Curse of the Phoenix

Ch.34 -First Signs

Dru~

Years, it had been years since I last saw Iara. We had scryed, and me and Alice had made a small trip to the island to see her and Marumen, but other than that we had very little contact. The times we did scry and when I saw her...she had gotten older. Much older. Her and Eragon, if seen together, would only look a few years older or younger than each other.

We had traveled back to Ellesmera, and Murtagh had joined us as a teacher. I was surprised at how fast we had begun to learn, as if Marumen's presence had been holding us back somehow. Arya...she taught us magic of all kinds, but first and foremost was the language, which was to be used with extreme care. At first I couldn't understand any of it, but now it came to me as easy as breathing did.

And Murtagh, he trained us weapons wise. Our swords, specifically. Going to bed slightly bruised was usual, but it was exhilarating, so I didn't mind.

The time was night, and I was sitting by myself on the shore of some lake in the forest. The water was so clear, and so still, that every branch and star was reflected perfectly, as if there was a whole nother forest hidden in the water.

I looked up at the moon, its soft white light shining down upon me. It...captivated me. I had never noticed the details of the moon...the dark blots on its surface, as if something was making a shadow.

As I was looking at it, I felt a tingling. Almost like goosebumps upon my skin. It was then that the pain came. At first...like my skin was brushing up against silk. Soft, and beautiful. Then, embedded in the silk were thorns. The thorns...digging into my skin, shredding me. I shook, and fell over, clenching my fists, unable to breathe. Tears blurred my vision, and I gasped for air. I looked at my arms. Nothing was bleeding. I wasnt fine though, I was in agony. Then i lost ahold of myself, and I screamed out loud, a call for help. I felt another.wave of whatever it was hit me, and this one was overpowering. I tried to recede inside myself, but it was as if another being inside of me was preventing me from doing so, forcing me out.

The fire, the fire. I crawled towards the water, the water would help, make the pain go away. I stuck an arm in, and it was relief. I climbed into the water, trying to get rid of the fire. I breathed in the water, trying to put the fire that was inside of me out. But that was a mistake. I denied the fire inside of its air, and it needed something to fuel it. So it used me. I was burning, my body felt like it was being eaten alive. I trembled, and tried to get out of the water. But I couldn't move, I was sinking.

Two arms came from above, and they grabbed me, pulling me out of the water. I was set on the shore, and then I looked up into Murtagh's face. I still had water inside. I couldn't breathe.

Murtagh~

Luke and Mikael collapsed first, in the yard with me. They were on the ground, covulsing and screaming about the fire, crying in the agony of the flames. Then the thought hit me. Dru. Oh no...Dru... I left them in the care of the elves and I ran. I extended my thoughts, desperately searching for him. Then I felt him. He was close. I ran. And then I saw him in the lake, sinking. Without a second thought I dove forward and dragged him out, onto the shore. He looked like he had taken in water. He was shaking. Whatever was happening, it had happened to all three of them at the same time. I began to press on his chest, trying to force the water out.

"Dru..Dru...dont you give up on me...dont give up on me.." I repeated his name, trying to keep him awake. If he fell asleep he might not wake back up. This wasn't working.....my last chance was magic. I remembered.

"Adurna rïsa!" Then the water came out. It took quite a bit more energy than expected, but the water came out of his mouth, and fell on the shore, trickling back into the lake. Now that he could breathe, he could speak. He groaned and clenched a fist, shaking.

"Murtagh the fire! Make it stop! Make it stop!"

"Dru I don't know how!"

Dru~

My throat tickled as the water left. But then the air came, and the fire only grew. I shook, and my head throbbed.

"Make it stop!" He had to know, he had to know how to make the pain just end. I didn't know if I could endure.

"Dru...im sorry dont know how.." I groaned and clenched my fist, stars appearing before my eyes. The throbbing in my head grew stronger, and I felt so small, so overpowered. And another wave, as if something was sending it towards me. This one incapacitated me. All I could do was scream. Finally I had to give in to whatever it was, I wasn't strong enough to fight it.

~I didn't know where I was. All there was was me and complete blackness. A void, a hole in space with...nothing. Then a burst of red and yellow, a light so bright the after image seemed completely burned into my memory.

And then, something else appeared in my little place. It began as a small, glowing speck. And it grew, from a small, tiny sun, to a ball of floating fire. And from that, the fire morphed into limbs. Three. Two wings, their feathers light and delicate looking. And a tail, akin to those of the blue and green birds we had seen among the forest trees.

Then a fourth. A head. Its head had a small, dainty beak. And two eyes. I couldn't help but look into them. And then I was trapped. Its eyes...they were black. Black as coal, black as shadow, blacker than anything I had ever seen. And within them, seemed to be an amount of unspeakable evil and malevolence. And...intelligence. As if...It knew something. Something I needed to know.

Whatever this was, it was evil. It gave me a sense of unspeakable fear. It opened its beak, and hissed at me. Then it opened its wings, and it shrieked, louder than the loudest roar of a dragon. A sound so high pitched, so full of hatred and evil intent, it sent shivers down my spine and made me want to curl up into a ball and just hide.

"You...you're....you're a phoenix, thats what you are, isn't it?" I whispered. The tiny bird halted its cry. It beat its wings, rising above me. And it looked right at me. Then, somehow, it smiled.~