The Last Dragons
Chapter 7; Fleeing
Carvahall; Three weeks later
The siege on Carvahall was slow going, the imperial troops seemed to know that with the Villager's numbers and the new fortifications they wouldn't be able to kill them all. The Villagers had finally had enough and they had met up for a meeting that had already been going on for almost an hour without any ground being made.
"Why do they wait?" One man cried out across the ring of villagers around a camp fire in the centre of the town. Caleb was standing further out of the circle yet the villagers had left a gap in the circle so that they could all see him. He had his cloak on with its hood over his head and in the darkness he looked extremely intimidating with the firelight flickering over his face. Lucus crouched several feet behind him tearing into a small deer carcass that he had caught earlier in the day.
Lucus had changed remarkably in the last three weeks and the month old Dragon was now level with Caleb's shoulder and capable of short flights and thus had begun hunting for his own prey. "They're cowards! That's why." Another cried.
Caleb was getting rather tired of this but there was little else to do. The village's defences were much more than the Imperial Soldiers could deal with and baring the involvement of the Ra'zac's mounts there was little even the Ra'zac could do. Caleb looked around the group at the faces. Gertrude was there as well as Horst and his wife Elena. Closest to Caleb stood Baldor, Horst's son and Roran's friend, but Roran himself was missing. Also amongst the missing was Sloan, the village butcher, who had taken a dislike to the way that the Villagers had so easily trusted Caleb.
Caleb spread out his senses for the fifth time since this meeting had started and brushed over the minds of hundred without a care. He found the Soldiers much closer than last time though they seemed to be waiting for something.
"Perhaps they are waiting for reinforcements?" Baldor suggested and Caleb had to force himself to remember that he was answering a previous question and not listening to Caleb's thoughts.
Caleb took a step forward into the circle proper and the group silenced itself from their arguments. Caleb felt a twinge and then realised something that he had overlooked since the meeting had started. He couldn't sense the Ra'zac! His mind clamped down over the village like a cloud and he heard Gertrude scream in shock and collapse to the ground as she shielded herself.
"Where is Roran?" Caleb released his mental grip and saw that Horst was helping the healer up.
Baldor frowned at him. "He's at the house." Baldor frowned obviously hiding something. Caleb felt irritated and Lucus obviously picked up on it as he stood from his crouch and growled low in his throat. Caleb closed the gap and held his head near to Baldor.
"Why is he there alone, Baldor?" Caleb asked knowing that the Villagers tried not to leave Roran on his own at any time.
"He's with Katrina." Baldor whispered.
"Sloan." Caleb muttered as he pulled back and swept his mind out again searching for the butcher. Gertrude was sent to her knees again as he got a bit overzealous with his search. He found the butcher near the wall with a recently dead body with him. "Get to Roran. Sloan's betrayed you all." Caleb told them bluntly before dashing off towards where he could sense Sloan was. The others took off towards Horst's house and Caleb let them go knowing that the Ra'zac would head there first.
Caleb screeched to a halt and pulled his bow and notched an arrow against the string as he came in sight of the wall. Sloan was busy directing Imperial Soldiers through the newly formed gap in the wall. He released the arrow just as Lucus landed heavily and the arrow sliced through the leather armour covering the man's neck. The other Soldiers turned to him in shock, not having known that any of the Villagers had the accuracy to fire from so far away.
Then their eyes caught sight of Lucus almost invisible without a moon in the sky and without any nearby torches. The lack of light wasn't a problem for Caleb though and he focused his mind on their undefended minds. Sloan's was the most obvious and with a muttered word the man's brain was severed. Traitors before warriors after all. The other soldier's paused in their movements, some with their swords only half out of their sheaths.
"Flee and my Dragon and I won't tear you to pieces." Caleb spoke quietly but he knew that his words carried well. One of the soldiers just glared and stepped forwards, bringing his shield up to protect from Caleb's arrows and Caleb wondered if he had seen how the butcher had died. Caleb found his mind, more arrogant than the others and repeated the spell. The other soldiers ran as the fourth body hit the ground with a soft thud.
Caleb walked over to the bodies and checked the Villager's heart rate even though he couldn't feel his mind. He was dead. Caleb stood and raised his hand towards the tree and even though he knew that it would tire him he spoke the spell firmly. The tree shuddered and rose a foot from the ground before sliding back into place. Caleb wavered slightly and felt his arm held up on Lucus' back.
Lucus flinched violently almost sending Caleb to the ground and when Caleb turned on his bonded friend it was to discover that he was shaking ever so slightly. "Lucus? What's wrong?"
"Murderers. Egg breakers!" Lucus almost cried into his head sending Caleb reeling.
