Chapter 34 – To Fight Fire with Fire
Arya's lips were dry and chapped from the cold. Behind her, Elva showed signs of discomfort, with the way her fingers quivered when grabbing the back Arya's cloak.
Fírnen had been flying in immense speed for five days, boosted by the energy spared by the Eldunarí, only stopping a few times for a quick rest. Behind him, the other dragons fought the cold wind with the same bravery. They left the hot summer of the east to enter the balanced climate of Du Weldenvarden just to be hit by the forever cold of the frozen north. The trees there were hardened, and the eternal winter and the ground had been covered in snow for as long as Alagaësia had held intelligent life or even before that.
How long until we get to the fires? Runalla asked mentally. She had a velvety voice, right for lullabies and bedtime stories, Arya thought.
A few hours I believe, Fírnen said, but we will make a stop before so we can better prepare. We will let you know.
Runalla agreed and retreated from their minds.
It wasn't long until they found a stream of frozen waters deep in the forest. Fírnen started the descent, followed shortly by his fellow dragons.
Arya wiped a boulder clean with one hand and opened a small map of Alagaësia on top of it. The Riders gathered around her as she bent forward and pointed at the extreme northwest of Du Weldenvarden. Elva kept a vigilant distance from the group.
"The fire was first spotted somewhere around here by Saphira. The Eldunarí gave us instructions of battling the fire only, not the magicians, so if you see them running, let them go."
Amara was the first one to speak, even faster than Renir, who already had his forehead creased in disbelief.
"It's our duty to bring them to justice!"
"I know what our duty is, Amara. But right now, we don't know the extent of their capabilities, it would be imprudent of us to fight them without that kind of knowledge."
"So, we just let them walk free?" Renir asked looking disgusted with the idea.
Arya sighed tired and stood upright to face him.
"For now. And you won't have to do it, for I'm placing you on the rearguard, while Fírnen and I take Amara and Norfir, Fildr and Inqen further north. You will be responsible for putting out the fire. The rest of the Riders will be under your command. Can you handle it?"
Renir was ready to defy her orders until he heard the word command. Arya knew he wasn't a natural leader and preferred to study and research, but since Eragon had decided to build Renir for leadership, he had been taking all the right opportunities to prove his worth. She knew he would never let his master down by refusing to lead when it was required of him.
It looks like you said the right thing to make him give up the fight. Fírnen said.
I've been learning, have I not?
Indeed. The council meetings have turned you into a sharp negotiator.
It's only been twenty years, after all. Arya almost smiled in sarcasm.
Renir gave the smallest step back possible and bent his head.
"As you wish, master."
"Good. Now, pay attention, all of you."
They gathered around her again so she could discuss the last details of the mission. When they all had their assignments, they worked on their protective spells and mental wards. Arya insisted that they closed their minds even to their partners and communicated verbally if needed. She could see the pairs of fearful eyes looking at each other, being alone in their heads for the first time in a situation of danger. It was a daunting feeling even for her, the emptiness, the silence, but it was needed, there was no other way.
"When I say the word, you all close your minds, no exceptions, you hear me?" The Riders nodded. "We should go now. Good luck."
Arya approached Elva.
"You don't have to go with me. You can stay back, with Renir."
Elva rolled her eyes and headed in Fírnen's direction.
"You brought me here already, haven't you? I might as well follow you into the fire, what difference does it make. Besides, I will never have my dragon if you die here today."
Maybe dying here today would be good for something after all. Arya wiped those morbid thoughts from her head and followed Elva.
Back on their saddles and up to the sky, it didn't take long until they saw the smoke battling the heavy clouds that covered the frozen forest. It contrasted with the white of the trees and ground.
Fírnen glided over the burning forest. The flames were impressive, and the cold air soon became unbearably hot. The smell made her lungs constrict and her eyes tear up. It was too much, and even with the protective spells she had cast on herself, Arya kept suffering the effects of the intense heat. She gritted her teeth when she watched the trees becoming vivid red to turn completely black and dead after that. They had been burning for days. It broke her heart. How could someone even consider doing that to the forest and its beings? How could someone have so much disregard for life in the world? It was inexcusable.
Arya wiped her eyes with the back of her gloved hand and reached Fírnen's mind.
Go around, Fírnen. It's too hot!
Fírnen took a steep turn to the right, and Arya looked back to watch the other dragons do the same. Arya extended her mind to touch Renir's.
