The Black Morass

by Gerald Lambert

inclined her head.

  "Princess, I wanted to apologize to you for the way I acted this afternoon. You are very different now than you were then."

  Taya's eyes flashed. "Apology accepted, Miss Bretton. I have a few words of caution for you, especially while you are here in this castle. Appearances can be deceiving, and you

  have no right to judge anyone. I do not really care for those who place themselves so much higher than others. I may be a princess, but I hardly think I'm any better than the

  woman cleaning the floor in the hallway."

  Deyana Bretton's eyes were wide, and Taya continued softly,

  "I have known quite a few people a lot like you, Miss Bretton. You are not hard to pick out. Maybe this visit will help you understand your true worth and the worth of your neighbor.

  I am glad I was able to speak to you."

  She turned and was about to walk away, but Deyana asked almost angrily,

  "Why do you hate me, Princess?"

  Taya paused and looked back at her. "I do not hate anyone, Miss Bretton." And then she walked away and slipped out the doors into the gardens and when she stopped under the

  awning she took a deep breath of fresh air. It was still raining, but the thunder and lightning had subsided for the moment. After another breath she turned and went back inside,

  and found Murtagh standing where she'd been, looking confused until he saw her.

  "

  Every morning before they would head out, Raya and Sasha would take up the sparring sticks which they'd brought along, and practiced as much sword fighting as they could. The

  combined efforts of Eragon Shadeslayer, Roran Stronghammer and Taya had stuck with the two, and they were sure that they were excelling. Kabarak took it upon himself to be

  their critic, and he was a good one. He wouldn't let them slack because he knew how important their training was to Taya, who had in the beginning no idea what sort of dangers

  they were following her into. Needless to say, besides being slightly sore from riding day in and day out, they were sore from sword practice as well. They did not usually practice

  with their swords, for fear of hurting the other and also of someone hearing the echo of the clash of steel. They would still practice with them by themselves, to get used to the

  weight and familiarize themselves with the blades.

  "Maybe when you're better at magic, you can dull the blades like Taya and Eragon did." Raya commented one time to Sasha, who had been thinking the same thing.

  When they thought they had time, such as when they stopped for a break during the heat of the day, Sasha would instruct Raya with her bow and arrows. Raya was already good at

  it, but Sasha wanted her to be as good as she was, which was very good.

  Five days after Sasha's magical incident, they arrived at Feinster. Raya left Sasha with the horses, and they agreed to meet on the other side of the town. Sasha had to travel a

  certain ways away from the town with Kabarak so no one would accidentally catch sight of him, and Raya went into the town to buy provisions and see if she could find anything out

  about the Varden and the Empire.

  She was stopped by the guards at the gate, and she was relieved when they looked to be men of the town, or soldiers of the town, and not dressed in imperial garb like the guards

  had been in Dras'leona. The two men eyed her skeptically.

  "What are you doing, young lady, traveling all by yourself?" One of them asked, not unkindly. "I do not recognize you. You're not from these parts."

  "No, I'm not." Raya conceded, trying to quell her fear. "And I actually have travelled this far with my cousin who left me only a little while ago and will not venture close to town. I

  have come to replenish our provisions."

  The two men looked suspicious. "Why didn't your cousin come with you?"

  Raya made a face. "We doubted you would have granted us entry. My cousin is a rather sickly person. I am immune, but we do not know if it is otherwise contagious or not. We

  were sent away by our family to find a healer we'd heard rumors about in Surda."

  The men blanched, and stepped aside for her to pass. "By all means, make your way through, but please do not stay too long. We do not want an unknown sickness here. Safe

  travels, young lady. Just remember, these are not good times to be travelling abroad." The first man said, and Raya nodded.

