Chapter two

Kairin's eyes flew open. It was still pitch dark; she blinked furiously in an attempt to clear her vision. As she sat slowly up in bed, she heard the noise again: A steady, rhythmic thumping, a faint skittering like a mouse on a wooden floor. Slowly, carefully, she eased herself out of the sheets and stood, reaching for her sword. Her eyes, now adjusted to the darkness, swept the room. A flash of light caught her attention. Her gaze snapped to the stone sitting on the shelf. It was quivering, rocking back and forth, and had caught the faint rays of moonlight streaming through the window. She walked towards it, taking her time, and picked it up.

As soon as she had lifted it off the shelf, it became quiet and still. Kairin frowned, and lifted it to her ear. Not a sound. She examined it closely, and noticed a small crack running across one side. Frowning, she ran her finger across it. It hadn't been there yesterday. Suddenly the stone came to life again, and she felt something moving around inside. With a small cry, she dropped it on the floor. As it hit the ground, it gave a loud, hollow thunk, and the surface began to spiderweb into a pattern of small cracks. It continued to break and split, giving the appearance that it was crawling with ants. Kairin dropped to her knees, and inched towards it. The stone began to squeak loudly, and the thing inside began to tap against the walls.

"It's not a stone... It's an egg!"

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, a piece of the stone flew from it and landed before her. She stumbled backwards, disinclined to touch it. An egg? What kind of egg? She leaned forward and watched intently, her hands clasped together in front of her. Pieces began to fall in all directions, and the stone had soon completely crumbled away. Huddled in the ruins of the silver shell was an oddly shaped creature, about the length of Kairin's forearm. Clueless, Kairin remained motionless until a leathery wing unfurled itself from the tiny, serpentine body. Kairin gasped as the little dragon uncurled before her, squeaking in a pitiful sort of way.

"A dragon..." The newborn creature had lifted itself up on wobbly legs, and was stretching two bat-like wings. It opened its tiny mouth in a yawn revealing sharp, miniature teeth. It looked up at Kairin with two silver eyes and chirruped. As it stared at her, Kairin felt an instant affection. She couldn't help herself; she reached out and brushed the dragon's nose with her fingertips.

Almost instantly, they began to burn. Kairin withdrew her hand and clenched her fist against her body, clutching her wrist with her other hand. Her fingers began to shake. Something was creeping up her arm, an odd sensation that began to throb alongside her own heartbeat. The force spread through her and engulfed her mind, swirling it like a whirlpool. But, as suddenly as it had come, it was gone. She opened her eyes and found herself staring at the ceiling; she had keeled over onto the floor. As she sat up and rubbed her temples, her right palm tingled. She looked at it and noticed white oval in the center, glowing with a slivery sheen like a scar. She traced around the oval curiously, an odd feeling spreading through her. Her mind was clear, precise, and felt slightly alien to Kairin. As she marveled at the new feeling, something brushed against her consciousness, light as a feather. Kairin shook her head sharply, startled and afraid. The feeling brushed her again, more insistent this time. She looked at the dragon, and noticed that it was staring into her eyes, willing her to understand.

"I get it..." she whispered, and opened her mind to the dragon. As the creature's consciousness entered hers, Kairin felt a strange emptiness, total vulnerability. It was vaguely alarming and quite uncomfortable for her. She felt as if her mind had spilled from her skull and was now spreading around the room, like water filling a basin. She could feel the young, energetic spark of the dragon close to her. It spoke without words, but Kairin became aware of a ravenous hunger.

Last night's dinner was still sitting on a pan in the fire. Kairin took it off the now-cooled coals and plopped it unceremoniously in front of the dragon. It sniffed daintily before tucking into the small meal. As it devoured the food, Kairin sat back to take a truly good look at her new companion. Its scales were pale silver, almost white, and were the most flawless things Kairin had ever seen. On each foot were four stout little claws, each one a smooth, silvery black, like hematite. Across the graceful curve of its spine were small spikes, the same blackish color of the claws. Kairin put her hand on the base of the dragon's neck. There were no spikes there, and the bone was oddly curved. As she stroked the hollow she realized with a jolt that she would one day ride on the very spot she now rested her hand. Overwhelmed, she sat back. She traced the new mark on her palm, deep in thought. Could she become a Dragon Rider?

The ancient Dragon Riders were extinct, she was sure. Everyone was sure. She knew the story of Galbatorix, listening to old Brom the storyteller tell it had been her favorite part of visiting the nearby Caravahall. But as she recalled it now, it no longer seemed like just a story. Only now did she fully understand the evil of Galbatorix, and the danger of opposing him. She watched the dragon, and the thought of abandoning it did not even cross her mind. She wanted to keep it. It had been scarcely any time since they had met, and already it seemed as much a part of her as anything. Unbidden, her mind began to add on to the story of Galbatorix, writing herself in. She would be a legend, the first dragon rider since The Fall, and she would take down the evil king. She would restore humanity to its Golden Age.

"No. That's not real," she reminded herself. At the sound of her voice, the dragon looked up into her eyes. It chirruped, and stumbled towards her. It brushed her mind again, and Kairin quickly let it in.

This time, it felt worried, insistent. It scuttled to the door, obviously as quickly as was possible for the newborn. It reached the door and scraped it with one paw. Kairin stood, crossed the room, and opened the door. Without hesitation, the dragon scampered outside into the faint bluish light of morning. Kairin followed it outside to see it standing a few feet away, waiting for her. Kairin took a step towards it, and it took a step forward, away from her. It stared into her eyes, and Kairin was sure that if the thing had eyebrows, they would be raised.

"This is easy enough, I suppose," murmured Kairin, smiling. The dragon led Kairin slowly through the forest, barely able to walk but not allowing Kairin to pick it up. It led a direction that she had never been before, deep into a part of the forest without pathways. The sun was up when the little dragon finally sat down beside a huge thicket. It simply looked at Kairin.

"What? What is it?" The dragon just continued looking at her. Kairin didn't understand.

"Where is it?" No response. Kairin walked hesitantly to the thicket and peered between the thorny branches. She could see the sun glittering from inside; it was hollow.

"There's something... inside?" The dragon chirped, and its eyes glittered. She crouched over and gingerly dug her arms into the thicket to pry apart the branches. She ripped a jagged hole at the base of the thicket and crawled inside. She pulled herself along the ground with her elbows, disregarding the thorns that were etching long scratches into her skin. When she got inside, she struggled upright and shook her hair from her eyes. Kairin blinked in the sunlight, looked around, and stifled a scream.

A woman lay facedown in the brush.