Chapter 42 – A perfect storm

Ever since the day Kayla could speak she remembered having those dreams. She could have guessed that these dreams foretold the future. Maybe they did. In them, her revels were rendered, and every act was both of the future, past and present. In these visions all were spirits, melted into air. Into thin air. And in them Kayla could see. She could see dragons and creatures, long forgotten and yet to come. She could feel herself falling, lost between the clouds but never falling low enough. Each cloud was a soft pillow but when she tried to touch them they would fall beneath her. And like the baseless fabric of this vision the clouds turned into towers, gorgeous palaces, solemn temples and the great glow of the sun itself. They were all inherited and dissolved and like this insubstantial pageant they always faded away, leaving not a wreck behind.

And every morning she awoke with little recollection of what had occurred during her sleep but with a feeling at the tips of her fingers that told her either of soft clouds or burning fire.

"Wake up, Kayla! Maud called for us" a voice told her and she snapped her eyes open quickly, once again having that tingling sensation at the end of her fingertips. She gazed at them, perplexed. Today they told her of scalding heat.

Kayla dressed quickly, not bothering to wash herself first, as she had done so at the end of the previous night, when Gwen had come to relieve her and Laer from their watch. For breakfast she grabbed a big chunk of bread and some wild berries and put them in her small pouch. She exited the human dorm building and met Laer and Adrian at the entrance of it.

Bright sun streamed between light coloured clouds and momentarily blinded her. It took her only a few moments before she got accustomed to the brightness and gazed around her, shocked.

The storm had lasted for three whole days and it had managed to snap most tall trees in half, destroy the edges of the riders' buildings and make rivers flow aplenty which in turn had caused more destruction down their path. And yet the few rays of bright sun which fell on the remaining green leaves of the trees made everything sparkle and shine after being washed by the rain's water. New plants and flowers had sprouted anew from the earth and were making their appearance, their small petals opening.

"It is rare to find beauty after the end of such grave events" Laer said, kneeling down on the ground and smelling the aroma of a plant Kayla had never seen before. One would think he was sad although with Laer it was hard to tell.

"Maud has called for us" Adrian repeated and Laer nodded following the elf along the path which led to the werecat's hut. Kayla had to run after them to catch up, something she found slightly infuriating.

At the back of her thoughts she could feel her dragon flying. Momentarily she caught a sight of what Aiedail was looking at which was the destruction of the landscape below. Most of the farms appeared to have been rendered by the storm's power.

Eragon has asked us to help him with the reconstruction of the buildings. I shall not be joining you today, the dragon said in the girl's mind.

Kayla nodded and continued to run down the path that the two riders ahead of her were following. Soon they reached Maud's hut.

Kayla wasn't surprised to see Adrian motioning to her and Laer to be quite, as he stealthily walked down the hill, and knocked on the werecat's door. Just before the werecat opened the door Adrian had climbed atop the hut and curled into a bowl, blending with his surroundings. Kayla knew what the elf had in mind as she had witnessed a similar behaviour from him, only a few months ago, when she had met the werecat for the very first time.

This time though something was different. Maud opened the door quickly and before Adrian had time to react she had climbed atop the roof of her hut where the elf was hiding and had attached him in two swift moves. Adrian lost his balance but quickly managed to regain it only to jump from the roof of the building onto the soft ground. Maud followed his movement and again attacked first, not bothering to give her opponent the benefit of the doubt.

"Slow" she said as she landed a blow in Adrian's chest. "What have these elves been teaching you?" she asked when Adrian didn't respond to her choreographed moves and then concluded. "Too loud"

Considering the impressive skill in battle Adrian was known for, Kayla would disagree.

Maud approached her and Laer in a quick manner while she fended off Adrian's attacks as if there were no more bother than a few flies.

The first thing Kayla noticed was that the werecat looked distraught. She could not tell this from her hair or clothes because these were always in a disarray but from her expression and the glint in her eyes. "I want you to fight amongst yourselves. Mentally and physically. The time for games is over. Something has shifted in the energy balance, surely you can feel it as intensely as I can. You need to be ready for when the enemy comes"

The riders gasped.

