Luminescent (Inheritance Cycle and Beyond)

Chapter One: Luminescent

I slowly crept forward, making sure that I made no noise as I approached my longtime friend, Eragon. From what the trampled reeds said, the deer herd we were tracking was only about a half-hour off. The clear darkening sky was an indicator that doe with a slight limp that we had our eyes on was about to bed down for the night, providing an opportunity for Eragon and me to bring home a rather large game that we desperately needed.

It was a rather broody night in the Spine, pale fog covered the forest floor, completely obscuring Eragon and I's feet as a harvest moon illuminated the valley. Very few dared to enter the Spine, the few that made it out told tales of misfortune and death. Eragon and I were the only hunters in Carvahall that dared to track game into the Spine.

I shivered slightly before snuggling my chin into my scarf, winter was not that far off, and our family needed this deer to survive, we couldn't afford to buy meat in Carvahall, it was too expensive. I felt Eragon nudge my side before pointing in the direction of the deer herd. I gave him a quick nod before we started to creep forward, Eragon pulled out three arrows and strung one on his yew bow.

I held back as Eragon approached our intended game, I may be a hunter, but I didn't like to kill animals, I left that up to Eragon. I didn't come on these hunting trips with Eragon for the heck of it. I went because of my uncanny ability to track anything. I wrinkled my nose as Eragon pulled his arm back, preparing to shoot, just as I began to turn my head away from the deer, there was a loud explosion and a burst of light.

I held my hand up, shielding my eyes from the light until it dimmed down, I blinked away the spots in my eyes, and looked for the source of the explosion. Several trees were missing their needles, and the grass where the deer had been standing was now chard, letting smoke slowly waft into the air, leaving an unpleasant burnt smell in my nose. I covered my nose with my scarf and coughed a couple of times before the sky cleared of smoke.

"Mal, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Eragon, the smoke from whatever was is just getting to my nose. We no longer have any game to bring back to the farm, though. Do you have any idea what that was?"

"No, but look," Eragon said, pointing to two stones sitting in the middle of the explosion. I looked down at two polished stones, one blue, and one white. I started to step closer to the two stones, how in Alagaësia did they get here? Eragon grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the smoldering circle. "Don't go near it Mal. We don't know what it is."

I huffed at Eragon before crossing my arms. He was starting to get protective. But to soothe his ego, I stayed where I was as he crept up to the two mysterious stones. Eragon pulled out an arrow and poked one of the stones before jumping back.

"Eragon, I don't think they are going to do any harm, put your bow away." He looked at me for a moment before placing the arrow back in his quiver. "We should take them back to Carvahall. We might be able to sell them to Sloan for meat."

Eragon sighed at me before bending down to pick up the blue stone, I followed after him and picked up the white stone, sliding it into my pack.

"We should find somewhere else to make camp," I said glancing around the charred clearing with unease. "I feel exposed."

"So do I. Follow me. I think I saw a good place for camp back the way we came."

I followed Eragon until we came to a spot that was indeed good for camping. I pulled out my bedroll and laid it on the ground. Three days in the Spine only to come up empty-handed, Garrow was not going to be happy. I accepted the bread and cheese Eragon offered me and ate in silence. After my cold dinner, I wrapped myself in my blanket before lying down and trying to get some sleep.

*****

I opened my eyes to see the morning sun peeking through the trees in reds and oranges, the air had the chill of oncoming winter, and the fresh dew on the grass and leaves now had a frosty touch. I stretched and folded my blanket and bedroll. I pulled out some dry oats and mixed them with some water to make breakfast for Eragon and I. I set the cold porridge down and shook Eragon's shoulder.

"Eragon wake up, breakfast is ready, we need to eat and set out for the farm." Eragon groaned at me before cracking his eyes open. "Rise and shine."

"Good morning, Mal, I will never know how you can get up this early."

"Good morning to you, now eat your porridge, we need to head back to the farm," I said while handing him his porridge. We quickly ate and finished packing. Eragon wanted to check the blast site one more time before leaving, we tested it, and there was no change, so we headed out of the Spine.

The forest began to thin out, and the familiar worn path that leads to the farm came into sight. By late evening, we came across the familiar ravine that dropped down to the Anora river, which leads straight to Palancar Valley, home.

"Let's camp here tonight and pick back up tomorrow." I followed Eragon to a bushy area and hunkered down for the night. Tomorrow we would reach the farm and then head out to Carvahall to try and sell these two stones.

Eragon and I set out in the early morning chill, it was even colder than yesterday, and soon blankets of snow would cover the valley, making it very difficult to move the ten miles to Carvahall from the farm.