Hello everyone!

It took me some time but hey, I managed to put this chapter together before the New Year (except for those who live in Australia). Anyway, I'm happy to have finished it quickly, I think that was the longest I ever wrote. The first book is almost over, just need to write one small chapter and we're done.

Good reading! (Happy New Year btw and see you in 2017)

Chapter 18

Eragon was awaken from his sleep by the yells of a dwarf, running into their cave. As he saw the fear in the eyes of the guard, the rider knew something was wrong and woke up his friend.

"You must come quickly. Ajihad summoned all of you. Quick!"

The two boys dressed as quickly as possible, belted their swords and jumped out of the cave. Saphira followed them and lowered herself to the ground so they could climb on the saddle. She flew out of the hold, flying fast in direction of the main gate. When they landed, Orik was already here. Eragon tried to extract more information from him about what was happening but he didn't know either, Ajihad was the only one who could answer them. Walking at a fast pace, the group arrived a few minute later in from of Ajihad's study. The latter was in the room, in company of Arya and a man named Jormundur, his second-in-command.

Finally, Ajihad told them the reason of their summoning: a dwarf escaped from the tunnels, running and injured, claiming a horde of Urgals was coming to the city, from the underground.

Everyone began talking at once, voicing their opinion and creating an incomprehensible brouhaha. They were silence by the leader of the Varden, who added that an Urgal settlement was set up not far from the Surda's border, near the Beors.

"Do we know how many are coming?" asked Jormundur.

Ajihad replied negatively.

"Eragon, I need you to assist the dwarves in collapsing the tunnels outside of the city, Arya will do the same from underneath."

"Jormundur, prepare the men for battle."

They all left the room, except for one person. Seeing that their friend wasn't following them, Eragon and Saphira stopped at the door, waiting for him. Alex approached the table, his arms crossed, and looked at Ajihad.

"I'll have only one question: do you want me to participate in this or not?"

The dark skinned man sighed. "Yes, I need everyone capable to fight."

"Understood." Alex's face darkened and had a cold, somber tone. "In that case, I'm going to prepare myself, maybe we'll see each other before the battle."

The young swordsman walked back to his companions, a hard look in his eyes. "I go back to the dragonhold to change my clothes and check my weapons, see you later."

Alex began to run in direction of their cave, the people he met on his way pushed themselves aside to give him space. Less than twenty minutes later, he arrived at destination and didn't lose time. He undressed completely, with absolutely nothing on him. Searching through his backpack, he found he found another pair of clothes completely identical to the first one but there were a pair of black boots with it, leather mittens and a reinforced tactical suit.

"Good thing this backpack is half my size. If it wasn't the case, I wonder how I could have transported all of this." Alex whispered to himself, while dressing again.

Then, the adolescent deployed his equipment and dismantled his firearms one after the other to clean them all. And assure himself they would be working properly for what was coming. It took him some time and when it was done, Alex readied himself. Putting his tactical vest, he strapped all his weapons on him, took all the ammo he could, making them disappear in his pockets and finished by covering partially his hands with the mittens. Using a red headband, he tied the back of his hair into a ponytail.

"Let's check what I have on me: two swords, one assault rifle, a shotgun, Desert Eagle, Glock 17, Walther PPK, three incendiary and normal grenades and a combat knife. I think that'll be enough."

While stroking his chin, Alex thought of anything that could help them to keep the advantage in the battle.

"The battlefield is completely flat, there's no hill that could be a little away from the first line, where I could play the sniper. It's useless to try to launch the grenades from Saphira's back, we'll be the perfect target for their archers… if only she could breathe fire. Wait… they have alcohol and with some chance, alcohol that can burn. If they let me do it, I can create some Molotov cocktail."

When he was done, he put everything he didn't need back in his backpack and rushed to the kitchens.

This time, the corridors were almost empty, everyone was either equipping themselves or helping the non-fighters escape the city. Fortunately, there was no one in the room when Alex entered.

"Perfect!"

It was on those words he began his creation of the fire-breathing weapon.

