Phoenix of Hope: Complete Series — Books 1-4

by Zora Marie

  Wood creaked as Eragon slid from his horse, cradling her against him. Then the air was warmer and smelled of tea and honey.

  “You can put her there. Do you know what happened to her?”

  Eragon removed Zelia’s weapons, piling them against what sounded like a wooden wall and laid her on the bed. She wanted to help, to not be helpless, but her chest ached, and her eyes were heavy with exhaustion.

  “She has shrapnel in and around her heart and lungs. From what I understand it’s been there for over a year. She stops breathing in her sleep.”

  “How long has she been in this state?”

  “A few hours. She sat up and spoke for a few before we headed here. Sealia, I just… I don’t know what to do for her.”

  Zelia could feel the warmth as someone else approached her side.

  “I’ll do what I can for her, but from what you say she shouldn’t be alive.”

  Something pressed against her chest, silky strands of hair tickling her neck. Zelia’s heart skipped beats, and she struggled to suck in enough air. Then a hand rested on her forehead.

  “Try to wake her. I’ll make some herbal tea to help her steady her heart rate and warm her up. That’s the best I can offer.”

  Sealia turned away, but Eragon shifted, stopping her.

  “Thank you. Really, I mean it.”

  “I do it for her. Not you.”

  There was a pause as floorboards creaked and Eragon turned back to her, moving a piece of hair out of her face. “Zelia, wake up now. We still need you here. Zelia, wake up.”

  “I’m awake,” she whispered and rolled to her side, clutching the front of her tunic for a moment before she sat up. The moment she sat straight it felt as though a metal band wrapped around her skull and she wavered.

  Eragon grabbed her before she could fall back again and whispered, “I’ve got you. We need to steady your heart.”

  She leaned against Eragon’s chest as he hugged her. She fought to keep from falling asleep as she tried to steady her short shallow breaths into longer, deeper breaths.

  Sealia came around a corner, a cup of tea in hand.

  “Good, you got her to wake up.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you think you can drink? It should help.”

  Zelia turned, still leaning against Eragon, and took the cup in trembling hands. She stared at the cup in her shaking hands for a moment, willing them to steady before taking a sip.

  Her voice cracked when she spoke. “Tha… thank you.”

  She closed her eyes to hide her aggravation with her body.

  “Do you know where you are?”

  She took another sip of the tea and spoke with a hoarse voice.

  “Somewhere near the Faithful Mountains, and yes, I know why we’re here.”

  Sealia stared at Eragon. “Why are you here?”

  Eragon turned away from her gaze.

  “King Erolith sent us to find out about the war brewing across the mountains. I found her taking on a trapper with a dagger in Trading Town’s market. She thanked me in elvish and then we figured out we were headed in the same direction. She travels to The Hold, to save Alrindel.”

  Sealia sat back with surprise. “Alrindel?”

  She looked down at Zelia with new interest. “You know Alrindel?”

  Zelia nodded but didn’t speak.

  “How?”

  Please, I can hardly talk. She tilted her head back to look at Eragon.

  “Eadon took her in as an infant. Alrindel and Eadon are the closest things she has to kin here. She watched him die at The Hold in her dreams. There’s a lot more to her than you would ever guess.”

  Kafthry, Keller, and Saria came in followed by the Dwarf calling out, “Horses are taken care of. Except for that wild black one. So, how is she?”

  Zelia shivered as she glanced at the Dwarf. He was young with stringy red hair. He stood with his shoulders back and his thumbs in his leather belt, he even blushed a bit as Sealia kissed his cheek.

  “She’ll be fine. She’s just having problems with her heart.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Heart you say?” He turned to Eragon, his expression grim. “What are you doing dragging a young lady around these parts with a bad heart?”

  “I—,” Eragon stopped when Zelia held up a hand.

  She spoke in a quiet voice as she tried to keep it from cracking. “I would have made the trip with or without traveling companions.”

  Zelia shivered again and closed her eyes as she leaned against Eragon. She forced her breath to steady, and.

  Eragon swept the hair out of her face and pressed a hand to her forehead. “Zelia, are you sure you’re fine?”

  She wrapped her arms across her chest.

  “Just tired.” She closed her eyes as she listened to his heart.

  They all stood still for a moment before the Dwarf spoke again, “You all look beat. Come on. We’ll find corners for you to sleep in.”

  “Go, I’ll keep an eye on her,” Eragon said.

  Saria stayed behind for a moment. “Make sure you get some rest too.”

  Eragon forced a tired smile. “I will. Go, rest while you can.”

  Once they had left, Zelia pulled away from Eragon still holding her chest as she did.

  “You need to get some rest. I’m going to go check on Bête Noire. I need to get up and move around, it usually helps.” Though I don’t ever remember it being this bad.

  The Dwarf overheard Zelia as he entered the room, the floor creaking with each of his steps. “Go get some rest Eragon. I’ll keep her out of trouble.” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “There’s a space for you back there.”

  She nodded when Eragon glanced at her, so he got up and went to lie down.

  Once Eragon was out of the room, she moved to the edge of the bed.

  “You know, I never got your name,” she said.

