Chapter Twenty-Six
I began to saddle Miquien again after Karnus and the advisor were gone. Nyvern and Kallaheart had raised eyebrows as I did so, watching me with confused expressions on their faces.
"It'll be dark soon, and I have to get back home to make dinner for the men. I'll have to tell Brom that I rode to Therinsford today to sell my old horse, since my new one was given to me by an old friend that came to visit. He'll be overly suspicious, especially with the new weapons as well, but I think it'll be okay." I explained to them as I saddled Miquien, who stood meekly nearby. I didn't even glance up at the two boys during my constant stream of words as I saddled Miquien.
Nyvern and Kallaheart nodded as one, then glanced at one another with a smile. "Well then, I'm coming with you. Perhaps you could introduce me to Brom as your 'friend' who got you that mount. I'll just tell him I lived in Therinsford once upon a time, and that I came to visit. Do you think Roran and Garrow would mind if I stayed over tonight?" Kallaheart asked. I laughed and shook my head, making him smile.
He ran over to me and picked me up in his strong arms, hugging me tightly as he swung me around in circles. I laughed and tucked myself into his body so I didn't kick anything. When he finally set me down, I was a little dizzy.
"Well then, let's saddle up Kallaheart. Out of curiosity, will I still see you outside tonight Nyvern?" I asked him as Kallaheart went to saddle his mare. Nyvern smiled and gave me a gentler hug than Kallaheart had, but his was more loving than Kallaheart's playful nature tended to show.
"Of course you will; I'll be outside your farm when the moon rises, and I expect to see you and Kallaheart out there waiting for me." He said, hugging me to him tighter. I hugged him tightly back, not wanting to leave him. I'd never had such a deep connection with anybody, and if I stepped away I feared I would lose my closest brother.
Nyvern kissed my cheek softly before letting me go. Kallaheart had saddled Miquien as well as his own mount, and was sitting in his saddle while holding my horse's reigns. I climbed up agilely into my saddle with almost no effort and looked back down at Nyvern with sorrow, missing him already. I waved to him and he waved back before I turned my felsteed around and rode out of the stables with Kallaheart right behind me.
Kallaheart and I rode out of the front of the Main Hall and through the area where the coliseum was. We rode out of the entranceway through the main cave and down the stone ramps built into the side of the mountain until we reached the forest floor. When we did, Kallaheart and I both told our mounts "Keelva-Colvo" as they began to shift.
When our felsteeds had shifted, we were flying through the forest ten times faster than Karnus could ever dream of running, and we weren't even pushing our mounts in the slightest. Their breathing was even, and their natures were calm and focused. I glanced over at Kallaheart's mare felsteed and stifled my shock.
While the fire around my felsteed was mainly green with bits of black and darker green tinted into it at intervals, the fire around Kallaheart's cream-colored mare was chiefly a light blue with bits of light orange and darker blue in it. It coincided perfectly with the color of his horse's coat.
We were in sight of Garrow's farm within minutes, and when we neared the border of the trees we swerved and rode near its edge, changing our felsteeds back to normal horses with muttered words. After they had changed, we got down and shifted back into human form before mounting back up. Seeing Kallaheart as a human made me giggle; the bones in his werewolf hair were actually in his shaggy blond human hair as well. We rode further up in the trees before going out onto the road and riding down towards Garrow's farm.
As we made our way home, I noticed my armor had disappeared. Kallaheart explained that it disappeared until summoned upon by the one wearing it, and when you did it would appear on your body again. He gave me his impish smile as I noticed his was gone too, and I was able to see his tanned skin clearly.
We went into the stables and put our horses away, storing their tack outside their stall doors. Miquien was in Karnus' old stall, while Kallaheart's mare Lealic was in the stall next to his. Once they were put away, Kallaheart and I walked back to the house, talking quietly. I told him to try and act as a normal human would, and he playfully shoved my shoulder.
"Don't worry sis, I've been doing this job for years, remember?" he reminded me. I smiled and sighed in relief, relaxing as we made our way towards the house. As we walked in the front door, I stifled my shock with a look of mild surprise.
Sitting in a chair in the living room, was Brom.
I stepped inside with Kallaheart beside me, who was staring at Brom with an amused expression on his face.
"Thought she ran off or got hurt didn't you? She's not as fragile as she looks." Kallaheart commented rudely to Brom with a small smirk, not even saying hello. Brom stood silently from the chair he was sitting in and walked slowly our way, stopping about a foot in front of us.
"Just where have you been all afternoon? Did you forget completely about your lessons?" Brom asked me quietly, his eyes betraying nothing.
"Kallaheart showed up when I was on my way to your house Brom, and he had brought me a new horse. We had to ride to Therinsford to sell my old one, and it took extra time since I didn't want to be recognized by any of the townsfolk." I explained to Brom, or rather lied.
He stood there a moment to think about what I'd told him and finally sighed in relief, embracing me in a soft hug. "I was worried about you; I thought someone had picked you up off the road. You didn't have enough training to do much about that." He explained. I nodded, hugging him back softly. Kallaheart rolled his eyes behind Brom's back and I smiled, but didn't dare laugh or else Brom would know.