Adrian stopped trying to fight the werecat and instead gazed at her with an astounded expression. "What do you mean?"

Maud sighed and sat on the ground, looking irritated. "Our connections with Alagaesia have been severed. There is no way of contacting anyone there. I do not doubt this is the enemy's doing but as to what end I do not know. After the recent events and the upcoming threat, you need to be ready and as my students I cannot afford the time to train you separately."

"What about the rest of the young riders? Who will they be trained by?" Kayla asked, thinking of her brother.

Maud raised an eyebrow. "You should not worry about this, the rest of the Masters are there to teach them as they have been doing so all along. Now, let us begin… There is a lot you need to cover in the next few days"

…..

It was the third day of Maud's intense training and Kayla felt exhausted. She wasn't sure why Maud had started training them so intensely. Did the werecat know something the rest of them didn't? Kayla had had to spar with Laer and Adrian, both of them proven in swordfights, and the fights had been long and tiring with her constantly losing. Mental fights were just as draining especially when done alongside swordfights.

Of course though the training each day did not end there. The two male riders had to go ride their dragons and train more while Kayla had to spar with Maud herself which most often resulted in mental duels.

Kayla felt like her legs were dragging behind her as she made her way back to the human dorm. Above she could see the dragons flying and soon she felt Aiedail's voice in her mind.

This is the first time my wings feel like they are made out of iron.

I am not sure how this will help. If the enemy attacked at any point now I would be so tired I wouldn't even be able to lift a finger, Kayla said, agreeing with her dragon.

There is one thing we haven't trained for yet, Aiedail said and Kayla felt her heart beat quickening realising what the dragon was thinking about.

She chose to ignore the comment and instead of walking she started running back to the human dorms, summoning what little of strength she had left.

Kayla, Aiedail whispered in the girl's mind.

Kayla ignored her.

Kayla!, the dragon repeated and Kayla saw Aiedail flying closer to her.

What?, she asked, suddenly irritated and looked at the sky.

Its time. If the enemy comes I cannot fight them unless you join me.

No, Kayla simply replied and moved her blond hair out of the way. Even though spring had arrived it was still surprisingly windy.

She felt emotions of anger radiating from the dragon and suddenly she saw the creature landing on the ground in front of her. Aiedail pushed her wings on the side and fixed her with a piercing glare. Smoke was rising from her nostrils.

Why? Why won't you ride with me? Why do you keep throwing me out of your mind? Why do you keep denying the bond that links us?, she demanded.

Leave me alone! I don't owe you an explanation, Kayla whispered. She was particularly annoyed today since she had not been able to talk to her mother in months now. She had wanted to do so at the end of the Games but their connections to Alagaesia had been severed and her worry had only increased. It also certainly wasn't helping that she was training so intensely with Laer and Adrian.

And yet you do!, the dragon said and then paused. We visited Ramirblaka yesterday. Eragon thought it would be a good idea since he wanted to gain their trust and support of the wild dragons again after the events of last time. We raced with the wild and rider dragons. I had no rider with me and yet I am bonded to one. The wild dragons and Eragon offered me a choice. They told me that I could join them if I so wished.

Then, why don't you?, Kayla snapped at her.

The dragon let out a breath of smoke and growled. Because I have a promise to uphold and so do you!

As the dragon finished her sentence she dove closer to Kayla, her wings moving fast and grabbed the girl from her shoulders. Kayla screamed.

"Put me down!" she shouted, but Aiedail ignored her as they started gaining altitude.

IF YOU DON'T PUT ME DOWN I SWEAR I WILL…, Kayla started but the dragon cut her mid-sentence as the land soared fast past them.

What? You will do what?, Aiedail asked calmly as a gust of wind blew towards Kayla's direction and the cold numbed her cheeks.

She closed her eyes and tried to hold on tightly to the dragon's talons. When she opened them again she could see the volcano beneath her and the boiling liquid inside.

Kayla screamed with all her might and closed her eyes but that didn't seem to disrupt Aiedail's flight. Annoyed, Kayla tried to concentrate on the tiny spot in her mind. She started gathering her strength to attack, mentally and physically.

