Chapter Thirty-Five

Fire and Snow

North. Go North.

The Forsworn flew as they had never flown before, the dark landscape rushing past below them, leaving the Beors behind as fast as they could. They had fled in a disorganised fashion, in ones and twos, and Tuomas had very nearly been left behind until Roland went back for him at the last minute. They fled separately, none of them knowing whether the others had got away or where they were.

Roland, lagging behind, was attacked in midair by another dragon – one he never saw in the light. There was a brief scuffle which ended when Keth struck her attacker a powerful blow to the face which blinded him and allowed the gold dragon to make her escape.

And now there was nothing for it but to fly, and fly they did. North. Fly North. That was the only order they had to follow, and they followed it.

But where in the North? And how far should they go? They didn't know, but the urge to escape drove them on, and they flew on for days, not stopping once, unable to see each other, each one frightened that he or she was the only survivor. But Galbatorix's last order had been to go North, so go North they would.

They passed over the forest of Du Weldenvarden and went beyond the mountains and on into a land where endless snowfields stretched in every direction.

North.

Roland and Keth kept going for a time, but eventually the gold dragon's exhaustion told and she landed among a stand of pine trees. Roland managed to undo the leg-straps, and then toppled off Keth's back, landing on his back in the snow. Tuomas, still seated, looked down at him. 'Are you all right, sir?'

After a few moments, the reply drifted back. 'My spine appears to have been replaced with a metal rod, but other than that I'm fine. How about you?'

'I don't think I've got any bum left at all,' said Tuomas. 'Also, I don't think I can get down from here.'

Roland groaned. 'Just let me finish dying down here and I'll be with you in a jiffy.'

Eventually, grumbling and wincing at the pain in his back, the senior rider got up and came to help Tuomas down from Keth's back. She had already slumped down on her stomach and was lying quite still, panting and trembling with exhaustion. Tuomas' legs gave way as soon as he touched the ground, and he sat down sharply and tried to rub some life back into them while Roland went to see to his partner, scratching the ridge of tough scale over her eye with his rough fingernails and murmuring to her.

Keth sighed deeply and fell into a doze, and Roland walked about among the trees, rubbing his back and peering up at the sky for any sign of other dragons.

'Think we'll be safe here for a while,' he said eventually. 'But damned if I know where the others are. We'll just have to hope they got away…'

Some of the feeling returned to Tuomas' legs, and he got up and walked unsteadily to his elder's side, looking up at the sky along with him. There was nothing up there. 'What are we going to do, sir?' he asked, sounding slightly panicky. 'I can't feel Ithír. She's too far away. What if something's happened to her?'

'There, there,' Roland patted him on the shoulder. 'Calm down, lad. Listen, if anything had happened to Ithír, you'd know it. If you feel nothing, that's good. If she was in pain, if she was hurt… you'd be able to feel it. Don't worry about her; she'll catch up to us. A dragon can always find her rider. Trust me on this.'

'But what if she's dead?' said Tuomas. 'What if they got her?'

Roland laughed despite himself. 'Tuomas, if she was dead, there is no way you wouldn't be aware of it. You heard what Lord Galbatorix said, didn't you? I saw her fly away with Sartago. She'll be fine.'

'What about the others?' said Tuomas, calming down slightly. 'I saw Morzan fly off with Kaelyn, and I think I saw Tranah, but-,'

'I definitely saw Strein take Gern,' said Roland. 'Other than that…'

'What about Galbatorix?' said Tuomas. 'Did you see him?'

'No. But I'm sure he's fine.' Roland looked around at the icy landscape. 'I can see why he wanted us to go North. Man'd have to be crazy to come here.'

Tuomas shivered. 'It's so cold. What do we do now?'

'Well, I suggest we rest a bit and then have a look around and see what we can see,' said Roland.

They rested for a time, taking turns to nap against Keth's warm flank, and afterwards they ate some travel rations from Roland's bag. Revived, they set out to survey the area. Roland reluctantly woke up Keth and flew up with her to circle overhead and watch out for signs of other dragons. Tuomas settled for climbing a tree. But he got quite a good view from its upper branches.

There was nothing visible for miles but snow, rock and scattered pine forests. The air was full of the scent of ice and pine needles, and the sky overhead was a strange iron-grey colour that reminded him of Kaelyn's dragon Sartago. He looked up and saw Keth begin to descend, and climbed down from the tree to meet Roland.

'I've found someone!' Roland exclaimed as soon as he was within earshot. 'Eastwards a bit – I think it's Morzan. Quick, hop up and we'll go meet him.'

