Disclaimer: I own the plot, and nothing but the plot. The end.

Claimer: I, SussieKitten, own this plot and the story. Borrow or steal my plot, (when used) my original characters or story and I will report you.

A/N Part 2 of The Dark Seires. Join me in singing Happy Birthday to me, 'cause my friends are going to be doing that loudly, in the school tomorrow, on the speakers if they get what they want. There's nothing more I want than a little more public humiliation. :cough: Anyway, so Happy B-Day to me people! XD

EDIT: (9th of October, 08) A few minor spelling and grammar mistakes have been fixed.

Movements In The Dark

The sun had just begun to rise. In the forest the animals were just starting to wake. The river's sizzling grew louder, as if it had been sleeping too. A deep red met the lighter blue in the sky. Few clouds were there to be spotted. For some this was a good sign, but not for everyone.

In a cave in the forest a person woke slowly. Their movements were sluggish and slow. Ever so gently they walked out of the cave. A hand came up to shadow for the first rays of the sun. The person, a male, looked inconsistent with the clothes he wore. The dark shirt was reduced to mere strips that hung around his frame. The darker pants were ripped and muddied. But his skin was milky and clean, not a single wound or scratch that the blood on his clothes could have come from. It was such Murtagh looked out on the world for the first time in days.

Murtagh breathed in the air around him. He sighed and walked down to the river. He washed off the little mud and blood that still was on his skin. He grimaced on the sight of his shirt. Silently he ripped it off his body and walked back into the cave. A minute later Murtagh walked back out, a new shirt on and a backpack in his hand. He sat down again and started to wash off the mud from his pants. Not all came off, but the Rider nodded his head nonetheless and stood. Murtagh threw on a mattered cloak and put the pack onto his back. Then he started on the quest to find his dragon.

Murtagh and Thorn had been separated from each other a few days before. They had been trying to escape from Galbatorix after the mad King had been unwilling to accept Murtagh's failure in capturing Eragon. Murtagh had been captured and tortured for several days before Thorn had broken through his prison and taken his Rider with him. They had both been injured during their flight from and stay at Galbatorix' castle. And now that Murtagh was back at his full strength he wished to find his friend and heal him before it was too late.

-Thorn, can you hear me?-

The Rider sighed sadly. For days he had tried to get in touch with the red dragon, but Thorn had yet to answer. He feared for him and hoped that Thorn was alright. Murtagh refused to believe that Thorn was dead. He would have felt it if Thorn had passed on, or so he kept telling himself. It was what kept him going, so it was enough.

-Answer me, Thorn!-

Minutes went by and still Thorn didn't answer. Murtagh sighed and continued to follow the river in hope he would stumble over his friend. He continued to hope he wouldn't stumble over a corpse.

As the hours passed, Murtagh's mind continued to shift to Eragon. He had tried his best to keep himself from thinking about his brother, but it looked like he could no longer avoid it. He had seen Eragon the previous night and the other Rider had healed him. He owed Eragon his life, but knew the chances of repaying him were slim.

He missed his brother deeply, and was sad that last night was probably the last time he would see him. Emotions raged inside of him, none of them which he really understood. But Murtagh knew he didn't have the time to figure out which emotions. He needed to find his friend.

Murtagh continued to wonder why Eragon had healed him, however. He had heard Eragon say goodbye to him, which meant he had known it had been Murtagh he had healed. The darker male thought his brother had hated him, and had wished him dead. Now he was beginning to doubt that. Murtagh did however know why Eragon had been there. He had been rescuing their cousin's girlfriend. He wished therefore not to stumble upon their camp. Eragon would most likely have with him people from the Varden and Murtagh valued his life. If he showed himself he knew he would be taken captive and killed. Sometimes, when his heart was weak, he wondered if Galbatorix was the lesser of those two evils.

Whoever might be the lesser evil for Murtagh to go to, he was not returning to the mad King. Something had happened when Eragon had healed him. Murtagh knew that it was impossible for Galbatorix to really know his true name, as he would need an elf for that, and suspected he had been under a spell or potion. And if he knew the King it would most likely have been a mixture of them both. And now that he was free he was never going back there.

"Come on, we need to get going before the dark falls."

