Chapter Thirteen
A/N:
Sorry for the long wait on an update, I might actually have time to write, now
that my first semester of college is done and GONE… We'll see how
it goes, and of course I now own Eragon the movie and can study Brom and other good stuff... Long note longer, this is not the final chapter. We've
got a few more to go, so enjoy and we'll see how it all turns out!
The trio sat in silence for a moment. Brom was staring into the fire he had made to warm them, Sareh sat near him, arms wrapped around her, while Saphira lay just outside of the firelight, her head resting near Brom's legs. The crickets hidden among the grass, calling with their abrupt calls of romance soon became irritating. Finally Sareh stood and grew infuriated.
"Well, I've had about enough of this." Brom looked up from the fire at her outburst.
"What?" Sareh turned and lowered herself in front of Brom, taking his hands in hers.
"Brom, we're looking at this like—like it's going to happen right now." Brom looked at her, puzzled.
"You don't think he's coming for you right now?" he asked. The last thing he wanted to imagine was Galbatorix finding Sareh and forcing her into his service, for whatever sordid reasons he may have planned. Sareh on the other hand seemed to be implying that his plan wasn't one of hurry.
"No, I don't." Brom shook his head in disagreement.
"Sareh, the man sent his pet jackal to take over your body, and told me that he was going to manipulate your abilities to his needs." Sareh tilted her head and raised her hand to Brom's face.
"He told me that as well Brom, but the risk he took to tell me was immense… While I was in Durza's body, I found that Galbatorix is not strong enough to attack the Riders yet." Brom looked at her in surprise.
"Do you mean to say, he was—lying?" Sareh gave him a half smile, slightly humored by his question.
"Galbatorix is a deranged man looking to destroy the Dragon Riders—of course he's lying." Saphira lifted her head as she heard this, her interest in stopping Galbatorix and protecting Sareh just as strong as Brom's.
"So, we can alert the council before he even begins his vendetta, keep him from doing anything harmful.' Sareh shook her head,
"I'm not sure that will make any difference. I don't know where Galbatorix is, that was information I couldn't gather, and if I'm using my abilities right—the council won't believe you anyway Brom." Brom pulled back, his eyebrows nearly disappearing into his hairline.
"Excuse me?" he asked, his disbelief evident. Sareh sighed she wasn't entirely sure how to tell him his beloved riders were not perfect.
"Brom—Even if you go to the council, you won't be believed. They think Galbatorix has been chased away, and that without a dragon he won't return… They're wrong and that will be part of their downfall." Brom was quiet for a moment, leaving Sareh to wonder if she had done wrong in telling him what she had seen in her visions. It wouldn't be easy for him to accept but he would have to if he wanted to try and stop Galbatorix.
"I know it's hard to believe," she started trying to tell him gently, he looked at her and shook his head.
"No it isn't hard to believe." Sareh was taken aback at his words.
"So… You trust what I say is true?" Brom nodded slowly and stood, Saphira lifted her head and followed him as he paced. He turned back and looked at Sareh.
"I knew when I met with the council to give my final report. They were arrogant, patting themselves on the back for putting Galbatorix in his place. I knew it wasn't true, that his hatred was too powerful for him to stay in seclusion." Sareh looked at her hands resting in her lap. She knew it was hard for a Rider to talk ill of his fellow Shur'tugals, he had grown up believing the Riders were the peace keepers of Alagaësía, and for many years they had been. However, Sareh had seen the future, and although she wanted nothing more than to prevent the course of time, she couldn't.
"Brom. We can still try, I may have missed something, someone who will listen in the council—" Brom shook his head.
"No." he said quietly, looking out across the cliff side. "We have to go straight to the other Riders. Tell them what we know, let them make their own decision." Sareh stood quickly and brushed off her skirt, making her way over to Brom.
"To decide what, exactly?" she asked when she reached him. He turned to face her, looking down on her face, lit golden by the setting sun. He pulled her to him, kissing her upturned face gently.
