Kvistr by Melissa Nichols (elon musk reading list .TXT) 📕

Unbidden, anger and other similar emotions arose in Alanna. Her eyes flashed iridescent purple as she growled. Today, she would do what she was being trained to do, rescue the innocent. As second born nobility, Dusan didn’t have as much power as a noble than Alanna did, so it was almost impossible for him to extricate himself from his oppressive uncle. As a Dragon Rider, it was her duty to rescue him, and she would gladly do it.

I need to settle something. She explained to Murtagh, choosing telepathy over voice due to the wind Thorn’s speed induced. I don’t know how long I’ll be. I’ll meet you at the center of town.

Fine. Wait, what are you doing? He grew alarmed as Alanna shifted both legs to one side of the saddle.

I told you. I have to settle something at home. She replied simply before she jumped out of the saddle, falling through the air with confidence. She eyed the approaching ground easily, judging the shrinking distance with a keen eye. Three feet from the ground, Alanna muttered a word and her speed slowed enough for her to hit the ground without any harm. Bending her knees to an acute angle allowed her to absorb the shock as she eyed the front of her estate.

As she straightened, she drew Delois from her scabbard, stalking forward. Quiet as can be, she leaped through the glass-less windows and extended her mind once again. Her target was in the library, her brother ensconced safely in his room.

Grinning like a predator that had found its meal, Alanna approached the two floor-to-ceiling library doors. Raising her glowing right hand, Alanna muttered ‘Mor’amr’, Open.

Before her, the double doors flew open and crashed against the walls, the explosion causing Gerard to jump mightily, spilling her mother’s wine carelessly on the floor and her father’s clothes.“Alanna!” Gerard shouted as he jumped to his feet, his hand carelessly wiping the wine down his clothes, worsening the stains on the fabric and on the wooden floor. “What is the meaning of-“

“Waise Hlojdr!” She shouted, and the spell silenced her uncle. She was quite pleased to see Gerard’s mouth open and close without a sound, and then see his face flush angrily as he struggled to find his voice. “I am a Dragon Rider.” Alanna continued without a beat, her voice raised with anger. “Daughter of Lady Silkva. My father, your brother, was Lord of this hall only because he was mate to my mother, which means you are no more than a peasant when I am nobility. For too long you have oppressed my brother and I, and that ends today. I outrank you because of my birth and because of the fire-breathing dragon that hatched for me, so I am now claiming my inheritance. This house and everything in it are mine, so I want your smelly, misbegotten carcass out of here before my dragon seeks you out and decides to have you for his midnight snack. Take nothing for yourself as I will consider that stealing. As Dragon Rider, I am bound to uphold every law and to dish out justice as I see fit. If you steal from me, you can kiss your life goodbye. Do you have any objections?” She continued shouting in the ancient language. Again, Gerard gestured madly, clearly displaying displeasure. But Alanna wasn’t entirely prepared for him to charge her, but she recovered quickly when Gerard did indeed charge forward, his fists balled. Raising her hand again, she shouted “Thrysta!” as a ball of pure, purple energy charged form her palm into her uncle’s chest, slamming him against the wall several yards away. Delois at the ready, Alanna leapt and pinned Gerard to the wall, Delois pinching into his chest directly above his heart. “Leave, and you’d better pray to every god out there to have mercy on your black soul, because if I see you again, even in passing, I will make you wish you’d never been born.” She growled, her eyes glowing iridescent purple again. Below her sword, Gerard paled and nodded vigorously. “Leave everything that was my parents. I will order a thorough investigation into the contents of the house. If I find anything missing, I will send my dragon to enjoy his snack even if you didn’t take it. Am I understood?”Gerard nodded again and Alanna turned to the maid cowering in the corner. “Your original employer was my mother, so you are still employed by my family, by me. As your employer, I am ordering you to make sure this trash is taken out. Remember, you are still alfa-kona. Act like it, and don’t let powerless punks like this push you around.”The maid, one of the few talentless elves that were versatile enough to do any task put to them, nodded. “I’ll get right on that inventory, miss.”

“Good. I want you to first clean out his room, and leave him with only his own clothes and possessions that he brought into this house.”

“Yes, miss.”

“And go inform my brother as the new lord of the hall, and the happenings that took place here.”