Keth crouched, and Roland hauled Tuomas up into the saddle with a single heave of his powerful arms. Once he was settled, they flew off, moving a little more slowly now, but confidently. There was another patch of forest in a small valley to the East, and as soon as they were overhead Tuomas could clearly see another dragon down there – a red one. And, as they came down to land, he suddenly realised that he could feel Ithír's presence in his mind again.

Keth landed close to Idün, and Roland and Tuomas dismounted and ran to meet up with Morzan, who was standing by a fire he'd lit in the snow, with Kaelyn beside him.

Kaelyn and Tuomas embraced fiercely, and Ithír joined them, nuzzling Tuomas' shoulder and draping a wing over him, her mind radiating relief. Tuomas hugged the yellow dragon, full of fierce love for her. 'Thank gods,' he said, again and again. 'Thank gods.'

Roland and Morzan thumped each other affectionately. 'Good to see you again, mate,' said Morzan. 'You scared me for a moment there. Thought someone was attacking us.'

'Come on now, lad, don't be silly,' said Roland. 'There can't be anyone around here for miles except for us. I hope.'

'I saw some urgal villages back South,' said Morzan. 'Kaelyn'n me've been here a day an' a bit. Haven't seen anyone else. Where are they, d'you know?'

'Strein's got Gern,' said Roland. 'And I see you've got the hatchlings with you, which is a relief. That leaves everyone accounted for except Tranah and Galbatorix.'

'Tranah and I were flyin' pretty close for a while,' said Morzan. 'But she fell behind. I dunno where she is now, but she got out of Orthíad all right. But Galbatorix… all I know is he was outside when they came. Kaelyn says-,'

'He stayed behind,' said Kaelyn. 'He sent me in to tell you to go, but he didn't go himself. He stayed.'

Roland swore. 'What? Was he out of his mind?'

'I don't know,' said Kaelyn. She was quivering with fright. 'I don't know where Shruikan is either. Roland, what're we going to do?'

'Chin up, lass,' said Roland. 'We'll find the others soon enough. They'll be around this peaksforsaken place somewhere. And I'm sure Lord Galbatorix knew what he was doing. He'll come and find us, sure enough. But we'd better move somewhere a little more sheltered, assuming there is such a place out here.'

Morzan nodded. 'It's bloody freezing here at night. I had to stay up an' keep the fire goin' or we would've died in our sleep.'

They put out the fire and remounted their dragons, wearily and reluctantly, and flew off, keeping close together. For about an hour they flew over the Icelands, looking for any sign of life, but they saw nothing except for scattered herds of white deer and once a pack of wolves. Hope started to fade as the sun began to go down, but then Sartago, flying ahead, suddenly let out a roar.

A few moments later it was answered, faintly, from somewhere up ahead. Idün and Keth roared too, their voices mingling, and again there was an answer. The two dragons lowered their heads and flew straight toward it, following the roars.

They found the source not long later. Ahead, a large mountain rose out of the snowfield, and halfway up it a large brown dragon was perched.

'It's Talziri!' Tuomas shouted, his voice nearly lost in the wind.

They met up with Strein at the base of the mountain. She had made a small camp among some rocks where it was a little sheltered, and Gern was with her. The reunion was a little subdued, but joyful all the same, and almost instantly they were asking questions.

'Where's Tranah?' Strein asked. 'Is she all right?'

'She got away from Orthíad fine,' said Morzan. 'She should be somewhere North right now – we just don't know where.'

'I looked for her,' said Strein. 'Gern and I haven't stopped moving since we got here two days ago. But we never saw anything.'

'Not surprising,' said Roland. 'There's precious little to see out here. But it's good to know you're all right, Strein.'

'What about Galbatorix?' said Strein. 'Did he get out of Orthíad?'

'We don't know,' said Roland. 'Kaelyn says he stayed behind.'

'Surely he didn't try and fight them on his own?' Strein said anxiously.

'I doubt it,' said Roland.

Morzan shook his head. 'You don't know the man like I do. He's completely mental. Throws himself at his enemies like he's made outa metal. But somehow he gets out alive every time. Beats me how he does it, but he fights like no-one I've ever met.'

'Well,' said Roland, sounding a little nervous. 'Then I'm sure we've got nothing to worry about. We'll stay here tonight, and then we'll look for him and Tranah in the morning.'

'Who died and made you King?' Morzan complained.

Roland sniffed. 'I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. I was only making a suggestion.'

'Well don't forget you've bin with us a week,' said Morzan. 'You didn't ought to be givin' us orders now. Or ever.'

