Again, all but Volun and his family and these events that I have invented follow the stories of the Inheritance series, all other content is exclusively owned by Christopher Paolini.
Enjoy!
Chapter: No more running!
Volun was running again and although he had thought of a good plan the fatigue of the last few days was catching up, he hadn't slept in three days. But he know that if he hadn't slept neither had his pursuer. These are the thoughts that kept him going, any hindrance that he faced; his pursuer also faced. His fatigue was shared by the other, even though his pursuer was using magic to keep his stamina his mind must be tired from sustaining the tracking spell for all this time, thought the spell used very little energy.
Volun was very agile and had withdrawn his blade, it resembled a miniature sword, not quite long enough to be one but not quite small enough to be considered a dagger. To humans it would be worth a lot of money considering the inset of rubies and a single diamond the size of an acorn in the hilt, but elves chose to value nature and knowledge above all and so it was that the blade had cost his father little. It still made a very good gift for Volun, he used it constantly for anything he could think of, it even had some enchantments laid upon it to keep it in good condition. The blade would never rust and the edge would stay razor sharp until the end of the blade itself.
His idea was to find an opportunity to dash off the game trail he was now following and wait till his pursuer came that spot and use his blade. Volun had never thought that he would have to kill with his blade but he used it for any task it would prove useful in and that same idea applied to the task now at hand.
He was hoping that once he was off the trail that he could backtrack a little ways so the trackers spell wouldn't warn him of the change of course. Volun had never been in real combat before, there was no need really; elves were among the most peaceful creatures in all of Algeasia. But he had practiced blade to blade combat with his father and become decent at the sport. Sport, that's all that it can properly be called while in the midst of elves, any other word couldn't express the meaning of something that wasn't put to use in over a hundred years.
Volun could here his pursuer and using his Elven ears estimated his enemy to be seventy yards to his rear. He mentally prepared himself for the upcoming confrontation, taking a very deep and deliberately slow breath he turned his body in mid-stride and leapt off the trail. He turned around and started running the opposite direction, he had about ten seconds until he would be able to see his pursuer. Up ahead there was a fallen tree resting on another fallen tree. At the base the roots protruded from the ground ten feet, Volun leapt gradually between the thick plant growths and started running up the tree which crossed the game trail he had been running on.
He could feel the adrenaline course through his as he balanced with every step taking him farther up the fallen tree, just one more second and the tracker would be within sight. Volun stopped halfway up the fallen tree just over the game trail and crouched minimizing his chance of being spotted. He controlled his breath and prepared for the confrontation, he would go for a kill and if that didn't work he would have to rely on techniques taught to him by his father to guard his mind from magical attacks, he also had to count on the attacker to be tired and hoped he couldn't conjure any powerful spells. Volun's head shot up as a twig snapped and he got the first glimpse of pursuer.
The first thing Volun noticed was his attacker was dressed in all black, tight fitting clothes whoever his pursuer was they were obviously human, they ran without the gracefulness of an elf. Volun also noticed the absence of a sword, in fact he couldn't see a weapon located anywhere on the trackers body. They did run swiftly and didn't make a lot of noise, Volun had to act quickly and time his jump perfectly if he wanted his plan to work like it was currently in his mind.
They were just a few feet from being directly under Volun when he took one last breath and with a surge of adrenaline leapt from his perch and raised his blade preparing for a kill. He hung motionless for a split second in midair and then started his swift descent, the roar of the air blocked out all other sounds, not like he needed them though as his entire attention was focused on watching what the tracker would do. He timed it perfectly, he was inches from the tracker when his knee impacted his shoulder; Volun felt his collarbone give under his weight. At the same time his blade was aimed for the top of his skull when the tracker suddenly spun and the blade missed completely. The tracker ended up on his back a yard away from Volun while he stood and pulled the blade out from the earth which it had been embedded in. Volun tried to think of what to do next as every second would count, he couldn't allow the tracker to regain his footing. He walked over to the fallen enemy, placed his blade against his throat and removed the piece of cloth covering his face.
The tracker had a scar running the length of his face stretching from the right temple and cutting diagonally down past the collar of his over shirt.
The trackers eyes radiated anger while searching Volun's face, he looked like he was about to say something.
"Don't", Volun said through clenched teeth, he was having a hard time trying to say words and erect the wards around his mind. They required strenuous amounts of concentration. When he had several fully functional wards placed he decided to speak.
"If you try any sort of magic my blade will run through your throat before any of them effect me." Volun was surprised that he sounded so menacing, he had only intended on stating that any attempt at magic wouldn't work. At least immediately.
"I'm going to ask the questions and your going to answer them. Is this understood?" Volun didn't bother waiting for an answer, after all, the tracker didn't have much of a choice with no weapon to speak of and a blade to his throat.
"Why are you and your men after me and my family?" Volun waited a full three seconds for an answer before asking again while sliding the blade half an inch across the mans throat making a small cut. Still he remained silently defiant, not answering any questions that Volun asked.
Finally Volun tried to threaten, the only response was a small smile followed by a small chuckle. He finally spoke…
"He will only send more next time." He spat the words out with a voice that sounded like it was rarely used, and before Volun could stop him the mans hand shot up, grabbed the blade, and twisted his neck. Volun immediately felt the heat of the mans blood and the stench that invaded his nose made him want to retch, luckily he hadn't eaten anything in days, elst he would have.
The mans eyes rolled up into his head as a small gurgle rose from his throat and his hand fell to the ground. Volun didn't move at first, not believing what the man had just done. Why would he kill himself? Galbatorix's men were known for being adamant on completing whatever mission they're given. It confused Volun but he pushed those thoughts away and decided what he would do next. He had to find his family, they were the first priority.