During the next few hours, Eragon and Saphira managed to help collapse no less than ten tunnels. As they were observing the three main battalions deploying at the base of the city, someone broke from the lines and walked to them. Eragon quickly recognized him as Orik. The dwarf approached them and gestured them to follow him with his hand.

He led them to a tent where a loaf of bread and some water were waiting for the young man. "There's no more tunnels to destroy, Ajihad want you to replenish yourself for the fight to come. Wait here, I have something for you."

Orik then walked out of the tent and came back a few minutes later, carrying large plates of armor, in company of a few of his kin. Those plates were part of a draconic armor, to protect Saphira from any kind of physical attack, a gift from King Hrothgar.

With some help, Eragon managed to fit all the pieces together.

«So, how do I look? »

The Rider petted her cheek. «Intimidating. I don't want to be in our enemies' place when they'll see you. »

«Thank you Little One. I'll be slowed down in my movements but it'll stop the arrows. »

There was also a full set of armor ready for him. Fortunately, it fitted him perfectly and he even had a wooden shield with the Varden crest on it. Following the warriors around them, they blended into the nearest battalion and waited. Sharpened saplings were dug into the ground, used to create a barrier between the soldiers and the Urgals. Then, they placed large cauldrons above the openings they made. Orik joined them and together, they sat in silence. A few minutes later, the sound of hooves indicated the arrival of someone. When they turned their head to see who it was, Orik let out a curse. Murtagh, riding his war-horse Tornac, was trotting to them.

When he jumped off the saddle, Eragon hugged him.

"Before you ask, Ajihad was the one who released me. He said if I wanted to prove I had good intentions, I was more than welcomed to participate in this battle. And here I am."

"That's good to have you watch our back."

"Of course." The dark-haired man looked around him, an eyebrow raised. "Isn't Alex supposed to be here? I thought he would be with you two."

"No, he left us a few hours ago, just after the meeting, saying he had to prepare himself."

"Ah."

Not long after, Ajihad appeared and briefed them on the upcoming events. One of the Twins would be with Ajihad and the other observing the battle from the dragonhold, relaying information between them and to the Varden's leader. Eragon was asked to report anything that seemed out of ordinary to them, telepathically. Even if the idea of having any sort of link to them made Eragon want to gag, he knew it was necessary.

The young rider looked away and spotted Arya, her sword in its sheath and her bow in her hands. He walked to her. "So… you're going to fight?"

"Yes. I wasn't able to protect Saphira's egg correctly and I'm not going fail again by not keeping an eye on you two. If the Shade show up, I'll be the only one capable to defeat him."

"In that case, stay safe. Wiol pomnuria ilian." Arya turned her head away, feeling uneasy and didn't answer. Eragon left her alone, sitting back next to Murtagh.

Alex was one of the last men walking out of the city, just before the doors leading to it were closed. Spotting his friends, he began to march in their direction. Every step he made was followed by a loud cling, created by the five bottles hanging at his left hip.

Intrigued by the strange sound, people around him turned their heads in his direction. His friends did the same when they heard him coming.

"What's up guys?"

"Mind telling us what you're doing with those bottles?" asked Murtagh.

The swordsman winked at him. "I'll use them in the fight, you'll see. Don't be surprised if a torrent of flames appears from nowhere."

"And you're not going to wear a helmet?" added Eragon, surprised. "It could be fatal to you if they have archers."

"Don't need it right now. I'll take one from a dead body, somewhere during the battle."

As the last civilians escaped, an uncomfortable silence fell on Tronjheim, with everyone trying to pass the time in their own way. The three adolescents were sitting together, talking while staring at the distance or observing what the others were doing.

"I don't know about you but despite the fact I'm surrounded with a dragon and two excellent fighters, I'm still afraid." Murtagh said.

Alex sighed.

"I am too. In fact, I'm more than scared. I'm downright terrified, it's not a one-on-one fight but a full scaled battle we're facing. Anything can happen. I don't want to die here, not after everything we went through and all the things we have ahead of us. I am determined to see the next morrow and I'll do everything in my power to survive."

"Like all of us."