  "Thank you, sirs. Good health to you!" She put Shacour into a small trot, and went down the main street of the town, which was quite large and wellfortified by a wooden wall

  encircling the whole town, which had three gates. Raya saw two guard towers, but she thought there could be more. Some of the roofs of the houses were high, and it seemed to be

  a wellcared for place. Along the street people stopped or paused to stare at her, the newcomer who was obviously a traveller in dangerous times. A couple whispered to one

  another as Raya dismounted Shacour in front of the store and tied him to the hitching rail. Her hood was up, but her face was clearly visible to those who looked.

  Before she walked into the store though, she looked at the board of announcements on the outside wall, and saw Eragon and his cousin's wanted posters there, right in the middle.

  To her surprise Taya did not have one, but she guessed that Galbatorix had his reasons for not having a reward out for her.

  She walked into the store, and was greeted warmly by the storekeeper.

  "What can I get for you, little lady?" The man behind the counter asked, and Raya handed him a list, and looked around the store. The man eyed her, and asked quietly,

  "This is quite a list, young lady. You do not travel alone, nor do you travel a short way."

  "No, I do not, sir. Is there a problem?" Raya asked, holding her ground. He was a big man, and she really didn't want him to be suspicious of her. But to her relief he laughed.

  "No, no problem. You will have to go across the street to the butcher's for the meat, though. Everything else I can provide you with. It will take a little while."

  "Thank you, sir. I will go over now and return."

  Raya turned and left, leaving Shacour at his post. The big horse watched her with sorrowful eyes, and she laughed softly. She did not notice the cloaked figure in the shadows by

  the store, and she did not realize that she was being watched.

  The butcher was a thin man, and very talkative. He chattered away at her as he readied her order, and Raya stood to the side of the window, watching Shacour. The butcher was

  quick about his work, and Raya paid him and said farewell. Once outside she paused, looking around carefully. Her senses had suddenly heightened, and the hair on the back of her

  neck stood on end.

  Trying to act as if nothing was the matter she walked back to her horse and put the well wrapped packages into one side of her saddlebags. Then she looked sharply to the side,

  catching sight of a young man watching her from a couple buildings down. He was standing by a group of men who were having a very animated discussion, and someone raised

  their voice enough for Raya to catch 'Varden' and 'King'. Her ears pricked at that, so she hurried into the store to get her supplies.

  "There's a group of men a little ways down the street," Raya said to the storekeeper, whose face went suddenly ashen, "who are talking quite animatedly. There's a young man with

  them as well, though he is not a part of the conversation. Do you know who they are?"

  The storekeeper sighed heavily. "I know at least two of them. Hang you, Siranus." He growled, looking out the window. "Not again." He turned slightly to Raya. "The man with the

  longer black hair and the grey cloak, he is Siranus Liastrin. The young man you spoke of is his son, Sacar. They live here in Feinster. Siranus does not hide that he believes that the

  king and his empire are evil. He has not ever said that he is of the Varden but he might as well be, if he is not. He al
ways manages to get himself into trouble. We just had a small

  group of men, military men, ride into town for supplies, and Siranus seems to have engaged them. I do not think they think like he does. It would be best if you were on your way,

  young lady. I hope it does not come to a fight, but I would hate to have you in the midst of it."

  Raya frowned, and looked out the window. Besides Siranus Liastrin, there was a blond man beside him, two shorter men across from them, and a dark haired man clothed all in

  black to the side.

  "Thank you, sir; I do think I will be on my way. Thank you very much." She paid him and took up her large bag of supplies, and he stepped outside behind her. The young man,

  Sacar, turned to look at her again, and she did her best to ignore him, but kept an eye and an ear on the conversation. One of the shorter men had his hand on his sword, and

  Raya's heart began to pound.

  "Sacar, what are you doing?" The storekeeper said sharply, and Raya looked up quickly from tying the supplies to her saddle and found herself face to face with Sacar Liastrin. His

  expression was impassive as he looked at her, and then he began untying Shacour's reigns.

  "Hey!" Raya cried, and he shushed her hurriedly, looking at the group.

  "Not so loud! You need to leave. And fast. I doubt anyone can stop a fight from happening, and you shouldn't be around for it."

