, these signals would have set her cowering, but not today. Today she held her ground, her chin high and her visage fierce. "You will train. I order you to continue."

"I won't." Keres took a step forward and was startled to see her mentor take a half-step backward, away from her. "Answer me Eragon. What have I done wrong?"

Eragon's mouth flew open, but no words came out. He snapped it shut before making several more failed attempts to speak. The color was growing, a deep shade of scarlet that rose from his throat up through his cheeks. The look on his face was so fearsome that Keres had to struggle to hold his gaze.

"Answer her, Eragon." Saphira's voice startled them both and they turned, nearly in unison, to look at the massive sapphire dragon. She lowered her head toward her rider. "Her feelings are just. Answer her."

There was silence. Eragon stared at Saphira, clearly angered that she would side against him in this. After a couple of seconds, he let out a long breath and turned his head to meet his apprentice's gaze. "You are not like the other Riders. I used to think that it was because of your power. You are born of magic. At all times, it flows through you, in your blood. It strengthens your body and your spells. And your appearance belies this. People look at you and see a human. They underestimate you. And you destroy them." His eyes hardened as his voice rose in volume. "You delight in battle and in victory. You seek out fights even where none exist and you delight in the thrill of the fight. You are a danger and a liability."

It was the last sentence that struck her like a physical blow. She nearly staggered, staring in slack-jawed disbelief at her mentor. She thought she had prepared herself for what he might say. She had assumed that, like so many others, he was leery of her lineage and the training her mother had provided. Only he and Saphira knew the true extent of what she had been taught, and she had ever elected to let him block certain parts of her memory in order to conceal certain spells her mother had taught her. Yet as the implication of his words dawned on her, she couldn't help but feel a crushing sense of disappointment. This was worse than anything she had expected. What he feared wasn't her strength or her skill. What he feared was Keres herself. He feared what she was, what she might become.

She was so lost in her horror that the roar that exploded from behind her was completely unexpected. A Vikonyx fury thundered through her with an intensity that Keres had never felt before. Her partner was the more level-headed of the two, prone to rational thought and calm reasoning. For the first time ever, Keres felt pure, unfiltered rage seething out of the black dragon's mind. The black head snaked past her, thrusting toward the older man as Vikonyx snarled. "How dare you?! How dare you speak ill of my rider? To speak ill of her is to speak ill of me, for I chose her. After waiting for hundreds of years, I chose her. Who are you to question my decision?"

"Vikonyx!" Keres shouted, wrapping her arms around the thick neck in a doomed effort to restrain her dragon. Even so, the white-eyed girl felt a surge of affection for her dragon. She had, however, expected Saphira to intervene on Eragon's behalf. Quite the contrary, the sapphire dragon sat quietly, surveying the scene with clear, hard eyes.

The black dragon continued. "You and Saphira raised us. We were children when first you laid eyes on us and since our arrival here, you have watched every step of our journey. You should know us better than any on the face of this planet. And yet you still doubt our character?"

"I do not doubt your character, Vikonyx." He said coolly, staring into the wide, black eyes. "The rider you chose was strong. However, she is too eager to join in battle and her strength makes this a liability for the Dragon Riders. I have not forgotten the last rider who dreamed of conquest."

This time, Vikonyx did not even have time to be indignant. The sharp slither of steel cut the air as Keres tore her sword from her sheath. "You go too far Eragon Kingkiller." She would have accepted almost any insult from her master. But to be compared to the tyrant king . . . that was a slight too sharp to be borne. It was made even worse by the fear that she harbored within her. She was all too aware that she was only the second rider to sit astride a black dragon. Worse, she saw within Eragon's depiction of the mad king, many of the traits which she prized within herself. Yet she had always considered the comparison to be fanciful on her behalf. For her master to utter such words, to insinuate such a relation . . .

She strode past the black head, past the bared fangs and furious eyes. She moved to within feet of her master, who glared at her with an intensity she wouldn't have believed possible. She ignored the headache and all the pains that shrieked within her beaten body. Letting out a sharp breath, she spoke. "To fight your opponent, you must know your opponent. You taught me that. You must understand them, their motivations, their fears, their thoughts, and, more importantly, their hearts. You must compile everything you know of them to anticipate their actions. And when you finally understand your opponent, you see them clearly." She leveled her sword at his face, glaring down the length of the blade into his startled brown eyes. "Eka sjon ono, Eragon sonr abr Brom. Ach ono sjon eka?"

Hvitr-Aug = White-Eye

Eka weohnata ebrithil = I will master.

Eka sjon ono, Eragon sonr abr Brom. Ach ono sjon eka? = I see you, Eragon son of Brom. Do you see me?