Chapter 4

The wind rushed past Eragon's face as they flew, whisking away the sweat from his brow. Adrenaline pumped through his body, making the details around him sharp and crystallized. He felt the steady thumps of Saphira's wings, purposeful and unyielding. Wrapped around his waist was Arya's slender arm. The firm grip was a physical reminder of her resolve. Off to his left, Murtagh and Thorn matched their progress stride for stride. His half brother looked as dangerous as Galbatorix himself as he rode astride his mighty dragon. With his crimson sword reflecting the sun so that it looked to be on fire and his face set in an iron focus, it was a threateningly impressive sight. Eragon was glad he was on his side.

Up ahead were Galbatorix and Shruikan. They seemed like something out of a bad dream. Galbatorix's dark, torn clothing made him look like a demon escaped from the depths of hell, and Shruikan looked like the shadow of death itself.

Eragon shifted his stance on Saphira slightly, just enough to make sure his body was ready for what he was about to put it through. How could he ever be fully ready for this? He couldn't. A king who has only gotten stronger over the centuries, and a dragon bigger than both of theirs combined. Eragon knew no one could be ready to take them on. But maybe that was the point. Doing what needed to be done, no matter how bad it looked. Eragon settled into as good a spot as any. It really didn't matter. His thoughts drifted to those that he loved, some of them right there with him, others far off fighting their own battles. Eragon focused on Galbatorix and saw him for what he truly was: the single reason all those he loved were fighting. He wasn't just fighting the king anymore. No, he was about to fight for all those he cared about. The odds didn't matter, just the cause. Yes, he was ready.

The two smaller dragons split from their head on assault and made for Shruikan's flanks. Saphira to the right and Thorn to the left. Eragon locked eyes with the king as they approached. If he could hold his attention maybe that would give Murtagh the opening he needed. Saphira flew right up to Shruikan's side and then banked hard. As they swerved, Eragon lunged out with his sword. He swung in a wide arc trying to cut into Shruikan's wing but Galbatorix deflected his sword with a spell. A moment later, Eragon heard Shruikan roar and glimpsed a trail of blood from Murtagh's sword.

Maybe this can work, Eragon thought.

Saphira came back around, lining up again to fly by Shruikan's side when Eragon noticed Shruikan's wounded wing healing itself up. The tissue pulled itself together and the blood stopped flowing. Eragon's stomach sank.

This will not be easy, little one, Saphira said in his mind.

It never is.

The dragons and their riders began to swoop in and attack Shruikan's sides, flying away before either Shruikan or Galbatorix could counter. Unfortunately, Shruikan would focus on one dragon while Galbatorix focused on the other. With the both of them working in tandem, it was nearly impossible to inflict damage.

Eragon and Arya both lashed out with their weapons but Shruikan tucked and rolled, while at the same time Galbatorix parried a slash from Murtagh. Saphira brought Eragon and Arya around but this time Galbatorix was locked on them. Saphira tilted her wings and Arya stabbed outward with the deathdart. Galbatorix blocked it with a flick of his wrist and countered with a stab of his own. Eragon was ready. He swung Brisingr up and deflected the king's attack. Saphira banked to the side and away from Galbatorix just as they heard Thorn let loose an angry roar. Looking over his shoulder, Eragon saw scarlet blood trailing from a claw wound on Thorn's side. Murtagh already had his hand extended to the injury, mending it with his magic. It would have only taken a few minutes to finish, but Murtagh wasn't given the chance.

Galbatorix went on the offensive.

Eragon urged Saphira back to the fight, seeing the king's stark white sword lifting up high above his head. A flash of white, a blur of red. Murtagh blocked Galbatorix's attack.

Eragon realized he was holding his breath as he watched the two riders. They were almost to them, but still too far away to help his half brother.

With a quick twist, Galbatorix brought his sword around for another strike. Again, Murtagh sword flashed red and blocked the king, but he barely made it. The king pulled back a third time, faster than before. Murtagh wasn't moving fast enough, his sword wasn't going to block the king's.

Instead, in a quick fly by, Saphira hit the king with her wing knocking him off balance, and then took off before he could even lift his sword up again. Eragon let out his breath as they began to come back around. The momentary distraction let Murtagh and Thorn fly away in a wide arc. Eragon saw the blood trail finally stop and heard Thorn release a deep growl full of anger. The pair came out of the arc heading right back towards Galbatorix, while Saphira did the same.