While she was trying to concentrate on the task at hand and words were flowing from her lips she felt the pressure on her shoulders relaxing. With horror she realised that Aiedail was no longer holding her and she was falling.

She screamed once again as she watched the earth racing to meet her. At the last minute she saw Aiedail diving from the side and she landed on the dragon's back instead of the earth. Her landing however was not gentle and her body ached. She tried hard not to let the dark memories cloud her thinking and she punched Aiedail's scales hard but she only succeeded in injuring her hand. Annoyed she closed her eyes again and started phrasing another spell that would most definitely hurt the dragon but her concentration withered as she felt pressure in her stomach. When she opened her eyes she saw the ground coming closer and she shouted loudly.

Aiedail crushed to the earth in the most unsteady landing Kayla had ever seen her complete and the girl fell from the dragon's back, her body dragging along the rough earth and sharp rocks until she stopped, but every bit of hers felt as if it was on fire. When she tried to rise she wasn't surprised to find that she had scraped her skin in several places.

They were on an island near Dis Atilan but it was a very small island, more like a rock in the middle of the sea. There was a straight patch of earth and everything else around them was just more rocks. It would be impossible for her to climb down these without injuring herself further and it was too high for her to jump in the sea.

With dread she soon realised that she was trapped.

…

The skies were coloured in a twilight complexion as Tristan was heading back to the human dorms to get an early night after the exhausting training with Eragon and Octavian, when he heard the alarm. Vertigo, Gwen, Saturn, Laer and Onyx all looked behind them in a worried manner.

"What does the alarm mean?" Tristan quickly asked, his attention turning to where the sound was coming from.

Gwen's eyebrows were pulled together in distress. "It means someone has breached the third protective barrier"

"Third?" Tristan quickly asked, perplexed.

Gwen nodded. "There are three barriers. One which encircles most islands around here, including Ramirblaka. Then a second one which encircles only Dis Atilan and then a third one which encircles the eggs"

Before he thought twice about what he was doing Tristan was already on Vertigo's back and ready to head to where the alarm had signalled from.

"Tristan what are you doing?" Gwen said angrily.

"Isn't it obvious?" he replied to her in an almost annoyed manner. In the last few days, Gwen had decided to ignore all of his attempts to speak to her and now suddenly she was interested?

"Tristan I don't think you understand. The barrier has been breached meaning that someone has entered our periphery. It could be anyone. It could be the enemy. The riders and Eragon will deal with it" she said in a serious manner.

"So you expect me to wait here while this happens?" he replied to her quickly and went to leave again but her glare held him in place.

"Don't be stupid. We are but young riders and there are rules we have to follow in situations like these" she replied sternly.

Actually she might have a point, Vertigo said thoughtful.

Until she added the sentence about the rules, Tristan replied smiling as he was following the same line of thought as his dragon.

Rules are meant to be broken.

And with that they set off, nearing the edge of the island and trying to see what the commotion was all about. Around him Tristan could see more dragons flying but since it was getting darker it was hard to tell who was who.

Young riders, stay on the island before we give you further notice, Eragon's voice sounded just then in Tristan's and Vertigo's mind and it was so loud that it felt like it echoed throughout the island.

Tristan watched a few riders fly further ahead and Vertigo decided to land near the sea shore. He heard wings above him and saw Gwen and Laer landing.

"I told you to follow the rules! I am responsible for taking care of you and the young riders" the human dorm leader said angrily and Tristan raised an eyebrow and looked at her.

"I was going to follow the rules. I am. I just wanted to come closer and see what was happening" he replied and Vertigo growled in response.

Laer hmphed and shook his head. "It is a dangerous time, we should always proceed with caution…" he started but was interrupted by Vertigo who jumped in the air.

Did you see that? There are another two dragons!, Vertigo shouted excited in everyone's mind.

"Where?" Gwen asked looking in the distance and squinting her eyes.

Tristan did the same but he couldn't discern much, until he slipped into Vertigo's eyesight and then he could.

