Instead of Arya, I prefer her mom (Chapter 45)

When the mage died, the giant abruptly lifted Cedric by his collar before setting his feet on the floor. The man’s dark eyes lingered on him, but then he suddenly turned and walked away.

What was happening? Weren’t they fighting a second ago? The big guy’s punches and kicks certainly weren’t fake—Cedric wouldn’t have been sent flying five feet through the air otherwise.

His hand lingered on his ring, but in the end, he decided not to attack. He didn’t understand what was happening. The only thing he could think of was him not being the real target. It seemed strange to say, but since the assassin showed up, he felt their means of dealing with him to be too extreme.

A magic-penetrating dagger, an unknown mage with a squad of black-clothed helpers and a giant of a man  covered in magic-resisting wards—any one of those things were more than enough to deal with some random, upstart mage. Sure, Cedric killed a lot of pirates, but that wasn’t very impressive. They were just plain old grunts. Their deaths or the loss of some territory didn’t warrant such an extreme reaction.

Cedric stood there for a moment before moving his feet, heading down the tunnel. There was still the assassin to collect. If she was still alive, maybe he could figure out what was going on.

“…”

However, contrary to his expectations, the giant didn’t disappear down the secret tunnel, the one hidden behind a fake wall. Instead, he trudged the route Cedric had travelled, past the two charred corpses, to where he hid the assassin.

After hesitating for a moment, Cedric followed him, keeping a safe distance. He didn’t know what this guy was up to, but he really didn’t want his only source of information to suddenly disappear.

It wasn’t long before they reached the electrocuted woman. Since the conflict started, perhaps fifteen minutes had passed. As such, she was still alive. That isn’t to say she was in a good state, showing no visible signs of breathing while the cracked flesh across her face and head wept blood and a clear, yellowish fluid. It was only her flickering lifeforce that told Cedric she wasn’t-…

Suddenly, while he was thinking of how to secure his hostage, the giant raised a boot, stomping on the prone woman’s chest.

Cedric’s eyes bulged in his head, his mouth opening to shout something. However, the man was simply too fast, going from rest to movement in an instant.

His armored foot crushed the woman’s sternum and ribs like they were dry twigs, indenting an enormous cavity in her torso. Liquids sprayed out of her nose and mouth before her body splashed into a pool of brackish water. There was no choking or spasming—she was simply alive one moment, dead the next.

Cedric’s arm was half-raised, wanting to do or say something, but not knowing what. His only lead had just perished. Without her, he didn’t have a clue about the forces targeting him.

The giant turned his head, glancing at Cedric. Then, judging his sudden movements to be non-threatening, he turned and passed Cedric, going back the way they came. With the tunnels collapsed, there was only one way out of the sewers.

“Wait.”

The word left Cedric’s mouth before he even knew he was speaking.

“Uhm. Sorry, but… who are you?”

Unconsciously, he hid one hand underneath his cloak, his thumb stroking the ruby ring. The man seemingly didn’t intend further harm, but it was worth being careful.

Surprisingly, the giant answered, though he didn’t turn around.

“A mercenary.”

His voice was incredibly thick and heavy, as expected from someone his size.

There was also a strange accent Cedric couldn’t place, somewhat resembling the middle-eastern accent from his past life. It matched the man’s dark-skinned appearance. However, Cedric didn’t remember any country corresponding with the middle-east in this world.

He chewed on his lip, wondering what the best course of action was. The giant’s profession wasn’t overly surprising. Needless to say, but most pirates and brigands didn’t have any loyalty. They were glorified opportunists—mercenaries basically, though less professional.

This presented an opportunity. Cedric currently lacked dependable help. If he could get this monstrous specimen on his side…

“I want to hire you.”

Though Silver had taken a portion of their wealth, most of it was still safe and secure in a vault under the sewers. Cedric could afford it, so he hoped.

This caused the giant to halt. He turned his head, looking at Cedric with some emotion resembling surprise. It was difficult to tell for sure, given his bushy head of hair and wild beard.

Cedric met his eyes, his hands tightening unconsciously under his cloak. Put under scrutiny, he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable. It was like being stared at by a wild beast.

For a moment, it seemed like the giant would refuse, but then he spoke slowly, the words rumbling in his chest.

“I don’t take any job.”

Cedric pursed his lips, wondering how to persuade him. He didn’t exactly have a ‘job’ for the man. Rather, he wanted to keep him as a retainer. However, on the surface, he didn’t exactly have much to offer. He was just a kid. A magically-gifted one that managed to subjugate a bunch of pirates, but a child nonetheless.

“I want to hire you as a bodyguard.”

The giant considered it, but then he shook his head.

“You can’t afford my fee.”

Cedric didn’t necessarily believe that was the case. He had a lot of money. Even if the entire town of Carvahall was sold off, along with its inhabitants, the sum wouldn’t even approach his ill-gotten gains.

“How much do you charge?”

“Ten gold talents.”

