Chapter 17:
First, her surroundings were blurry. However, as the drug wore off her surroundings became clear. She was in a cell, clamped to a stone table. The turned her head to the side, making everything leave a streaking trail. The bars were thick, and the lock thicker. Three men stood outside, two of them short and stubby, the other well built. One thing was similar, they were all ugly. They heard the rattling of metal and turned around. They smiled, revealing rows of dirty teeth. The middle one proclaimed loudly,
'Well! She is awake now! Chained and ready for funs! My, girl, we've waited real long for you to wake up!' they all laughed, the middleman rattling the lock. The one next to him jogged off, a wide smile across his features. He came back with a pile of things on a mini table, on the very top a horses' strop. The men walked in loudly, putting the things in a neat line across a bench. The built man stood next to the table, checking the chains. Soon the two short men sat in her line of view, and they smiled at her, there eyes hungry. For a moment, nothing happened, then her tunic ripped open and bellows of laughter began.
Eragon PoV
Everything was silent. Two piercing eyes stared at him. He found his voice then and everything came at once.
'You are Kuthian? Solembum never said anything about Yawe. Why do you want me? And I really do not think I can do that. I already have too much. What do you mean? A fire inside?' he streamed on. And soon the exasperated faces of Yawe and Kuthian quieted him.
'You know, you ask too much.' Yawe said, she looked at him and smiled. He looked down in response. Kuthian came closer, touching his arm. To Eragon's surprise, he was very warm.
'We need to hurry. Our power will be explained once you have us. For now, show us your mind, we will not hurt you.' Kuthian rumbled. Eragon hesitated. Then his barriers lifted, and gently Yawe came into his thoughts, followed by Kuthian. They went through quickly, and Eragon barely felt them. When they finished he saw them sit on the rock again, this time drawing him closer. They looked at him with amazement, but Yawe's expression was troubled.
'That woman. The one you love. Something is wrong. We must complete this now!' she said. They both stood immediately, Kuthian casting off his cloak. He looked once into eragon's eyes, then said in a low voice,
'After this, you must go to the dungeons in Dras Leona. The woman is caught, and those three men,' he looked troubled, then continued,
'Give into pleasure easily.' He finished shortly, giving Eragon a baleful stare. He stopped breathing, and then struggled against Kuthian's arms trying to break free. His arms held him strongly, but Kuthian lifted him easily off the stone and clamped a hand over his mouth, saying loudly,
'What we give you is what will get her out of there! Now shut up!' his struggles stopped slowly and he looked at them coldly.
'What do we have to do?' he asked, his shoulders hunched and his back straining straight. In reply, they whispered something quietly, and Eragon felt something rear inside of him, making him want to run. Something held him firm, and as they said it again, Eragon shuddered.
'I see in your future that you leave this land. As my last act, I give this to you; only by your own choice will you go. Your fate will be unreadable; you will carve your own groove into the wood of this land. The pain now that follows will be the reason why you will serve the greater good; and as my decree, you and your dragon must not die, though I see in you a trying time. Kill the tyrant king, Eragon. Release my brothers from his shadow.' Kuthian whispered in his ear before making him kneel before him. With one hand, he drew a line from above his eyebrow and to his mid cheek, like his scar. Pain burned itself into his mind as his finger made its path. Pain drained like water down his throat and into his veins. He saw Kuthian stagger backwards, and Yawe took his place. This time, she kneeled before him, and touched his cheek as if to say I am sorry.
'I see a lot of things in you. As my wish you will keep the balance, through the races; human, elves, urgals, dwarves, spirits, and animals. They will see in you a leader, but you are forbidden to be king. The pain that follows will be testimony to what power you hold. And it will always remind you what to do.' With that, she smoothly drew off his tunic and traced a pattern onto his chest and back, and like Kuthian's mark it burned itself eternally into his memory. His mind burned and his whole body throbbed as if it was a giant heart. His eyes slid closed, and he caught sight of Yawe struggling backwards and sitting next to her mate, they hugged briefly before turning there attention on him.