The two dragons flew side by side again, but as they got close to the king they split off, Saphira going low, and Thorn going high. Eragon could see Shruikan's massive black eye on him, and his razor sharp talons clenching, ready for an attack. Saphira dropped a few more feet in altitude and then aimed herself back up at Shruikan's underside. The black dragon lashed out with a fore claw, but Saphira was too agile. The dragon missed and Eragon caught the claw on his sword, steel biting into flesh. Arya followed suit, lifting the emerald deathdart as high as she could. The tip of the spear broke into Shruikan's underside, tearing at his gut. The great dragon shouted in pain and anger while swinging his tree trunk of a tail underneath him. Eragon saw it before Saphira; the massive tail would knock them out of the sky like a couple of flies.

Saphira dive! Eragon shouted in his mind. She obeyed immediately, curling in her wings and falling out of the sky like a comet. Eragon's stomach rose up into his throat and he felt Arya's arm tighten around his waist. He spared one last glance up above him to see Shruikan spin around, knocked off balance from his miss.

Once Saphira leveled out and began her climb back to the fight, Eragon could hear the sounds of swords crashing into swords. He could see Murtagh flying in towards Galbatorix, exchange blows, and flying off again.

Keep it up Murtagh. Don't give him a chance to go on the offensive, Eragon thought.

The pair kept at it, only sustaining minor injuries as they flew off. Thorn was coming back around for another bout when Galbatorix raised his arm towards them and let loose an immense blast of black energy. The spell hurtled towards Murtagh who looked up at the last minute, just in time for the spell to catch him square in the chest. It exploded on impact and he was blasted backwards in his seat. Thorn let out a roar, and fell back and away in an attempt to keep his rider from falling out of his saddle.

"Murtagh!" Eragon shouted. All he could see was unconscious body lying on Thorn's back. Smoke from Murtagh's clothes left a trail through the air as they flew away.

Eragon would have flown straight towards his half brother, but Galbatorix had already set his sights on them, and evil smile spreading across his face. Shruikan let out a roar and took off towards them in a burst. Eragon altered his stance on Saphira slightly, and focused on the dragon. The black mountain moving towards them grew bigger and bigger with no sign of slowing down. Eragon imagined that the king would rather blow straight into them and knock them out of the sky than continue their aerial battle. There was no way Saphira could come out victorious from a head to head collision, and Eragon figured the king was counting on that. As Shruikan's immense form was nearly on top of them, Saphira dodged to her right side. Eragon watched as the king leaned out of his saddle as they passed by. There was a whistle in the air and Saphira let out a howl that cut through Eragon's heart like a knife. Through their mental link, he could feel the pain the king's sword inflicted on her. It was like a burning stake was laid across her thigh and his anger boiled because of it.

As they put some distance between the king and his dragon, Eragon went to work healing the wound. It was deeper than it looked, which meant he had to use even more energy, but he didn't care. After making what he thought was good progress, he took a moment to catch his breath and survey how much damage was left. The wound had shrunk to half its original size, but it was still bleeding. Then, mysteriously, the wound began to mend itself, slowly at first but speeding up until there was nothing but a small scar. Confused, Eragon looked over his shoulder to see Arya with her eyes closed and hand extended. She took a final breath and then looked up at him with a sly grin. They locked eyes and his anger temporarily faded, replaced by a calm fixation. If he wasn't careful, he feared he could lose himself in those deep emeralds forever.

"You didn't have to do that," Eragon said.

"You're not the only one who can heal Saphira," Arya replied.

Thanks, to both of you. Now get ready because it's my turn, said Saphira heatedly. Eragon and Arya adjusted their stance and Saphira loosed an angry blast of fire from her mouth as she banked back towards Shruikan. Eragon's own anger came right back as his dragon yearned for blood. She flapped her wings faster and faster till they were shooting towards Galbatorix like a blue arrow shot from a giant bow. The black dragon stayed where he was, letting Saphira do the work to close the gap. She flew right up to Shruikan roaring in defiance.

Everything became clear to Eragon as his anger pushed him into an iron focus. Saphira turned upwards at the last minute, and Eragon watched as his view changed from staring down Shruikan, to looking straight up at the sky. The clouds were slowly gathering, fighting against the sun. Birds were gliding on updrafts, while the hot wind teased at him.

Saphira flapped her left wing turning them upside down while arcing her back. Eragon could now look up, which was down, and see Galbatorix straining his neck as he watched the sapphire dragon above his head. Saphira arched her neck until they were headed straight down towards Shruikan's hind legs, completing half of a backward summersault. The great black dragon was too big to move out of the way in time. Saphira dropped right passed his hind legs and tail, gouging his flesh with her talons as she roared her revenge. As Eragon became level with Shruikan, he swung Brisingr in a mad arc cutting deep into the beast's thigh. Arya followed suite with a stab of the deathdart letting loose her own scream of revenge. The black dragon's blood rained from the sky as his roar echoed across the city.

