to Shacour, and the horse hesitantly followed her in. There was barely enough room, but they fit, and only if someone stood before the opening would they be seen. Raya
repositioned a few medium sized rocks for extra comfort, and then stood, holding Shacour's head. She knew it wouldn't be long before Murtagh passed by on Thorn… She shivered,
thinking of her sister. Nearly choked to death by that man…
And then she almost cried. Murtagh could use magic. He would find them anyways, sensing their energy among the desolate rocky ravines. Then, from somewhere up above, there
was a screech, and she dared to look between a couple of the rocks. There was Thorn, flying low over the ravines, but the screech she heard must have come from the large birds
diving at the rider and dragon. She had never seen the like before, but Thorn apparently had and was trying to avoid them. A few of them fell from the sky, limp and dead as Murtagh killed them with magic, but then the birds increased the intensity of their attack and the dragon veered off, and even then the birds were in hot pursuit. Raya breathed a
sigh of relief and loosely tied Shacour's reigns around a rock, and she turned to Sacar, who was slumped against the wall, his chin on his chest and his dark hair covering his face.
She winced as she saw the blood on his arm and side, and she knelt beside him, checking his pulse and gently shifting his position so his head was up and back and she had clear
room to work on his arm. Since his shirt was done for anyways she tore off a long, clean piece and got her water canteen and proceeded to wipe away the blood. Taya had not been
able to teach her much of anything about cleaning wounds, but Raya had a few tricks up her sleeve. She'd learned a few things while in slavery.
Sacar moaned once when she lifted his arm to wrap it in a makeshift bandage and sling, and she chuckled slightly. She'd completely torn apart his shirt, only because she'd found
that the storekeeper, whoever he was, had strapped a bag for Sacar onto her saddle. Apparently some quick getaway had already been planned, and the man had taken action
when he saw that Raya was the quickest and the safest way of escape for Sacar. She hoped that he was right. So before she had wrapped Sacar's arm she had carefully changed
his shirt and torn apart the dirty, bloodied one and used the scraps for the bandage and sling. All of their actual bandages and ointments were on Gypsie, with Sasha, so Raya had
to improvise.
When she was finished tending to him, Raya stood and peeked out from their hiding spot, then ventured out and carefully climbed up the outcropping to see if she could see
anything. Looking towards Feinster, she saw a column of smoke, and she winced. She looked around in the sky for any sign of Thorn, but there was nothing. She hesitated,
wondering if it would be wise to try to contact Kabarak just in case Murtagh was still around. She decided to wait until dark to contact them, even though they would be going crazy
with worry. But if Kabarak contacted her, she would feel a lot better.
Her best bet was to spend the night in their shelter and meet up with Sasha and Kabarak in the morning, when Murtagh and his imperial soldiers were on their way to wherever
they were going. She didn't want to risk running into them in the light with no protection, and she didn't want to get lost at night, especially with Sacar. So, she needed wood for a
fire to keep them warm. Raya went back down the outcropping and worked her way around the area, and to her surprise and relief there were lots of pieces of wood mixed with the
dirt and rocks. By the time the sun was beginning to set, she'd explored as far as she dared and had a good sized pile of wood by the entrance of the little cave.
After getting a small fire going, with some trouble, she went and took out some of the supplies she'd bought, and then counted out how much money she had left. Sacar would need
a horse. She frowned, wondering how she was going to manage that, especially if she went into Feinster. Maybe Sacar would have an idea, when he woke up… She looked over at
him, wondering just how hard he'd been hit to keep him out so long. Raya shrugged, and put the money away and was about to prepare some food when she noticed the sunset.
Drawn by the brilliant orange of the sky, she left the hiding place and found a rock to sit on, and she watched the sun set, thinking of Taya and wondering about the road ahead,
especially now that Sacar had been tossed into the picture. Aside from the fact he seemed caring and gentleman like to her, she had no idea who he'd turn out to be. She would just
have to see.
It was getting hard to see when she went back in the little cave to tend the fire, and at first she was too deep in thought to look at Sacar. She began preparing some food, and then
she nearly jumped out of her skin as Sacar groaned and shifted slightly. She froze, watching him, and after a minute his eyes slowly opened and he looked around groggily.
His eyes widened when they found her, and he stiffened, and tried to sit up but winced when he moved his arm. He looked up at her, asking a thousand questions with his eyes. She
smiled hesitantly.
"I'm Raya, the girl you tried to help in Feinster. We are in a cave by the ocean, in the ravines, in order to escape Murtagh and his dragon. You're with me because the storekeeper
put you on my horse and there was no point in arguing with him. I patched you up as best I could, but all of the good supplies for that are with my cousin. Your arm isn't too bad,
thank goodness. It was a clean cut, and not too terribly deep. You lost a lot of blood though, and were tossed around quite a bit." She fell silent, not wanting to overwhelm him. He
stared at her, his dark eyes wide, and then he asked softly,
"My father?"
Raya winced. "I don't know. The storekeeper said that he'd follow to the Varden, so I can imagine you all had some sort of plan of escape."