'Dip yourself into the water,' they whispered,
'Finish it. Dip your head under; make sure your body is all wet. When you comeback up, you will feel different, and you will not see us again. Run through the tunnel behind us; it will lead you to where those people with cut off body parts sacrifice. Release the three people, and then save your Arya.' Yawe continued gravely. With that she whispered in his mind,
We are glad that you came Eragon. We will never forget you. Remember, we are always with you, as part of your power. With that she lay down on the stone beside her mate, and whispered lightly, to Kuthian,
'This is all we ever wanted right?' she asked tiredly. He smiled and drew her closer,
'Yes my love, what we have wanted for many blood oath ceremonies.' They smiled, and Eragon turned around towards the lake. As he dipped him self in, the pain stopped immediately, and was replaced by a thrumming energy. He went deeper, and dived, his whole body submerged. He quickly surfaced, and clambered out of the lake. He looked around, not believing they were gone. The thought was quickly destroyed as he picked up his tunic, tucked it into his trousers like a belt and ran towards the back cave, towards Dras Leona.
Arya PoV
The men changed in shifts. From horse strop to whip to a variation a burning tools and gouges. Then something changed, everything went quiet. The grubby man began lightly touching her, making her struggle against the chains. He laughed in a low voice, making her shudder. He said something about how pretty her form was. Low laughing followed. The man said something in a tormenting voice,
'Now men, the thing is here is I am hungry. I say we eat first, and then we come back and insert our pleasures.' The bellowed laughter echoed in her ears as they strode away. She whispered in her mind and aloud,
Eragon. Help me. The blood seeped out, making her dizzy. Then slowly, everything closed itself off.
Eragon PoV
It was dark. He released the two people without really thinking and ignoring there words of gratitude he had gotten to the gates of Dras Leona in less then a minute. He barely remembered how he had gotten inside the gates, but he payed more attention as he slunk towards the dungeons. To his astonishment, no one guarded the inside of the city. All men were guarding and fortifying the outside. He heard the laughter of men echoing down the hall, and he quickly found himself following them into a maze a cells. They came upon a metal door and they slid it open, leaving it unlocked and unclosed. Eragon was smarter; he closed and locked it as soon as the men where out of view. He could somehow fell Arya somewhere close, and he put it down to his new power. What he saw as he turned around the corner made him do something unexpected.
A short man was unbuckling his belt and sliding down his trousers. Eragon did not wait to see what happened next as Arya saw him. Her eyes glinted with tears and she tried to move in his direction. Without warning the cells keys were gone from the door and the door was locked. The men swivelled towards the sound and where stunned to see him in the city. Eragon did not give them time to think. He grabbed the nearest one by the chest, hand curling around the short man's sternum, breaking each rib clean. He did not give him time to scream. He grabbed the man's throat and tore it open, staining his bare chest. With a roar, he threw the man aside, his mangled face crashing against the stone. He grabbed a built young man and broke the bars to the cell by impaling him into the door. The one he turned to was the shorten man, his trousers were still up, but the belt was unbuckled and the front was tight. He looked at Arya. Her body was mangled, bruised, bleeding. His vision tainted red. And the man was pinned against the wall, Eragon's face carved into a snarl. With one motion, he grabbed the man's forearm and tore it clean from his shoulder, the torn pieces of flesh dropping to the floor. He let out a blood-curdling scream, and in his last breath shoved a knife into Eragon's shoulder. Eragon took no notice. His hand gripped the man's face; and this time, Eragon looked away as he broke the pungent man's head clean off his shoulders. The body dropped to the floor as Eragon turned around to Arya.
Arya PoV
He grabbed the man's chest; fingers curling around his sternum, and tore his throat open. The two other men were out of view but she heard the sound of metal bending and snapping, followed by a whimper. She heard bones crack, then a squelching sound. She felt the chains snap and Eragon came into view. He kneeled before the table, pushing a stray lock of hair out of her face, and surveying the damage to her forehead. A low growling emanated from him, but he did not seem to notice. He whispered in a low voice, just barely so she could hear,
'You're safe now. I will get you out of here. Slytha.'
YAY! The longest chapter I have done! Hope you comment.
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