"What's out there?" Caleb had never seen Lucus act like this, almost as if he wanted to flee for his life. He'd never heard of Dragon's reacting like that.
"Horrible creatures." Lucus told him shying away slightly. Caleb realised that no matter how much he had gotten used to having Lucus around him, the fact remained that the Dragon was little more than a baby. He wasn't hardened to the world like Saphira had been when she trapped him in her mind.
"Is it the Ra'zac?" Caleb asked him but felt the negative emotions deepen. "Their mounts?"
Lucus cringed at the word. Even though the Ra'zac were the human's bane they had done incredibly horrible things to the Dragons on occasion and the Dragon's hatred for them was as integral to their instincts as using their wings was. "Stay here, Caleb." Lucus' voice nearly broke his heart but he knew he couldn't do as asked.
Caleb threw Lucus a quick apology before listening to the mental voices around him trying to find the Ra'zac's mounts or even the Ra'zac. Their horrid minds pervaded the whole area and it was worse than before but Caleb had never been able to locate their minds unless he could actually see them. It was why they could always manage to ambush him within Uru-baen. He finally managed to sense the shock and fear of the Villagers and he started running towards the water only to feel sharp teeth clamp down on his arm.
The sudden stop spun him onto the ground and he found himself staring up into a panicked Lucus' face and his bonded's clawed paw sitting on his chest. His bow ached horribly under his spine as he tried to wriggle his way free. "Lucus!" Caleb said aloud. "Get off of me! I have to help them, I promised Eragon."
"You promised Eragon. I didn't, I protect you. You are safer here, not fighting Egg Breakers." Lucus told him.
Caleb stopped struggling to free himself overwhelmed by the Dragon's weight and strength and not wanting to use his magic against his bonded in any circumstance. He tried a different tactic in an attempt to free himself. "Lucus, I'm bleeding." He told him referring to him arm that had so recently been chewed up in his Dragon's mouth.
Lucus moved his head to sniff at his arm but returned his gaze back to Caleb with an apologetic feeling coming across their bond. "You live." Lucus told him succinctly unsure of his words. "Better small wound from me and not death from them."
Caleb spent the next half an hour trying to talk his way out from under his Dragon but Lucus only yielded after the feeling of evil lingering in the air had completely vanished. Caleb shot off towards the river to find a wounded Roran sitting by the water in shock. Lucus meekly followed him but after a jerked of Caleb's hand he settled in the edge of the river and laid his head on his front paws like a dog kicked out of the house for bad behaviour.
Caleb paused by Baldor who seemed to be standing guard over Roran and leaned closer to him. "Sloan killed the sentry and let the Ra'zac and the soldiers through the wall. The soldiers are fleeing and Sloan is dead but you might want to send someone to deal with the bodies." Baldor gave him a hard look before nodding and walking off to join the other elder Villagers to deal with the aftermath.
Caleb sat on the ground next to Roran and noticed his injuries instantly. He had a deep incision on his left shoulder but he was alive. Roran glanced at him before returning his gaze to Lucus who was simply staring at them both. "What happened, Roran?"
"They took her." Roran whispered in anguish.
"Katrina?" Caleb asked with a frown. Obviously Sloan had made an agreement with the Ra'zac for his and his daughter safe passage but instead they had kidnapped Katrina when they couldn't get Roran.
"Sloan's dead." Caleb told him softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there but the Ra'zac's mounts scared Lucus and he overpowered me."
"He has gotten big." Roran almost laughed. Caleb couldn't see why Roran would be laughing in his state but he figured it was just shock talking. "You're bleeding."
Lucus shrunk back slightly at Caleb's stern look. "He has rather sharp teeth." Caleb told the younger man with a grin before pulling back his sleeve and inspecting the small slices in his arm where Lucus' teeth had slid along his skin. He muttered a few words and the cuts began to heal with the only trace left being his blood drying on his pale skin.
"That's cool." Roran told him quietly.
They sat in silence for a while before Caleb pushed himself to his feet. He turned towards the nearest house but turned back when Roran didn't follow. "We need to do something about that wound, Roran." Caleb paused but Roran didn't try to move. "I could have Lucus drag you."
Roran grumbled as he eyed the large silver Dragon before he struggled to stand. Caleb helped him move across to the house and settled him down on the tabletop of the kitchen. A woman, maybe the lady of the house handed him a cloth and a bowl of warm water. He thanked her and she left silently.
"Take off your shirt, Roran." Caleb ordered and waited patiently for him to oblige knowing that Roran wouldn't want his pride hurt by accepting help. He ran the cloth over the wound eliciting a small pained gasp from Roran. He started wiping away the blood so that he could work out the spell to use as he continued talking. "I'm sorry to do this to you Roran but you have to make a decision now."