Sacar closed his eyes and nodded. "We knew we'd have to leave sooner or later. I just never imagined…" His eyes opened again. "Did you say Murtagh and his dragon?"
She nodded. "The man you attacked was the Red Rider."
"And you did too. You came to my aid when he was about to kill me. Why? You didn't have to."
Raya looked out into the darkness, searching her motives. "Yes, I did. You tried to help me by telling me to go, and because of me havoc broke lose. I couldn't leave and let you be
killed."
Sacar frowned. "You don't know me, though."
She looked back at him. "You didn't know me and yet you cared enough to tell me to get out of danger. That's enough for me. At that, neither of us knows one another."
"Thank you. For standing up for me, and patching me up. But I don't have to be a tag along. I can go back."
Raya shook her head. "No, you can't."
"Why not?" He demanded, and again she hesitated. Why not, indeed?
"Because your friend the storekeeper trusted me to get you out of there safely and take you with me wherever I was going, which is to the Varden. You going back to Feinster is not
in the least bit safe. I doubt it would be worth it anyways. What if your father is not there? Or the storekeeper? Who is he, anyways?" Raya asked, hoping her explanation was
rational. Apparently to him it made sense, because he sighed.
"I don't want to be a burden. And his name is Lebran Eirac. We call him Bran. He's an old friend of my father's, and was privy to our getaway plans and had some of our stuff in his
store. He insisted, because my father can sometimes go off without being prepared, and that can result in a lot of bad situations. And none of that was your fault. It was bound to
happen."
Raya shook her head, seeing Murtagh whirl when she'd accidentally told Sacar her name. "No, the way it started was because of me. Murtagh thought he recognized my name, but
heard it as something else. He stalked towards
me, but your father stopped him, thinking he was going after you. If I hadn't told you my name, even if it had started some other
way later on, it would not have started and ended the way it did."
Sacar pushed himself slowly into a sitting position, looking at her seriously. "Do not blame yourself. Please."
"I'll try not to. Here." She passed him some bread and some of the food she had prepared. "Eat. It will help you regain your strength."
He took it with his good hand, and then looked down at his sling and then at his clean shirt, and his face paled and he looked back up at her.
"Did you…?"
Raya burst out laughing at his horrified expression, and she covered her mouth to hide her smile.
After a second of being horrified, Sacar laughed too, but mostly at Raya.
"I'll forgive you this time." He said, trying to sound stern, and she nodded, still laughing. "But…"
"Oh, don't worry about it!" Raya said, and flashed him a brilliant smile, taking a bite of her bread. "It's not the first time I've had to do such a thing." She continued airily, and the
young man flushed red.
Raya stood and set her bowl down and went to get something from her saddlebags, and as she was standing there rummaging through the bags, she felt a mind brush against hers.
She blocked it at first, and then recognized it and embraced it.
A shadow moved through the spaces between buildings, as silent as a cat. No one had seen him slip into the town, and he hoped no one would see him go out, and only one or two
people would be able to say that they had seen him at all.
Eragon flattened himself against one of the houses, hidden in the shadows as a man walked by the opening between buildings. He'd seen the soldiers riding through town and he
watched a few of them enter the store, which was his destination. He didn't know if there were any more of them, as he had not seen them ride through the gates. He cursed his
luck, and then wondered where they came from and what they were doing there. Suspicious, he stepped out from his hiding place and leaned against the wall of the store, waiting
for the men to exit. He saw his and Roran's reward posters, and thanked the stars that Arya had helped him to disguise himself. She had not been happy when he had insisted on
going into Feinster, but he would not let her go, and certainly not Roran.
Normally they would not have come close to Feinster, but Arya had informed them a few days before that they were going to meet someone along that road, and as it was a longer
trip they needed more provisions. He frowned when he thought about the whole thing. Arya had not even hinted as to the person they were meeting. She'd kept said person's
identity secret from them, leaving them in the dark. Neither he nor Roran were too happy about that, but there was little they could except wait and see.
Three soldiers came out of the store, but only one of them was carrying anything, and then it was only a small sack. Eragon slipped in, brushing off his hood as he entered, and the
storekeeper looked sharply at him.
"What can I do for you, sir?" The man asked, eying him.
"I'd like enough supplies to last me at least two weeks." Eragon replied, handing him a list and a bag and then he leaned on the counter, looking out the window at the three soldiers
across the street.
"Do you know where those soldiers are from, or where they're going?" Eragon asked softly, and the storekeeper narrowed his eyes.
"They're imperial, but I'm sure that you're smart enough to see that. As for where they're going, I'd say south. But who wants to know?"
"Curiosity." Eragon replied, and the man snorted, pulling a bag of something down from the shelf behind him.
"Curiosity." He scoffed. "That can get a man into trouble, especially these days. I hope you don't get too curious with the wrong person."
"Thanks." Eragon replied, and didn't say anything further. So imperial soldiers were traveling towards and into Surda? That certainly was not good news. The sooner he and his
companions made it back to Aberon the better.
