Lover of the Legacy: A Hidden Desire

Chapter 12

Lover of the Legacy: A Hidden Desire

Chapter 12

Murtagh laughed, "You are too slow; you will have to do much better than that if you wish to defeat me." Sweat already began to bead Eragon's brow as he struggled to gain the upper-hand. He had underestimated his opponent and it greatly hindered him. Still, he continued to press forward, unwillingly giving up.

Satine watched with a sinking heart as she stood next to Saphira, who eyed the sword-dancing pair intensely. Her demeanor was rigid, ready to jump in and help Eragon if such a moment should arise. Several minutes had passed with no improvement. Eragon constantly defended himself rather than issue the initial blows, weakening him. Each passing moment felt like years as the fight wore on.

Impressed Murtagh said, "You have battered against me longer than I expected, Eragon, but I presume you will not hold out much longer."

"I will fight you for however long it takes; I will not allow you to take us hostage." Eragon parried a blow and jumped to the left, avoiding another.

"You are brave, however, you cannot continue on forever…"

"Neither can you," Eragon interrupted.

"The King gave me an order, and I cannot break it. If I had my own free will, I would not be fighting you right now. Alas, here we are and nothing can change that."

"And nothing will deter me from protecting Satine." Eragon dared a glance at her, his determination rising as her sullen visage fueled his mission. Ten minutes passed without much incident, that is, until Eragon became too weak allowing Murtagh to knock the sword from Eragon's grip. With flared nostril's, Eragon breathed heavily from exhaustion and anger.

The tip of Murtagh's sword was less than an inch from Eragon's neck. Shaking his head, Eragon said, "I will not surrender."

"There is no need since I will take what I came for with force." Before Eragon could react, Murtagh muttered a phrase in the Ancient Language and then began to walk over to Satine. No matter how hard Eragon tried, he could not move. "This is very dirty, Murtagh. Are you afraid that in my weak state you cannot best me? Ha! You are a coward." Murtagh swung around, almost slicing Eragon with his sword.

"You may be weak, but your dragon is not, so hold your tongue," Murtagh snapped. Saphira roared—a fierce sound that shook the land—when she was unable to move as well.

He will regret what he has done once I get free from this bondage, Saphira growled.

Satine had nowhere to run. Trapped, Murtagh grabbed her by the arm and began dragging her towards Thorn. Though it was pointless, she still felt the need to vocalize her distress, "Let go of me! Stop! You're hurting me!" As her struggling became violent, Murtagh grabbed her by the arm, squeezing hard.

"The less you struggle, the easier this will be."

"Why should I make your job easy, hmm? As long as I am held captive, I will make your life as miserable as possible."

Murtagh sighed, the pain in his eyes evident. "I really am sorry that I have to do this."

"If you are sorry, then find a way to end this madness!" Eragon protested, still trying to wriggle free from his invisible bondage.

"It is not that simple, Eragon." He turned to look back at Satine, her eyes full of rage. "I will be gentle if you stop your fidgeting."

Satine rolled her eyes, "As if gentleness is what I want."

Murtagh gave up trying to reason with her and was about to start leading her towards his dragon when Eragon said, "I never said it was easy, but you should still try." The distraction was enough for Satine to punch Murtagh in the face. The sudden impact was enough to divert Murtagh away from the spell he had cast upon Eragon and Saphira. Breaking free from his grip, Satine ran over to Eragon, holding him tightly. Her hand throbbed in pain, but she ignored it to focus on the situation at hand.