A/N: I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has read/reviewed/followed this story. I wanted to make sure you know that I see you, and I'm grateful. I hope you continue to enjoy.

Finding a sense of normalcy after the last few weeks was a testament to Hal's struggle with self-control. During the next few days, she kept busy helping out in the fields or watching the younger children with some of the women, like Sarah and Mai. She hunted her meals for Denu and herself as always, did her chores with impeccable perfection, and maintained her life as if nothing disruptive had happened.

But at night…at night, she felt obsessive. It wasn't just with images of the dragon or memories of her brief conversations with the rider — whose note she read under the dim lighting of the moon on several occasions. It was the fact that they had reminded her that there was so much more out there. Another world, one she had never stepped foot on before. She had a map in her room, somewhere amongst her stack of books. Yet she had never found the courage to leave her quaint little island, the new home she had made for herself. And how could she leave Denu, or the children, or her friends? She would be alone. She wasn't quite sure she was ready for that.

And yet the rider, Murtagh, a complete stranger, believed in her. Had put hope and fire in her heart that she had forgotten. More of the world deserves to be captured by someone like you. The words made her flush with something akin to pride.

Of course, she kept his words to herself. She and Denu were still barely on speaking terms after her outburst towards the village leaders. And while she didn't like the silence, she stood by her words, regardless of what anyone thought. But she listened to them, and to the rider, and held her ground, waiting. Hoping that nothing would happen that would prove her right.

But then again, she had a nasty habit of never being wrong.

And near the end of the week, a week after the rider had left, life as she knew it shifted on the island. She was watching the children again, which she was content with doing, along with a few other older women. It was after lunch, so the full bellies combined with the warm day made the children lethargic and sleepy, which was easy work for the adults. Some played lazily in the river, splashing each other or digging in the mud. Others napped in the shade. Hal herself was entertaining a small group with a daring story of how she had rescued the dragon and his rider from the clutches of fearsome sea monster. She embellished certain parts to drag the story out, but they didn't need to know that.

"And then what happened?" Layla demanded, leaning forward with such enthrallment that Hal had to fight to compose her laughter, not wanting to break the stern look on her face that she used to tell her story.

"And then, I took the rider's fallen sword up and grasped it tightly, standing before the Nïdhwal with a look of determination. Never before had I faced such a dreadful foe, but before he could attack, that's when Thorn suddenly burst forth from the ocean and —"

She paused, having looked up briefly and what she saw gave her pause. At first, she couldn't make sense of what she was seeing, but when an image began to form she felt her blood run cold.

"Hal, don't leave us like this, the suspense is killing me!"

Hal looked back down, her chest tight as she tried to keep her voice level. "Sorry lovelies, I just remembered something important. Come along, let's go to Mia and the others."

She ignored their loud protest, ushering them along quickly, hoping they wouldn't turn around and see what she had. The other women looked up, watching Hal with confused faces until she carefully moved her gaze to what was just beyond them.

They needed no further encouragement.

"Come along, loves," Sarah crooned, taking a group back towards the woods. "That's it, move along."

To Mia, Hal said in a low voice, "Find Mennes, then find Denu and tell him to gather the village leaders. See to it that someone finds Ophelia. Don't tell her anything, just bring her to Mennes' hut as soon as you're able."

"Be careful, Halen," Mia said in a low voice, looking frightfully over her shoulder.

"Just watch out for the children, I'll be fine."

Hal pretended to gather a few leftover supplies so the little ones didn't question why she wasn't coming with them. When she was sure they were out of sight, she grabbed her bow and arrows and took off running. Her heart was in her throat, fear and desperation forcing their way up.

When she finally reached him, he was already on the ground, barely conscious. "Eli! Eli, look at me. Oh please, wake up. Wake up!"

He was mumbling incoherently, his eyes fluttering rapidly underneath his lids. She stared in horror at the bloody stump where his left hand should've been. She could not find any other life-threatening injuries, but he was badly bruised and covered in small cuts, likely from thorns and sharp branches. His lips were cracked and bleeding from dehydration.

"Hal," he rasped, gaining a brief moment of clarity.

"Yes, Eli, I'm here. Tell me what happened. Was it a lovuk? Where are the others?"