"If we aren't going to get support from the council, we need to go to those who aren't afraid to lose power. We'll have to convince them to help us stop him." Brom answered softly. Sareh gave him a sad smile and wrapped her arms around his waist, laying her head on his chest.
"Then we'll do it together, somehow." Saphira rose and joined them, encircling them with her wings.
"We will all do this together."
Several Years Later…
It was hard to believe that several years ago, Sareh had been a young woman working the land with her family. Today she crouched low in a shadowed hollow. Her dark hair, once free to be blown about by the wind, was pulled into a braid, her airy skirt was replaced with leather pants, a corseted shirt and well-worn boots. In her hands were deadly sharp daggers. Behind her were several of the rebels known as the Varden who were not Dragon Riders. Above her Brom and a few of his fellow riders circled, looking for the large search party Galbatorix had sent through The Spine, one of many groups now that he had overtaken key cities. She was quiet, her eyes scanning the terrain ahead of her, looking for some sign of those she and the others were waiting for. She gripped her daggers tightly until she heard Saphira's voice in her mind.
"Sareh, they are very close now, attack when ready. Brom, I, and the others will await your signal to descend." Sareh gave her acknowledgement, just as she went to inform her men, Brom's voice also filtered into her mind. Years ago the two had had to depend entirely on Saphira to contact one another. Now, after much trial and error, Sareh had found her power did not work only with dragons but with anyone who had some form of telepathic power. With that information, Sareh and Brom had found a way to communicate without words, now was one of those times.
"Sareh."
"Yes Brom?"
"Be careful, I expect to see you after the smoke has cleared."
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
"I love you Sareh." Sareh smiled, Brom wasn't normally one to share his emotions, but he had become much more open with his feelings now that he felt no one but her would hear of it. And Sareh wouldn't have it any other way.
"I love you too, Brom."
With her goodbyes done, she turned to face those directly behind her and began giving instructions.
"When they come into range, we'll surround what we can and allow the archers to fire on them, as for the rest, Brom and his Riders will attack from behind, trapping them." Every fighter within range of her quiet words nodded their understanding, while others passed the message on; a few seconds later they heard the search party crashing through the brush. Sareh shook her head; obviously they were not afraid of being heard. She motioned for the others to stay low and continued to watch their targets. When they entered the open area Sareh waited a few moments. When they had filtered through the trees, enough to surround, Sareh leapt from her hiding place and gave the command to attack.
The search party was taken by surprise as the Varden ambushed them, men and women alike surrounding the enemy, archers letting loose on them. Several of Galbatorix's men fell in front of Sareh before she was able to attack them herself. She looked back and gave a gesture of thanks to the archers behind her. The next few Urgals were not so lucky. As they crashed towards her, Sareh flicked her wrists, her daggers flying, each lodging in some respective vital part of each creature. They fell like trees, landing with loud thuds ahead of her. She felt the sensation of being followed and grabbed another dagger from her boot. She spun around, throwing the dagger as she crouched to avoid a head on attack. The dagger hit its mark, straight into the heart of an Urgal that had been lifting his sword to strike her. His face twisted into a look of shock and pain as he fell face forward.
As Sareh raised herself off the ground, quickly gathering her spent daggers as she called to the Riders, almost immediately hearing the thud of wings beating the air, the shadows of the dragon's covering the ground, blocking out the sun. She risked a look up and saw the familiar blue flash of Saphira's scales, and knew Brom and she were near. She headed for a pack of Urgals that were attempting to box several of the Varden not armed with bows, into a tight grove of trees. She caught three of them with her daggers, successfully distracting the other stupid creatures before they attacked. The cornered Varden took advantage of that time and took care of them while the Urgals' attention was diverted.
Sareh looked to reload her arsenal but was distracted as she moved to grab the daggers she had expended. A sudden prickle of fear crawled up Sareh's spine as she leaned over.
