This one's a little shorter than normal, but enjoy anyway!!!

claimer: I own everything that is not in eragon or eldest:D

16. –Encampment

Strange creatures danced across my dreams, but none with recognizable features that would help to identify the monsters.

The only thing I was vaguely aware of was the fact that my body ached all over, rendering me unable to move from the pain.

As I came to my senses I could feel the heat of a fire somewhere off to my right, the sound of which reached my ears, crackling, but sounding as though the flames were muffled, or came from far away.

My thoughts were hazy and sluggish as I tried in vain to recount what had happened, but all I could recall was the rapid flash of red, then blacking out.

I lay on something soft, yet hard at the same time. I drifted in and out of consciousness for what seemed to be hours, until finally I managed to gather what strength I had left and be able to open my eyes.

I squinted from the bright flames as I cracked my eyes open, the light burning the back of my retinas.

I hissed slightly through the pain, then noticed that I was in my human form, and that I was lying on the hard ground with only a couple of well-worn blankets in between me and the soil.

I managed to open my eyes further as the pain subsided and I glanced nervously around the campsite where I lay.

In the corner was a gray war-horse tethered to a tree, its beady black eyes staring curiously at me.

The clearing was dark; the almost-white stars above shining abnormally dull in contrast to the huge silvery moon, which seemed to glimmer brighter than the nights before.

This wasn't a wolf camp; none of the werewolves I had seen had had a horse with them, or even owned one as far as I knew. Therefore I knew I had to escape, and fast.

I struggled to sit up, my arms weaker than normal, giving way under my weight.

I swayed upright, a headache forming in my mind and black spots popping before my eyes.

I took deep breaths, calming down somewhat and becoming less likely to throw up all the raw meat I had consumed.

The thought of what I had done now terrified me, I hadn't been able to control myself, the wolf instincts had taken over the second the strange dragon-wolf had entered my body, my mind had not been my own.

All I had thought of at that very second when I had attacked the buck was that it was prey and I was the predator, and nothing would be able to stand in the way of something I wanted.

I felt something pull at my mind, as if trying to gain access to my thoughts.

I immediately thought of Dorran, where was he and why was he not here with me?

Dorran? I thought, relieved that he was contacting me after my few moments of panic.

But the strange digging sensation in my mind was going deeper. Dorran had said that he would never invade my mind in such a harsh manor, so I immediately closed my thoughts off to the probing and envisioned a wall surrounding my mind and I felt the penetrating feeling slowly disappear.

I didn't know what had been searching through my innermost thoughts, but I would have to find out in case whatever did had found something that could endanger the whole pack.

I glanced wildly around the dim-lit clearing, but apart from the grey horse nothing occupied the treeless space.

I searched out with my mind, stretching it mentally past the clearing and into the forest beyond it.

Then, something made my mind rebound back into my head, forcing it away, and I knew I had found what I was looking for.

I opened my eyes and stood, glancing once again around the clearing.

Whatever it was that I had been searching for was now hiding near the trees on the edge of the camp.

I staggered forward, my legs unstable underneath my body, to the trees.

I walked as best I could without falling to the ground and my muscles soon eased up and I was able to stride almost normally.

I reached the trees and stepped into the darkness, the shadows swallowing my form, the silence pressing against my eardrums from all sides as if something had been placed over my head, muffling all noise.

My eyes saw better in the gloom than they ever had before, which I thought was probably because of the wolf eyes' ability to see with nothing but the moon to aid.

I snuck forward, my feet making no sound on the leaf-strewn earth. My eyes scanned the trees tops, searching for a dark silhouette against the silvery stars.

I could sense something was there, watching me, waiting to pounce.

Then there was a thud in the earth directly in front of me, accompanied by the same scent that Dorran smelled like.

The figure straightened up and I could make out a male human form, slightly taller and broader than myself.

Instincts immediately kicked in and I took up the defensive position my grandmother had taught me.

She had also trained me to fight somewhat, so I was ready for whatever he was a bout to do.

It then did not surprise me when he leapt forward, drawing his sword at the same time, and tried to throw me to the ground so that he may kill me easier.

But before he could touch me I had dived out of the way with amazing speed that even I had not known I possessed.

In the dark I saw the mans black eyes widen in surprise and I saw a calculating look on his face. But then he lunged again, the swords silver blade only missing centimetres from my elbow.

But I had one advantage against him.

One that, as far as I knew, Dorran and I were the only ones that possessed it.

The fact that I could endanger both of us by this one act of foolishness instantly vanished from my mind, and only one word remained as if etched into my brain.

Kill.

And nothing could get in the way of something I wanted.

someone's getting a bit bloodthirsty..

hehe, hope u liked it!!!

PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!! -seriously people...

-Firesilk:D