"What decision?" He was obviously still reeling from shock too much to think clearly.
"Your time is up, we leave tomorrow evening. Either the two of us go alone or you convince the Villagers to flee across the Spine." Caleb told him bluntly. "Either way we are going."
"You can't make me leave them." Roran gasped.
In answer Caleb held his hand over the wound and muttered a stream of words that Roran couldn't understand. Instantly the wound began to close as the Ra'zac's poison was destroyed and the incision healed. Roran sagged slightly realising that if he didn't talk the Villagers into fleeing with him he was just going to be kidnapped by his cousins over zealous friend.
"You've got till tomorrow evening." Caleb reminded him before leaving the room to give Roran some time to think things over.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
The next evening
Caleb helped two children to secure bags of food onto Jet's back. He stopped them from loading the actual saddle knowing that it would be useful for the older villagers or for Elena who was too heavily pregnant to walk the whole distance.
"Are we ever coming back?" One of the children tugged at his hand. Caleb knelt in front of him with an apologetic look on his face.
"I don't know." Caleb told him. "Perhaps one day once everything calms down."
"Caleb, we're ready to set out." Roran told him quietly. Caleb was impressed with the young man; in only a day he had turned the village into a mill house of people as they prepared to leave. Almost all of them were leaving except for a few dozen who refused to leave their lives and houses behind. Caleb thought they were idiots but at least he was a few dozen shorter if it came to protecting them from Imperial Spellcasters.
Caleb took up position by Jet's head with the few children who had taken a deep liking to Lucus following him with said Dragon. Roran was in front of him walking beside Baldor with only about twenty people in front of them, the ones that knew this side of the Spine the best. The other two-hundred and fifty followed in a long line of people, cattle and luggage of all kinds as well as every bit of food they could bring with them.
Caleb resigned himself to a long trek through cold and rocky regions. At least he was an Elf and that they didn't feel the cold nearly as much as humans and definitely didn't get tired as easily.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX
Two weeks later
They were camped half way into the Spin just on the verge of walking downhill again and Caleb was on watch along with twenty others around the sleeping forms of the villagers. Since he only ever fell into a trance he didn't need to sleep for the low periods like the humans did so he always spent the mornings on watch. He'd 'sleep' for the first four hours before waking and waiting for the sunrise.
This morning it rose behind them and late since it was hidden by the mountains. Caleb was just letting it wash over him when he felt a spell settle on him trying to make him sleep. He could easily fight it so he knew it wasn't a spell cast directly at him. It only took him another half a second to remember the sensation, so long in its absence. Somebody was using the dream spell to contact him. He almost sent it packing but then had another idea. He wanted answers and whoever it was would be at his mercy if he played his cards right.
Just as it made him fall in his trance he muttered a binding spell on the essence to trap it, something he had worked out how to do after his confrontation with Saphira's mind. He found himself standing on his visualised vista, the top of one of the mountains they had so recently passed and that Lucus and Caleb had visited. In front of him stood Islanzadi.
Caleb almost kicked her out right then but he decided to just glare at the Queen of the Elves. Courtesy be damned. "Give me one good reason not to kick you out."
"My dear Caleb, I'm so sorry."
"That's not a reason." Caleb waved his hand rather unnecessarily and a wall of fire sprung up behind them in a wide circle. Steam began to rise in waves as the snow was melted. "You betrayed me. You left me there to rot. I don't like it when people betray me."
"I'm sorry Caleb, when I heard that Arya was taken I lost myself in my grief. I closed myself off to the world. I regret it immensely."
Caleb's eyes glowed with anger and he felt her flinch backwards as she tried to withdraw from his mind. She came up short with a panicked looked on her face. "It's interesting what we can learn from others."
"You've learnt magic from another?" She gasped. She knew of no way to capture another in their own mind when the other used this spell.
"You could say that." Caleb smirked at her. He knew what she was thinking, the only other person he could learn something new from was Galbatorix and that could only mean one thing. The fact that he had learnt it from Saphira, even in a roundabout way, wouldn't ever come into her thoughts.
She tried to overcome him and Caleb smirked again as she failed. He was more powerful than the Queen of the Elves. His Elven family had always been amongst the most powerful of the Elven Spellcasters but Islanzadi had always been more so than him. But now with his bond with Lucus strengthening his magic he outstripped her just as any Elven Dragon Rider would. "How have you become more powerful? How has Galbatorix done this?"
"Galbatorix did nothing to me except torture me and force Murtagh to swear and oath to him!" Caleb yelled and the fire swept passed him and closed in on her. He hadn't known when he used the spell that it would act on his emotions but he found that he didn't care anymore. "Where is Eragon?"
