Chapter 6 (Rewritten)

«I need to be faster. »

Alex increased the amount of force he put in his blows and the speed at which he delivered them. Each time he slashed the air, drops of sweat fell to the ground. His jacket and shirt were laying against a tree, while the upper part of his body was drenched and glistening. His breathing was now labored but he continued to practice.

«Faster. »

He quickened the pace even more, jumping like a deer from one part of the clearing to another, rolling and step-siding.

«Faster! »

Again.

«FASTER! »

And again, to the point he began to feel dizzy and light-headed.

But even if Alex was in this state, he barely stopped to catch his breath. The results were too important to offer himself this luxury. However, after quite some time, his legs were too weak to support his weight anymore and he fell on his back, dropping his blade at the same occasion. Breathing fast and loudly, he observed the position of the sun in the sky and deduced it was two in the afternoon. He was trembling, all parts of his body utterly tired and a lot of muscle screaming for a moment of rest.

"Well, it has been a long time since I did a work out like this one and boy, does it feel good. At least, now I know that I need to improve even more my stamina."

After waiting a few minutes to regain some of his strength and a few attempts to get up, the young man succeeded and put his clothes on before walking in direction of the city. He made his way to Jeod's house where he met the owner of the house and Brom who explained the little problem they encountered earlier in the day and how they'll overcome it by breaking into the archives. However, there was a hitch in their plan: Eragon didn't know how to read and write. The storyteller decided to dedicate a full week to teach him how. One tense dinner between Jeod and Helen later, Eragon decided to go to bed but Alex stayed behind, wanting to talk with the bald man.

The two of them were behind the house with the adolescent slouching against a wall.

"There's something I must ask of you."

Brom raised an eyebrow, curious to hear what Alex wanted. "Well… go ahead, I'm listening."

"It's more a favor than a request but, could you give me some tips or teach me a few things to help me hone my skills? I'm sure there's a few things I could learn from you and your fighting style."

"Alex," he began, taking a short pause to exhale loudly before continuing. "You have an excellent knowledge of how to fight with a sword, what could I teach you that you already don't know? Maybe there's some details you need to work on but still… you may not specialize in one style particularly and in itself, it's a considerable advantage."

"True but I have to become stronger, I must be as strong as the Ra'zac if I want to –"

The man with almond eyes was violently pushed and held against the wall. Brom was gripping his t-shirt solidly, preventing him from any movement possible to free himself.

"Do yourself a favor and stop this madness at once! This word is constantly on your lips, think of something else. Look at Eragon, they tortured his uncle but is he constantly trying to compare himself to them? No. You can't fight the world on your own, you shouldn't be this obsessed with them. Yes, they did something sickening. Yes, they killed someone you cherished but it's not a reason to act like this. Galbatorix went mad because he wanted justice, because he denied the truth and refused to listen to anyone, so, don't end like him."

Tears fell on Brom's hands as Alex cried silently, with closed eyes. He whimpered and sobbed quietly. The young adult couldn't keep his mask of indifference anymore. It was time for him to say the whole truth.

"They ate him… they ate my best friend alive, in front of me." His voice was cracking, old and painful memories rushing back to the front of his mind. "I-I couldn't do anything to save him, I was only fourteen when it happened. What was worst, was the fact they deliberately ate him slowly, piece by piece and left what remained of him to die and rot. I wanted to rush after them, to kill them but I was tetanized in fear, obliged to watch all of this without being able to help. Robert was barely alive when they flew from the crime scene and before he drew his last breath, he told me he wasn't mad at me for being useless and wished me to have a happy life."

The swordsman continued to cry but this time, he opened his red and puffy eyes, looking at the old man.

"That's the reason why I'm after them. That's the reason why they must be wiped out of the surface of the world."

"I'm sorry for your loss but you have to understand; everyone reach his limit one day or another. The best thing you can have now, is gain more experience by teaching and training with Eragon." The storyteller released him from his grip, patted him on the shoulder and opened the door leading to the kitchen. "We should go to bed now if we don't want to be tired tomorrow."

"Yeah, you're right. Thank you for listening Brom."

The old Rider didn't answer verbally but nodded in acknowledgment.

Alex was waiting in front of a wooden door, his left hand on the metallic knob. Everything was finally over, the Ra'zac were dead and he could live in the rest of his life in peace now. After a few seconds, he opened the door and entered inside the apartment. His parents were sitting in the living room, watching something on the television while his little sister was on the armchair, reading a book on human psychology. A big smile made its way on his lips, it felt so good to leave this crazy journey behind him.

"Hey everyone, I'm home!"

He closed the door behind him and walked in the room they were in but Alex was completely ignored. Then, his mother turned her head in his direction.

"Why have you abandoned us?"

"Yes, why did you do it, big brother?" continued his sister.

His smile quickly disappeared.

"What? I didn't—"

The young man looked surprised at their reaction, not expecting them to act like this. They were fine with it when he told them he was pursuing those who killed his almost-brother.

"We gave you food, a roof above your head and you left us!"

He frowned, his anger rising and pointed a finger at them. "I have to avenge Robert's death!"

"Please Alex, come back home, leave this quest behind and we'll forgive you." Added his father.

"Forgive me? Last time I remember, it took you some convincing but you finally accepted my decision! No. I'll never give up. Not until it's done and that's final."

"You're going to be killed!"

A growl coming from his throat could be heard in the room, clear enough to be considered as a threat if they posed too much resistance.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. I know my best friend wouldn't have let me take this path but I need to, my mind will never be at peace until I slice their throat."

"In that case, leave this house traitor! Leave and never set a foot here!"