'Morzan, stop that,' said Strein. 'Leave off, he's only trying to help.'

Morzan hesitated, obviously not wanting to back down out of pride. 'Whatever,' he muttered, and stalked off.

Roland pretended not to notice. 'Sorry to be a bother,' he said.

'Don't take any notice,' Strein advised, keeping her voice low. 'It's been a little trying lately. I'm sure you can understand.'

'I think I'll survive,' said Roland. 'Now… let's get some rest. At least, I'll get some rest and you can make up your own minds, how does that sound?'

Strein grinned. 'Sounds fine to me.'

They spent that night at Strein's camp, but slept fitfully, keeping close to their dragons and to the fire for warmth, each one too nervous to sleep more deeply lest they die of the cold before they woke up. It meant that, on the following morning, everyone was tired and irritable. When Roland again tried to take charge, Morzan, who by now was looking very worn and strung out, was sulky and uncooperative and refused to listen to him. Roland was patient at first, but eventually his own stress told and the two men had a vicious shouted argument which very nearly came to blows and only ended when Strein and the three apprentices interfered – something which took considerable courage, since Morzan was a very big man indeed, with a square, muscular frame and thick arms, and Roland, in spite of his age, was very close to matching him in size.

Afterwards Roland was contrite, but Morzan refused to make peace with him. He rudely rebuffed Strein's attempts to make him apologise, even after Roland had already done so, and the affair ended with everyone leaving the camp in a temper. Strein, who stayed behind to watch the fire, realised that Roland had been right when he had said that losing Galbatorix would be a disaster. Without him there, the Forsworn had no unity and no sense of purpose or direction. Morzan wouldn't work for anyone else but was too stubborn and unimaginative to be a leader in his own right, and while Strein was prepared to listen to Roland or Tranah – assuming they found her – she could see that their group would soon be in meltdown. The trouble was that all of them were strong-willed, and all of them were leaders in a way. They were not the kind of people who would subordinate themselves to just anybody, and only Galbatorix had the charisma and the willpower to make them work together in harmony. Without him there to bring balance, it had turned into a battle of wills between Morzan and Roland, and if Tranah rejoined them at some stage she would probably clash with both of them.

Kaelyn, Gern and Tuomas were also depressed, but more at the possibility that they had lost their master. All of them had come to care about him; Tuomas and Gern both saw him almost as a father-figure, and Kaelyn could not forget their moment of stolen intimacy, nor stop feeling that what had happened was in some way her fault.

In the end nothing decisive happened that day. What remained of the Forsworn spent it either arguing or mooching around the camp with no particular aim in mind. Kaelyn suggested to Gern and Tuomas that they practise some swordplay, which they did, taking turns to spar with each other. Strein watched them for a while and then joined in, and a kind of impromptu training session took place while a watery sunset began to appear on the horizon.

Roland and Morzan both returned to the camp before dark. Roland was tired and depressed, and began to prepare a frugal meal without saying anything. Morzan, however, evidently hadn't lost his resentfulness.

'What're we gonna do?' he asked aggressively of no-one in particular.

No-one answered.

'I said, what're we gonna do?' Morzan repeated. 'We can't sit around here on our arses all day, we gotta do something.'

'We need to find the others,' said Strein, when Roland remained silent. 'But we should be systematic about it… if we just flew off in any old direction we'd lose each other. What do you suggest, Morzan?'

The question was asked politely, but Morzan only muttered something and stared at the fire.

Roland had finished preparing the food, and wordlessly doled it out to his fellows. Morzan accepted the stale bread and salted beef with a disgusted expression. 'What? Is this crap all we're getting?'

'I'm afraid so,' said Roland, finally breaking his silence. 'It's all we've got left.'

Morzan ate, muttering darkly to himself. A sharp piece of crust jabbed him sharply in the gum, and he swore and hurled it into the fire. 'That's it!' he almost shouted, standing up abruptly. 'I've had enough of this, I'm out of here.' He strode off toward Idün, who came to him at once.

Strein ran to him. 'Morzan, what are you doing?'

'I'm leaving,' said Morzan. 'I'm going to go find them myself.'

'Morzan, don't!' said Strein, grabbing his arm and trying to restrain him. 'It's nearly dark; you'll get lost-,'

She may as well have tried to push over a brick wall. Morzan shook her off without any apparent effort, and climbed into the saddle.

'Roland, for the love of gods, help me!' Strein yelled.

Roland ran to her side. 'Morzan, stop! You're acting like a fool.'

