Saphira's wings beat down powerfully, propelling her and her passengers over the brown plains as fast as an arrow from a bow. The sun was setting in the west, and Eragon and Roran shielded their eyes from its brightness. They had been flying for two days now, and tension was thick between them. Soon, very soon, they would be upon Helgrind and its evil inhabitants, the Ra'zac.
They flew for a few more hours, until, in the distance, Eragon spotted something that made his blood boil. Helgrind stood as dark and menacing as ever, its jutting peaks rearing up from the ground like a trident of the gods. The moonlight reflected of its black surface, making it all the more ominous.
Eragon pointed it out to Saphira and she turned away from it, bringing them a safe distance, so they could go there in the morning. Eragon asked Roran if he could see it, but unlike Eragon, he couldn't. Eragon supposed this was do to his transformation, and marveled that he could now see so easily in the night.
Eragon and Saphira kept a vigilant watch over the camp, none feeling any fatigue. Anticipation was coursing through their veins and it took Roran a long time to fall asleep. The night seemed to stretch an eternity, but slowly, inevitably, the moon sunk into the ground, and the sun rose out of its reverie and into the sky.
Roran woke to the sound of Eragon packing away their belongings. They soon decided to leave their belongings at the site, so they wouldn't be hindered.
A few minutes later, they were on Saphira, making their way to the home of the Ra'zac and their evil steeds.
Helgrind was soon upon them, and Saphira flew low towards it, to not be spotted by inhabitants of Dras-Leona, which it was positioned by. Soon though, Eragon heard shouts below him, and looking down, he noticed many travelers on the road, and farmers in their fields all stopping to gape at the sight. Eragon urged Saphira forward, and they were soon upon Helgrind. Saphira swooped upwards, looking for an entrance. She went in and out of the peaks, clueless as to where the entrance was. The twisting spires were confusing, but finally, on the top of the middle most peak, was a ledge that looked large enough to fit two dragons of Saphira's size. She landed gracefully on it. Roran and Eragon quickly dismounted. The black rock was hard and slippery beneath their feet, and Roran stumbled a bit while clambering off of Saphira's back. Once they had regained their footing, they observed the rock wall in front of them. They felt the wall with their hands for some time, before Roran finally found the entrance. The entire wall was so flat, that it was easy to see there was no handle of lever. Roran found, that while pushing on the wall, it moved forward, though slowly. Eragon began to help him push it forward, and then Saphira joined in. The large door revealed a cave, more than large enough for Saphira to enter and even fly through. They walked in slowly, speaking only in a whisper. Eragon noticed that the ground was slowly declining, and that they were on a slope. He pointed this out to his companions.
Soon the decline became steeper, and they had trouble keeping their footing. It was so dark that Eragon and Saphira could hardly see. Finally, they saw lights ahead of them. They grew brighter with each step, and though they wanted to get there, the slope was now so steep that they were afraid to move. Saphira quickly positioned herself in front of them, and they climbed onto her. Once they were secure, she turned around, and flapping her wings, flew them to the light. At the end of the tunnel, glimmering its warmth on the cave walls, the ground simply gave away, and Saphira found herself flying through a great chamber. The light was coming from torches on the walls. Though the light was faint, they shielded their eyes from it until the sight did not sting them.
Eragon looked around the chamber. He saw no sign of the Ra'zac. He wondered if they slept during the daytime, or if they slept at all. He looked back up to the tunnel that they had just flown from. It must be the entrance for their steeds, he thought.
He asked Saphira, 'Where should we go from here?'
Saphira answered, 'We need to find Katrina. She must be in one of the cells here. If she isn't, though, our task will become much more difficult.'
Eragon assured her, 'She is here, I'm sure. Ive seen most of the cells in Uru'baen, and many others – I did not recognize the one she was in. It must be here.'
'I hope so.'
Roran asked Eragon, "Where should we go?"
Eragon spread out his senses, finding all the living beings in Helgrind. He sensed Katrina a few tunnels down from them, in a dark room. He tried to find the Ra'zac, but they must have been elsewhere because he could not.