Close your mind to Vance and tell the others to do the same. This is our last contact. Do you have any doubts regarding the plan?
No, master. We are ready to go.
We will see you soon.
After that, she felt alone in her head. Completely alone. Arya patted on Fírnen's neck to let him know she was flying with him, flowing her movements to follow his. She fortified her mental walls and intensified the hypnotic music that could transform a man into a puddle. Instinctively, she looked back at the pocket in space that held the Eldunarí without seeing anything except a faint ripple in the air that faded in a second. Even if she couldn't see them, she knew they were there and they were vigilant of them all, ready to fight. She wondered if they were connected to the ones in Mount Arngor, showing the ones there all that was happening to them.
Encircling the fire, Fírnen and Arya found no trace of the magicians, so they kept heading north. Renir and Vance flew over the burning area to evaluate the extent of the damage, while Amara and Norfir, Fildr and Inqen followed north with her. The rest began fighting the fire with magic under Renir's command. Arya imagined that the burning area was about a square mile, but it could be more, she wasn't sure.
The three pairs of Riders and dragons flew for a while until the fire was just a weak thread around a clearing. It was empty, so Fírnen descended toward the opening in the woods. Inqen hovered above the clearing to keep guard, but Norfir joined Fírnen on the ground.
"Look for any signs of the magicians," Arya instructed Amara as they armed themselves and dismounted. Elva slid off the saddle and grabbed the hilt of her sword tight. It was clear for Arya that she was afraid. Understandable but also satisfying.
The odd girl became Arya's shadow, hiding under her shield.
Amara nodded and flicked her blue eyes around the area. The dirt was stomped like it had been the perfect site for camping of a small group.
"It's fresh," Amara said in her habitual whispered voice, "the footprints are recent. They must be..."
"WATCH OUT!" Elva screamed at the top of her lungs and tackled Arya to the ground.
A big ball of fire hit Amara on the chest and sent her several feet away.
It took an instant for Arya to process what had happened, but as soon as she saw the Rider fallen on the floor, she got up and ran to her with Támerlein already in her left hand and her shield on the other one. Fírnen and Norfir roared and stood on their hind legs to appear bigger, prepared to fight the invisible threat coming from between the trees.
Amara rolled on the ground to Arya's confusion, but she soon recognized that the Rider was trying to put out the fire from her clothes. It was a ball of energy that had hit her in the breastplate and caused it to ignite in flames. It was clear that the attack was intended to hit Arya instead. It made a shiver run through her scalp to think Elva had saved her from getting hurt.
When Arya knelt to help her, the fire seemed out already. Amara gasped and widened her eyes.
"It went right through my wards," Amara said in panic, struggling to get up.
Arya caught her hand and helped her up. The attack was weak, but that kind of magic didn't respect the laws of the Ancient Language. Amara had shielded herself with the most powerful wards she knew, they all did the same, still, it wasn't enough. She was right to be afraid.
"There, I can see someone!" Fildr shouted from Inqen's saddle.
"Do not engage! Do you hear me?" Arya shouted back, "Do not engage!"
"But they engaged first!"
"Fildr, do not attack!"
Arya watched the dwarf cursing but retreating to the ground, where they all formed a circle, their swords and shields in hands.
"Amara, are you all right?"
"I am, master. It didn't pierce my leather armor; it just burned the coat around it."
Arya nodded in relief and looked around. The logs sizzling to their sides were the only sound they could hear. There were no signs of a living soul near them.
"How many? Are they close?" Arya asked Elva.
Elva's eyes were widened and unfocused, as she was trying to figure something out.
"I had sensed only one before, targeting you. But now there's no one. He must be on the move."
"We are easy bait on the clearing when they have us in view, we need to take flight, fast," Fildr said in a hushed voice, his lips barely moving inside his thick red beard.
"It's only one, we can take him," said Amara.
Elva shook her head, "I sensed only the one who attacked, it can be more."
Fildr was right, they couldn't stay any longer, they should leave, just as the Eldunarí had instructed. Fight the fire, not the magicians.
"Go one by one," Arya commanded. "Amara and Norfir, you go first. Head south, toward Renir and the others."
Amara jumped on Norfir's back and he leaped to flap his wings and fly away.
"Now, you go," she said to Fildr.