Murtagh stiffened and instantly threw himself onto the ground. The grass was soft beneath him, and thankfully there had been no roots where he had fallen. Slowly, to not alert anyone of his presence, he lifted his head and looked out beyond the trees. He couldn't see much, but knew where he had arrived. Eragon's camp.

Cursing himself quietly he began to walk in another direction. Unfortunately, someone had other plans.

Murtagh hid behind a thick tree when he saw two men talking softly together as they filled several water sacks. He could vaguely remember seeing them while being in Varden's hideout. He had indeed walked too close to their camp.

"Remember to fill the horses' sacks as well." A female voice echoed softly.

Murtagh stiffened. He knew that voice. He peeked around the tree.

Arya was chatting lowly with another elf when she had addressed the men. They nodded to her before going back to their job. Arya walked back towards the remains of the camp with the male elf in tow.

Murtagh became even more furious with himself. With Arya there, his chances of getting away unnoticed were very slim. He began to back away, deeper into the forest and away from the river. He watched silently as the men filled the last sack and made their way back to the camp. Nodding to himself Murtagh began to walk in the other direction. Something was dragging him that way. And, for every step he took, something seemed to call out to him. He hoped it was Thorn.

He scouted the land along the lake until he felt his hope begin to fade. Murtagh sighed and sat down. His stomach was protesting from the lack of food since his escape. But it paled in importance next to finding Thorn. The dragon was his first priority. The dark haired male stood back up and continued to walk. A minute later he tripped on a root and fell. He groaned and pushed himself to his feet. The illness and wounds had weakened him and made it harder to walk around than he was used to. Murtagh once again cursed the King.

A curse died in his mind as he saw what lay before him.

"Thorn."

Murtagh's voice was scratchy and hoarse from misuse, but he didn't care. Murtagh stumbled over to his fallen friend and sat down by his side.

"Thorn, can you hear me? Please Thorn, answer me." The Rider begged softly.

-… You came.-

Murtagh felt joy rise within him. Thorn opened an eye to look at him. The dragon's breath was shaky and sounded loud to Murtagh's ears. But none of it mattered, Thorn was alive.

-How are you my friend?-

-Not good, hatchling.- Thorn responded. -I fear I'm fading.-

-No.- Murtagh stated firmly. -I'm here now. I'll heal you.-

-You need to spare your strength. You aren't well.-

Murtagh ran a hand over his friend's scaled neck.

-I've been healed, my friend. Whatever leftover strength I have, take it.- He said.

Thorn snorted.

-I won't.-

"I'm afraid you have no say in this." Murtagh said out loud. "Heill."

Thorn growled as Murtagh's hand lit up. Murtagh felt his strength leaving him, but also felt Thorn's weakness disappearing. Murtagh felt like he was about to faint when the flow of magic from him stopped.

-That was unwise, Murtagh.- Thorn growled.

"I don't care." Murtagh responded. "You're no longer passing away."

-I may as well be with the position we're in.-

-And you call me a pessimist?- Murtagh asked with a shake of his head.

Thorn snorted.

-How was this possible?- Thorn asked.

"Eragon healed me. He broke our bond to Galbatorix by curing the poison in my veins." Murtagh explained. "I don't know how he found me, however."

Thorn lifted his head to stare into Murtagh's eyes.

-Blood bonds are not to be taken lightly.-

Murtagh chuckled.

-We better leave now. I'd rather not be found by the Varden if they decide to ride this way.- Murtagh said and stood.

Thorn slowly began to get back up on his feet. Murtagh felt helpless as he saw his friend stagger and almost fall. He held a hand against Thorn's scales in hope to somehow give him more strength. Slowly the red dragon got to his feet.

-We need to get a proper healer somehow.- Murtagh sighed. -I cannot let you suffer until I get enough strength. I won't use the full spell until I know I won't die in the process.-

Thorn nodded his giant head. Murtagh caressed the thick neck and felt a small smile enter his face.

-I won't let you use anymore magic until you're better.-

-Sometimes I wonder who of us the Rider is.- Murtagh commented softly.

-It's always the dragon who is in control, hatchling.- Thorn told him then.

Murtagh laughed quietly.

"I missed you my friend."