«It's great to have you trying to keep our morale up, Alex. »

«Someone has to do it. I'm the oldest in the team so, you can say it's my job. »

«True and thank you for that. »

Saphira then licked his cheek, winking at him.

«Come on, you two should get some sleep. It wouldn't be good for you to be tired when the battle start. »

They agreed and closed their eyes, slowly drifting to sleep. They didn't know how long their rest was but it was interrupted by someone touching their shoulders, jerking them awake.

"It has begun." said Arya, grimly.

Alex checked his weapons one last time, making himself sure they were fully loaded while Orik swung his axe a few times and Eragon climbed onto the blue dragoness. Arya notched an arrow into her bow. Everyone's eyes were focused on the dark entrance.

"So, this is it." The swordsman prepared one of his Molotov cocktail, his lighter in one hand and the cocktail in the other. "I don't have much to say except good luck and try your best to stay alive."

Suddenly, shadowy figures appeared in the pit. There was an order from one of the commanders and the moment after, they dumped the boiling tar contained in the cauldrons, on the incoming horde. There were screams of pain, quickly followed by what could be described as a torrent of fire. However, far more Urgals arrived, marching over the dead bodies of their kin.

"My turn now!" Alex lit his first Molotov and launched it far in the air. "Fire in the hole!"

While descending, it touched one of the foes, the bottle exploding at contact and the burnt alcohol spread widely, engulfing no less than five of them. The first cocktail was quickly followed by another and an incendiary grenade.

Then, Alex switched to his assault rifle, aiming through his riflescope and the massacre began. The pikemen were very quickly overrun, resulting in the two armies clashing. Saphira bellowed as she leaped in the first lines, reducing to pieces the first Kull who was stupid enough to stand in front of her.

«Ouch. Boy, if she's energetic like that when she wants some D in her period, I really don't want to be in the place of the male she'll chose. »

One moment after, the first bullets were falling to the ground while their projectiles ended successfully in their targets. Quickly, one magazine was dropped, immediately replaced by another. The second one didn't last long either, the third taking its place. Many monsters tried to reach him but they only meet death.

Knowing he would be out of ammo for the M4A1 soon, Alex swapped with his shotgun and rushed into the fray. When one of the Urgals tried to hit him, the swordsman dodged the blow and countered by pulling the trigger of his gun, taking half of the Urgal's head off. Seeing something in the corner of his eye, Alex turned to see what it was but was caught off by a punch to the cheek. He was hurled back a few meters away, dropping his grip on his weapon.

He stood up, wiping the blood coming from his lips. "You son of a bitch." The Urgal in front of him was letting out angry, guttural sounds.

"Yell all you want; it's not going to change the fact I'm going to silence you."

Alex unsheathed his combat knife and ran to his enemy. The latter did the same. When they met again, Alex jumped to the side to dodge the dangerous ax and leapt to him. He swung his left arm in a wide arc and then landed on one feet and one knee.

The moment after, behind him, a fountain of blood erupted from the Urgal's neck.

Walking back to his weapon, Alex saw Eragon tackling an Urgal just in front of him, Zar'roc stuck between the horns. As another beast charged at him, the adolescent with grey hair took his Desert Eagle from his holster, aimed and pulled the trigger. It dropped on the spot, dead. Pivoting on himself, Eragon was face to face with his friend.

"So, how are you faring?"

"Not bad, and you?"

"I killed one hundred of those bastards, so far, so good."

Alex retrieved his Mossberg 500 and put his back against Eragon's. A Kull jumped at them but was quickly killed by a shell, four more Urgals fell to the crimson blade. Nodding to each other, the two youth ran to the blue lizard. Alex killed all those who were standing on their way while Eragon was dispatching the beasts who tried to follow them.

Murtagh was already at her side, surrounded by twelve Urgals who managed to prick her wings. Not knowing why, Alex's anger flared at the sight of her blood and ran even faster.

He drew his swords and in a swing, cut the head of one of them. Before they could react, another lost his arm and the next had his heart pierced. Eragon used the distraction to slew two of them and Murtagh did the same. The trio were protecting Saphira from all sides, cutting down all those who dared to approach.