Brom let me go and then said "Tomorrow I expect you to show up on time for your lessons. Will your friend- Kallaheart isn't it? -be joining us?" he asked. I nodded to him without glancing at Kallaheart.
He nodded once in response and then bade us a quick farewell, claiming he wanted to be off of the road before night fell upon us. As he walked out the door, Kallaheart sighed in relief and flopped down on the sofa.
"I haven't even been here five minutes, and it's already more excitement than I can handle." He said. I grinned at him and began to finish up the dinner I had prepared earlier. As I was laying everything out on the table, Roran and Garrow came inside from a long day of work, not looking as tired as they had before.
When they saw Kallaheart sitting quietly on the sofa with a good book under his nose, Garrow turned to me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged to him as he and Roran began to wash up. As I began making plates for everyone, Kallaheart came to sit down but I pointed to the sink. He stuck his tongue out at me and went to wash his hands before he sat at the table in Eragon's usual spot.
As everyone ate it was completely quiet, except for the crickets cheeping outside and the scrape of forks on plates. I thought back to my first meal in this house and smiled to myself; it was exactly the same. After a moment though, Garrow finished chewing a piece of meat and asked "What's your name son?"
Kallaheart swallowed a piece of meat he'd just chewed before replying "I'm Kallaheart, a resident of Teirm. I once lived in Yazuac with Ayla, and went to visit her recently. When I found she wasn't there, I tracked her here and came to pay a friendly visit. I hope you don't mind the intrusion." He said, apologizing slightly.
Garrow waved the idea away "No, of course not. I hope you enjoy spending some time with Ayla." He then glanced over at me. "Did you speak with Brom? He showed up earlier looking for you."
I nodded to him. "Yes Garrow, I did. It was all worked out, and I'll continue my lessons tomorrow." I told him.
"Very good." He said, finishing the rest of the meal in silence. I raised an eyebrow in his direction that he didn't see; the way he had made his comment made it seem as though he encouraged my lessons instead of claiming to see no use in them. I shrugged to myself and continued to eat the delicious dinner I had begun that morning.
When everyone was done, I did the dishes and cleaned off the table while they all sat in the living room relaxing. I absentmindedly stroked the amethyst stone that hung around my neck, which hid the dark power within the amulet that Durza had given me.
When I joined them I realized everyone had something to work on. Garrow was fixing some of his tools while Roran polished them off, I had to study from the 'Domia abr Wyrda', and Kallaheart was reading one of the other books in the room, the bones in his hair clacking against each other softly whenever he turned a page.
For a while everything was peaceful and quiet. Once Garrow had finished repairing the tools, he helped Roran to clean and polish them before they both went to bed. Kallaheart finished reading and dog-eared his page, silently setting down his book so that he could watch me read.
"How many pages until you finish that chapter?" he asked me quietly. I didn't even have to look to know that answer.
"Four and a half pages" I told him quietly. He shifted his way of sitting and then picked me up around the waist, placing me in his lap so that he could hold me tight while reading over my shoulder. I leaned back comfortably into him as I finished reading, while he entertained himself by playing with my hair and reading small bits of the passage just before I turned the pages. He didn't say a word, but read and thought in silence.
When I was finished I sighed in happiness and dog-eared the page for chapter fourteen, closing my large book slowly. I leaned back into the comfort of Kallaheart's arms for a long moment before standing up and slowly stretching, breathing deeply to wake my body up after being so comfortable. Kallaheart did the same, taking my book from me and laying it on the couch behind him. Taking my small hand in his much larger one, he led me silently out the front door, closing it behind us.
We walked down the path a ways, deciding to sit nearer the shadow of the trees to look up at the moon. Kallaheart sat and pulled me down to sit between his legs, allowing me to lean back against his strong chest. Together we watched the moon, wonder filling our entire beings as we stared up at the symbol that represented our Mother Goddess, Hecate.
We sat there for a few minutes before we heard a twig snap faintly behind us. I lifted my nose to the wind and knew at once who it was.
"Don't try to be sneaky Nyvern; I could sense you a mile away." I told the darkness without glancing back. I heard a dramatic sigh as bushes rustled and Nyvern stepped out of them, surprisingly in human form. I raised an eyebrow at him and he simply shrugged, coming to sit beside Kallaheart and me.
For a while none of us spoke or moved, but simply breathed in silence as we stared up at the shining moon, which was just receding from being full. Only the tiniest sliver of glowing silver was missing from its round circle in the night sky. At one point, Nyvern glanced over at Kallaheart and I and we all stared back, a silver gleam hanging in all our eyes. I began to slowly smile as Kallaheart chuckled lowly.
We all slowly stood from where we were sitting, looking at each other with a secret glance in our eyes, one that humans wouldn't understand. We linked our hands together in a circle as our bodies began to change and distort upon will. We all welcomed the change, our bodies twisting in pleasure instead of pain, our muscles growing and reshaping in happiness and wanting. It took me until that moment to realize how much I had missed my true form in the past few hours.
The change was swift and effortless, and when it was all said and done there were three werewolves where three humans had once stood, their clawed hands interlinked and their heads raised up to the sky as they howled in pleasure and happiness before they took off swiftly into the welcoming darkness.