The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

Escape Isn't As Easy As It Sounds

"Can you find him?" Murtagh asked quietly, keeping his bow held aloft in case of any sudden attack. Acting on instinct alone, I spread out my consciousness, taking care to avoid alerting my presence to any other mind I felt, and searched for the one that felt most like Eragon's. It took me a few moments, but then I found a mind that felt like it was about to make an idiot decision. That was Eragon.

"I found him," I said. "He's two floors above us. Come on." I led the way up the stairs, Murtagh following close behind. When we finally reached the floor Eragon was on, there was a group of half a dozen soldiers already there. Murtagh pushed me behind him and unleashed his arrows into the bodies of the soldiers, catching them unawares. Once all of the soldiers had fallen, I emerged from behind Murtagh's large frame.

"Tabby!" Eragon exclaimed, pulling me into a tight hug. "What are you doing here? It isn't safe."

"I wasn't going to let Murtagh have all the fun," I teased, drawing away from him.

"Come on," Murtagh chimed in, pulling off his fake beard, "we have to get out of here."

"No, we can't leave," Eragon said, gaining two very quizzical looks from Murtagh and me. "There's an elf here. We have to get her out." What? This was not part of the plan!

"An elf!" Murtagh exclaimed, matching my sentiments exactly.

"Yes, and there's also a Shade here. We'll have to be careful," Eragon continued, as though nothing were amiss. A Shade! As if the news couldn't get any worse...

"Come on, let's just get this elf and get out," I groaned. Eragon nodded firmly and led the way down the hall. He opened a cell door at the far end of the corridor and revealed the slim-framed elf. She looked up at Eragon in confusion, her long black hair cascading in front of her emerald eyes, and then collapsed. Wonderful. Dead weight was just what we needed...

Eragon picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, hurrying back into the hallway. He directed us toward the armory where they'd taken his weapons and then laid the elf down under one of the many wooden tables in the large room. Murtagh and I waited impatiently near the door as he sorted through the racks; with a Shade lurking around I was extremely on edge, as I'm sure Murtagh was too.

'All right, Tabby,' I heard Saphira say, 'I'm ready.'

'Good. Take out the guards on the roof and we'll meet you there shortly.'

'Very well,' she replied. Suddenly, I could hear soldiers out in the hallway, and they were getting closer.

"Tabby," Eragon whispered hurriedly. "Hide, now!" I dove beneath the table where Eragon had placed the elf, smacking painfully against the hard, stone floor. With a colossal bang, the door to the armory burst open. All I could see of the man were his legs, but I instantly knew who and what he was: the Shade. "Durza," Eragon hissed.

"Ah, the young Rider," the man said, his voice sounding like nails against stone to my ears. "It seems you wish to test yourself against me. I shouldn't have trusted the captain when he said you ate all your food. I won't make that mistake again."

"I'll take care of him," I heard Murtagh say quietly, followed by the distinct sound of wood knocking against wood as he placed his bow on the table next to him, and then the metallic scraping that came when he drew his sword from its sheath.

"No," Eragon replied under his breath, deathly quiet. "He wants me alive, not you. I can stall him for a while, but then you'd better have a way out for us."

"Fine, go," Murtagh growled. "I don't think you'll have to hold him off for long." I heard Eragon drawing Zar'roc out of its sheath, but he stopped mid-pull.