He didn't wait for a second incentive and with Inqen he followed the other two heading south.
Arya still looked around once more before placing her shield on Fírnen's saddle and mounting. Fight the fire, not the magicians. They will flee when they see you. But they wanted to fight her, not flee. Not the others, her. Why would that be?
"Go, Fírnen, but don't go south, we need to give them time to work on the fire."
Fírnen couldn't respond due to their closed link, but if he could she was sure he would have agreed with her. But she also knew he shared the same thirst for justice.
"No! What are you doing?" questioned Elva.
"I need to distract the attacker."
"But you just said that you were instructed to let them go."
Arya ran the conversation she had with the Eldunarí inside her head. She knew she would be defying their orders if she followed the attacker and she had promised them she wouldn't. However, he intrigued her. Why would he hit her with such a weak attack? If he wished to hurt her or even kill her, he should have done better.
"I won't follow. I will distract him."
Elva narrowed her eyes but didn't reply. They mounted on the saddle in silence.
Fírnen gained altitude quickly and soon they were on the track, following the direction of Amara's attacker. It wasn't long until Arya saw a black dot moving through the trees.
"There! Dive!" Arya shouted to Fírnen, who didn't wait a second more to commence his descent toward the ground.
Arya felt the wind almost pulling her out of the saddle, so she held on to it. About ten feet high Fírnen steadied the course of flight to be at a horizontal position. Before he did, though, he gave her a slight signal with his head. She knew what it meant; she should jump. As a catapult, his body worked to boost her movement forward over his head before achieving the parallel position. Elva should find something else to grab that wasn't Arya's cloak.
Arya flew several feet forward, and while on air she spun to face the hooded figure. When she landed, one hand on the ground, the other clutching Támerlein, the figure halted. Arya hissed and stood straight. Above their heads, Fírnen circled and spat a big column of fire to the clouds.
The enemy raised his right hand, which made Arya's grip even tighter around her sword's hilt. Slowly, the person removed the hood to reveal the harmonious features of a young human man.
"Tell me who are you and why did you attack me," Arya ordered in a firm and loud voice.
The man didn't seem afraid, nor willing to comply. It made a bitter taste come to Arya's mouth, to think he was ready to face her sword just to avoid being questioned.
"I will ask one last time. Who…"
"I heard you the first time, your majesty," he was calm and respectful. It didn't make her less watchful. "But I cannot follow your demand."
"So we reached an impasse."
"I don't think it's an impasse at all, your majesty. You wish to kill me, and I'm ordered to try to do the same to you, as I tried before but failed. I believe we are in agreement here."
His fists glowed in red.
Arya knew what was coming. She couldn't be soft now.
"Ordered? Who ordered you to kill me?"
The young man gave her a wicked smile.
"This is not the time for words."
Arya raised her hands in a sign of peace.
"That's all I want. Words. You say them and then go. I won't follow."
He squinted and creased his forehead. She was negotiating, and he wanted what she had offered.
"I… I can't," he said.
Arya stepped ahead just the slightest.
"Why is that? Have you made an oath to someone?" He nodded. "I can rid you of it, and you shall be free."
His face lit up.
"Can you?"
Arya stepped forward again.
"I can. Would you like me to do it?"
The man looked around as he was afraid of someone watching them. He finally let the light of his palms die out.
"Yes, I would. Rid me of my promise, your majesty."
Arya breathed in relief. She murmured the Word to erase his oath from the fabric of the world and felt the air changing around them for an instant. Whatever had to happen was done.
"There. Try it. Who ordered you to kill me?"
She watched the words forming in his tongue and dying inside his mouth. He tried again, and again he failed. He widened his eyes.
"It should have worked!" She said.
The young man was desperate. He looked around again, his face glistening with sweat. Arya feared he would take a wrong decision, so she decided to arm herself against him.
As she reached for her magic to shield herself, two balls of red energy came her way at an incredible speed. It was fast enough to catch her before she could avoid it. Knowing her wards would probably fail her, as it happened to Amara, Arya only had time to raise Támerlein in a reflex. Her magic acted instinctively and deflected the attack. Her intentions guided the energy to form a green dome around her, coming from Támerlein. She felt a drop in her energy level that was quickly replaced by the Eldunarí.
It was easy. Too easy.
He knew she could defend herself, so why did he attack?
She decided not to let the fight last long enough for it to be hard.