In the next second Eragon was far below Shruikan and Saphira was leveling out of her dive. He didn't need to look up to know Saphira's back flip was successful. The blood on his sword and the wails of the pained black dragon we confirmation enough. Saphira loosed a tongue of flame, allowing herself a small victory. Eragon couldn't help but smile.

He was about to tell her to start the climb back to Galbatorix, to press the attack, when he sensed something wrong. Something that didn't fit. He could feel the hair on his arms standing on end.

"What is it?" asked Arya.

"I'm not sure yet."

He quieted himself, trying to decipher what it was that was bothering him. He couldn't hear anything aside from the wind past his ears. He new he wasn't hurt, and he didn't see any immediate threat, so why was he so uncomfortable? He closed his eyes and focused on his surroundings, when it finally clicked. He didn't hear anything. Shruikan was screaming from the wounds they had inflicted not moments ago, and now all was silent. He slowly forced himself to look up. The massive dragon was holding his altitude high above them, seemingly perfectly fine. A chill ran down his spine.

"It's Shruikan… He's healed," Eragon slowly said. Saphira growled deep within her throat at the realization.

"Oh no…" Arya whispered.

That attack was considerably effective. Eragon could still feel the sensation of driving his sword into Shruikan's flesh, separating tendons and muscles. Saphira nearly separated his hind leg from his body. It should have stopped him completely, or at least sent him to the ground to recover. But as he looked up above him, Shruikan looked like he had just taken to wing. Eragon could feel his hands beginning to sweat, and his heartbeat quicken. If an assault like the one they did would only temporarily wound the dragon until Galbatorix healed him, then Eragon did not know how they were going to win this battle.

"We need Murtagh and Thorn. A combined attack is the only way we stand a chance," Arya pointed out.

"I agree, but I haven't seen them since he was hit," Eragon replied.

Never mind them, Shruikan is moving on us, said Saphira. A quick glance upward confirmed it; Shruikan tucked in his wings and dove towards them. It was like seeing a giant boulder hurled right at you, not something Eragon wanted to get used to. Saphira banked hard, working to get out of Shruikan's path. Shruikan adjusted slightly making sure to keep the fleeing dragon below him. If nothing changed, he would crash right into Saphira. Eragon couldn't let that happen.

"Saphira, turn around and get ready to move on my signal. Arya, gather your energy. When he gets close enough, we'll make our play."

"Are you sure about this?" She asked. He wasn't, but he didn't respond. It was too late to change his mind. Looking up, he saw Shruikan's massive mouth open up as he neared their position. The razor sharp teeth, each the size of daggers, lined Shruikan's vice like jaw. All of them looking like they were pointed at him, begging to taste his flesh. Eragon tried for a deep breath, an attempt to calm himself. It didn't work. He raised his arm towards the oncoming mountain, just as Arya did the same.

"Ready..." he said. Shruikan was nearly on top of them, but he had to wait just a second more…

"Now!" he yelled. Arya shot a blast of emerald green energy from her palm as Eragon shot a blue one from his. Each spell raced up at Shruikan's open mouth, while Saphira dodged hard to the side. The spells nearly hit the dragon but he twisted around, bringing Galbatorix in the path instead. The dark rider let a smile crack across his face as he swiped his hand at the spells, knocking them off and away. With too much momentum to come to an immediate stop, Shruikan dropped past them as his enormous wings unfurled. The dragon leveled out and immediately turned back towards them.

"Well at least he didn't knock us out of the sky," Eragon said feigning optimism.

Only to have to fight them head on, said Saphira.

"Out of the pot and into the fire," Eragon replied. Saphira aligned herself with the approaching dragon. Shruikan was coming at them more slowly than before, watching them for any more tricks. Saphira raised herself up slightly, working to maintain the higher position.

Shruikan reached their altitude, but instead of charging directly, turned and began to circle them. Galbatorix hadn't lost his grin as he sat at ease above his black dragon. The sight made Eragon's blood boil. He watched as Shruikan continued to circle, waiting for him to attack. He saw a flicker of movement from his tail, and then Shruikan was on them. The black dragon lunged out for Saphira's hind legs but she turned and swiped at his mouth. He took the hit in stride and lashed back with another bite. This one connected with her fore leg, sending Saphira yelling in pain.

Eragon could feel the throbbing wound through their connection, and instantly went into a rage. He yelled out and threw his sword at Shruikan. The blade cut through the air as it circled out of his hand, spinning until it sank into its target, the side of Shruikan's neck. The dragon hissed at the metal, letting go of Saphira's leg in the process. Galbatorix pointed at the sword and then back at Eragon. The blade followed command by pulling itself out of Shruikan and flying directly towards its owner.