He gestured to Roran, and they hurried down a dark tunnel, and into another cavern. Not pausing, Eragon led Roran and Saphira through two more tunnels, before entering the correct chamber. Doors lined the small room. Doors, Eragon presumed held the prisoners. Katrina was in the third one to the left. He could sense her clearly, but no other prisoners. He figured that the cells were either unoccupied, or the prisoners had died already.
Taking a calming breath, he raised his right palm to the door lock, and there was a clearly audible click. Roran pushed past him, and wrenched the door open.
Katrina was immobile, her arms clasped over her head, clasped cruelly to a chain fastened to the wall. Her hair was a tangled mess, and there was dried blood on her arms from her wrists, rubbed sore from the metal manacles. Her clothes were shreds, and there streaks on her face from tears, but Roran saw none of this. He ran to her, and embraced her. He heard moan painfully, and her quickly let her go though he kneeled right by her. He tugged at her chains, but they would not break. He yelled at Eragon, "Break these chains! Do it!"
Eragon hurried forward, and said, "Jierda!"
The chains broke apart, and she slumped forward. Roran caught her swiftly and held her to his chest. Though she was hardly conscious, Eragon was sure he heard her utter, "Roran."
Roran cried, "I'm here, I've come. You're safe now."
He lifted her up in his arms, and told Eragon, "Lets leave this cursed place."
Eragon was about to reply, when something strange happened. A loud guttural cry sounded, breaking the stillness of the room. The screech broke through Eragon and gave him a foreign sense of hopelessness. Roran nearly collapsed such was the effect.
It ended leaving Eragon feeling shaken and weak. Saphira reached out with her mind, giving him strength. He thanked her.
He motioned to Roran that they needed to leave. Roran nodded, and they stumbled out of the cell, still feeling disoriented. Saphira led the way through the dark tunnels. Eragon sensed the Ra'zac now. They were in the main chamber, the one they had first entered. Eragon told Saphira, 'Slow down; we must sneak up on them.'
He told Roran in a whisper, "The Ra'zac are around the bend. Stay with Katrina, and Saphira and I'll deal with them. Roran nodded, though he looked like he wanted to argue.
The crept as silently as they could, staying in the shadows, until they reached the entrance. Eragon counted to Saphira, '3… 2… 1… now!'
They ran forward, and into the chamber. Ra'zac were around the fire, and their mounts were over on the other side, tearing some sort of animal apart for food. They were conversing in the strangest dialect Eragon had ever heard. There were clicks and gurgles and strange noises that no human could pronounce.
Eragon had little time to ponder their language, because as soon as they reached the middle of the cavern, the Ra'zac whipped around. When they saw Eragon and Saphira, they quickly called to their mounts. The two great creatures turned their heads, and screeched. They both took off and flew full speed at Saphira.
Eragon told her, 'Good luck!'
Saphira reared her mighty head, and shot a thick tongue of fire at the two beasts. They dodged out of the way, and she took flight after them.
Eragon turned his eyes to the two figures stalking him, their swords drawn and glimmering in the flickering light.
He slowly drew his own blade, and poised himself for an attack. It came at once. The two Ra'zac leaped at him slicing their swords through the air fiercely. He dodged one, and parried the other, spinning around to meet them again. They whirled around the chamber, sparks flying, and loud clanks of metal on metal sounding every second. Eragon looked over to the place Roran was hiding, and was glad to see he had remained there. Eragon, suddenly struck by his own stupidity, was about to utter a spell, when he smelt the most acrid odor. The Ra'zac's breath was their most potent weapon.
He faltered, nearly being impaled by one of the Ra'zac's swords. Their breath had made him sluggish, slow. He felt tired, and it was a struggle to move. The Ra'zac's blows seemed much faster and stronger than before. Had he been more human, he would have been paralyzed. Backing away, Eragon tripped over a stone. He fell onto his back, and was about to say a spell in the Ancient Language, when he smelt again, the foul breath. He called out, 'Saphira! I need help!' But she couldn't come to him, fighting her own fierce battle with her formidable enemies.
