Curse of the Phoenix

Ch.63 -Unlikely Alliance

Iara~

I was running. I had been running. And I would continue to run. I didn't even know where I was, but something told me I was going in the right direction. Almost like a little pull in the center of my skull.

The sun was nearly close to setting, but my brush with the Old Forest had left me feeling awake, so I could continue until I was exhausted. Which I wasn't, not yet at least.

In order to avoid everyone, I had to take a detour around Doru Araeba, which had taken a few miles, if I was accurate about the distance.

Another thing about my journey was that I seemed to continually be heading up, onto higher ground. Why that was I had no idea, but it had to be for some reason.

I was on top of some sort of mountain, a cliff was in front of me and a dozen or so natural caves dotted the rock face like giant snake holes.

One of them was immensely large, perhaps even big enough for a dragon like Saphira or Thorn to fit through. They seemed like a safe spot to be and I didn't see anywhere else to go, so I went inside one of the smaller ones.

Inside the stone was a dark grey, and it also seemed slightly damp. Feeling the walls, the stone was slightly bumpy and even a bit warm to the touch.

Farther in, the tunnels widened out until they were large enough for a dragon to easily fit through. I kept going, even though I had lost my vision far back, I could feel the air and tell where the ground was.

The further in I went, the warmer it got, at least it seemed like that. I was sweating by the time I made it to a giant cavern. I felt several drafts of air throughout the entire cavern, though I didn't even know how big it was, I guessed the other caves met up here.

I heard a sharp, quick screech and then a snarl. I threw myself to the floor, and in the nick of time. A blast of flame scorched where I had just been standing. Black flames, smoky. But they lit up the cave enough for me to get an idea of where Grimm was.

"Grimm!" I shrieked. He halted, as he was about to bite me. His face was in front of mine, his teeth inches from my head.

Iara...?

Grimm!

You never should have come here..

I'm ok. They haven't killed me yet.

So you know.

I do.

I've been here....alone....yet every time one of them died it's like someone cut off a foot of my tail.

I haven't felt anything.

Good.

I paused for a moment, looking at him.

Grimm....are you....bigger? Noticing it only made it more obvious. He was in fact bigger than he had been only..two nights ago, was it?

It's not by choice.

Then how?

Take a guess.

His coldness when talking to me surprised me.

Something to do with our situation?

Exactly....bigger dragons are better at fighting than smaller dragons.

It did this to you?

Yes....he did.

Grimm broke off our contact and snarled, turning around. And then I saw the glow.

A deep, fiery orange, even a little bit of red. It was him. Startled, I took a step back, into Grimm's tail. The phoenix came out of a tunnel, clearly from within the mountain.

Instead of the giant fiery bird, he was smaller. Maybe the size of one of the shadow birds.

His light illuminated the entire cavern in a soft glow. With the added light I could see just how much bigger Grimm truly was. He stopped towards the middle, and just looked at us. It was then I was swept away.

His consciousness enveloped mine, like a seashell on the oceanside. It was not fear I felt, not isolation. Before, he had merely been trying to scare us into insecurity. It had made taking over our heads that much easier.

And then he spoke. Not in images like a feral animal, with words. This bird was intelligent, probably just as much as any dragon.

Child, there is no need to remain behind your dragon. You need not have fear. Come closer. His words echoed in my head, beckoning me forward.

Iara.. Grimm warned.

I'll be fine. He won't kill me. At least, I hoped so.

Stepping around Grimm, I made my way forward. Towards the phoenix.

And then I was there. The phoenix wasn't that strange, in fact he was quite beautiful.

Now then, here is better than that distance. Here we might be able to...form an arrangement.

What sort of arrangement?

I'm sure by now you understand that if you die, I die. I can protect you and in exchange protect myself.

What do I get?

We each benefit. We both get to live, which is preferrable to being back inside a few humans. Your dragon will be protected as well.

His name is Grimm.

Yes...Grimm.

What about everyone else? They're going to try to kill us.

They will fail. If they persist they will perish in flames. The phoenix spoke with an iron tone. I had no doubt he meant every word.

If you touch them i'll let myself be killed.

You wouldn't dare.

I would.

Convince them to stay away. Let me be and I won't touch them.

I'll try.

Even if you do die, I am more than capable of defending myself.

I know that. Do we have a deal?

We do. I have a single task for you.

What is it?

Capture the Vault of Souls and bring the contents to me. Do not let them claim it. It is in an area close enough to where a few trips would suffice.

Where is this Vault of Souls?

You should know. You have seen it. Your...mentor exited the place.

Did he mean the place I saw Eragon with the dragon eggs? There was nowhere else he could be talking about..

We will do this.

Of course you will. Go now. I have work to do.

And with that the phoenix took flight, and went into the mountain.