"Here you are, son." The storekeeper handed Eragon a full bag of provisions, and then he planted his hands on the counter and stared hard at him. Eragon took the bag gratefully
and paid him, and then the man said quietly,
"You watch yourself out there. Good luck."
Eragon looked at him sharply, and the man grinned.
"Thanks again." Eragon replied quietly, and retreated outside. He looked up and down the street quickly, and he noticed a rider coming down the street. His sharp eyesight caught
on the familiar face, but he couldn't place it. It was a girl on a tall grey horse, and she was walking towards the store. He quickly ducked behind the building, crouching in the
shadows. Who was she? Why did her face jog his memory? Who did she remind him of?...
He froze, remembering a tall, elegant woman with a soft smile at an inn in Dras'leona; a woman who had a feeling of power about her that was not normal; a woman who wielded
a sword with expertise and was wiser than she let on.
Tanyel Cavrona… and her sister Raya.
He heard the girl step onto the walk and then enter the store, and he eased himself around so he could see her horse and watch her once she came out. He didn't have to wait long.
The girl exited the store and crossed the street, leaving her horse behind. Eragon narrowed his eyes, wanting to reach out with his mind but knowing it was too risky with imperial
soldiers around. Something was bothering him besides, like a dark shadow was creeping over him, getting closer. He shivered, knowing it was time to leave, but he wanted to see
if it really was Raya.
A few minutes passed, and the dark feeling was becoming oppressive. He heard voices from down the street, and he was about to turn and leave when the girl came out of the
butcher's store, and he saw her face clearly then. There was no doubt then that she was the Raya he'd met in Dras'leona. But why was she here, in Feinster? Tanyel had said they
wouldn't be leaving… but they had obviously traveled far and fast since they parted. Eragon and his group had made a side trip, which was why it had taken them this long to get to
Feinster. But what were the odds that he'd run into Raya?
The next question was, would he do anything? It was far too dangerous to walk up to her in the open and reveal himself to her, as it might arouse suspicion on both of them. But
the dark feeling he had…
Under his breath he placed a few of his own wards around her, hardly taxing his strength. He could then feel the intricate web of wards already placed on the girl, which
strengthened his feeling that Tanyel could use magic.
After a slight pause, Raya walked back across the street with her bag and tied it to her saddle, and Eragon, satisfied that his wards would guard her well, slipped back into the alley
and jumped up onto the wall and down, making his way carefully and silently out of the city. His feet were quick and he blended in with the buildings. A little spell made him
invisible so he could retreat over the wall, and then he paused, having heard a commotion behind him. Fear struck a chord in him as he thought of Raya and the dark feeling
suddenly exploded before his vision as he felt the presence of a dragon.
Murtagh and Thorn were in Feinster, and for his safety and that of his companions he could do nothing but continue on and hope that Raya and her own companions would be safe.
He shivered, knowing how vulnerable he was. His steps quickened, and he was a fair distance away from the town when he heard an enraged roar and his skin prickled as he
looked back and saw Thorn flying in the opposite direction, in pursuit of something, or someone. Eragon had faith in his wards, and Tanyel's. He knew that somehow Raya would be
alright.
But wh
at did this all mean?
In rage, Murtagh blasted some of the vrelthin, but more came at them and their attacks only increased in intensity. With magic he knew it would be impossible to pick the girl out
among the ravines, which were teeming with vrelthin and other little creatures in small masses. Thorn's smell was thrown off by the stench of the large, fierce birds, and so Taya's
lookalike could be anywhere beneath them and she was perfectly hidden from them.
He cursed, and Thorn, sensing his thought process, veered away quickly and made his way swiftly back to Feinster. The birds, with their long, sharp beaks had managed to hurt him
in a couple of places, and Murtagh too. Something was horribly wrong with the whole situation and both rider and dragon were beginning to realize it.
Drat you Westen for letting her go. Murtagh growled to himself, and Thorn snorted, blowing smoke into Murtagh's face.
He was as surprised as you were when he saw that girl. Her resemblance to Taya was astonishing. You lost your chance to capture her when you did in fact mistake her for Taya.
Twice. Westen's reaction did not surprise me. But there must be a reason why she looks like Taya, and how she was able to penetrate your wards. That is what worries me.
Yes, that is a mystery. I would be able to find out if I had her in my hands.
Thorn huffed again. I too am not happy about losing her, but stop acting like a fool! We didn't catch her this time, but now we know she's out there. Without a doubt we will have
another chance.
Fine. Murtagh looked back over his shoulder in disgust at the vrelthin that had finally stopped chasing them and were flying quickly back to their nests. To be impeded by a bunch of
birds. The very thought chafed at him.
Murtagh, leave it alone. After all, they are not ordinary birds.
Murtagh didn't reply as Thorn spiraled downwards outside of the town where a group of his soldiers were gathered. He thought that someone in particular might have an answer to
his questions about the girl. A man who had defied death to threaten Murtagh so the girl and a boy could escape him. This failure struck him like no other, even more than being
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