Morzan sneered at him. 'You stay here an' clean out your lugholes, granddad. I'm not hanging around here for another minute. I'm gonna find Galbatorix myself, and when I bring him back here he'll sort this mess out. So don't get too comfy, 'cause you ain't gonna be playin' at bein' the leader for long. There's only one master for me, and I'm gonna find him.'

Idün turned and walked away over the snow. Strein and Roland ran after her, the three apprentices trailing behind. 'Morzan, stop! Come back!' Roland yelled.

It did absolutely no good. Idün took off with a flick of her scarlet wings, and moments later she and Morzan were gone.

Roland and Strein wandered resignedly back to the fire. 'Should we go after him?' Strein asked.

'What's the point?' said Roland. 'In the mood he's in I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to attack us, stubborn young fool that he is.'

'But what if he gets lost?' said Strein. 'There's no food out here; he wouldn't last a day.'

Roland sighed. 'I don't know, Strein. Perhaps we should go after him…'

'Why don't we set up a signal for him or something?' Gern put in unexpectedly. 'You know, a beacon. We could put it up there on the mountaintop; he'd be able to see it from anywhere.'

'That's a good idea,' said Roland. 'But dangerous. Bear in mind that if Morzan can see it, other people can too. And they might not be friendly.'

'I think if anyone had followed us North, we'd know it,' said Strein. 'Did anyone chase you out of Orthíad?'

'For a very short distance,' said Roland. 'It was dark and there was a lot of wind; you could hardly see a damned thing in all that, excuse my language. But no sign of pursuit after we left the Beors. We had a short run-in with someone right on the outskirts, but we shook 'em off and put plenty of distance between them and us. As far as I know, no-one saw us for a good long time.'

'Same here,' said Strein. 'And Morzan definitely said he wasn't chased. I think we should take the risk.'

'If need be, we can run again,' said Roland. 'Yes. I agree. If you don't mind, I'll make the beacon. I have an idea as to what it should look like. Something our friends will recognise instantly. Kaelyn, Gern, Tuomas, if you would like to accompany me you'd be more than welcome. You may find the experience instructive.'

Gern nodded. 'I'll come, definitely.'

'Me too,' said Tuomas.

'And me,' said Kaelyn.

'Then it's settled,' said Roland. 'Let's go.' He strode off toward the mountain's foot.

The three apprentices jogged to keep up with him.

'Uh, sir?' Gern ventured. 'What are you doing? Shouldn't Keth be carrying us up there?'

'Good heavens no,' said Roland, halting at the foot of the mountain. 'We're going to climb it ourselves.'

'What?' said Tuomas. 'What the hell for?'

'Watch your language, young man,' said Roland. He was already beginning the climb, leaning forward against the slope and occasionally taking hold of the rock to steady himself. The three apprentices followed reluctantly, still asking for an explanation. 'It's simple,' said Roland. 'In my religion, mountains are an important symbol – the Three Peaks the most so, but all mountains have a special significance to us.' He paused to haul himself up over a heap of rocks, and resumed, paying no attention to the three struggling teenagers. 'You see, a mountain is a symbol for life. Every life involves some struggle – just like climbing a mountain does. Sometimes it feels like you'll never get there, sometimes you just want to stop and go back, and you wonder if it'll all be worthwhile in the end. But if you persevere, if you keep going and never lose faith, in the end you'll reach the peak, and from there all will become clear to you, and you will see Paradise laid out before you, just waiting for you to go to it.'

He continued to climb steadily and with confidence, and Kaelyn, Gern and Tuomas tried their best to keep up with him. But it wasn't easy. Loose rocks and patches of slippery snow threatened to dislodge them at every turn, and the slope was steep and unforgiving. They dug their hands and feet into the ground, constantly terrified of falling, straining every muscle. Before long they were all exhausted and sweating in spite of the cold, and when they looked up they realised they had barely gone any distance at all.

Roland glanced back at them, sighed, and sat down on a small outcrop to let them catch up, which they did eventually. As soon as they reached him they slumped down to rest.

'I – can't – do this!' Gern gasped. 'All the muscles in my legs are on fire, I'm sure of it.'

'Now then, don't lose faith, my young apprentices,' said Roland in an almost offensively cheerful voice. 'What can you ever achieve by giving up?'

Tuomas looked up at the rest of the mountain that still loomed over them. 'Are you mad?' he complained. 'I can't climb that!'

'On the contrary,' said Roland. 'You can and you will. It isn't that hard, you know.'

'But I'm exhausted!' said Tuomas.