Eragon lifted his sword to defend himself, but it was knocked out of his hand. He felt so weak. One of the Ra'zac lifted his sword for the final blow, when an object came hurtling out of a shadowy tunnel.
The hammer struck the Ra'zac on the back, making him cry out in pain. Roran charged forward, blade whirring, and jumped into a battle with the second Ra'zac while the other bent over in pain. Eragon quickly felt his belt, and reached his mind out to the gems in it. He extracted all the magic he had left in it. It was enough to rejuvenate him.
He leaped up, raised his right palm, "Jierda kalfis!"
The Ra'zac that was bent over in pain tumbled over, now holding its broken calf.
Eragon reached down and grabbed his sword. He strode over to the moaning creature, and drove his sword right into its gut. He wrenched it out savagely. He felt a morbid sense of satisfaction, when he felt the presence of the beings life disappear. He could no longer sense it.
Turning, he ran with inhuman speed over to Roran. Saphira was still fighting the two winged beasts, twisting and maneuvering through the air. Every now and then, a blast of flame illuminated the dark chamber like lightning in a thunderstorm.
Roran's fight was going badly. The Ra'zac was strong, too strong. He was lucky to have lasted so long already. He ducked under another blow, and whipped his sword and the monsters head. Again and again his blows would be parried. Roran was becoming exhausted. He needed Eragon.
Eragon made it to Roran's aid just at the right time. Roran had been disarmed, and Ra'zac was swinging his sword at his dodging opponent.
Eragon struck his sword at the Ra'zac with as much strength as could muster. The Ra'zac brought his own up to block it, but it was pushed back into his shoulder because of the force. Eragon followed the attack with another, stronger one. The air whirred with the speed of the blade. The beast could not block it. The blade slashed the Ra'zac's chest. It was a fatal blow, but he was still alive. The Ra'zac's sword fell from his hand as he tumbled to the ground.
Eragon leaned down, placing his hand on the beast's chest, right over the wound. He concentrated, and slowly drained all the energy from the being.
He stepped back, feeling more powerful than ever. He looked up at Saphira, and saw that she now had only one opponent. The other lay in a bloody heap, lifeless.
Victory was close at hand. Eragon raised his arm, "Brisngr!"
A jet of blue flames flew from his hand, and curved their way to the flapping beast fighting Saphira. It glowed for a moment, before crying out a horrible cry, and fell down to the cold ground. Eragon sighed. He looked over to Roran, who was retrieving Katrina from where he had left her.
He hurried back, Katrina in his arms, and followed Eragon over to Saphira.
Eragon noticed Roran's hammer on the black floor. He bent down and picked it up. He had been wrong about the weapon. It had saved his life, and it seemed to suit Roran. He turned and handed it to Roran, who thanked him, and hoisting Katrina onto his shoulder, maneuvered it into his belt.
Eragon walked over to Saphira, 'Are you hurt?'
'Just a few scratches,' She replied, 'What about you, little one? I saw you fall. Are you alright?'
Eragon responded casually, 'It was unlucky. The beast's horrible breath made me clumsy. I forgot to protect myself from it. I should of just killed them with magic, but I wanted the satisfaction of sheathing my sword in its gut.'
'Oh well, I managed to defeat the Ra'zac's parents, though they were certainly quick. I was getting quite tired, chasing them and their sharp claws around the chamber.'
'Good work,' Eragon praised.
Eragon climbed onto Saphira's back. While Roran handed him Katrina, he told him, "You fought well, brother. Garrow would have been proud."
Roran responded, "He is now avenged and can rest in peace. Thank you, Brother."
Eragon only nodded. He fastened Katrina to the harness, so she would not fall while Roran climbed up behind him.
When they were ready, Saphira took off. She flew them out the tunnel, and into the bright sunset, Eragon, Roran, and Katrina on her back.