This is not happening. Eragon was not going to be impaled by his own sword, the sword that had become as much a part of his own body as his arm was. He focused all his attention on the incoming missile, blocking out everything else. He made his mind wrap around the entire blade, feeling every shape and curve. It was almost to his chest when he released his spell and stopped the blade in the air in front of him. For a moment, he just held it there, awed by how close he was to dying by his own weapon. Then he reached his hand around and the sword handle spun to meet it. Once again, he felt whole. Although, he couldn't help mentally berate himself for throwing his sword, something Brom would have slapped him for.

Well I am glad you did, said Saphira in response to his self-punishment. He smiled at the thought, and went to work on her leg. With the help of Arya, and some of the Eldunari, Saphira's wound healed. Eragon looked up at Shruikan only to see him back in a circle pattern again. He felt like a helpless animal, waiting for death to strike the final blow. He could feel Saphira paying close attention, looking for any sign that could give away Shruikan's intentions. Galbatorix seemed completely at ease high upon Shruikan, his white sword held loosely at his side. Eragon wanted nothing more than to wipe the grin from his face, preferably with Brisingr.

There was a slight change in Shruikan's flight, and the dragon was upon them again. This time Saphira was ready. She flapped her wings downward hard and rose up above Shruikan. Galbatorix seemed to know what she was about to do because he raised his arm and sent his own spell at them. They did not even have time to prepare themselves. They all got hit with what felt like a canon blast of racing wind. It instantly filled Saphira's wings like the sails of ship and lifted them higher and higher into the air. It was at this moment with Galbatorix's hand raised at them and Shruikan's full attention on Saphira, that a red blur crashed into their opposite side. Thorn knocked the black dragon off balance, and wrapped his mouth around as much of Shruikan's immense neck as he could while digging into his side with his claws. Once he was within range, Murtagh lunged out with his sword at a surprised Galbatorix. His clothes were still smoking, but he attacked as if he had fire within him.

The momentary distraction allowed Saphira a chance to close up her wings and dive back down towards the fight. The king blocked the blow from Murtagh and countered with a strike of his own. Murtagh blocked the powerful attack but was knocked backwards with his sword arm thrown out at a weird angle. Galbatorix smiled and used the moment to look back up at Saphira who was closing in and raised his arm at her again. Instantly, they were hit with the familiar gust of wind, but since her wings were already tucked tightly against her body she was only held where she was in the air. She roared in anger and tried to make herself more spear-like but to no avail. Eragon cursed in frustration. Murtagh was finally back and he was suspended helplessly above the battle. Without a combined effort, the king would not be defeated. He turned his attention inward and began working on a counter spell to break the king's.

Galbatorix turned back to Murtagh just in time to block a slash at his stomach and then another at his shoulder. Galbatorix responded with a stab at Murtagh's chest, which Murtagh barely blocked. Eragon watched as they went back and forth, strike for strike. This all happened while Galbatorix had his other hand lifted up at Saphira and Thorn was doing his best to hang on to a writhing Shruikan. It was utter chaos, and Eragon could do nothing to help.

The sword fight raging below him went from bad to worse. Murtagh's initial fierce attack had put Galbatorix on the defensive, but now he was barely keeping the king's blade off of him. Galbatorix was frighteningly skillful, spinning his blade around faster and faster at Murtagh, wearing him out, never giving him a chance to counter strike. Eragon could feel his fear growing, knowing that while the king was besting Murtagh, he was also continuing his spell on Saphira. The fierce wind continued to keep them suspended above the fight, too far away to help. A tight knot began to form at the base of his stomach as he frantically worked on a counter spell.

He was deep in thought, trying to piece together a spell when all of the sudden he felt Arya's hand slide into his. It was so out of place, Eragon was shocked out of his head. He looked back at Arya and saw in her eyes a look of sad determination. It was as if she wanted to say goodbye. He couldn't move, stunned at the most beautiful and heartbreaking image he'd ever seen. With the wind blowing her golden hair around, she gave him a small smile and his hand a tight squeeze. Then, in one graceful motion, she leaned over and kissed him on his cheek and then jumped off Saphira's back, deathdart in hand.

Everything seemed to slow down to Eragon as his mouth opened in a silent scream and his eyes grew wide. He saw Shruikan twisting his neck trying to rid himself of Thorn. He saw Murtagh and Galbatorix exchanging blows, and he saw Arya. Being much smaller than Saphira, she was able to cut through the king's wind spell letting her fall towards the madness below.