Alex lit another cocktail and launched it not far from where the side Eragon was defending, separating him from the monsters.

"Come on, get on her!"

The rider nodded and remounted Saphira before she took off, leaving the other two behind. Alex and Murtagh looked at each, the former grinning.

"Ready to beat some asses?" he asked, his voice trembling in anticipation.

The dark-haired man smiled. "After you."

Eragon looked back to see his friends yell and engaging another group of Urgals, their blades dancing and only leaving death after them.

Being in the air gave them a small rest from all this fighting. Their position was giving them a clear view of the battlefield and how it was going. Unfortunately, the Varden weren't on the winning side. The Urgals' forces were forcing them back toward the city. The endless arrival of new Urgals wasn't helping but strangely, the different groups weren't organized at all. Immediately, Eragon relayed the information to one of the Twins. In answer, he was ordered to assist Hrothgar who had difficulties.

Hours passed but the situation only worsened. Every Urgal who fell was replaced by two of them, the valiant defenders were tired while fresh blood was coming endlessly from the enemy's side. Eragon was exhausted, his limbs were heavy and he had a fierce headache from all the magic he used. Saphira fared a little better, despite her small wounds. His friends weren't injured but they were tired, just like everyone else. He could see the doubt on their face, the fear they would lose and not make it alive at the end of the day.

But, there was one who was frowning, a look of pure determination carved in his eyes. Alex was slowly repelling those who were standing on his way. He was feeling the tiredness in his body but kept pushing on. He was almost out of ammunition, having just seven shells left for his Mossberg.

One of the Twins contacted Eragon again, telling him there were sounds coming from Tronjheim, certainly Urgals tunneling up underneath them. He ran to Arya, offering his hand as a way to tell her to get on the saddle. She pulled herself behind him.

As Saphira prepared to take off, a large Urgal charged at her, ready to smash her chest with his mace in a horizontal slash. The swordsman appeared from nowhere and blocked it with his katana. However, what he didn't take into account, was his blade breaking into hundreds of pieces when it made contact with the mace. Alex took the blow at full strength, deforming the plate protecting his right side. It was followed by the sickening sound of ribs shattering and flew away from his friends.

«Alex! »

The Urgal used the distraction and hit her directly in the chest. She roared in pain and lurched forward, leaving the ground. She managed to rise above the battlefield and in direction of the dragonhold.

Grunting in pain, Alex opened his eyes and rolled to the side, using his left arm to rose back to his feet while the other was hanging uselessly, clearly broken by the blow he had received. Raising his head, he saw his broadsword not far from him and next to it, what remained of his katana.

Slowly, the swordsman walked to his blade and retrieved it. Before he could make another step, he began to cough and blood left his mouth, his breathing was abnormally fast and the same could be said for his heart rate. He began to have problems to see correctly, his face turned pale.

«Shit. One of the broken ribs managed to pierce my lung and now I'm suffering with an internal bleeding. If I don't have any medical attention soon, I'll die… but with how things are going, I will bite the dust before someone can take care of it. »

Seeing that Alex had become an easy prey, a group of Urgals approached him, taking their time to savor the coming death of the one who killed so many of their brethren.

When he spotted them, the young man with grey hair slowly stepped back, his legs wobbling. He took his shotgun from its holster and raised the weapon but his aim was completely off, his hand trembling. One moment, his vision was completely clear and the next, so blurry he couldn't distinct shapes.

"Come at me, you bastards… I'm still good enough to send you all in Hell!"

With some difficulties, Alex ran to his first foe, jumped to the side and pulled the trigger, killing him instantly. With the momentum created by the recoil of the weapon, he hit another one on the side of the head. He was tackled to the ground by a third one. He fought, punching his opponent and protecting himself as best as he could with only one arm. Then, Alex grabbed his combat knife and plunged it in the beast's neck. It fell heavily on him. The last Urgal of the group tried to kill him when he couldn't move but a sword pierced his chest, directly where his heart was before retracting. He dropped on the ground, dead.