Her eyes took on a confused look as she looked at the flames which settled on the ground a few feet from her as Caleb calmed down at the mention of his brother's brother. "He is with me in Du Weldenvarden being trained in magic." She told him calmly. "He told me all about you talking to him and came to me this morning because he was concerned with what he had scryed of his cousin."
"I don't trust you in my mind any longer Islanzadi, you betrayed my trust. This world is going to hell and rather rapidly." Caleb told her.
"Come to us, Caleb. Come to Du Weldenvarden. Help us to train Eragon to restore order." Islanzadi pleaded with him.
"I wont run from the world. Especially not while Murtagh is being forced to fight for Galbatorix." Caleb glared again and the fire flared and caught Islanzadi's hand. She cried out in shock as it burnt her skin and Caleb almost felt sorry for her. "Get out of my mind before I throw you out."
"I don't want to leave on these terms, Caleb. You are like a son to me."
Caleb narrowed his eyes in annoyance and the fire closed in on her. "If I was like a son to you then you wouldn't have deserted me in this world like an outcast." He waved his hand and the fire exploded in all directions sending Islanzadi spinning out of his mind with a cry of pain.
Caleb's eyes opened to see the sun had cleared the clouds and Roran was staring down at him. "What happened?"
Caleb assessed himself, obviously harming Islanzadi, even within his own mind, had taken its toll on his reserves of magic, he barely had anything left. He dreaded to think how Islanzadi was feeling. "It's nothing Roran, just an unwanted guest." He accepted the young man's hand in getting up and they set off after the straggling line of villagers that was starting to trek down through the mountains again on their three week trek to the coast.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
Du Weldenvarden
Eragon stared in shock as the Queen of the Elves recoiled into her seat and clasped her arm to her. The material of her sleeve was smoking and the skin on her hand was burnt, it had all happened within a minute and neither Eragon, Saphira nor Arya had been able to do anything to prevent it.
"Mother? What happened?" Arya gasped out.
"He has experimented with magic; he is more powerful than I or any Elf that I know." The Queen told him.
"What did he do?" Arya questioned with narrowed eyes.
"He captured me within his mind and overpowered my attempts to escape." The Queen told them.
"As I did to him." Saphira spoke to them all.
"When?"
"He came to me after Brom was killed." Saphira told them all quietly. "I believe he was in need of assurance that I and you were alive."
"How could he become more powerful?" Eragon asked. "I thought we all had limits."
"The only person that has shown any increase in power was Galbatorix." The Queen whispered.
"So he is in league with him." Arya concluded.
"I don't believe that." Eragon put in forcefully and Saphira bobbed her head. "Is it possible to teach me how to talk to him?"
"You would need months more training before it was possible." The Queen told him with a sigh. "Until then there is little that we can do."
"Can he not contact me like he used to?" Eragon frowned, it had bothered him that Caleb had made no attempt to talk to him in over a month.
"Your medallion would prevent him from being able to scry for you and whilst it wouldn't prevent him from entering your dreams he cannot use magic to enter Du Weldenvarden whether by thought or physically." Arya told him. "He cannot harm you while you are within these borders."
"He's an Elf, how can you talk about him like he is a criminal?" Eragon asked her.
"He is only an Elf in body, he was not raised within our borders but by humans and the worst of them." Arya told him. "He should not be trusted and he has done nothing so far to prove his trustworthiness."
"I trust him." Eragon countered before he paused. "And so does Saphira."
"You shouldn't." Arya told them bluntly.
"Arya, that is enough." The Queen interrupted her before muttering a spell to heal her hand. She was obviously very tired but was trying to hide it from them all. Eragon allowed himself to be led out by Arya wondering why Caleb had acted like that. Weeks ago when he had told Islanzadi about Caleb she had gone extremely pale and shocked at the mention of him and after Eragon had scryed Roran and seen him with Caleb he had questioned the Queen about the method that the Elves used to talk to each other's minds.
She had instantly done the spell but now it had caused more questions than it had answered. "Why would he react like that?" Eragon asked Saphira as they weaved their way carefully through the gardens.
"He mentioned to me about somebody betraying him. We know that Islanzadi neglected her duty in monitoring the outside world. Perhaps it was her that betrayed him." Saphira suggested.
"Brom did say that an Elf would have had to train him. Perhaps it was Islanzadi who did so." Eragon pointed out. "It explains a lot."
"We can't do anything about it until you finish your training." Saphira told him logically.
"You're right." Eragon sighed. "It's just he's looked out for us so far and he said he view my mother as his own. I just want to do what's right by him. I know he is hiding things from me but he seems trustworthy to me."
"And to me." Saphira whispered in his mind as they headed for their training session in the sparring grounds.
XOXOXOXOXOXOX
End Chapter