There were two dragons in the distance, surrounded by five dragons, including Saphira and they were flying closer to the island. The two dragons were big, bigger than Saphira some would say and they were approaching fast. As they came into his vision Tristan noticed things he had missed before. Holes in their wings, rough red naked flesh on their scales, tired complexion, gaunt expressions…

Vertigo seemed to sense the same because his stance immediately became hostile and he stepped in front of Tristan, growling under his breath.

"No…" Gwen whispered just then and even though she had been the one to advise him against flying towards the two strange dragons and letting Eragon and the elder riders deal with it, she was already on Saturn's back and rising in the air fast.

Where are you going?, Tristan tried to ask her, attempting to use his mind connection but he wasn't sure if he succeeded as Gwen didn't reply to him.

Annoyed he jumped on Vertigo's back and once again went to rise in the air but Laer pressed his hand on Vertigo's scales. The grey-blue dragon growled and went to smack Laer with his tail but the other rider raised his hand in the air and Vertigo paused, irritated.

"They are coming closer to the island. They are going to land on the shore soon. There is no need for us to go join them at the moment and too much commotion will upset the dragons" he advised looking at the two dragons.

Tristan went to disagree but then noticed the colour of the dragons' scales and let out a loud whistle.

"Mighty seven riders! This is Firnen and Thorn! Is that…? Is that Arya and Murtagh? I cannot tell…" Tristan began and just then the two dragons crushed on land with such force that they shook the sand under his feet.

Both he and Vertigo jumped back in response as the two dragons curled on the sand making no attempt to rise and breathing loudly, looking beyond exhausted. The five dragons and Saturn also landed on the shore, but did so in a steadier manner and gave Thorn and Firnen plenty of space.

Tristan, Laer, Vertigo and Onyx all run to where the dragons were. He noticed that Eragon was already there alongside two riders and they were trying to unstrap something from Thorn's back. The other two riders were tending to Firnen's and Thorn's wounds.

"No…" he heard Gwen's voice again and he turned to her direction.

There was someone strapped on Thorn's back and she was unstrapping the belts fast, her hands shaking. Tristan run to her side and helped her with the task, feeling the desperation in Gwen's movements. Just then he saw what the human dorm leader must have seen from a distance. Tristan had never met the red rider but as he looked at the complexion of his skin he could only assume that this was him. Or whatever remained of him. Wounds the likes of which Tristan had never seen before were covering the rider's body and he appeared not to be breathing.

Tristan heard someone land on the sand and he turned around to see an elf with a mane of dark, un-kept hair and a set of fierce, glowing, forest, green eyes.

"Arya…" Eragon whispered and went to her side, holding her by her waist. The elf was unsteady on her feet and they trembled beneath her. She had several wounds and cuts along her body with the deepest one on her shoulder and fresh blood was gushing from it.

The Dragon Rider Leader whispered some words under his breath and her wound was healed but the look of desperation did not leave Arya's expression.

"The shadow wyrms attacked Alagaesia. All the other riders are dead. They are looking for Angela. We need your help. We need your help, Eragon" she whispered before she fell to the ground.

…..

Elva was in a tavern in Teirm, her face hidden beneath a dark hood. Every so often she would look around, wishing that the next person who walked in the tavern would not be about to face a horrific death but that didn't stop the visions from coming and the uncontrollable need to place herself between them and the threats. Her nails were digging into the hard wood of the table, splinters covering her palm.

Two strangers walked in, laughing and playfully punching each other on the shoulders no doubt unaware of their soon to be fate. Elva swallowed as she watched their entrails being torn away from their bodies, sharp teeth and nails clawing the surface of their skin until nothing else but bones and ashes remained. The image quickly cleared away and she was left with a feeling of nausea. She puked in the bowl of uneaten food she had in front of her and pushed it to the side raising her finger and calmly asking for another one from the butch woman who worked behind the counter.

"You are her… You are the one who sees the fates of people…" a voice whispered near her and Elva quickly turned around, trying to hide her face deeper inside her hood but a strong hairy hand held her wrist.

Angrily she turned to face the man who had had done so and glared at him. The bearded man released her hand and took a few steps back. A new image appeared at the edges of her vision and Elva had to swallow back bile.