“…”

Cedric’s eyebrow twitched. It was an insane amount of money. A skilled artisan like a blacksmith or a mason might earn one gold talent per year. And that was the gross amount, before any deductions or taxes.

However, it was still within the realm of what he could afford.

“Per month? That’s fine, I’m willing to make a deal-…”

“Per day. My fee is ten gold talents daily.”

The man’s words were like a hammer to the skull. Cedric’s throat went dry as he considered the enormity it. The amount of money was eye-watering. Who could afford to pay such exorbitant costs? Keeping this man under employ for a week would bankrupt most wealthy merchant households. None but the wealthiest nobles would be able to hire him, and even then, not for very long.

The giant regarded Cedric’s expression. Then, concluding he was unable to pay, turned and continued toward the exit.

Cedric wanted to stop him, to negotiate somehow, but realized the futility of it. A killer-for-hire was unlikely to be swayed by his imploring. He didn’t have the money, and that was that.

Sighing, he let the giant leave, his gaze unconsciously returning to the now-dead assassin. What the hell was he going to do now? His enemies had failed, but that was unlikely to discourage them from taking another shot at him.

Instead, his survival would have the opposite effect. For these kinds of powerful, shady organizations, it was a matter of power and perception.

Cedric recalled an account from his past life, how a government had once sacrificed two dozen policemen to round up a handful of violent criminals. Surprisingly, it was a failure, with all twenty three men being killed by a bomb going off. Yet, the most shocking was that even more men was sent into the meat grinder, with a further nine police shot dead before the criminals were apprehended.

One would imagine that trade-off to not be worth it, that in the face of such risk and losses, an institution would find another way. However, these massive losses were actually beneficial from a certain point of view. It showed an intention to suppress any rogue elements no matter the cost, scaring off others who might attempt the same.

Sure, Cedric was likely dealing with a criminal organization, not the government. At least, he hoped. Regardless, the concept was the same. These people wouldn’t tolerate his existence, and the more victories he achieved over them, the more resolved they would become to stamp him out. Them being an unknown entity only made it more dangerous.

Suddenly, he felt it was best to go somewhere else for a while, lay low until things cooled down. He wouldn’t forget about this—the attempt on his life without even trying to negotiate guaranteed as much. When he’d built up his strength, he would return and subjugate this city. If Teirm was going to have an owner, Cedric didn’t see why it couldn’t be him.

“Brisingr.”

With a mumbled word and a snap of his fingers, the assassin’s corpse was set ablaze. He would do the same with the two black-clothed men and the mage, erasing the evidence just to be safe.

There was the matter of the giant, what he would report and to whom, but Cedric couldn’t do much about that.

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“…-unbuttoning her shirt when he arrived. I don’t know whether to feel relieved about it or not. The guard immediately fled. But the person who entered after him… might be even worse.”

In a secluded valley, Eragon sat on the damp, green grass with his knees drawn to his chest. His tone low, he recounted the contents of his dream to Saphira.

Saphira considered his words, sensing her rider’s foul mood. His recounting left her somewhat confused, wondering why he was so upset about the elf being undressed.

She never quite understood the significance of clothing. It helped the two-legged, scale-less creatures remain warm, but why they were embarrassed without it wasn’t something she understood.

She was about to ask when she suddenly felt a familiar presence, reaching out to her from Teirm.

‘I’m done. Why don’t you tell me what happened, otherwise I won’t be able to help-…’

Before Cedric could get very far, Saphira interrupted him.

‘Eragon is safe with me. Apparently, nothing bad happened to him.’

Cedric paused, his faint exhaustion turning to irritation.

‘What? How exactly does that work? Why were you up in arms, then? Seriously, I know we have a deal, but you can’t expect me to get involved every time you and Brom lose sight of him-…’

He was about to continue, but his attitude provoked Saphira’s anger. Without listening further, she cut him off, severing their connection. What a disrespectful human!

Leaning against her side, Eragon glanced at Saphira, perhaps sensing her distraction.

“What’s the matter?”

‘Earlier, I spoke to Cedric, letting him know you were missing. He was busy until now, but with a bad attitude like his, he wouldn’t have been much help-…’

“Wait, you know where he is? Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been worrying about him all this time!”

His expression was upset and somewhat betrayed, causing Saphira to feel slight guilt.

‘Don’t misunderstand, little one. I did learn of him, but you are better off staying away from that miscreant. His lack of manners and basic decency could influence you for the worse.’

Eragon looked into her big azure eyes, his attitude softening slightly. He didn’t know why, but the idea of Saphira and Cedric speaking without his knowledge made him slightly uncomfortable. Though, from the look of it, their relationship still wasn’t exactly good.

“…okay. But tell me these things in the future. We’re family, aren’t we? We shouldn’t keep secrets from each other.”

Saphira snorted, leaning over and pressing her ridged forehead intimately against his.

‘Your concern is unwarranted, Eragon. No one has a bigger place in my heart than you. You know this.’

Suddenly feeling a bit insecure and childish, Eragon reached up, throwing his arms around her neck.

“I know. And it’s the same for me.”

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