sorry for the wait, ive been totally pissed at my dad coz he moved the computer to the kitchen so i can't concentrate with the freaking tv right next to me, ugh! sorry if this chappy doesnt make sense but watching american idol while typing isnt the smartest thing to do :P
claimer: too lazy to write one, so it's the same as the others, it ain't changing any time soon.
57.-Trust
I was thrown to the side, away from the dead man, by something hard and powerful, the force from which knocking the breath out of me and causing my ribs to ache painfully.
My mind was immediately my own once again and I looked around wildly, trying to see what was going on in the blur of falling ceiling and the rush of bodies centered around the large glimmering ruby mass, the creature impossible to make out in the dust and confusion.
The red monster was soon confronted with a dark one and I instinctively knew it was Dorran that was fighting off the beast and I morphed in a heartbeat, silver scales rushing over my body and my limbs elongating and taking the form of a dragon.
I leapt on the creature, vaguely aware of the human bodies running away and down the stairs to escape the obliteration of the room. The creature screamed as I dug into its flesh with my teeth and talons and I realized that it was covered in some kind of armor, or scales. The monster suddenly surged upwards through the hole in the roof it had created, causing Dorran and I to be thrown off its body and onto the hard stone floor.
I hissed in annoyance and we both unfurled our wings, leaping into the clear afternoon sky, blinking away the dust and stone particles that had accumulated in our eyes. I looked around and growled angrily at the beast hovering only a few miles away, I had been wondering when we would confront him again. Murtagh sat haughtily astride his dragon, his red sword, Za'roc as Oromis had called it, gleamed the same color as Thorn's scales as he smirked at us from the saddle, Thorn giving us a predatory grin as he faced us.
I had been almost afraid that it had been Morzan that had intruded upon our meeting and had been somewhat secretly relieved when it had instead been Murtagh. Even though I knew I could definitely put up a fight against the older red rider, I wasn't completely sure if it would turn out the way I would plan.
"What business have you here traitor?" I growled at him, my fangs bared and my scales bristling angrily.
Just thought we'd give you another chance to join the king and not end up dead like the rest of them will soon be, Thorn replied, smirking as if what he had said had been funny. Which I supposed it had been, the idea that we would actually consider joining them was completely laughable.
"Not happening, anything else?" I asked, my voice bored and unemotional, like it didn't matter to me that one of my enemies was right in front of me.
Murtagh audibly sighed and shook his head as if disappointed.
"You could be great if you joined our side, the king can teach you so much more than anyone else would ever be capable of. His powers are unconquerable, and you two will surely perish if you face him. Are you sure you want to die so early in your lives?" he asked, studying his sword with a bored façade.
I faced him, a look of amazement on my face. "You truly believe that you can bribe us with the promise of power? We do not fear death, that is something only a coward would lose sleep over. If the traitor king is so powerful why is it that he is asking for our help? He doesn't consider us a…threat, does he?" I asked innocently, my eyes wide with false disbelieving.
The red rider smirked, his expression changing to one of amusement. "Perhaps he does, I do not know what goes through the black rider's head, nor do I wish to know the thoughts of the monster that has forced us to become his messengers and assassins. Do not assume that we chose this life for ourselves, but the king is unsurprisingly gifted with an unwavering talent of torturing people." He shrugged, apparently uncaring but I could see on his face the concealed sadness and the burden of many beatings within his lifetime. His tortured soul showed through his hardened outer shell and unbelievably I felt a stab of pity towards the man, he was only a few years older than us after all.
I looked him straight in the eyes, "You do not have to do his bidding, you could just run away and hide, at least that way you would be living your own lives. Help us kill the king, and you will be free."
His face turned tortured as if he were debating within his mind, or with his dragon, whether to trust us or not.
"You do not know how good that sounds, but unfortunately we were forced into an alliance with him, and his dark magic binds us, we must do his bidding or we will be punished severely. We are not afraid of dying, but we know much about the king and could be of some help to the rebellion. We cannot do anything to oppose him now; he can find out if we denied him in a heartbeat. But if there was a way to break our bond…well…I doubt the king would stand a chance against three riders and two Shifters." He grinned at my expression of annoyance, "Yes, we already know about the new hatchling, we were sent here to capture him, but we will give you a chance, we will tell Galbatorix that he evaded us…for now. Make sure he does not come so close to capture again, next time we will have no choice but to take him and his rider, killing everyone in the way, so just be warned."
