Sja Fram [Inheritance Cycle | Eragon Fanfiction]

Chapter XXXVI: Witch in Hiding

Chapter XXXVI: Witch in Hiding

I sat up, pushing the blankets aside in favour of getting up. I might not normally be a morning person, but I was used to constantly doing something due to the last week and a bit spent on the run. I yawned and stretched, glad for the soft bed.

I looked around, and spotted a large cat sitting on the edge of the cave, licking a paw. I frowned, before I figured out why he was familiar. Greetings Solembum, I said to the werecat.

Well met vinr abr du Shur'tugal, Solembum said with a flick of his tail. Has the other one grown any more observant?

I looked over at Eragon, who looked like he was stirring. I shrugged, who am I to speak for him? He has grown, but don't we all?

The werecat shook his rough mane and yawned. He has awoken, the werecat said before stretching, and jumping out of the cave. Coming?

I tossed a glance at Eragon who looked slightly bewildered. Eragon looked at Saphira while I started descending from the cave. Solembum waited beneath the arch that led to the rest of Tronjheim.

The moment Eragon stood next to me, the werecat turned with a flick of his paws and disappeared through the arch. Eragon and I chased after him, descending down The Endless Staircase – Vol Turin – to the next level.

We stood in an open arcade that curved gently to the left and encircled Tronjheim's central chamber. Between the slender columns supported the arches, Isidar Mithrim could be seen sparking above. With each successive level, the circumference of the central chamber increased.

Eragon and I followed the illusive werecat through numerous abandoned passageways and corridors. Solembum stopped at a door and yowled. The door slid inward and the large werecat slipped inside. I stopped in front of the door, raising my hand to knock, with Eragon waiting behind me. However, before I could, the door opened once more and warm light spilled out.

We entered an earthy two-room suite, lavishly decorated with carved wood and clinging plants. The air was warm, fresh, and humid. Bright lanterns hung on the walls and from the low ceiling. Piles of intriguing items cluttered the floor, obscuring the corners. A large four-poster bed, curtained by even more plants, was in the far room. In the centre of the main room, on a plush leather chair, sat the fortuneteller and witch, Angela. She smiled brightly.

"What are you doing here?" Eragon blurted.

Angela folded her hands in her lap. "Well, you can sit on the floor and I'll tell you. I'd offer you a seat, but I'm afraid I'm sitting on the only chair." I sat down, casting a concerned look at the flask of acrid bubbling green potion next to me.

"So!" Angela exclaimed, leaning forward. "Eragon is a Rider. I suspected as much, but I didn't know for certain until yesterday. I'm sure Solembum knew, but he certainly didn't tell me. I probably should have figured it out the moment you mentioned Brom. Saphira... I like the name – fitting for a dragon."

"Brom's dead," Eragon said bluntly. "The Ra'zac killed him."

Angela was taken aback. She twirled a lock of her dense curls. "I'm sorry. I truly am," she said softly.

Eragon smiled bitterly and I frowned. "But you're not surprised, are you?" Eragon asked, "You fortold his death, after all."

"I didn't know whose death it would be," she said, shaking her head. "But no... I'm not surprised. I met Brom once or twice. He didn't care for my 'frivolous' attitude towards magic. It irritated him."

I frowned. "In Teirm you laughed at his fate and said it was something of a joke. Why?"

Angela's face tightened momentarily. "In retrospect, it was in rather bad taste, but I didn't know what would befall him. How do I put this?" She paused, "Brom was cursed in a way. It was his wyrd to fail at all of his tasks except one, although through no fault of his own. He was chosen as a Rider, but his dragon was killed. He loved a woman, but it was his affection that was her undoing. And he was chosen, I assume, to guard and train you, but in the end he failed at that as well. The only thing he succeeded at was killing Morzan, and a better deed he couldn't have done."