  She stood leaning against the wall as the Dwarf replied with a deep bow, centimeters from touching his nose to the floor.

  “Nordock at your service.”

  She moved towards the door with a hand against the rough wood wall to steady herself. “Well, would you like to meet that wild black horse you mentioned earlier?”

  Nordock raised a bushy eyebrow as he came towards her. “That’s your horse?”

  She rested her hand on his shoulder as they stepped through the doorway.

  “Yes and no, he has a free spirit. No one can truly own him.” She looked out at the pure black horse, his coat gleaming in the morning light. “Bête Noire, come here.”

  Bête Noire raced across the pasture and stopped with his head pressed against her chest. “You scared me Zelia. I think you scared all of us.”

  She spoke in his language as she ran her fingers through the coarse hairs of his mane. “Sorry boy, I didn’t mean to.”

  He raised his head and brushed his velvety muzzle across her cheek. “I know, but why didn’t you tell anyone you were having problems with your heart? Well, more problems than usual.”

  “You all had enough to worry about. And it’s not like there’s anything that can be done about it.”

  Nordock broke in. “Um, I take it you can speak to animals?”

  “Animals, the trees, dragons.” She took another deep breath. “I also know all the languages the Elves learn as children, among others.”

  “That’s a lot to know for someone so young.” Nordock patted his belly as he rocked on his toes. “Makes me look bad.”

  She faced him with a tired smile.

  “I age as the Elves do, if not slower. So, I’ve had plenty of time to learn and I had a good teacher.”

  Nordock scratched his beard with his thick stumpy fingers. “Just how old are you then?”

  She heaved a sigh and sat in the grass. “Somewhere around five hundred.”

  She ran her hand over the wet grass. Warm droplets of water wet her fingers as her hand ran across the grass tips. It gave her a feeling of the peace and simplicity of nature that relaxed he
r. Her heart began to beat with a rhythm it had not kept in quite some time and her breathing steadied with one last shuddering deep breath.

  Nordock sat beside her in the damp grass. “So, what’s this about your heart?”

  When she finished telling him about the explosion, she let out a long yawn into the back of her hand.

  Nordock stood and offered her a hand. “You look as though someone’s run you through the mud and put you up wet a few too many times. You should go get some rest.”

  “Can’t argue with that.”

  She entered a room with shuttered windows where her little mismatched band of traveling companions was spread out on the floor. Most of them were fast asleep, except Eragon who sat up when he noticed her.

  “Come here. Are you okay now?”

  “Better than I have been in a few months.”

  Eragon flashed a sleepy smile and yawned.

  “Good let’s get some sleep.” He pulled her over as he lay back with one hand under his head and the other arm draped across her.

  They slept well into the night, the longest any of them had slept in a long time.

  They woke to Sealia standing in the doorway, the sweet scent of some sort of stew drifting in through the open door. “So, who’s hungry?”

  Keller and Kafthry sprang to their feet; they were always ready to eat. Zelia, Eragon, and Saria were slower to stir. They came out to a makeshift table large enough for all of them to sit around.

  Saria elbowed Eragon. “Guess we know how to get the boys up and going from now on.”

  Eragon laughed. “Yeah, just imply there’s food.”

  “It has to smell delicious too,” Keller said as he accepted a bowl from Sealia.

  Zelia chose the seat where she could watch the horses out the open door. She sat in silence as everyone dished out breakfast, or rather dinner as it was late in the evening, the sky already filled with stars.

  After everyone had their portion, Nordock turned to Zelia. “Are you okay?”

  She drew a deep breath and pulled herself from her daze. “Yeah, just thinking.”

  Eragon cocked his head, his expression solemn. “About the Hold?”

  She picked up the spoon and half-heartedly messed with the food in her bowl.

  “I still haven’t figured out how to save them. Sometimes he dies—” She shook her head. They didn’t need the details. “He always dies, no matter how I change my decisions.”

  Saria put a hand on Zelia’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out. But for now, we should eat.”

  She forced a smile, though she knew her eyes still told of her worries. “Then let’s eat.”

  Keller and Kafthry joked and told stories while they ate. Their stories told of their time since meeting Zelia, so she tuned them out. But from time to time, everyone would glance over at her in disbelief before returning to their meals.

  As soon as she finished eating, she went outside and drifted towards the forest’s edge. She rested a hand on a tree’s trunk, and it offered her a happy hum as wolves howled in the distance.

  A stick snapped behind her and she sighed. “Coming to check on me, now are you?”

  Nordock hooked his thumbs in his belt as he came up beside her. “Yeah, Eragon wanted to come, but I told him I would.”

  She ran her fingers through the deep ridges in the tree’s bark and turned towards him.

  “I’m afraid you followed me down here for nothing.”

  “Well, I’m guessing you came out here to get away from Keller and Kafthry’s stories. They talk as if their life began when they met you. No stories about themselves.”

  “That’s because they are all that is left of their village. It’s painful for them to talk about their past. They told Dotchavitch, another dragon rider, but I wouldn’t ask them to tell their story again. Those boys are more broken inside than they let on. They’d given up hope before the dragon riders saved them.”

  Nordock wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him as they walked.