Kaelyn sat down with her back to the rock and closed her eyes. 'I'm going to wait here for you,' she said. 'Just keep going; I'll be fine.'

'Exhausted?' said Roland. 'Leave you here? By the Peaks, you three are shocking. You aren't exhausted, not at all. Why, you've barely gone any distance at all. You're fooling yourselves if you think you can't go on.'

'You're stronger than us,' said Gern.

'Stuff and nonsense,' said Roland. 'I'm an old man, for heaven's sake, I've got bad knees and a wheeze. You're young and strong, you've got more energy in you now than you'll ever have again in your lives. And you're not tired, and this isn't as hard as you're telling yourselves. No, the real struggle is in your minds. If you tell yourself you can't do it, then you can't. Now tell yourselves you can do it, and bigods we'll be at the peak looking at the stars before you know what's going on.' He stood up. 'Now let's go, before it gets too dark.'

Kaelyn, Gern and Tuomas struggled to their feet and continued the climb, moaning and complaining all the while. Roland paid no attention. He kept going steadily, calling out encouragement and warning of difficult patches ahead all the while. The sun finished setting and the stars were coming out by the time they reached the half-way point, and there they stopped to rest again.

Kaelyn, Gern and Tuomas were filthy and aching by this time; all of them had fallen over at least once and were sporting cuts, bruises and grazes, their boots and trousers were soaked from having to wade through several snowdrifts, and they had collected a fine set of unpleasant itchy bites from midges and other blood-sucking insects. But they weren't complaining any more. They didn't have the breath for it.

'There you go!' said Roland, who wasn't looking the least bit tired. 'Well done! We're halfway there already.'

Gern and Kaelyn groaned. Tuomas, however, said; 'I think I can do it, sir. I can keep on going.'

'Wonderful!' said Roland. 'See what I told you? Now, we're going to need the help of some magic here…' he muttered a few words, and golden light appeared around him, shining brighter than a torch and nicely illuminating the whole area. 'That's better. Now, have you three been coached in how to heal by magic? If so, now's an excellent chance to practise – deal with those scrapes while we're resting, why don't you?'

Kaelyn remembered the words. She spread her hand over a graze on her knee and opened the mental channel, paused, sighed, and said the words. 'Waíse heill.'

The graze healed over with scarcely a pause, and Kaelyn smiled triumphantly. She thought of Galbatorix and tried to imagine what he would say if he were there. Well done, Kaelyn. I'm proud of you. That cheered her up. 'I know you're all right, Master,' she half-murmured. 'You'll come and find us again.'

Gern and Tuomas attended to their own injuries, and once they had caught their breath Roland got up and resumed the climb.

Now that they knew they were nearly there, the three apprentices found a little more confidence and pressed on determinedly. Roland, noticing this, smiled to himself.

And, at long last, they reached the peak. Roland, of course, reached it first, and by the time Kaelyn, Gern and Tuomas had caught up with him they found him kneeling at the mountain's highest point, still surrounded by gold light, muttering under his breath. They sat down a short distance away and watched him.

Roland touched his forehead to the ground, then raised himself once more and clasped his hands in front of his chest, eyes closed reverentially as he continued to mutter in the ancient language. When he was finished, he struck his chest with his fist, three times, then opened his eyes and stood up. He sighed deeply and stretched as if he had just woken up, then dusted himself down and looked around at the three apprentices.

'Were you praying just now, sir?' Gern asked.

Roland nodded. 'Offering up a prayer to the Three Peaks, thanking them for keeping me safe and entreating them to watch over my friends.'

'Will it work?' Tuomas said innocently.

'The power of the Three Peaks is in all of us,' Roland said solemnly. 'It will work, if we have faith. So…' he smiled with his eyes. 'You made it to the peak, just as I said you would. Now look on Paradise and tell me if it was worth it.'

They got up to survey the view, and Roland silently let the magical light go out, leaving them in total darkness.

'Hey!' said Tuomas. 'Why'd you do that? I can't see anything!'

'Are you sure?' Roland asked from somewhere in the gloom. 'Look again.'

They did, and as their eyes adjusted to the darkness Kaelyn let out a cry of wonder. 'Oh my gods… it's beautiful!'

'Now look on Paradise,' Roland murmured.

It was like standing in the stars. The ground below them was utterly dark, invisible, as if it were not there at all, and wherever they looked they saw a thousand glittering stars, like a field of silver crystals scattered throughout the heavens. And, rising through it all in total silence was the great white presence of the moon. A half-moon, shaped like a dragon's eye.