  Raya bristled. "Why is everyone so concerned about my safety when I'm not even a part of anything?"

  "Because it's usually the ones not a part of anything who get hurt." He retorted back, putting Shacour's reigns in her hand.

  "Why do you care about me?" She blurted out, but she really wanted to know. The young man paused as he was turning, and shrugged.

  "You aren't from around here. You're a traveller, and I don't like it when girls get hurt. So get going!"

  Raya was beside herself. Who did this kid think he was? She would…. She would go. He was right. What had she to do with this? There was no point in getting up in arms with him

  about her safety. Sasha, Taya and Kabarak would have told her the same thing.

  "Alright. Thank you, Sacar."

  He jolted, and turned back to her, and he was surprised.

  "What's your name?" He asked, and without thinking she said quietly,

  "Raya."

  The man all in black who was a part of the other conversation suddenly stiffened and whirled around, but Sacar was in his line of sight and so he couldn't see her. Her eyes widened

  as she saw the man stalk forward, and suddenly Siranus jumped out and caught the man by his shoulder. Sacar turned around just then, having seen Raya's expression.

  "Don't you dare touch my son." Siranus said seriously, and the man backhanded him, flinging him to the ground.

  "Father!" Sacar yelled as the two shorter men grabbed Siranus and hauled him ungraciously to his feet. The man in black stalked up to Siranus and stared him straight in the face.

  "I wasn't going for your son. And you would not dare touch me if you knew who I was."

  Siranus looked past him to Sacar and he caught sight of Raya, and then he laughed, surprising everyone. "Oh, I know who you are. You're of the empire. You're all alike."

  The man laughed as well, but it was a dark laugh and caused Raya to shiver. "Oh yes," he said, "I'm of the empire, but no one is like me. And you may dare, but you will suffer the

  consequences." His hand came up, and all at the same time Raya, the storekeeper, Sacar and the blond man from the conversation all shouted,

  "NO!" And Sacar ran full tilt at the man in black, pulling out a knife and jamming it into the man's side… only the blade turned on some invisible force and sliced Sacar's arm. The

  young man fell to the ground in a cloud of dust as the man skidded forward from the impact but kept his feet, and in anger he pulled his sword halfway from its sheath, but then let

  it slide back in as he pulled himself together. The storekeeper had disappeared, and Raya had turned Shacour in front of her and was peeking out from in front of his shoulders.

  Every fiber in her body screamed at her to do something, but she didn't know what… but Sacar had tried to help her, so she should try to help him!

  "Whoa!" She yelled at Shacour, and the big grey horse stopped in his tracks, and she raced towards the group, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She whirled, drawing

  one of her knives, and saw that it was the storekeeper.

  "Where do you think you're going?" He growled. "You need to listen to us and get out of here!"

  "This is my fight now, too." She said defiantly, jerking her arm out of his grasp, and she turned in time to see the man in black reach down and pick up Sacar by his shirt. Siranus

  struggled, and suddenly the blond man ran his sword through one of the two men holding Siranus. The wounded man gave a hideous yell, and suddenly everything was in confusion

  as out of nowhere a group of soldiers appeared, along with a few of the town's people. In the confusion, Raya dashed up to Sacar and drove her knife down on the hand holding him

  as hard as she could, and it slowed against some force, but penetrated and stabbed into flesh. The man jumped back with a growl, dropping Sacar. Raya barely managed to stop his

  fall, catching him as he fell backwards. Blood covered his arm and was staining his clothes, and Raya gently laid him on the ground and then stood in front of him.

  "If you want to harm him, you'll have to go through me first." She snarled, on the inside hoping she sounded confident. Something caught her eye beneath his chin, and she watched

  as a green gem clasped around his neck slowly shifted to a deep ruby, and then the two colors split, half green, half red. She gaped at the beautiful gem, some memory telling her

  that it was very, very important…

  The man stared at her in astonishment, frozen where he stood.