“Yes, miss.” She bowed and scurried away. Gerard looked around furiously, bringing Alanna’s attention back to him. “Oh, careful.” She warned him. “This blade is a Rider’s sword. It is a metal of superior quality, enchanted for strength, and it will never dull or break, chip or depreciate, and it will slice right through every spell in its path, including the thick layer of protective spells you have wrapped around you. All of your spells won’t stand a chance against my Nuanen Delois. In fact, I’m sure that if I break your skin, you’ll die simply by the spells trying to save you, calling upon your own energy until your heart stops. Yes, I’d be very careful of a Rider’s blade, Gerard. Mine is special in that I asked it to have sharper edges and a sharper point at the tip than the others so it’d be that much easier to slice my way through the enemy before they can get to me or my dragon. Now, let me recap my instructions before I send you on your way. You are hereby directed by myself, Lady Alanna, the rightful heir of this house and everything in it, to remove yourself from the premises as quickly as your skimpy legs can carry you. Leave behind everything except your peasant’s clothes, that means clothing, jewelry, gold, hair accessories, wigs, and everything else. Disobey on any level, and you’ll find yourself in my dragon’s belly. Am I understood? Nod if you understand and agree to comply.”Gerard didn’t move, he simply glared at her. Alanna sighed and entered his mind, muttering a single word. Immediately, Gerard’s body convulsed and his mouth opened in obvious agony, but Alanna’s silencing spell prevented him from uttering a sound. Alanna’s spell was a bit more complex than the others of today. She had summoned heat to her uncle’s mind, spreading it throughout his body. It hurts immensely but will leave no damage.After a moment, she cancelled the mind-flame and asked again. Once again, Gerard refused. His reward: a few extra seconds of the mental torture added onto the previous duration.Alanna was quite surprised to find she had to repeat the procedure multiple times, Gerard braving the torture for a total of a minute and a half in that last round before he complied. Content, she cancelled every spell she had cast on him and sent him on his way, Delois still brandished and ready should Gerard attempt to attack her. The elf was smarter than that and slinked out of the hall practically with his tail between his legs. After a deep breath, Alanna put Delois in her scabbard and went to find her brother.

Two hours later, Alanna emerged from her house. She had spent much of the time speaking to her brother, updating him on what had happened and had given him all of the codes to the secrets of the house. After all, if she were to be killed, then she couldn’t be the only one to know the codes, especially to the family vault. She had also escorted her brother to the vault and filled her purse with gold coins and given him one as well. They were rich now, and no longer had to sell heirlooms for money. She had also extended an offer to her brother for him to accompany her and Murtagh on the mission, but he declined. As Lord of the house, he had to oversee the family business and make some changes to the administration of the establishment to increase production and sales, which had been suffering terribly while under Gerard’s rule.Her goal complete, Alanna left her brother and stopped by a grocer, the same establishment that had delivered Faolan’s rats and all of her meals, to fill her pack with food. She knew she wouldn’t get any meat while in the forest unless she were to kill the animals herself, so she didn’t ask. After visiting the grocer, she visited the town seamstress and ordered three new leather pants, her current pair being very old, thin and tearing in places. She had to pay a bit extra to get them completed in an hour, but at least she’d have durable pants for this mission. After the seamstress, she thought hard about anything else she might need, and, after deciding everything else could wait, she went to find Murtagh. Murtagh was right where he had promised he’d be, at the center of the city, where almost every shop was located. He had a horse with him, one that was not f elven breeding. She deduced this must be Tornac, the horse that had carried Murtagh in his mad dash to Farthen Dur from Gi’lead. Surprisingly, Murtagh had two full purses and handed one to Alanna, explaining that it was an allowance from Queen Nasuada. Every month she would send five crowns per Rider per week, totaling, for each Rider, twenty crowns. For now, though, it was a full purse until next month’s shipment. Alanna shrugged and tied it around her neck after she added a spell of invisibility.With business taken care of, Alanna and Murtagh set out, stopping by the seamstress to pick up the finished pants and her treehouse for the fruit in the basket. One those were done, they left Ellesmera, Murtagh riding Tornac and Alanna jogging beside him.

As the duo trotted through the towering green forest, silence reigned. That is, until Alanna decided to voice something that had caught her attention.

"So, earlier, when Eragon was giving us this assignment, he said this would be a goo opportunity for us to 'resolve our differences'."

"You caught that, huh? Guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Then there was a hidden message?"

"Yeah." Murtagh said simply, and when he didn't