Age of the Dragon 1: Return of the Riders

Chapter 4

A lesson that Fallyn found herself relearning was that humans were unpredictable. She kept in contact with Saphira as she slipped into the prison. It seemed the boy had gotten out and had been discovered.

It was also through the dragon that she learned Eragon was insistent on rescuing an elven woman he'd seen.

Fallyn's eyes widened.

"Arya..." she whispered before her ears brought her the sound of numerous boots running in her direction.

Furious at the thought that these men had something to do with her old friend's suffering, she turned to face the door as it burst open.

"Bellanaris din'an heem," she hissed, firing arrows in rapid succession as they came through the doors. She heard the door open behind her and turned sharply, bow aimed for those who came through the door next.

"Don't shoot!" Murtagh called out. She lowered her bow, straightening up slightly.

"This is your friend?" the other male, a younger, baby-faced boy spoke.

"You're the dragon rider?" she sighed. "I'm underwhelmed."

He bristled at that, but she didn't have time for him, as the sound of more people coming reached her.

"One of you needs to tell Saphira to hold off for five more minutes," Murtagh said, placing an unconscious Arya onto a table.

"Wait, what?"

"Done, but we don't have a lot of time," Fallyn hissed as she quickly informed Saphira of the situation.

"Wait, what?!"

"Just stay out of sight!" Murtagh called, disappearing out a side door.

The boy glanced at her, then with a heavy sigh turned to move Arya under a table with him. Slipping into a dark corner, Fallyn waited patiently for the opportune moment to strike.

Men charged into the room, their search pausing when they saw the bodies of their fallen friends. Ten men in total.

Fallyn's bow creaked as she took her aim.

They pointed their swords towards the door the soldiers had been coming from, thinking that they'd made their escape in that direction, and the room was eventually silent.

The boy popped out from under his table to shoot across the room to grab some food and a tankard which he then returned to his hiding place with.

Fallyn allowed the tension in her bow to ease and listened for any other sounds. Murtagh soon returned, carrying a sword she recognised well, an elven bow, and an elven sword.

"What now?" she heard Eragon whispering to Murtagh.

"Now we wait," he answered. "As I said, our escape has been arranged."

"You don't understand!" the boy sounded frantic. "There's a Shade here! If he finds us, we're doomed."

Fallyn felt her blood turn cold. Even she feared the Shades.

"In that case, tell Saphira to come immediately," Murtagh said, his eyes flickering around in search of Fallyn. "We were going to wait until the watch changed but delaying that long is too dangerous now."

The two briefly bantered about the boy's escape and the timing of things, when Fallyn felt her hair stand on end. Bow taut, she released the arrow immediately.

It was immediately deflected and she chose that moment to step out of the shadows.

"My, my," he purred. "You had more help."

"No!" the boy yelled. "He wants me alive, he'll just kill you!"

"He can try," she hissed, switching her bow for her sword.

The black blade seemed to swallow all light, as she held it up, point towards the Shade.

"Afterall, you're more valuable to me alive and unharmed than in this fiend's hands," she added, stepping forward.

"That sword..." the Shade's eyes flickered along its length. "A Rider's blade. Do we perhaps have another would be Rider with clipped wings?"

"Try me," she said, a slight, hidden smirk pulling at her lips. "You seem to be stalling, Shade."

A boom from the ceiling shook the building, and she took that as an opportunity to attack, which the Shade seemed to have decided the same.

She gritted her teeth against the force of the blow, expecting the strength but still forced to stagger slightly. She knew she couldn't win through sheer force. Speed was something she might be able to match him at, but there was no guarantee.

It would have to be a battle of wits then.

With clever flourishes and elegant ducking, she danced around the Shade, knowing he could kill her at any moment, but the rush was intoxicating.

"If this was the manner in which the Riders ruled Alagaesia, then it is no wonder they fell!" the Shade snarled.

"You would think so," she answered lightly, a laugh escaping her. "But then, I wonder... have you ever been on the receiving end of dragon fire?"

At that moment, Saphira tore the roof off, and an arrow struck the Shade's shoulder.

He blinked in surprise at the arrow, then laughed as he snapped it off.

"You'll have to do better than that to stop me!"

The next arrow struck him between the eyes, and Fallyn took advantage of the moment to drive her sword through his back, cursing as she missed his heart.

With an entirely inhumane shriek, he disappeared in a cloud of mist, leaving only clothing and his sword behind.

"You killed him!" the boy cheered.

"As if it would be that easy," she sneered, swinging her blade with a sharp flick and sheathing it in a single motion.

"That's it, he failed!" a man yelled. "Go in and get them!"

Fallyn switched to her bow smoothly, counting less than a dozen arrows left.

"You'd best make your escape, boys," she commented. "Or we'll be here all night."

Two arrows bit into their marks, the men screaming in pain as they fell.

It took a few more attempts, but eventually, Saphira was able to make a hole large enough to enter the room with.

"Fallyn!" Murtagh called.

"She can't carry all of us out," Fallyn said, as she fired the last of her arrows. "Go!"

The dragon took off heavily, and Fallyn switched to her sword as she moved forward, cutting a path through the soldiers as she went.

Once in the city, she disappeared down side streets, hiding in the shadows until the soldiers gave up, and moved to the meeting point. If she had been a simple human, she'd have cursed at a lack of a horse to catch up.

But she wasn't, and she sheathed her blade and strapped it to her back, to make running easier, and took off as fast as she could, a faint glow emanating from her hood as she tapped into another power.