When Destiny Burns, Ep. 1: A Halo and Inheritance Cycle Crossover

Chapter 9. 4 Physician, heal thyself

"Rider," She greeted him courteously. Her voice sounded different from the last time he had heard her speaking, in the company of elves and humans. Back then, it had been filled with suppressed anger and malice. Now, it sounded...not filled with suppressed anger and malice. Or less so.

He ignored her greeting and lowered his rifle again.

Raia probably took that as permission to enter, as she blatantly walked in and inspected the sleeping Aeraleth. "I wished to further explain the oath I have sworn to you."

The Spartan felt like he was too messed up to understand an explanation at that point, but he still focused his attention on the Shade and listened to her. Any signs of weakness would give her incentive to strike and he had not gone through all that trouble of sparing her life just to kill her later. "Shoot."

She nodded and sat down on a nearby rock. The watchtower's top part had a cylinder-like form, with a small staircase leading to a few portholes at the top, from where soldiers could fire arrows...or snipe. The curious design allowed for a dragon to sleep with its tail curled around its body and at least twenty humans to stand in the middle with it.

As long as the dragon wasn't too big.

The Shade watched him intently as she spoke. "I do not think you are very familiar with magic and the laws of the Ancient Language. Am I correct?"

He nodded slowly. He had no clue as to how magic worked or how it was possible for him to speak telepathically to a dragon. Normally, he would have dismissed the things he had seen as biological weapons and science. But after having performed feats impossible even for a Spartan –lifting more than a hundred spent casings and using them as new bullets with just his mind- he had lost his skepticism somewhat.

"Then you do not understand that a promise in this language cannot be broken."

"What happens if you break it?"

"I cannot. It is impossible to lie when I speak in it. If I tried to tell you that I am human, the Language would stop the words in my mouth."

So, if she promised to not die and he shot her? Would that count? Or if she promised to not fire a weapon and he forced her to pull the trigger? No...she would have promised that she wouldn't fire a weapon and if he forced her to, it would actually be him, not her. But the concept was interesting. "But you can circumvent."

"Correct. And I am here to prevent you from thinking that I would harm you...or your partner. When I made my oath, I was thinking of two possible outcomes. With your 'fate', I meant the end of your journey. Whether that would be victory or defeat...or change."

"You told me that your master wanted a rider for herself. I can't let you rejoin her."

Raia's eyebrows narrowed. "Understand that, when the time is there, I must."

That was not going to happen. "These people think you will kill them all at the first chance."

She eyed him anew; her gaze ran up and down his armour and rested on his chestplate. It looked like a refusal to meet his eyes. "And you?"

"I can't risk that. I can't be around you forever."

"I promised to follow you. That can include orders."

So, she had accepted him as her superior officer? He needed to test that first. "You will follow my orders?"

"Yes. I understood that you would not...abuse my loyalty."

"And if I ordered you to tell me who your master is?"

"That would conflict with more...binding oaths...I have made to her. Nevertheless, I could give out information that I would otherwise have not. Is this acceptable?"