"Run now, or I will have to fight back," she said and stepped forward again.
He stepped back as they were connected.
"There's nothing I can do, your majesty. I can't go back to her, and I can't tell you what you wish to hear. Let's finish this."
He prepared to attack once more, but she was faster.
Arya's attack wasn't as predictable as his, and her magic hit him in the chest and threw him backward until he hit a tree and fell sitting on the hard ground. She walked to him as Fírnen landed behind her to watch her rear.
The young man had his eyes closed and his head hanging to the side. A stream of blood ran down his neck and shoulder. Arya poked his chest with the round tip of Támerlein to see his body falling to the ground as he breathed deeply, fighting for air. When he rolled to the side, she could see his skull cracked open in the back. He was on the verge of death. She felt bad for he was suffering more than she intended.
"Alive," she said to Fírnen, "but barely."
He nodded and walked toward the body. Elva jumped to the ground and walked away. Arya sensed his mood and went to stand by Elva's side. She wanted to turn her head not to see like Elva was doing but forced herself to watch. His savagery was part of who he was, a small part, but still, she thought it was her duty to witness. Arya might have forgiven the man, but Fírnen never would.
Fírnen came closer to the almost dead man, sniffed his bloodied clothes, stepped back and threw his head to the air. He opened his mouth and from his throat, a flux of fire started and was released. A faint growl was all that Arya could hear coming from the man, and in five seconds, his body was completely torched.
Fírnen ended the fire and sat on the ground, waiting for Arya and Elva to mount.
She breathed in the air that smelled of smoky flesh. It made her sick to her stomach, but she forced herself to hold its content.
"Let's go meet the others," she said and joined him to fly away.
The fire was out when she arrived at the site they had agreed to meet. All was left was the smoke escaping the fuming black logs. They gathered again and flew south to the safety of the civilized Du Weldenvarden. Before they could arrive at the first scouting post of the elves, a few miles north of the Röna Lake, they stopped to spend the night.
Renir and Avelina had cleared a space on the ground and laid down a few blankets so they all could sit by the fire started by Golak, the urgal Rider. Thom cooked a vegetable stew, and that was how they rested in the evening.
"What happened? You disappeared and wouldn't come back." Avelina said to Arya as Fildr passed her a flask of mead to help with the cold.
She breathed heavily to prepare for that conversation. Earlier, Arya had retrieved the Eldunarí from their invisible pocket and placed them on the blanket. Their silence was disconcerting, so she let them be, being alone in her mind only with Fírnen's consciousness touching hers once they had reconnected.
"I went after the attacker to distract him from you."
Renir and Avelina traded serious looks, and even Amara seemed upset. Thom and Golak diverted their attention to the stew that was boiling on the fire. Elva had gone to sit by herself several feet away from the group and watched them with uninterested eyes.
It was Fildr who reacted first, too disrespectfully for Arya's taste.
"You told me not to engage. How could you contradict your own orders?"
A bright and old voice reverberated in their heads. It was a female dragon whose voice Arya had never heard before. She had been the bonded partner of an elf born many centuries before and killed a few years before the Fall. Unfortunately, Arya couldn't remember any of their names. She even suspected she had never learned it.
Watch your tongue, child. She might have taken a questionable choice, but she is still your elder.
Fildr looked down to his feet and scratched his beard nervously.
"It wasn't my intention to offend you, master. I'm sorry."
Arya simply tipped her head to him and said, "I am the one to be sorry, Fildr. You are right to question me when you see that I do what you consider wrong. What happened was that I really wanted to divert his attention from you, since you don't have the training he had. Also, I needed to know why he attacked us being alone and so underprepared."
"And did you find out why?"
Arya accepted the flask from Avelina and took a sip.
"I have my theories. He was under coercion, that was clear. I imagine he was forced to attack at all costs even if he didn't have the capabilities."
"Coercion by an oath?" Renir asked.
Arya nodded, "But not in the Ancient Language. I guess it's something similar to the Order's Oath."
Arya could almost touch the discomfort they were all feeling. It was clear in their faces and the way they froze in place, and it had nothing to do with the cool night air.
Similar but not the same. The Eldunarí spoke and her lilac stone shone brighter than the others on the blanket. The Order's Oath is constructed by our magic and it's unique. That boy must have pledged himself using his native tongue but bound by speechless magic, by the force of intention.
