I was sitting in an elm, my back to the upper trunk and my legs on a large tree limb. There were so many stars in this place, it was almost like it was day, but with a different light. More of a slivery glow than the blinding gold of day. I liked the nights here.

This lady called Gertrude(cliche name for a healer, if you ask me) had rubbed some goo onto my scratches. I wasn't too happy about that, but it did feel better afterwards. And she must have been completely blind, because she didn't even see my wings.

Then I had told Brom, Eragon, Roran(the one with the hammer), and Murtagh(weird sword guy) everything that had happened since Saphira and I had been captured. Roran had punched Eragon in the nose when he heard that his little cousin was a Dragon Rider, breaking it and giving him a heavy nosebleed. Family issues.

Brom acted a bit strangely when I showed him my awesome dagger. He had muttered something that sounded like "andlat" and his eyes had gotten a sort of hungry look in them. I think he needs to eat more stuff if he thinks a dagger looks yummy.

Eragon had wanted to go to Farthen Dur right then, but everybody else was against that idea. Plenty of people had gotten wounded by the hooded figures, which were called the Ra'zac, and the soldiers. Not to mention me. According to Brom, the Lethrblaka, which were the things that had attacked me, were the Ra'zac's parents. I didn't get that, since the Lethrblaka were frickin' humongous and they had wings while the Ra'zac looked like humans, but if the great expert deems it true, then okay. And also, Brom told me I hadn't really killed a Lethrblaka, just wounded it into a coma for at least a week, which is still awesome.

Then I had asked what so many people were doing in the woods. Apparently, Carvahall(stupid name, it's almost like Build-a-Bear), this village way northwest, the one Roran and Eragon had come from, had been attacked by the Ra'zac after Gabriel figured out that Eragon had a cousin up there. They had burned the place to the ground and Roran had led the whole village over to Teirm. Jeod had told them that the Varden lived in the Beor Mountains, and the whole village had set off towards the mountains. They had met up with Eragon in this place called Drat, Lona!(seriously?) and had decided to run around together. The Ra'zac had tracked them all the way here, and then I had met up with them.

We made plans to get across the desert after that. On foot, it was around three or four days. Brom and Eragon would use magic to get water. I had checked them for magic wands, but Eragon explained that magic was using gibberish to direct energy towards something. I thought that was pretty dumb, but if it'll get water for us, why should I ever care?

So right now I'm just sitting in a tree and being bored.

I closed my eyes and dozed off.

I woke up after everyone else. Most of the people had already finished packing their stuff and were gazing out to the desert. I seemed to be the only person who wasn't worried about crossing all of that hot yellow sand. I also seemed to be the only person who could get across the place in less than a day.

I stretched, then jumped onto the ground. A few random little kids were passing out food, and I took some. It was wet bread and salted meat, but I ate it all down in twenty seconds. I noticed that everyone else was eating theirs slowly and saving some for later in bags and pockets. Dang it; why didn't I think of that? But the food was all gone now, and that was that. I shrugged.

"Dusk!" someone called. I turned and saw Murtagh running towards me. "Brom wants you to tell the Varden we're coming."

"'Kay, on it," I said.

"How are you going to get to them before us?" Murtagh asked. His face was red, probably from sunburn.

I gathered myself to jump. "Watch and learn, kiddie. I'll be back in two days at most." I launched myself into the air. Murtagh gasped behind me, and I heard some people yell and scream and do all that other stuff non-flying humans do when they see a flying human. I ignored them and winged my way towards the not-so-distant mountains.