The Rogue Rider (An Inheritance Fanfiction)

Chapter 33: The Only Path Left

Ragin refused to move from his bed for hours. Even as a small meal was sent up from the kitchen. He didn't even acknowledge who came through the door. All he could feel was regret. Frustration. Anger. It consumed him, like a wallowing pit of despair that he couldn't escape from no matter how hard he tried. Akaysha's final words echoed through his mind over and over like a song, but instead of a tune it played a nightmare.

He could still feel her, in the back of his mind. He didn't know where she was. He didn't really care, but the emotions that continued to leak from her ever dwindling connection only added to his pit of despair. Tears leaked from his eyes but he didn't register them. All he could know was the darkness inside, and through that darkness a sudden clarity hit him.

There was one way he could make this right. Only one. It would turn everyone against him. But it was the only path left. The only path he could follow that would leave a chance for both Akaysha and him. Even if it didn't it would at least guarantee that his dragon would live. Whatever happened to him he didn't care, his life was already in ruins.

Getting up from his bed he reached underneath and pulled out the bag. He reached inside and pulled out the mirror he had used to contact Tharin. With a quick spell he opened the link allowing him to scry. Foeswarn's face appeared before him, seeming a little surprised to see him.

"Ragin," he said, "I thought you were..."

"Meet me along the bank of the Isenstar lake, where the Ramr river is, in a week's time," the rider interrupted, "I'll have your damned dragon egg."

Before the man had a chance to reply Ragin cancelled the link and shoved the mirror back into the bag. He ruffled through it a little more, and pulled out his ring. The previous one Akaysha had destroyed had been the one he had stolen from the assassin. He placed it on his finger, the background hum of Akaysha's negative emotions disappearing. He let out a sigh of relief, finding a small amount of solace in the comfort of his own mind. A second later the emptiness of the bond he had come to cherish clashed into him, turning his sigh into a grunt. He shook his head, before narrowing his eyes and discarding those emotions.

He moved over to the balcony, casting a spell of invisibility over himself. It was getting late and many people had already retired for the night. Most were camped along the edges of the river, with fires glowing like stars as the night darkened. He noticed a dragon perched on the balcony a number of feet away from his own, and another on the other side. They really did have the place well-guarded. The wind was light though, and the likelihood of the dragons catching his scent was low.

He stepped to the edge of the balcony and without hesitation leapt off. It was a good thirty metres to the bottom, enough to kill or severely injure if not careful. As he fell Ragin reached for his magic and cast a simple spell, allowing him to slow his fall to a point where the landing jarred him slightly, but didn't injure him at all. It was easier to do that than completely stop his fall.

Without a second thought he glided into the night, heading westward along the river. For a good hour he travelled, running lightly to get as far as he could from the dragon city without tiring himself out. When he felt he was far enough he stopped and gently took off his ring, casting his mind out into the night. He could barely feel the pulse of Akaysha's conscious in the background. She was far enough away he couldn't feel her thoughts.

There were a number of dragons living around the area, most of them sleeping. He gently touched each ones thoughts until he found exactly what he was looking for. He began running again, heading in the direction of a younger dragoness that had lain her first egg about a week prior. Any guilt that would usually plague him from attempting what he was going to was long since gone. Any action that allowed him to achieve his goal was now permissible.