Durza.
Sareh spun around looking across the battlefield, her line of sight constantly blocked by Urgals fighting Varden, dragons grasping enemies in sharp talons and tossing them into nearby trees. Even through the chaos she saw the crimson hair that belied the Shade. Immediately she reacted and ran straight to the spot she had last seen him, though by the time she got there he was gone. She could hear his laughter in her mind, infuriating her. Finally Sareh decided not to depend on her sense of sight, but her ability. Closing her eyes, she searched for Durza with her mind, probing through the confusion surrounding her. Her thoughts passed over the warriors of the Varden, their minds full of tactics and thoughts of their families. The Urgals were easy to bypass, as their minds were empty, devoid of any string of thoughts that meant anything.
If Sareh had known that using her abilities would give Durza the advantage he needed to overcome her defenses, she never would have opened her mind as she had.
Because not only had Sareh learned the intricacies of her skills, so had Durza, through spying and dark magic Sareh had never heard of in her life. The minute she opened her thoughts to find him, was the minute Durza found the crack the wall of her mind blocking him out. That wall came crashing down, Sareh's mind immediately trapped in Durza's grasp.
From his perch on Saphira's back Brom felt a change in Sareh. She had frozen, her mind battling for something. Brom ordered Saphira to wheel around until they could see her. They hadn't even reached her position when Brom felt a searing pain in his shoulder. His experience with her told him that Sareh had been injured somehow, her abilities having united them in almost every capacity. He knew the pain he was feeling was hers. When he and Saphira reached her, Brom saw Sareh fall, a dagger sticking out of her chest.
"SAREH!" he bellowed from high above the melee. Sareh didn't hear him, the battle in her mind was being lost as she contended with the agonizing pain in her chest from Durza's poisoned dagger. She knew it was poisoned since the Shade had been kind enough to tell her so. She fell to the ground, the pain too much for her to handle while trying to protect herself from Durza's pressures on her mind.
On Saphira, Broom became frantic as he felt Sareh slipping away. Saphira tried to force her way down, the treetops in her way, but even dragons have their weak points and the wings were made of hollow bones that could be snapped if hit just right.
"I can't get through the trees Brom, we have to find another way!" Brom had never felt the hysteria he did now. His heart was beating out of his chest as he tried to find a way to the woman he loved.
"Saphira, just get me close enough to jump!" he yelled over the tornado-like winds rushing passed his ears as Saphira's wings kept them afloat. Saphira twisted her head to look at Brom and voice her disapproval.
"It's too far, you'll be hurt or killed." Brom lifted himself up until he was standing on Saphira's saddle, balancing himself precariously on her back.
"Saphira, I'm not leaving her and I know neither are you. Get me close enough to jump." Saphira did as he asked, allowing herself to fall enough to get him closer to the ground and keep from being stuck among the trees. Brom fell to the ground, losing his footing and landing on his side. He ignored the pain and got to his feet. He tried to get his bearings, to find Sareh and was met with an evil chuckle. He faced the sound and saw Durza, Sareh in his arms unconscious, blood seeping from her wound, black with poison.
"You're too late Shur'tugal. Your little woman is ours now."
"NO!" Brom roared and he barreled towards the Shade only to run into nothingness. The Shade was gone and with him Sareh.
Sareh had been taken, just as Galbatorix had predicted.
Brom fell to his knees in the spot Durza had stood, the last moment before Sareh was gone. For the first time in his life Brom couldn't control his emotions and in a matter of moments his face was covered in tears. Saphira had found a place to land with little danger to her wings and now she rushed to Brom's side, knocking smaller trees to untimely deaths in her haste to find him. She was met with a wave of anguish that nearly stopped her dead and soon her own heart felt that sting of losing Sareh.
It appeared Galbatorix had won.
But just for now. Brom wasn't going to allow Galbatorix his prize for long. Sareh was going to come home and safely if it was the last thing he did.
