Little surprise in this chapter, hope you like it!
claimer: i own everything that is not is Eragon or Eldest:D
24.-Emeralds
The slicing wind screamed in my ears as I turned through the air, the darkness engulfing me and the night pressing hard into my eyes as I struggled to keep them open to watch my descent. I clutched desperately at the air around me, but it did not slow down my fall. I cried out, but my scream was whipped away and lost in the seemingly never ending darkness.
But then I thought, why was I falling when I could fly?
I shoved my terror to the back of my mind and focused on my other form, and soon felt the now familiar vibrations wrack my entire body.
I sighed with relief as the sleek silver scales erupted from my skin and all of the bones in my body elongated. When my back split open and the glossy wings appeared the huge sails were thrown up into the air behind me, the icy wind tossing them around excruciatingly.
I grimaced from the pain and regained control of my wings enough to be able to slow myself down. As soon as my body ceased twisting uncontrollably my vision returned almost to normal although I was still slightly dizzy.
I heaved a huge sigh of relief as I sailed over the tree tops that had gotten a little too close for comfort. I glanced above me to try to get a glimpse of Dorran, but his huge onyx form had melted into the darkness that had now surrounded the entire forest.
I tried to reach out to him with my mind but I felt nothing, as if I had been completely cut off from the world. I felt lonely without the presence of his mind that I was now so accustomed to having attached to my thoughts.
I roared in anger and instantly cringed at my idiocy. I glanced down into the barely visible tree canopy and heaved a sigh of relief as the leafy sea below remained undisturbed.
"Dorran, where are you?" I whispered almost inaudibly to myself.
Here…, I was startled as a deep voice suddenly entered my head and I backpedaled with my wings, halting in midair.
Dorran, is that you? I thought, confused by the fact that the voice was so weak that I could not tell if it was the huge onyx dragon that had protected me for a few days now, or someone else entirely.
It is…the voice whispered into my head and I was instantly paralyzed as an image of a cave I had never seen before flashed into my mind.
The cave looked as if it had been carved out of the mountain, the moss and lichen surrounding the entrance was burnt, as well as the remaining grass that ran up and down the sides of the rock, blending the cavern into the hillside and rendering it almost invisible in the darkness.
Then the picture seemed to zoom out, the cave becoming a tiny speck, and then trees clouded my vision until the tops of the dark emerald canopy was visible in the night. The sound of running water reached my ears and I spotted a cascading waterfall that flowed down the rocks, the shimmering indigo waters ending up in a small deep pond that was just visible from in between the tree tops.
Then the vision faded and my own sight returned, the darkness suddenly engulfing me and rendering me confused, my head spinning and my thoughts racing.
Find me…Dorrans voice echoed around my mind, his desperate pleas causing something to jolt inside of me and I growled low, whatever was hurting him so much will be sorry.
I looked around at the sea of darkness below me and suddenly had an urge to fly to the left, as if some invisible force was pulling me towards it. I tilted my wings and soared in that direction and instantly felt as if I was following some invisible trail.
I did not question the strange sensation and I flew as fast as I could, silently thanking the wind for coming from behind me, aiding me to go faster. I searched below for the pond, my ears straining to hear the tell-tell signs of running water that would help me reach Dorran quicker.
I sped low over the tree tops, the speed of which I was flying outstanding me, but the only thing that kept repeating itself in my mind was Dorrans soft voice rebounding around my head.
Find me…His voice had sounded so urgent, as if he only had a matter of time before…
No, I would not even think of what could happen if I did not reach him quickly. My silver wings throbbed but I continued on at a breakneck pace, never slowing, for his life could depend on it. I sped along for what seemed like hours, hope fading and tears streaming down my face as I thought of what could have happened to him during that time.
Then I nearly stopped flying completely as the sound I had been searching for, but had almost given up on, reached my ears with perfect clarity. I gasped and surged forward and relief washed over me as the small pond came into sight, as well as the water fall that trickled down from the mountain.
I glanced to the right, and after my eyes had adjusted I could make out a tiny speck of darkness in the seemingly endless trees. I sighed with relief, but instantly became on guard, whatever had rendered Dorran so weak could attack at any second.
I soared down and banked with my wings at the last minute, causing me to stop entirely and fall a few feet to the blackened earth. My talons gripped the crumbling ground and I crept forward, staying in dragon form in hope of being able to injure the attacker before it could harm me.
The cavern was so dark that I could not see a few inches in front of me. The silence that accompanied the eerie shadows was unnerving and my heart rate sped up alarmingly as I moved further inwards.
Dorran, are you in here? I thought urgently to him, if I could just here his voice and know that he was fine, that would make me somewhat less nervous.
Here. His deep voice was slightly louder now and I let out the breath I had not known I was holding. At least he was still alive.
What are you doing in here? I thought into his head, straining my eyes to see anything but darkness, but not being successful.
He did not reply, so I silently crept forward, my sharp talons scratching at the rock strewn earth, the sound echoing around the noiseless cave. Then my long nose brushed against something and I jumped back, a startled sound escaping from between my dagger-sharp fangs.
Something snakelike wrapped itself around my muzzle, as if to silence me. I pulled away from it but it was too strong and its grip would not lessen. Then I felt scales brush against my cheek and I drank in its scent, familiarity clouding my senses and relief flooding through me.
Dorran? I asked, already knowing it was him, but making sure it was not something else.
It is, he replied in a soft voice, almost like velvet. He inhaled deeply against my cheek and I was startled by his actions. Something stirred deep inside of me, but I did not recognize what it was.
What are you doing in a cave? I asked him, my breathing becoming irregular but I could not think why.
He seemed to come back to his senses and the thing that had been restraining my mouth uncurled itself and slipped off. I realized that it had been his tail as I heard him turn around and face the opposite direction.
I do not know why I am here, but when you hit me and fell I dove down to catch you. But before I could I saw you transform into your dragon form and knew you would be alright. Then I felt something pulling at me, as if it were a giant magnet or something, so I followed it and it led me here.
I pondered what he had said, realizing that we had both found this place the same way, by being led towards it. I walked deeper into the cave, not realizing what I was doing until I felt something brush against one of my talons.
I was woken out of my trance and bent my neck down to see what I had come upon. I brushed my nose against it, inhaling its scent. The rock infested floor was covered in dust from years of stones being crushed together, and some of it had just entered my nostrils. The tickling sensation traveled the inside of my nose and I knew what was going to happen before it did, I sneezed.
A huge burst of fire erupted from my nose and mouth, igniting the whole cavern in a giant ball of crackling flames. The heat was intense, and when the golden flames died down some still remained on the walls, the entire cave now lit so that we could now see around us.
I glanced back at Dorran and saw that he had a strange smile on his face, but the emotions that flitted across his features were ones I did not recognize. I turned back to facing forwards and looked down at the object I had almost tripped over.
My heart almost stopped beating as I regarded the smooth stone lying in the dust-strewn earth.
It glowed a bright emerald in the faint firelight and had golden veins cob webbing over the glimmering surface,
I knew what it was instantly, even after seeing one like it only once in my entire life.
An egg.
i wonder what's going to happen...I certainly don't know:D
PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!
-Firesilk:D