I snorted, smoke streaming from my nostrils, do you think we can trust him? The king is his master after all, I thought to Dorran, my eyes never off the hovering dragon and rider in front of me.
Dorran shook his head, we shall see, even if he keeps his word I will never trust him or his lizard-of-a-dragon, Thorn. He hissed back, showing his gleaming fangs in distaste.
I turned back to Murtagh, "If what you say is true, we will do all within our power to destroy the king, freeing you from your 'liege lord', but only if you do whatever you can to aid us in his downfall."
Murtagh nodded, his dark bangs falling over his dark eyes, reminding me of Dorran's features and causing my heart to splutter somewhat at the thought.
"It is a deal, good luck, Kalanie, Dorran."
Thorn turned and soared off, leaving the destroyed castle roof behind and a seething Dorran, who wouldn't look me in the eye as we drifted down to the courtyard. Nasuada, Orrin, Angela, Cadara, Solembum, and Bernlak were waiting for us in front of the door, their faces worried and anxious. Elva was not among them.
We landed and they ran towards us, all talking at once, their voices a blur in my mind as I tried to process the conversation we had had, but it was impossible with the babble surrounding us.
Nasuada held up her hands for silence and proceeded to talk to us, "What did Morzan's son want?" she asked and my mind was instantly frozen, Murtagh was Morzan's son? Why was I not informed of this?!
I shook my head, nothing ever surprised me anymore.
"He said that they want the king dead as much as we do, but he obviously can't kill him because of the oath he's under. He also said that is we found a way to break said oath, he will help us with the king's downfall."
Nasuada nodded knowingly, "It is yet another ploy from the king in an attempt to discover just how powerful you two are. You both better be on guard, he will try anything in his power to have you on his side during the upcoming war. Just…be careful with who you trust." She concluded, looking at us both with much care in her eyes.
As if we're both not completely paranoid already, I whispered to Dorran, receiving a small twitch of the corner of his reptilian mouth in return, but no more, he was angry at me for some reason.
I reached out and brushed him on his dark side with my tail, silently asking him what the matter was. I nodded to Nasuada, acknowledging her concern but at the same time telling her that her worry was unnecessary.
She sighed, looking back to the destroyed building, "I suppose we will have to find a team of carpenters to get the roof fixed, but I think it's still habitable, there are many more rooms. Dorran and Kalanie, you are both more than welcome to stay within Aberon's confines for the night, if you wish to of course." She added, raising an eye brow at us as if asking if we had other plans. I shrugged, looking at Dorran who stared back, motioning with his head towards me, telling me that it was my call. I realized how tired I was, what with the whole wanting to absorb the dead mans' soul and everything, and having not slept much the night before as well, it was really a miracle I had been able to stay hovering for the amount of time I had been talking to Murtagh.
I morphed and walked towards Nasuada, "Thank you, my Lady; we would greatly appreciate a place to sleep other than on the forest floor." She nodded again and beckoned for us to follow her back into the building, soothing the curious citizens that had emerged from their houses upon hearing the commotion outside and sending them on their way.
A chirp sounded from my feet and I looked down to see two large emerald eyes gleaming up at me, pleading. I smiled and bent down, scooping up the small dragonet and carrying him inside; looking back to Cadara to make sure that she was fine with someone else carrying her dragon. She smiled encouragingly and I grinned back, ascending the stone steps once again and being shown to our quarters with Dorran brushing against my side every step of the way, still annoyed with me but easily forgiving.
I knew I wouldn't be able to do what I had to without him.
yes the ending's a bit of a let down but i just wanna get this chappy up, my dad's varnishing boat parts behind me so the fumes are going to my head, my house is full of five screaming children, and american idol is hurting my ears with the singing. ..yeah.
PLEASE REVIEW!!- come on people, i actually posted this chapter when i really wanted to wait a few more days, at least give me a reward!! :D
-Firesilk:D