The bearded man's courage seemed to come forth anew and he went to take a sit opposite her.

Elva sighed and moved her finger from side to side. "I wouldn't do that if I were you" she warned but the man only raised an eyebrow and sat on the chair anyways.

A ginger cat walked near the man, its tail swinging from side to side and the butch woman who was carrying the hot soup to Elva's table got her feet tangled between the cat's tail, slipping and throwing the boiling soup on the bearded man while she crumbled to the wooden floor.

The butch woman cursed while the bearded man shot up and started dancing around like an enchanted troll as the boiling soup was scalding his skin. Elva watched calmly, picking up the second almost empty bowl of soup and placing it in front of her. She took a few seeps of it before she saw the bearded man walking back to his previous spot.

"You owe me a soup. Actually make it two because I feel especially hungry today" she said and the bearded man glared at her and ordered her two bowls of soup from the butch woman behind the counted who only glared at him and nodded.

Again the bearded man sat opposite her.

"Don't say I didn't warn you. My time is valuable and if you waste it or don't repay me for it I will turn you into a frog. Or a toad. Because despite what people think they are an entirely different species" she said calmly and the other man raised an eyebrow as if confused but nodded nevertheless.

"I have information. And money. I will give it to you but I need to know my future" he told her in a serious, desperate manner.

Elva hmphed and pulled the hood of her cape even lower, covering the top part of her black-purple eyes and forehead with the Gedwey Ignasia symbol. "Many have asked to know their future. Most have regretted doing so"

The man pressed his lips together. "You don't understand! My wife is pregnant! The midwife said that from the shape of her belly she is going to have…"

"A girl?" Elva asked and licked her spoon.

The other man nodded. "Yes. She said we are going to have a girl. And I need to know whether to stay in the city or go back to my wife's parents house so that the child can be raised in peace… I need to know! Please tell me!" he begged, tears almost running down his face.

Elva picked a piece of meat and slowly chewed it, savouring the flavour for a moment before she threw up again. "The future is not set in stone. Each decision we make will lead us down a certain path and there are so many paths! Some are clearer than others. Some approach sooner than others. The midwife was wrong"

The man's eyebrows pulled together. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You are not going to have a girl. Your wife will give birth to a boy, and she will die in the process of doing so, wishing her husband was by her side"

"Where will I be?"

Elva took another bite of the meat and swallowed. "Dead. Alongside everyone else in the city"

"Why?" he asked again and a tremor shook his body.

"The shadow wyrms are coming here tonight. They will attack this city and burn it to the ground along with everyone inside it. But because I have now told you this you will tell your wife to go away from this city and you will try to accompany her. But a band of thieves will stop you mid-ways and they will take everything you own. You will try to protect your wife but you will not manage. They will hurt her in every way imaginable and you will have to stay there watching until they kill you. Your wife will give birth to a boy and she will die in the process of doing so, wishing her husband was by her side"

The bearded man in front of her was crying. "What will happen to the boy?"

Elva chocked for a second before she made another attempt to swallow her food properly. "He will be eaten by wolves most likely. And if not, he will die from the cold. And if not he will be taken by the band of thieves and they will raise him as a slave, making him do their bidding. He might attempt to escape but if they catch him they will murder him. If not he will be left stranded in the woods. Further ahead I cannot see"

The man in front of her was chocking and crying, sounding like a wounded animal. "Why did you tell me this? Is there no way I can prevent it? What if I stay in the city?"

"I told you because you asked. If you stay in the city you will die alongside everyone else tonight"

"Have you warned the guards about the upcoming attack?" the man quickly asked, a spark of hope in his eyes.

Elva raised her eyebrows. "I always do but they rarely listen. This time they surprisingly did but the city is not prepared for an attack. Now… You said you had some information for me?"

The man still appeared to be deep in shock but he nodded nevertheless and motioned for her to follow him.

Elva tossed a coin to the butch woman behind the counter and pulled her hood even lower down her face. She was stopped by many on her way out but the glare she shot them alongside the desperation in the man's expression in front of her pushed them away.