Murtagh was standing there, smiling.

"You saved us during their ambush two days ago, it's normal I do the same when I have the occasion. Now we're even."

The young man pushed the Urgal and began to try to unzip the tactical suit to check for any injury on his friend but was stopped by a strong grip on his hand.

"Don't bother, it's too late. My right arm is broken, the ribs on the same side are too and my lung is pierced." Alex coughed even more blood. "It's an internal bleeding. You people don't have the technology necessary to heal something like that. I need some clothes to keep me warm. Technically, you should raise my legs in the air, about thirty centimeters from the ground but it's not possible here for obvious reasons."

"So, you're going to die slowly and painfully?"

"Possible."

Murtagh shook his head, tears threatening to fell down his eyes. "You're rather calm about it."

"I must if I want to increase my chances to stay alive or gain some time. The most I panic, the worst it'll be."

"…"

"Come one, go back to the fight. I'll be fine on my own."

"You sure?" he asked.

Alex nodded, a small smirk on his lips.

"Yeah, it's not like I can go anywhere."

"If by misfortune you die when I come back, is there anything you want me to say to the others?"

"Tell Eragon he's a good boy. One day, he'll achieve what he started, I'm sure of it and Saphira… I… forget about it. Go help the army, they need you."

"In that case, goodbye my friend and farewell if we don't see each other after this." Murtagh sighed and left, going back into the fray.

Mere moment later, there was a blinding light. The swordsman raised his eyes to where it was coming from. The star sapphire had shattered, in the center of the fragments was Saphira, falling. A torrent of yellow and blue flames erupted from her maw. It was on this scene Alex closed his eyes and fell unconscious, waiting for death to come take its due.

When he reached the end of the staircase, Eragon had to fight the nausea caused by his ride down the Vol Turin. The moment he was going to continue, there was a sharp explosion. Urgals erupted from a hole in the floor. As the young man prepared for the coming battle, someone else arrived from it, someone different. Eragon let out a curse when he saw Durza.

When he saw the adolescent, the Shade walked to him, grinning evilly, while the monsters were surrounding him.

"Once again, we meet but this time, there's no one to help you escape."

"I'm not going to let you capture me alive."

Durza laughed. "We'll see about that. Tell me, where's your dragon?"

"Never."

"In that case, I'll have to take it from your mind by force!" As the same time Durza began his physical assault, his mind lashed out on Eragon's. In the two battles, the young Rider was completely outmatched. He could barely block or parry the blows and his mind wasn't faring better against Durza's. The duo exchanged blows, both determined to be victorious in the duel.

Knowing he was at his limits, in a last effort, Eragon threw himself at his foe but flew back as he was smashed in the head by the Shade's shield. The young man threw his own shield which clipped its target on the hip.

Taking the advantage, Eragon stuck with his sword, hitting flesh on the arm. As Durza's concentration wavered from the pain, Eragon invaded his mind but didn't expect to exposed to the Shade's life and experiences. From the corner of his left eye, the youth could see Durza with his sword raised, with an infuriated look. He tried to raise his own weapon but was lacking the strength to do so. The Shade hit him heavily in the back, slicing mail and skin as if it was butter. As pain invaded his body and mind, as his consciousness was slipping away, he had one thought: he had failed… anyone and everything.

Then, a blinding light caused him to flinch, followed by the destruction of the star sapphire as Saphira was falling, spitting fire, with Arya on her back.

Eragon saw Durza looking toward the new threat, pointing to her as words formed on his lips. Eragon felt an hidden burst of strength coming from the deepest part of him, giving him the energy to stand up, his grip on his sword strong. With the last of his energy, he drove his blade through Durza's heart. He focused all his pain and rage into a single word: "Brisingr!"

Shocked, the red-haired man looked at the blade in his torso and yelled in pain. There was one last howl before he exploded, the darkness rushing out of him and disappearing in the air.

The Shade was dead.

As the last of his energy was drained, Eragon fell back to the ground. The last thing he saw was Saphira and Arya falling, but slowing at the same time…