I Who Should Not Be

Chapter 25

"She's so cold. Murtagh, give me more quilts."

The dark haired Rider hurried to obey the elf woman, running out of the room that they had carried Onika into upon their return to the city. Eragon was with Orik trying to think of a way to figure out what had gotten to her, and Arya was trying to use her magic to heal her fallen friend. He walked down the hall, slightly dazed, thinking of how she had reacted to them when they had found her, then to being carried back to the city.

She had been as white as a corpse when they had found her lying on the ground, her hands clenched in tight fists and her jaws clamped shut so hard that no pulling or pressure from any of them could open them. Arya feared that her teeth would start to break, but they didn't seem to yet. Arya had summoned a small ball of dim light and Onika had opened her eyes for a moment before slamming them shut again with a pained whimper.

Murtagh found a heap of blankets and scooped them up, spinning on his heel and running back down the halls, jumping over one dwarf servant who failed to get out of his way fast enough. The dark haired Rider skidded to a halt in front of the door when he heard a high piercing shriek that made his hair stand straight up and goosebumps erupt over his skin. He knew that it was Onika making the terrible noise, but part of him didn't want to know why. It was a single long note, strong and clear without any kind of preamble, then it died away just as suddenly.

When he opened the door, Murtagh saw Onika fall back onto the pillows that had been placed under her head to try to make her comfortable, her hair falling in a wild cloud around her white face. Arya was staring at the Wolfborn with a stunned expression, blinking quickly and trying to regain her poise.

"What happened?"

Arya's face was pale as she passed a shaking hand through her hair and took a slow breath.

"She started to say something in the Ancient language. At first I thought that she was repeating something she had heard all of us saying often…trying to learn, like she did with the common tongue. But she said something else."

Murtagh closed the door and dropped the blankets and lifted one up and shook it over the Wolfborn, who lay as silent and still as she had before.

"What did she say?"

"She… I think that she was dreaming. She said 'Where has the starlight gone? Dark is the day… How can I find my way home? Home is an empty dream Lost to the night Father, I feel so alone. You promised you'd be there, whenever I needed you. Whenever I call your name you're not anywhere. When will the dawning break? Oh endless night. Sleepless I dream of the day when you were by my side, guiding my path.
Father, I can't find the way' and then she started screaming."

Murtagh's face twisted in confusion, looking first to Onika, then to Arya. He had no idea where she had learned the words, as they had only used spells in the Ancient language. Unless she had heard it before she had met them? But she had said that most Tame were too fearful to come too close to the Wolfborn.

"What does it mean?"

"I don't know. I could speak to my mother to see if she has any ideas, but I doubt she will be able to help us."

Suddenly, Onika's breathing became ragged and she started to thrash about, her hand twisting great hanks of hair and jerking at it while her legs flailed. She sat up and looked to the west, her eyes wide open and staring. Murtagh saw that they were still yellow at the irises, but the whites of her eyes and her pupils were bloody red.

Pointing with her handless arm, she continued to stare, her whole body still jerking in violent spasms. She opened her mouth and took a great breath before speaking again in the Ancient language.

"Deception! Deception! The evil is plain on his scarred face! Deception! Bar all outsiders! Begone, get back with you! Let him run! Deception! He is not one of us! Never has he been one of us! He ran with us! He lied to us! Now we are not so blind! Deception! Disgrace! Lies! Deceit! DECEPTION IN OUR HALLS!!!"

With her final shrieking words, her face went slack and she seemed to sag under a great weight. Murtagh caught her as she tipped sideways, looking at her ashen face with worry. Was she having fever dreams? Was she seeing something that was coming? Had her mind come unhinged during her ordeal in the caverns? He carefully laid her back and covered her with the blankets as Arya wrote all that was said on a paper, so she would not forget.

Onika's eyes opened again for a brief moment, and she smiled weakly.

"He comes. With the new moon."