  "You…?" His voice was filled with confusion, puzzling Raya, but she held firm. Suddenly his hand shot out, trying to grab her, but she jumped back and an arrow landed right beside

  his foot, causing him to freeze again. He stared at Raya intensely, and she stared back in defiance.

  Siranus, wounded, rushed to his son's side, and then looked up at their defender. With a whisper to Sacar he stood, holding his sword in a defensive position and he stepped up

  beside Raya.

  "Go, girl. Get away from here. And don't you try anything, rider, because she broke your wards once. I can do it again."

  Raya's expression filled with horror as she stared at Murtagh, for so it was. No wonder he was surprised and wanted her so badly, she looked like Taya…

  Murtagh lifted his gloved hand and it came to bear at Siranus's heart. "She's not going anywhere, except with me."

  Raya jumped back suddenly, thinking that she would trip over Sacar, but he wasn't there. Murtagh jumped after her, but was blocked by Siranus, who got his sword between them.

  "Weston! Grab her!" Murtagh yelled, and Raya screamed in fear and rage as big hands caught her, and she bit down hard suddenly and then whirled, the man still holding one of her

  arms. She struggled, and then spat in his face, but the man let go even before she got him, and she caught a glimpse of blood and an expression full of wonder and surprise. She

  turned and raced back to Shacour, hardly pausing when she realized she would be sharing a horse. The storekeeper was holding Sacar Liastrin up on the big horse and was waving

  frantically at her.

  "Get him away from here, Raya." He said hurriedly, boosting her up behind Sacar and handing her the reigns. "Take him with you. You're good kids."

  "What about Siranus!?" She hissed, and he shook his head.

  "He will follow to the Varden. Now go!" He yelled and slapped Shacour on the rump. The horse, already frightened by the fighting, because it was a fight now between the

  townspeople and the imperial soldiers, and Raya's slam of her hee
ls against his side, bolted forward, knocking a soldier that had gotten in the way down with his shoulder.

  "No… father…" Raya barely heard Sacar's moan, but she couldn't pay him any attention as she held on to the racing horse and kept Sacar stationary before her.

  "NO!" She heard a yell, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Murtagh, and then she heard another yell,

  "GO! GO!" That was Siranus. And they went. Shacour weaved through the people on the street towards the other side of town, and Raya winced when she heard a scream of pain

  from behind them. Then, running full tilt they passed the guards at the gate, who jumped back to avoid the charging horse. Then Raya turned the horse in the opposite direction of

  where Sasha and Kabarak would be, and only then did she look back… and her heart nearly stopped. Flying down from the sky was a crimson dragon.

  She knew that she could not hide easily from Murtagh, not on the open ground with a wounded boy and a grey horse. Was she yet doomed to be captured? Any visible hiding place

  would draw his attention… what about invisible? Feinster was close to the ocean, she could see it ahead of her. Maybe, with luck, she would find a ravine or a cave. But Shacour

  could not go on at a dead run forever, and he was too good a horse to lose.

  Behind her, there was a terrible roar, and suddenly she turned the horse again towards a rise in the ground, but she was not ready for the decline when they went over it. They

  were weaving through foothill terrain then, and suddenly there were rocks everywhere. Raya's hopes skyrocketed and she slowed Shacour so she wouldn't miss a hiding place.

  There… a rocky outcropping in the side of shelf of rock. It was all she had to try.

  Shacour slid to a halt before the outcropping, breathing hard and trembling all over, sweat covering his body. Raya vaulted off and dragged Sacar down off the horse, and she was

  hit by his dead weight and lost her footing.

  She bit her tongue to stifle an outcry as something nicked her leg as she fell, Sacar on top of her. After a second, gasping, she hauled him up and as quickly as she could she

  dragged him into the outcropping, suddenly surprised to find a small, twisty cave. It was really an impression in the rock wall, but it would be safe. She set Sacar down and clicked