"Would he be strong enough to create such a powerful spell?" Renir asked.
Oh, it wasn't him, that's very clear. Someone powerful bound him to his words, and if we don't know exactly what are the intentions behind it, it will be impossible to break the oath. That's why I urge you once more, don't go looking for them. You have the support of dozens of us and two fierce leaders, so let us figure out all that we can before engaging the enemy. For now, rest, tomorrow you fly back to the safety of the elven cities.
After that, they ate in silence and retreated to the warmth of their dragons to sleep. Arya, however, stayed awake for a little longer. She was feeling guilty for defying her masters' instructions, but most of all she felt bothered about the young magician she and Fírnen fought.
You gave him a choice, Arya. Rest.
I cannot. And I don't think he had a choice, Fírnen.
If she wouldn't come to him, Fírnen would go to her. He nestled by her, nudging her to lie on him, so she did.
Because of the oath?
Yes. I wonder if all those magicians had come north by their own will or if they were forced. Kidnapped, maybe. What if they are all young people who got lost from their homes and are used by that powerful spellcaster? And how many of them are there? They were sighted on the northwest where they attacked the Lord of Ceunon, now they are on the northeast. It could be thousands of young people, coerced to do evil deeds. What if we killed an innocent, Fírnen?
I killed no innocent. He was trying to attack you, he said proudly.
You know what I mean.
Fírnen placed his head on the ground and gave her a side look.
What I know is that you are not going to solve this puzzle tonight. In the morning we will go home and decide there what to do next. In fact, we already know what to do, we received Eragon's orders to train the Riders, so that's what we are going to do next.
Arya massaged a painful spot on her right temple.
All right. We will follow his orders.
Good. Now rest.
Eragon came to himself just as Fírnen's fire finished torching the young magician. He blinked to get used to the shiny colors of the Eldunarí and sat back leaning against Saphira's shoulder. In his head, only one thought kept pounding his mind, how he wanted to be there fighting those threats.
She defied our recommendations. Saphira commented.
"I suspected she would. She looked at me the way she does when I say something she doesn't like."
I have never taken her as a rebel.
Eragon laughed.
"No? She rebelled against her mother's demands to join a resistance group. Isn't it rebellious enough for you?"
You may be right, but she refused to keep her promise to Umaroth. It's unlike her to break a promise.
"A promise with which she didn't agree. She bent the language like she brilliantly does. Let her be, Saphira."
I imagined you would be angrier.
Eragon stood up and stretched his back with his hands in the air.
"My anger won't change anything. Arya will always do what she thinks is best, there's nothing I can do about it, except to let her make her own decisions, that I have to trust will be the right ones in the end."
Saphira followed Eragon outside the Hall of Colors and down the stairs to the dining hall. On the way, she concluded that if the roles were swapped and Eragon were on Arya's place, he would've done worse with the rebellious behavior, and in that sense, Arya and Eragon looked like the perfect reflexes of each other. She also said that she would be surprised if the person Dusan was supposed to meet in Du Weldenvarden turned out to be involved with the mysterious spellcaster that floated on air with glowing hands. Saphira said it so casually that it made Eragon stop and look at her with questioning eyes.
What? I thought you had the same impression.
"It's too much, don't you think, to mobilize an entire army of magicians just to kill Arya?"
An army to defeat a monarch? I believe we've done something similar in our time.
"But she's not a tyrant. She could be defeated politically, there's no need for the use force."
Someone will always think of us as the tyrant of their world. We just don't know who.
Eragon shook his head. The plot of his life was getting thicker and thicker with time, just when he thought he couldn't get any farther from the epicenter of intrigue in Alagaësia. That name seemed to be only a convention, after all. Who would know?
A.N: Hello! Sorry it took me so long. I got distracted by the holidays, family, traveling, and all that. Also, this chapter was a difficult one. And I think I don't like it. It is needed, but I won't look back at it with pride. I don't know...
This month we reached 100 favorites here on FFN. It's a number I never thought I would achieve, so thank you very much for helping me getting there. You are the best readers! Thank you for reviewing as well. I have replied to each one of the reviews in PM, so check your inbox, since the notifications for PM are no longer coming by email. To the guest reviewers, my sincere apologies for not communicating with you the way I wished to. Your comments are always welcome. Keep them coming, and if you want me to address you in a note or answer any of your questions, let me know.
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