-And I you.-

The two began to head in the opposite direction of where Murtagh had come. The Rider hoped that it would ensure that they wouldn't stumble across the riding party he had just walked away from.

The duo walked for several minutes in silence. Murtagh always kept a hand on Thorn's neck, not wanting to let him out of his sight again. Lying alone in that cave had made him think. He had been unable to reach Thorn then, and that had disturbed him. He was not leaving Thorn anytime soon, and knew the dragon felt the same way.

-How do you know they aren't looking for us?-

-I don't.- Murtagh answered. -I just hope Eragon was too ashamed of his actions to speak of them.-

-Ashamed of helping his own brother? You humans are never easy to understand.- Thorn commented.

Murtagh snorted.

-I don't think we're made to be.-

Time passed and finally they could see a thinning in the trees. Murtagh gestured for Thorn to stay behind. The red dragon sat down, and Murtagh could see that their endless walking had weakened them both. The dark haired male looked out and was glad to see no signs of his brother or the group.

-You can come now, Thorn.- He said as he settled down to wait.

The dragon slowly came up behind him. Thorn stopped without warning and Murtagh suddenly felt exposed.

-Duck, Murtagh. I hear horses.-

Murtagh cursed and ran back to his friend. He crouched down as he waited for the riding party to ride pass them. Silently he hoped it wasn't the Ra'zac. The terrible creatures had been sent after them, but Murtagh hoped the King had sent them on another mission. The Ra'zac had been responsible for many of Thorn's injuries, and Murtagh would rather not meet them in fear of what he might do.

Murtagh heard the horses long before he saw them. Finally he could see six horses coming into view. He recognised them in an instant. On the first horse he saw the man he recognised as his cousin, Roran, and his girlfriend. Murtagh felt even more hate for the King when he saw in what shape the poor girl was in. Two of the horses had a man on them, the same men he had seen fill the water sacks earlier. The thinner of them rode with a horse bound to his own. Murtagh figured it was Eragon's horse when he rode. Then, at the back of the group, came Arya and the elf he had seen her speak to earlier.

Murtagh made sure to keep quiet as they rode pass them. Thorn however wasn't as lucky. Murtagh hissed when the dragon had to shift and a thin root snapped beneath his claw. An arrow lodged itself into the tree next to Murtagh.

-Thorn, back away.-

The dragon growled.

-Not without you.-

"Go!" Murtagh hissed.

Thorn snapped his teeth. Murtagh was unable to tell him a second time, for then a figure jumped down in front of them. This person had a hood over their face and a bow in their hands. Thorn let out a hostile growl. Murtagh laid a hand on Thorn's back, trying to calm down his friend. The figure slowly lowered their bow.

Before Murtagh could speak a word, the person leaped onto their horse, which Murtagh hadn't noticed before then, and rode away. Murtagh grinned grimly.

-What's wrong?-

"Nothing." Murtagh answered.

He silently watched the figure join the riding party and the hood fall off. Black hair slithered out and fell behind her. Arya looked back over her shoulder, straight into Murtagh's eyes. She nodded to him before taking off after the others.

Murtagh sighed.

-Let's go, Thorn. If we want to stay alive we need to get closer to the Surdan border.-

The dragon nudged him gently on the shoulder and they began to walk in the same direction of the riders. Murtagh patted the red dragon as he sent a thought to the elf that had let him go.

-Farwell, Arya.-

-It doesn't have to be farewell, Murtagh.- Thorn said gently.

-For now, Thorn…- Murtagh sighed. -For now it has to be.-

The End

A/N And this could be the end of the Series if my muses don't get their butts back into my life!! Damn, I never thought it was going to be this hard. :sweatdrop: Anyhow, I have started the next part, but it's not coming along as I don't have the time to write. And I also have some bad news I'm afraid.

Next week I'm going to Spain (yes, again), where I have no internet connection because, clever little me, managed to break the thingy that kept me online. So, no updates and no answers on PMs during that week, sorry.

I do however have time to write, which I will be using wisely if I get any say in it. :nods: So, fear not, I may be absent during that week, but will be coming back with (hopefully) more fics to post. :D

Now, the shameless begging for reviews. Pretty please and leave me one? To lift my mood from the hole which it will be crawling into tomorrow. Cookies to those who review. :puppy-dog eyes: XD