No sooner had Brom agreed to help them than Orion and Saphira thundered in their minds,

Death! Fire!

Eragon and Kenna looked at one another in a panic. "We have to go. Now." Kenna said, then looked to Brom again and said, "We'll be back."

Eragon took her hand and they ran out of the house and through the town square, past people, and back towards the farm. Suddenly, Orion appeared and picked them both up in his claws, flying them back towards the woods.

Kenna yelped and said, "Orion! Put us down! We have to get back to the farm!"

No. You will only find death there. Great evil. He replied in both our minds.

He landed again in the clearing their dugout home was in and Saphira emerged from the home, stretching her wings and the anxiety from both dragons washed over them in waves. Eragon went over to Saphira and she pushed her head into his arms. Orion moved to curl around Kenna.

"You have to let us go." Eragon said, voice straining. "My uncle could be killed. Or seriously injured."

You could be killed. And then we would die. Orion said in our minds.

It is true, little one. The deaths of Rider or dragon are always catastrophic for the other in every way. Saphira said. It anguishes me to do this, but I must protect you.

"Eragon." I said softly and reached over and rested a hand on his arm. I didn't know what to say to help, so I merely held my arms out to him. He just walked into my arms and hugged me tightly, resting his chin on my head and his arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders.

"We'll be ok." I said softly. "We have each other."

He nodded and replied, "Yes. We have each other."

*******

By the time the dragons let them leave the forest, it was too late. They followed Eragon and Kenna cautiously, looking around and sticking more to the tree line. Eragon ran into the disheveled and burned ruins of his home and began to dig through it, moving burned beams, and calling his uncle's name.

Suddenly, he turned to Kenna, his brown eyes wide and tear-filled. "I found him. Please. Help me move him."

She raced over and helped pull Garrow from the wreckage. "We need to get him into town. Elain and Horst might help us." She said, examining the damage around her.

Eragon stopped and looked from his uncle to Kenna at a loss for words. Kenna gasped and covered her mouth with her hands when she finally saw Garrow uncovered by debris. There were oozing burns and wounds all over his body, his clothes torn in several places. He wasn't going to make it, and she knew it already.

She tripped over a plank of wood and helped him pull Garrow the rest of the way out of the wreckage.

"Eragon." She said. "Magic did this. Those strangers could be wizards."

"How do you know?"

"Look at the farm. It was blown in all directions. I think us sticking around will put him in more danger."

"Then leave. I'm not leaving him, Kenna. I can't. He's all I have left of family besides Roran and he's miles away by now."

She clenched her jaw. "Alright. Fine." She got up and began to rummage through the rubble and found a board big enough for Garrow's body, then dragged it over and pulled off her cloak.

"You're a dumbass if you think I'm gonna leave you like this, Eragon. Sit him up. We have to drag him on this. We can't have the dragons do it. They'll be seen."

He grit his teeth, then looked at Kenna, deflating all at once as he mumbled, "Alright."

For hours they pulled and pushed Garrow's body towards town on that board. Once they reached Horst and Elian's house, they were ready to drop.

Eragon raced forward and began to bang on the door. Horst appeared a few minutes later with a hard expression that immediately softened when he saw Garrow and the two of them covered in blood and splinters and ash.

He stepped out and easily picked up Garrow's prone body from the makeshift sled, then carried him inside.

"What on earth happened, you two?" He demanded as he carried Garrow up the stairs.

"The strangers in Carvahall that were looking for those Stones we found in the Spine." Kenna said softly, wringing her hands together. "Sloan told them our names. And then they attacked the farm and destroyed it. We didn't have anywhere else to go with him to get help."

Eragon said nothing, merely standing next to
Kenna with his eyes glued to his uncle.

He looked us over, then said, "Well you two look like you could use a fresh set of clothes. What on earth happened to your ribs?"

Kenna froze and looked down at her shirt to see it covered in blood. She placed a hand over her sides and it came away sticky with blood.

Orion carrying us. She thought. His scales and claws must have done it, but in all the chaos, we had barely noticed. She looked up at Horst with a start and said, "Oh, ah. It must have happened when we were pulling him from the wreckage. There was still a lot to try and get out of the way."

"Yeah." Eragon said, eyes never leaving Garrow in Horst's arms.

"What is this, Horst. It's getting late, I-oh! Oh my goodness!" Elaine said as she entered the room, looking at the mess.

"Come on, now. Let's get you cleaned up. Horst please take him upstairs." She said to her husband and he merely grunted and did as was told.

Elaine got busy cleaning them up and found them new clothes to wear. Once their scrapes were wrapped and their blistered hands were, too, she turned her attention to Garrow.

Eragon barely ate and barely slept and only did either if Kenna was there to coax him into it.

Then, when the time finally came, and Garrow passed away, Eragon cried and Kenna held him as he buried his face in her chest and wrapped his fists around the skirts of her borrowed dress.

She held onto him just as tightly and kissed the top of his head, smoothing his hair and whispering, "I'm so sorry, Eragon."

They barely slept that night, and Kenna stayed up with Eragon. Finally, he spoke.

"We need to go. And I'll go with you. I have nothing left here now. And if I do stay, I could be killed, or someone else here could be killed, and I can't let that happen."

Kenna nodded, smoothing her silver hair over her shoulder and braiding it. "Alright. We'll need supplies. And horses. We can't ride Saphira and Orion, they're too small still, and Orion barely made it carrying both of us. And look what happened to our ribs. We'll need supplies for the road."

"Yes. I know where we can get it, too." Eragon said. He looked up at her. "Why don't you go to Brom, find him, and tell him what happened. And only him. And ask him if he'd help us."

Kenna nodded. "Alright. I'll do that." She stood up and squeezed his shoulder. "Stay out of sight, Eragon."

He caught her hand and placed a kiss to the back of it, her face heating up as he did this. "I will. And you, too. I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt, too." She kneeled in front of him and lifted her hands to his cheeks and he held her wrists.

"Don't worry, Eragon. Meet me at the clearing with the dragons. Gather the supplies we'll need for the road. I'll handle the horses and Brom. It'll be ok. We'll go to the Varden. We'll be safest there."

She then kissed his forehead and stood up and left the house.

She snuck along alleys towards Brom's house when she came face to face with someone she definitely never wanted to see again.

He grinned, taking a swig from the bottle of ale in his fist. There was blood on his hands and shirt, and a crazed light in his eyes. "Hello, daughter."