The man led her down a familiar path and stopped in front of what used to be Angela's shop. Elva felt a lump forming in her throat, cursing under her breath the herbalist and her foolishness.

"None have entered this shop thus far. They all say it is haunted. The attack happened only a week ago "he said in a defeated tone of voice.

"I could have come to this place myself and found as much. There must be more to tell…" Elva asked and run her fingertips down the wall of the building, feeling almost hesitant to enter.

"It was on the night of the storm. People said they heard screams"

"And what did you hear? You were here during the attack weren't you?"

The man shivered again. "My wife was having pains. I came to ask for a remedy. There was a hooded figure outside. It managed to shut down the doors and the windows of the shop. I heard voices and whispers but they were of another language. Not the language of the elves. I do not know their exact language but I could tell that this language was different. Then I heard screams and then nothing… The hooded figure walked out of the shop. It looked slightly irritated. It was empty handed. It looked at me just then and it smiled. It knew I had been watching. I waited thinking of the worst but the creature just looked at me again and then disappeared into thin air…"

Elva pressed her palm on the wooden door of the shop feeling the pulse of dark energy and then pushed it open. The door cracked under the force of her palm and she walked inside silently.

The place she had grown up was now in pieces, every object she had played with as a child broken or damaged beyond repair. Books lay on the floor, their pages stuck together and still wet on the corner. A fool smell clung into the air and she pressed her palm over her nose. She walked deeper inside the shop and soon she found the source of the smell.

A cry escaped her lips and she crumbled to her knees and gently caressed the soft fur of the werecat in front of her. "Bum… Bumbum"

Elva swallowed and cursed once again the herbalist for shooing her away and casting a protective spell which stopped her from seeing any impending dangers on Angela's way. If she hadn't done so Elva would have been able to know. She would have been here. She would have prevented it.

The bearded man walked closer to her and she turned angrily to his direction. "If the shadow wyrms are attacking tonight how will you be able to survive? How will you be able to escape?"

"I will not escape. I will be here during all of it. The shadow wyrms will not attack me though. Their leader wants me to deliver a message" she said and pressed her lips tightly together, cursing under her breath again. "Where is the herbalist?"

The man raised his eyebrows. "Is she not here?"

Elva got up from the ground and motioned around her. "Do you see something I don't?"

The other man looked bewildered. "I don't understand. She should be here… She should be… "

A thunder echoed in the distance and both looked outside. A few rain drops started falling.

"Go to your family. You have given me the information I needed. This is your last night with them and the storm is coming again" Elva advised.

Then she sat on the ground again next to the werecat and caressed his soft fur, gently singing songs she had heard her caretaker tell her when she had been an infant.

"The world is smaller
Seconds are longer
Embraces reach farther
Hands hold harder
Eyes are bigger
Clearer we see

That this is how we find out what we´re made of
The hero in your heart
Can never leave your side

The hero in your heart
Can never leave your side
Locked within right until that moment you give up
The hero in your heart

Now this is where you find out what you´re made of
The hero in your heart will never leave your side
Locked within right until that moment you give up
The hero in your heart never leaves your side

I bet you didn´t know
The hero in your heart
Has strength beyond the known
And never leaves your side
You´re the hero in your heart"

A/C: Thanks to everyone for your reviews on the previous two chapters, especially to Howtobook101, Hi7807, BEST OC Maker, Restrained. Freedom ConorMcK96, Thisnamesucks, and Eagleclaw25.

I wasn't able to reply to everyone since at the moment I have lots of work to do and updates might come less often (its been almost 5 weeks since I last posted a chapter). I do intend to finish this story soon, since I already have a general outline planned.

Credits for the lyrics of the last song in this chapter go to Thomas Bergersen (Feat. Merethe Soltvedt) singing:"The Hero In Your Heart" if anyone is interested. Next chapter will be called: A dream of winter.

Finally I am thinking of having a beta for this story since I would like someone else to reread a chapter and correct any grammar/spelling mistakes I might make although I am not exactly sure how to do that. If anyone has been a beta before or has had a beta and is interested please pm.