Alex opened the door to the outside world, completely lost, betrayed, and ran away, crying loudly.

The swordsman opened his eyes, sat up and gasped in shock, drying his moistened cheeks. Well, that was an unexpected nightmare. He breathed in and out slowly to calm his raging heart before leaving his bed and walking to the bathroom. Once inside, he splashed some water on his face before looking at himself in the mirror. He unsheathed his knife and began to carefully clean the hair around his mouth and on the lower part of his face. A few minutes later, the task was over. Fortunately, he didn't cut himself this time.

Then, Alex decided to go into Jeod's office to read some books. He was sure he could find something interesting to keep his mind occupied for one or two hours.

Quickly, a routine was established for the two adolescents. Eragon would meet Brom in the study for his lessons until mid-afternoon and during the rest of the time before dinner, the farmer and the swordsman had to practice their fighting skills, with a sword or their fists. Sometimes, the old man was observing them, giving a compliment or advice from time to time. Alex was slightly improving, his blows were faster, stronger than before and he could keep fighting for more almost an hour before feeling too tired to continue but still, he wasn't anywhere near the Ra'zac. This single fact was frustrating him. Eragon still had a lot of work to do if he wanted to match him but his progression was faster and smoother than the swordsman.

After one week of intense training, Brom summoned them to the study. They decided to infiltrate the citadel's archives in order to find something linking the Ra'zac to the oil. At sunset, Eragon got up from his nap, while Alex was cleaning his Glock 17and his knife. The swordsman knew he only needed those two, not all of them.

"You're going empty? That's a dangerous move."

Alex grinned. "We're not going to start a war, are we? So, no need to go with everything I have and we have to go inside incognito, I'll stand out too much with the other two weapons."

The old man only responded with a laugh and the four of them made their way casually to their destination. Jeod took the lead and strode up to the castle's gates before pounding on the small door.

A guard appeared, slightly staggering. The smell of rum was evident on him.

"We need to get in."

"Wha' for?"

Eragon hung his head in shame. "This boy left something valuable in my office."

The guard frowned, but let them pass. Brom gave him a few coins and the soldier left, happy. Once they arrived in front of the room, he put his hand on the lock and whispered a word Eragon did not recognize. Alex put a hand on the storyteller and pushed him aside, entering first, his arms outstretched and with his handgun in his hands. The small room was filled with racks piled high with scrolls, a table and a few chairs.

"It's empty, you can come!" he said, in a low tone.

Brom walked to his side and looked at him with a sour look.

"Why did you do that?"

"Rule 1: Always be sure where you're going is not a trap. If someone unfriendly was waiting for us inside, I would have killed him before he could call for reinforcement. And if it was the opposite that happened you know as me I'm a liability for you. My death wouldn't have mattered much."

It was on those words the young man began scanning anything mentioning the Seithr oil. From time to time, Brom wrote a city on a parchment he took with them, adding a potential location as the Ra'zac hideout. They continued to search for a good twenty minutes when Eragon blurted something. "There're soldiers looking for us."

"How do you know?"

"The guard told his replacement we are here and they send others to look for us. We have to leave, now."

The young adult reacted immediately, he put the scroll he had in his hand back to its place, and rushed quietly to the door, opening it slightly to observe the corridor for any guard. Then, they all left the room and Brom locked it just as three soldiers rounded the corner.

"Why are you trying to get in the records room?"

"I'm afraid we lost our way."

One of the subordinates tried to open the door but it didn't bulge. "It's locked, sir."

"Since we can't open it, you're free to go. Come."

They reached the main gate and left the place. They quickly made their way to Jeod's house. Once safely inside, Eragon couldn't hold it any longer. "We did it!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, but we have to see if it was worth it."

The four of them looked at the map of Alagaesia and what they have found. The oil was shipped to many places throughout the Empire, but the one that stood the most was Dras-Leona. The town was large, well situated and had the perfect place for those monsters to call home: Helgrind.

Alex gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. His quest was almost over now. Soon, no one'll stop him to have his revenge and spill the blood of the murderers. After this little nocturnal adventure, they decided to go to sleep and get plenty of rest before leaving Teirm the next morning.

His hand was on the knob of the door of the study when Brom called for him. "Alex?"

"Yes?" answered the young man with brown hair, whipping his head to the right in Brom's direction.

"What you said earlier…it's false. You're not a liability."

He looked at his elder with wide eyes, not expecting hearing this at all.

"Don't sell yourself short. Since the beginning of this adventure, you've become more than something we can throw aside when it's not useful anymore. You trusted me by sharing your story and I trust you with my life. You're my friend and I want to be yours."

Even if he didn't want to admit it, those words touched Alex deep inside his heart and, he couldn't help but shed a tear. A tiny smile appeared on his lips.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Goodnight."

After removing his equipment and undressing, he jumped on the bed, too tired to go under the covers.

The two boys thanked Jeod for his hospitality and Alex gave him a small ruby, of the nail size of his thumb.

"Sell it to a jeweler, I'm sure you can have a good price from it. I hope it'll be enough to cover the money you spent for us and keep your business afloat for some time."

"Well, thank you. I'm certain it'll be useful to survive during these harsh times."

Then, Cadoc and Snowfire were spurred toward the city gates.

"Damn, back to the road and on those horses' back. I didn't missed a single moment of this. Nope!"

The farmer and the storyteller laughed at this. They rode through the gate in silence and soon, the city was behind them. Alex looked one last time at Teirm before turning his attention to their newest and last destination: Dras-Leona.

«Ra'zac, here I come! I hope you're ready because this time, I'm not going to let you escape alive and in one piece. Even if I've to fight an army to reach you, I'll do it without any hesitation. »