'The half-moon,' Kaelyn half-whispered. 'Destiny…'

'Now look at that,' said Roland. 'And you try and tell me there is no hope and that the gods are a lie. No. That's not something I could ever make myself believe, and not even the elders themselves could ever stop me.'

'I think I understand, sir,' said Gern.

'I hope you do,' said Roland. 'Even if you never choose to believe in a god as I do. Hope, you see, is something that takes many forms. Sometimes it is the form of a god. Sometimes it is something as pure as love, or as dark as hatred. But hope is something we must never let go of, no matter how far we come or how difficult our lives are. We must always hold onto hope.'

They stood there in silence for a long time, feeling as if time had stood still while the stars drifted overhead on their endless courses, weaving the fates of gods and men alike. But the moment did not last forever. Finally Roland sighed and said; 'Well, we'd better set up this beacon.' He recast the light spell, bringing back the golden glow around himself and breaking the strange spell. Then he began wandering around the spot where they were standing, muttering to himself and examining the ground, evidently choosing a good spot. At last, apparently satisfied, he stopped and said; 'Very well, I think this will do.' He rolled up his sleeves. 'You will observe – nothing up my sleeves-,' he grinned and then became serious. 'Now. Listen carefully to the spell; you may decide to use it yourselves some day.' He cleared his throat and spread his left hand over the ground, then recited the words, loudly and clearly. 'Skapa aldrnari sem vili œva létta brenna.'

In moments a fire appeared, burning slightly above the ground. It was bright gold, and rose higher and higher as Roland lifted his hand, controlling it. It grew until it was as tall as he was; a narrow tongue of flickering light that gave off no heat at all. Once Roland was satisfied he took two paces to the right and made a second fire, but only raising it to half the height of the first, then made a third one of the same height on the other side.

'There!' he said when he was done, pulling his sleeves back down over his forearms and stepping back to admire his handiwork. 'What d'you think?'

The three fires were evenly spaced in a row, each one burning steadily and giving off no smoke. The one in the centre was the tallest and brightest, with a core of orange at its heart, and the three fires lit up the entire mountaintop.

Kaelyn squinted a little. 'It's perfect, sir. People will be able to see it for miles.'

'But it's better than that,' said Roland. 'Do any of you know what these fires represent?'

The three apprentices glanced at each other, not understanding.

'Come on,' said Roland, sounding a little disappointed. 'Surely you can guess. Count them. How many are there?'

'Uh… three?' said Gern.

'Exactly!' said Roland, as if he had just solved a complex problem. 'Three fires.'

'I know!' said Tuomas. 'They're the Three Peaks, aren't they? I saw them once.'

Roland nodded. 'That's right,' he said triumphantly. 'Three fires, three peaks, the tallest one in the centre. It's the symbol of my faith. If Galbatorix or Tranah sees this, they'll recognise it right away and know it was me. That way they'll know it isn't a trap.'

'That's very clever, sir,' said Gern.

Roland beamed. 'Yes, it was rather cunning of me, wasn't it? I'm quite pleased with it myself. And now…' he looked down at the ground far below them. 'I suppose we should be climbing back down about now.'

'Oh no,' said Tuomas.

Roland grinned at him. 'What's the matter? Climbing down is always much easier than climbing up.'

'It definitely is if you fall to your death,' said Tuomas.

Roland sighed. 'Well, I suppose you've probably had enough for one night, considering what an unpleasant few days we've had. All right. We'll wait here and Keth will help us down.'

They settled down to wait, much relieved, and not long later Keth landed by them, so large she only just fitted on the mountaintop. But she quite casually stood with her foreclaw through the middle of Roland's beacon, obviously unharmed since it gave off no heat.

Roland ambled over to her and slapped her on the shoulder. 'Steady on, you big brute, you're crushing the blasted thing.'

Keth snickered and moved her paw away, and Roland and the three apprentices got onto her back. It was uncomfortable with four of them, but Keth took off and reached the base of the mountain in a short time and they got down and gratefully returned to the camp. Strein was waiting for them there by the fire, and looked up cheerfully at them. 'Hello, welcome back. How was the view?'

'Excellent, thankyou, Strein,' said Roland. 'And the view will have improved for any of our friends who are in the vicinity as well.'

They looked up at the mountain. The beacon was still burning brightly, and even from this distance they could distinctly make out the three pointed shapes. The mountain, however, looked even bigger in the dark.

'Good gods, did we really climb that?' said Gern.

'I'm afraid so,' said Roland, chuckling. 'But it was worth it.'

'Definitely,' said Kaelyn.