"Evil. It was…pure evil." His eyes welled with tears, frightened as he gazed off into the distance, seeing something Hal could not. "We didn't stand a chance. The others — lost. Taken. I don't—"

He closed his eyes, slipping into unconsciousness, and Hal was unaware that she was shaking. Amon, Sam, Ayo, and Cado. She couldn't understand how something like this had happened. They were some of the most capable hunters and trackers in the village. Hal had watched them take on lovuk like it was nothing. She had learned everything about survival in this forest from them. What else could possibly catch them so off guard that not even Eli had a name for it?

And then she remembered the mysterious print.

Dammit all. She pressed her forehead to his chest, fighting the sobs of panic that threatened to take her. She couldn't lose it. Not here, not now. Eli was still breathing, still fighting. She needed to get him to Mennes. One thing at a time.

But she was done sitting around.

…

It took Mennes a few hours, but he got Eli's stump to stop bleeding and his fever came down a bit. Ophelia looked positively stricken with grief, and many wives came to her for moral support. But for the families of the men who were missing — there were no words anyone could speak. Hal herself could barely stomach looking at the children, many of whom wore confused expressions and tear-stained faces, their mothers sitting silently, trying to remain strong. Hal couldn't even look at Tena, whose expression remained dry, but soft and compassionate for her children.

Hal began packing her bag that night, gathering her supplies and medicines like she would if she were hunting. On her cot, she laid on all the weapons she could carry: her bow and arrow on her back, the dagger in her boot, two at her side, and one for the belt around her thigh. Very rarely did she have to go out so heavily armed, but she had no idea what she was up against, and she would take any weapon she could carry. They were all recently sharpened, and she stared at them with a numbness in her heart.

"How soon do you leave?"

She didn't turn as Denu's voice rang out from her open door. "First thing in the morning. Were you able to find any others to come with me and help?"

He made a small sound and Hal turned to find him hunched over, his shoulders shaking as tears racked his body. So that would be a no then. Her entire demeanor softened as she walked over to him, taking his face in her hands and placing her forehead against his. "I will come home," she said in a low voice. "To you. And I will bring my friends back with me. I can't sit here any longer if they need help."

"I know, I know. My brave, sweet girl."

She held him tightly, wishing she could say something to ease his pain. She knew he hated this, hated when she put herself at risk like this. All they had was each other, and the threat of losing that weighed heavily for both of them.

There was a soft knock on the door and they pulled apart, Denu bidding the visitor to come in. Eren, Mennes' apprentice and Amon's eldest peered in, looking exhausted and red-eyed from crying. But his voice was steady, having quickly taken over the role as man of the house at just ten-years-old, as he said, "Eli's awake. He wants to talk to you, Hal."

…

Eli did, indeed, look a little better. He was sitting up, an almost-empty bowl of soup in his lap as he took slow sips with his right-hand. He smiled sadly as Hal entered the room, closing the door behind her. She sat at the stool by his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," he admitted, his voice grave and full of remorse.

Hal felt tears burn her eyes and she allowed herself to cry with relief as she said, "I'm so happy you're all right."

"Oh, Hal…" She took his remaining hand in both of her, holding on to it as tightly as he held on to her. "I hate seeing you so upset," he whispered. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"Eli, what happened? You said the others had been lost or taken. By whom?"

His expression became grim and he turned away from her. Hal sat up, wiping her face and studying him carefully. "I shouldn't have said that. Now, no matter what I say, you'll go after them, won't you?"

"You were out of it, my friend. You were hardly coherent enough to realize what you were saying. But regardless, I leave in the morning, with or without your help."

He shook his head. "I wish you wouldn't. What we saw out there…I still don't even know if I believe it yet."

"Just tell me anyway."

He sighed, hanging his head. "I don't…I don't think it was human, Hal. It moved unlike anything we had ever seen. And it was strong. Frightfully so. It was tall. And it bit my hand clean off when I tried to attack it."

"Bit?" Eli's express was growing frightened again, stressed at the thought. Worried he might put added strain on himself, Hal changed the subject. "Where were you when this happened."

"Far north. We had been tracking a herd of lovuk moving unusually through the forest. But then we found these prints…they were huge. We thought, perhaps, they belonged to the dragon, but we followed them anyway, curious. We were ambushed in the night."

"How many?"

"I didn't see. I barely got away," he added, holding up what remained of his left arm. "I don't even quite understand how I made it back. It was like there was a light guiding me here, giving me strength." His face suddenly twisted in pain. "I don't know if the others are even still alive, Hal." Fresh tears flowed from his eyes and Hal felt sick, unable to contain her own emotions at the news. "I abandoned our friends. I left then to die. I'm sorry, Hal. I'm so sorry!"