Eragon watched as Murtagh swung his sword across his body at Galbatorix. Galbatorix raised his sword up and with a flick of his wrist knocked Murtagh's sword out and away from him. He then followed up with a wide arcing downward swing aimed for Murtagh's head. Murtagh didn't have enough time to bring his sword back around so he instead twisted his body to the side. Galbatorix's sword seemed to take forever to reach its target in Eragon's eyes. It struck Murtagh's shoulder first and sliced its way down his side, cutting his ribs and continuing till it left Murtagh and gradually sank into Thorn's shoulder. Murtagh screamed out in agony and Thorn howled, releasing his hold on Shruikan.

All the while Arya was slowly falling through the air towards them, her hair billowing in the wind.

Eragon saw Galbatorix take his gaze off Thorn and Murtagh as they dropped away and look up at where he held Eragon. His smug grin contorted into an angry snarl when he noticed Arya dropping towards his dragon's head. Arya raised the deathdart high above her with the point facing down and arched her body like a bow about to loose an arrow. Galbatorix dropped the hand that was holding up Eragon and Saphira and aim it at Arya.

He was too slow.

Arya yelled out as she landed catlike on top of Shruikan's massive head, bringing the deathdart down through the top of his skull. It sank all the way until Arya's hands made contact with his scales. Shruikan's entire body gave a jerk and went limp.

"No!" Galbatorix screamed out. Eragon watched in horror as he released an enormous blast of energy from his extended hand, blasting her backwards off of Shruikan.

"Arya!" Eragon yelled.

He could see her body tumbling through the air, heading to the ground at break-neck speeds. Saphira instantly went into a steep dive aiming for her. They passed Shriukan's body in a flash as it fell with Galbatorix on his back.

Eragon could see they were headed down to an open area that was probably a market place before the battle, but was now just filled with debris and panicked people. As they raced towards the ground, Eragon began to make out Arya's limp body tumbling through the air below. The wind rushed past his ears as he tried to judge the distance between them. It wasn't good. They were gaining on her, but she was going to hit the ground before they would reach her. The knot in his stomach came back as fear began to creep in. Eragon worked on keeping it in check. He needed to focus. Arya would hit in a few seconds so he changed his plan. Eragon concentrated on gathering energy from himself, Saphira, and all the eldunari that were with them. He felt the familiar surge of power as the energy built up within him. He summoned all he could, raised his arm at Arya, and released the spell. She was about ten feet from the ground when the spell caught hold of her. Instantly, her descent slowed. The spell made the impact bearable and she kicked up a little cloud of dust where her body landed.

Saphira pulled out of the nosedive just in time and flew across the open area mere feet above the ground and landed near Arya. Eragon jumped off Saphira and went over to her, where he knelt and picked her up in his arms. He let out a sigh of relief when he realized that was still breathing, even though it was very shallow. He looked for any injuries but she seemed to have only sustained a few cuts and scrapes from the fall, nothing too serious. Eragon's focus was snapped away when a bunch of people behind him screamed.

He looked up and saw Shruikan's giant body plummeting to the ground at full speed. Eragon bent over Arya, and Saphira wrapped a wing around them. When it crashed down in the market place, the entire ground shook with the impact, and it kicked up a giant cloud of dust and debris.

Once the initial dust cloud passed over them, Eragon stood to get a better look. The entire square was covered in a haze. Shruikan's body was merely a vague shadow ahead of him. Eragon looked around for Murtagh and Thorn thinking they might have landed after their injuries. He spotted the pair off to his left with some elves who were working on them. From what Eragon could tell Thorn was okay, but Murtagh was in bad shape given the pool of blood at his feet. He looked back at the hazy silhouette of the dead dragon and watched as it slowly came into focus.

At first only the black wing tips of Shruikan became visible through the cloud, both sticking out at odd angles. Then the dust lowered and more of the dragon came into focus. The spikes along his spine were visible next and then his shoulders were shown, but the recess between his shoulder blades where the king would sit was now empty. As the dust finally settled Eragon saw Galbatorix standing next to Shruikan's head, the top of the green deathdart still sticking out of the skull. Galbatorix had his head bowed and in his right hand was the white sword, stained red with Murtagh's blood. The king brought his legs together to stand at his full height and slowly raised his head. His eyes met Eragon's and seemed to drill in him as if they were piercing his soul. Eragon held his gaze as best he could. He was struck by the king's expression.

There was no smug smile or glimmer in his eyes.

The king was angry, even furious, but his face was a mask of coldness.

It was the scariest thing Eragon had ever seen.