'It's perfect,' said Strein, meaning the beacon. 'Good idea, Roland. That'll bring Morzan back here, sure as fate.'

But Morzan did not return that night, and nor did he come back on the day that followed it. When they woke that morning the beacon was still lit, visible even in daylight, and Roland assured them that it would stay lit more or less forever. 'Used up a good chunk of my energy, but it was worth it,' he said. 'And now all we can do is wait and hope.'

And wait they did, for the next three days.

Food quickly became a major concern. The dragons went to hunt for whatever game they could find, and brought back the carcasses of a pair of white deer. The animals were thin and their meat was stringy, but they were enough to sustain them for a time. Roland insisted that they use every part of them, including the organs, much to the disgust of his companions. 'It looks nasty, but there isn't much choice,' he told them. 'Besides which, you can't live on meat alone, and a deer's liver has properties that are good for your health. Just hold your nose and eat it is my advice.'

They supplemented it with some edible lichen that Strein found, and drank melted snow when the water ran out. It was enough to get by on, but it wouldn't last. Sooner or later they would have to leave. But where they would go they had no idea.

Kaelyn and Tuomas sat together by the fire on the morning of the third day, practising the spell that would create light. Roland was dozing with his back to a rock, Strein was stitching up a hole in her tunic, and Gern had gone for a stroll. Sartago, Ithír and Leahdorus were perched on the mountaintop around the beacon, keeping watch.

It was a little warmer today, and patches of blue were showing here and there through the clouds. Roland had dryly speculated if this meant it was spring, but the idea that it could ever be warm here was frankly preposterous. Most of them had come to dislike the North, but Kaelyn found a kind of beauty about it, harsh though it was. So this was where Galbatorix's people had come from. Somewhere out here his dragon had died. Somewhere amid this icy wilderness, he had stepped over the line from ordinary rider to the Great Betrayer. Or had been pushed.

Kaelyn made another attempt at summoning up light. It worked once again, and she concentrated on making it brighter. For a while it worked, but something distracted her and the spell broke. She muttered irritably and looked up in time to see Gern return to the camp. He was moving quickly but quietly, and as she watched he went to Strein and crouched by her, muttering something in her ear. Strein got up sharply, looking up at the sky, and then hurried over to Roland, shaking him awake.

Kaelyn stood up, her heart beating faster. 'What is it?' she said.

Tuomas had noticed what was going on. 'What's up?' he said, ignoring the yellow glow around his hands.

Roland woke up, and Strein pointed at the sky. 'Look,' she told him quietly.

Roland did not miss the urgency in her voice. He stood up, peering at the clouds. Kaelyn went to Gern. 'What's going on?' she demanded. 'What are they looking at?' She followed their gazes but couldn't see anything.

'Someone's coming,' said Gern. 'Leahdorus saw them.'

Kaelyn's heart skipped a beat. She reached out for Sartago with her mind. 'Sartago? What's going on?'

'Someone's coming,' the grey dragon answered. 'Dragons.'

'Dragons?' Kaelyn repeated, fear gripping her around the throat. 'Which ones? How many? Is it Morzan?'

'I don't know,' said Sartago. 'There's three of them… too far away to tell what colour they are.'

The others had been informed of what was going on. 'What are we going to do?' Gern exclaimed. 'Should we run?'

'No,' Strein said harshly. 'Don't panic, Gern. Stay calm. We don't know if this is an attack.'

'We need to ascertain who they are,' said Roland. 'And until we know that, we must assume this is an attack. Kaelyn, Gern, Tuomas, call your dragons back, double time. Strein, we'd better prepare to fight. In fact, all of us had better prepare.' Keth came to him, and he picked up his sword and got onto her back. 'All right,' he said. 'Keth and I will go to the top of the mountain. We can attack them in the air from there if we have to. Strein, you take care of the kids.'

'"Kids"?' Tuomas repeated indignantly.

'You heard him,' said Strein. 'Stay close to me and do as I tell you, understood?'

'I understand,' said Kaelyn. She drew her sword and stood close to Strein's side, and Gern and Tuomas joined her. Moments later Sartago, Ithír and Leahdorus arrived, and Roland wished them good luck and departed. Keth alighted on the mountain's top and settled down there to wait.

On the ground, Talziri stood himself behind Strein, protecting her with his large brown wings. Strein drew her own sword. 'All right,' she said. 'If they attack us, get to shelter. Stay among the trees or the rocks; don't go out in the open. If the worst happens, don't try and run – you won't get far. Just find somewhere to hide and lay low until it's safe. If you have to, bury yourselves in the snow. Understood?'