  “You have a big heart for someone so young and broken herself.”

  She started to correct him, but he stopped her.

  “I know you’re older than me. But it’s like expecting an elf child to run off to war! I take it that’s what you plan to do, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, and the only thing that would hold me back is death.”

  His arm dropped from her shoulder as he stepped back to face her.

  Suddenly she felt as though she was being watched, but instead of alarm, she felt warmth and knew it was Lumid who was watching them. She couldn’t help but look up to the stars with a smile.

  Nordock followed her gaze before staring at her. “What are you smiling about?”

  “Lumid is listening and watching.”

  “Who?”

  “Someone who many consider a god. He can see across the galaxies and hear the grass growing in the field with the help of The Bridge.”

  Nordock nodded with a tightened lip.

  “Okay, I’ll take your word for it. Well, you should go sleep more so you can head out in the morning.”

  “If Keller and Kafthry weren’t so useless in the dark, we could leave now.”

  Nordock shook his head. “These parts aren’t safe to travel at night.”

  As though daylight is better. “Well, good night.”

  Sleep came, and she found herself arguing with Alrindel as they stood on the outer wall of the Hold.

  “I want you to go stay with the King, be part of the last line,” Alrindel said.

  “No. I came here to fight beside you, not him.”

  “Until two years ago, I thought you were dead and then Eleanor forbade us from looking for you.”

  “Would you two stop? This is not the time or place for this,” Koin said. “Look around you. You are making them more nervous.”

  “Shields!” the call seemed to echo down the wall as people repeated it for others to hear.

  Koin pushed the two of them closer to a higher portion of the wall as a volley of arrows rained down on them.

  “Koin!” Alrindel yelled, scrambling to catch Koin as he fell, only to get hit himself. Together the two people she cared about most collapsed, Alrindel doing his best to support Koin on the way down.

  “No, no, no… it wasn’t supposed to happen this way.” She frantically ripped strips of her tunic off, stuffing it around the arrow protruding from Alrindel’s chest.

  “Koin first,” Alrindel said, his breath already gurgling.

  She glanced at Koin, but blood already drenched his front and he lay eyes open, unblinking. She shook her head. “He’s already gone. Alrindel?”

  “I… love you,” he choked the words out between strangled gasps.

  “Zelia, wake up. It’s just a dream.”

  Something shook her, and she shot to her feet flames in her hand. The shock and fear in Eragon’s eyes pierced the veil of her dream and she stumbled back. No. She smothered the flame and darted from the room. What have I done?

  “Where’s the fire?” Nordock asked as she ran from the house.

  “Zelia!” Eragon called after her.

  She ran into the trees and fell to her knees. The shock and horror on Eragon’s face replayed in her head. I... I could have hurt him. I could have killed him. She rocked with her arms clutched around her chest.

  Leaves rustled as Eragon came up behind her and she scrambled away.

  “St... stay away from me.” She hid her fear with a veil of hair as she turned away with her side against a tree. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  He grabbed her and she tried to shove away as he hugged her, but he held her tight. “Shh, I know.”

  She couldn’t fight it any longer and crumpled in his arms, tears streaming down her face.

  When her sobs quieted, Eragon spoke in a soothing tone. “Zelia, do you know what you saw in your dreams?”

  “I saw Koin and Alrindel and...” She shook her head and pulled closer to him.

&
nbsp; “You saw Alrindel. What was he doing?”

  Her heart raced and her breaths caught in her throat. “He... we argued and Koin died, then he was choking on his own blood. I thought that path had changed, bu— “ Her words cut short as her breath quickened, leaving her gasping.

  “Shh. You needn’t say more.” He held her tight and the beat of his heart slowed as he soothed her.

  After some time, her heartbeat fell in line with his and she pulled away with a deep breath. “I don’t care what the fates show me. I will save him, both of them. Even if I have to take the Darkans to Fregnar myself.”

  She wiped her eyes and pushed past the others.

  By the time the others followed her up the hill, she had already grabbed her belongings. She cinched her sword belt around her waist as she walked past them back out the door and called out for Bête Noire.

  Before she even got onto the stallion, the others had packed and saddled their horses.

  She put on a brave face and turned to Nordock and Sealia.

  “Thank you for everything.”

  With that, they all rode off towards the pass.

  33

  They were riding through the trees at a steady pace when the panicked screeches of a bird sounded from the trail ahead. Zelia didn’t wait for the others, she just urged Bête Noire on. When she caught a glimpse of the creature, she was taken aback. It had the head, wings, and front legs of an eagle, but the body, back legs, and tail of a lion.

  “What’s that?” Keller gasped.

  “A griffin, but what is it doing here?” Saria whispered.

  A man stooped over the giant beast, one foot propped on the griffin’s wing.

  “I wonder what you’ll bring at market.”

  Zelia drew her bow and cleared her throat to capture the man’s attention.

  The griffin struggled against his bonds and let out a cry for help as the trapper dug his heel into his wing. The griffin’s mouth gaped open as he tried to let out a screech of pain, his wing bowing under the man’s weight, but no noise left his throat.

  “What business do you have in these parts by yourself young lady?” the trapper asked.