Eli burst into sobs and Hal moved quickly to embrace him. She cursed whoever had done this to him, to her friends, and locked the anger away to use for later. For now, she cried with him. But she did not yet mourn as he did.

She would save that for later, if it was necessary at all.

…

"I'm telling you, whatever you thought you saw, it's not here."

"Well, I'm telling you, I know it is. The vision I saw was exact. It has to be Illium."

Murtagh pinched the bridge of his nose, tired of arguing. "Fine, let's say it's on Illium —"

"It is."

"Eragon," Muragh growled warningly.

"Sorry."

"I need more information to go on. An exact location, a description, something. Thorn and I are coming up empty."

"I'm sorry, Murtagh. All I have is what I saw in my dream."

"Right. Explain that to me again."

Eragon sighed, his cheeks flushing pink, because even he knew how ridiculous this all sounded. "It's like I said: there's a little girl, maybe ten or so, who's in danger." Eragon described her in elaborate detail. "I only see her alone and crying. It must be important if she's reaching out for help. The same thing happened —"

"With Arya, I know, I know. But there's no way the village would have allowed me anywhere near the children to get a better look." Murtagh sneered, then he sighed. "This was a wasted effort. And it nearly got Thorn and myself killed."

Eragon's eyes were downcast. "I never intended for that to happen. Murtagh you must know —"

"Yeah, I know, you've already apologized about a dozen times." Granted, Murtagh kept bringing it up about a hundred, so he wasn't sure what he was expecting. Except for Eragon to call off the whole thing and say they were free to leave. Although Murtagh kept forgetting that there was nothing making him stay. Not even his half-brother.

There was a tense pause. Murtagh was grateful that Eragon was able to use his energy to keep the scrying going, because Murtagh's still had not recovered properly. Not after traversing back to where Halen had found him so that he could reclaim his belongings — which, by some unforeseen miracle, had simply sunk to the bottom of the reef. It was still deep, requiring a lot of magic to recover, but he had done it. And he was all the more grateful for it. But he was tired, and this asinine trip was Eragon's idea, let him front the energy for the communications.

"Tell me what you've learned," Eragon said gently.

Murtagh crossed his arms over his chest, speaking in a low voice about the strange behavior in the predators that started around the time Eragon had first contacted him about the dream a few months ago. He referenced the villagers — Halen, although he did not name her specifically — explaining that the behavior was unusual and cause for concern. It was all he had. But Eragon held his chin in his hand, his brow furrowed. "Perhaps you should track those predators instead. That seems like the best lead we have so far."

"Eragon, I did not come all the way out here to risk my neck for some kid I don't know," Murtagh said tightly.

"I know I am asking much of you," Eragon said calmly. "I do — but Murtagh, the last time I had these visions, they led me to Arya. I cannot dismiss them so lightly. If I could go in your stead, I would. Just please…you can go at any time. I cannot stop you. But please, just do a little more digging before you do."

"Fine," Murtagh snapped, breathing like a bull through his nose.

Eragon beamed, and Murtagh wished he could hit his brother though the water he was using as a scrying mirror. "Thank you."

After Eragon ended the connection, Murtagh turned to look at Thorn, who was lying down comfortably in the grass. The sun was high in the sky, their surroundings vibrant and full of life. It was peacefully quiet, the insects buzzing around his head. He fingered the hand-and-a-half sword around his waist, paranoid that it would suddenly disappear on him again.

Are you sure it was wise to keep the truth from him?

Murtagh shook his head. I need more information first. We don't even know what the print belonged to that Halen found. Murtagh was growing frustrated with the entire ordeal. Eragon claims he is still having visions of the girl. I just don't understand why she seems safe in his dreams if he's seeing her because she's in danger. Arya was in a cell, her situation reflected her ask for help. Why doesn't this one? It makes no sense.

But he seems to trust his gut. If the child is in danger, and we are in a position to help, then we should do what we can.

Try not to sound so excited, Thorn.

Perhaps whoever is the cause of all this, plans to strike one of the villages, Thorn suggested, ignoring him. And that's why Eragon is still seeing the child in his dreams. She is still in danger.

It made sense, yet Murtagh was hesitant to return nonetheless. Let's track the wolves for now and see what we can find.