'We get it,' Gern said gloomily. 'Run, hide, keep safe, be kids.'

'That's enough,' said Strein, uncharacteristically sharp. 'You're not fully trained, and until then you'll do as I tell you. Galbatorix entrusted you to me, and I consider it my duty to protect you. If you don't do as you're commanded, I'll consider that betraying both me and him. Understand?'

'I understand,' said Kaelyn, gripping her sword. 'But if I can't get away, I'll fight.'

Strein nodded. 'Yes. If there's no other option, fight.'

They waited there by the fire, poised for action. If the trees had been thicker they might have tried to hide themselves among them, but there was little point in that – Talziri was simply too large.

The time dragged out and nothing happened. But they were soon able to see the oncoming dragons from the ground. There were indeed three, not too far apart in size, and all of them looked dark from this distance.

When they were close enough, Keth suddenly roared from the mountaintop. The noise echoed off the mountain, carrying far over the snowfield. A few moments later, the foremost of the three oncoming dragons roared back.

Strein looked mortified. 'What the hell are they playing at?' she muttered. 'Just tell them exactly where we are, why don't you?'

Keth and the strange dragon exchanged a further series of roars, and still the intruders drew closer and closer. And then, at long last, when they were close enough, Kaelyn saw the one in front clearly and realised that it was black with white wings.

'It's Shruikan!' she yelled.

Strein lowered her sword. 'Oh my gods – Shruikan! I knew I recognised that roar!'

They grinned and sheathed their swords, relaxing and spreading out ready to meet Shruikan.

As the black dragon descended, they could see it was him. And Galbatorix was sitting on his back.

Shruikan landed with a thump at the edge of the camp, sending up a shower of snow. Galbatorix grinned at them from his back. 'Sorry I'm late! I've been taking care of some things.'

They ran to meet him, all their apprehension utterly gone. Galbatorix undid the straps holding his legs in place and fell sideways off Shruikan's back, landing with a thump and a stream of dark elvish swearwords. Strein and Tuomas helped him up, and he stood, shaking the snow off his robe. 'Damn! Hello, Kaelyn.'

Kaelyn ran to him and hugged him. 'I knew you were all right!' she cried. 'I knew it.'

Galbatorix patted her a little awkwardly. 'I was hoping for it too. It's good to see you, Kaelyn. And you, Strein, and you Gern, and you, Tuomas. But where's Morzan? And Tranah?'

Roland rejoined them at this moment, at about the same time as the other two dragons that had accompanied Shruikan landed not far away. One of them was about Shruikan's size and had rough, wheat-coloured scales. The other was an exquisite shade of apple-green with sky-blue eyes. The two riders dismounted and came forward, a little hesitantly, taking their places on either side of Galbatorix, as if they were his bodyguards.

Roland looked at one of them, and gasped. 'Oh my gods – it's you!'

The rider, a woman with flame-red hair, started. 'Roland!' she ran to meet him, and the two of them embraced.

'Galbatorix, where the hell have you been?' Strein said bemusedly. 'And who are these people?'

'The two newest members of the Forsworn, of course,' said Galbatorix. 'Strein, Gern, Tuomas, Kaelyn, meet Orwynee. As you can see, she's already met Roland.'

Orwyne, the red-haired woman, turned toward them, grinning. 'Of course I do,' she said, coming toward them and politely extending a hand. 'Orwyne Redwyn, of Dras-Leona. I'm honoured to meet you.'

Strein shook her hand. 'The honour is all mine. How do you know Roland?'

'He was my master a long time ago,' said Orwyne. 'He taught me everything I know. Eh, Roland?'

'Well,' said Roland. 'I may have passed on a thing or two, you know, every now and then. I won't say I didn't enjoy it.'

Orwyne nudged him in the ribs. 'Same as always, eh? I can't say I could ever imagine you running off to become a rebel, but it just goes to show you still know how to surprise me.'

'Indeed,' said Roland. He turned his gaze on the second rider, who had watched all this in silence. 'Now then, young man… may I ask your name?'

The second rider was small and thin, but wiry. His skin was a rich shade of brown, and he had fine black hair and dark eyes. He looked a little uncertain, but he was polite enough when he said; 'My name is Vander. Vander of… Hadarac.'

'You're a desert person?' said Roland, surprised. 'Well I never.'

'It wasn't always a desert,' said Galbatorix. 'Shall we get settled and begin with the explanations? I've a feeling there's some stories to be told.'

'Just as you say, sir,' said Roland.