The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

The light of the sun was blinding as I emerged from the sewer. It had taken me and Amera the rest of the night and into the morning to navigate back through the tunnels, but we'd finally found our way. I stretched my arms above my head, reveling in the feeling after crouching in the tunnel for so long. But I didn't have time to waste. Hurriedly, I ran along the edge of the wall, thankful for my invisibility. The campsite came into view and I silently thanked the gods for getting me through this. It had been a long night, and it was going to be an even longer day.

Nasuada sighed in relief at my arrival. They weren't sure if they were going to have to send someone out after me.

"Well, how did it go?" she asked pointedly, dark eyes searching my face.

"The way into the city is simple enough," I replied, still somewhat out of breath from my sprint to the campsite, "but the tunnels are only wide enough for two at a time, at most. It will be best to take a small party in to open the gates from the inside to let the armies through."

"How many guard the gates?" Eragon chimed in.

"One-hundred and fifty, at the least. And the soldiers at the very front are those who have been enchanted to feel no pain." A shadow crossed Eragon's face at the mention of that. "It won't be easy getting past them to open the gates, but I think it can be done. Especially since we have the advantage of having two dragons on our side to their one."

"Yes, but their one is far larger than our two put together," Arya interjected, her face set as hard as stone, and green, lion-like eyes glinting sharply. "And they have the Eldunarí at that. You have not had the chance to see them in combat, Tabatha, but they do not tire and can wield much more powerful spells with the help of the dragons."

"That's why they'll need to be distracted."

"And who do you suggest does that? You?" she scoffed.

"Who else? I'm the best person for it. If we ever hope to defeat Murtagh and Thorn then we must exploit their weakness. I'm the best chance you've got. While I distract them—and more importantly, I'll be distracting Galbatorix—you should be able to take out the guards and get our army into the city. It's not the safest plan, but it may be the only choice we have."

"Not the safest?" Eragon asked incredulously. "Tabatha, this is suicide! Saphira and I cannot even hope to best them right now, let alone you. You are untrained. They could kill you!"

"I am not untrained, Eragon," I spat back venomously. I was quickly becoming tired of his lack of faith in Amera and me. "I've just been trained in a different way than you. My powers are different than that of a Rider. I can do things that you cannot. For instance, I have the advantage of wielding magic without having to speak. It will give me the upper hand if he doesn't know what I'm about to do next."

"Tabatha, I'm inclined to agree with you in this situation," Nasuada offered placidly, her face remaining oddly impassive. "But Eragon is right that this is an extremely dangerous plan. Are you sure you're ready for this?"

"Yes, I am. Amera is nearly as large as Saphira, and Asron trained us well. And... there's still a bit of the old Murtagh there." Her eyes glinted knowingly and a slight smirk played at her lips. "He will not hurt me if he can help it, and my father wants me alive. If anyone has the best chance of surviving an encounter with them unscathed, it's going to be me."

"Just make sure your own feelings don't get in the way," Arya hissed, arms crossed over her chest defiantly. I stared at her pointedly for a moment, purposefully not backing down. She could not hope to intimidate me in this. After dealing with my father—the most evil and vile man I'd ever met—nothing was going to faze me, least of all this elf.