The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

An Enemy and An Ally

"That's a beautiful horse," I remarked coyly, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye to gauge his reaction. His face remained as impassive as ever though, and he simply thanked me. Fine, if that's how it's going to be, two can play at that game.

Murtagh had tied Snowfire's reins to that of his own horse and he spurred the stallion forward. I followed closely behind as Saphira raised into the night sky, disappearing amongst the stars. The tension between us remained thick in the air throughout the ride. Never once did I chance a look over at my riding companion. This was going to be a very long trip.

~*~

The dawn had peeked up over the horizon, and we only stopped momentarily to let the horses drink. Saphira flew high overhead, only visible for moments at a time as she weaved in and out of the clouds. Jealousy overwhelmed me, and I wished more than anything I could be up there with them, instead of down here on the ground with him.

Murtagh drank greedily from his waterskin, wiping his mouth and the back of his sleeve. He caught me staring at him, and I quickly looked away. I didn't know what it was, but I felt that I had to keep an eye on this one, lest he stab me in the back while I wasn't looking.

"You still don't trust me," he stated, staring at me hard with his unflinching gaze.

"No, I don't. You saved our lives, and I'm grateful for that, but I can't help but think you have some other motives driving your actions." His face remained calm, so I couldn't tell what he was thinking, and it was infuriating.

"Come on, let's keep moving," he said gruffly, spurring his horse forward with a cry of "hiya!", Snowfire following close behind him.

~*~

We made camp, as the sun was sinking low in the horizon, on a limestone cave. The horses had a hard time getting over the rocky terrain, but they finally made it. Nestled in the side of the cliff was a deep cave. I couldn't think what had once lived here, but I knew something had, as the bones of tiny animals were scattered everywhere. Thankfully though, the cave was now uninhabited, and it would serve as a safe hiding spot for the night. We all figured the soldiers had now returned to their posts in the city, and we were free of them.

It was dark and cool inside the cave, and Murtagh started a fire to light our way. Eragon and I undid the ropes binding Brom to the saddle and gingerly laid him out on a blanket. He was still unconscious, and his fever hadn't broken.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Eragon asked as we sat by the old man.

I chewed on my lip nervously before answering. "I really don't know," I lied, not having the heart to tell him the truth that both Murtagh and I knew. He tried to stifle a yawn, and I smirked at him as his eyes began to droop. "Get some rest, Eragon. I'll keep an eye on him." I patted him and the leg and he just nodded slowly, crawling beneath his blankets and muttering a soft goodnight. As he drifted off to sleep, I glanced over to the mouth of the cave and saw Murtagh striding towards me, his gait holding an air of arrogance. This mysterious man was really starting to get on my nerves. "What?" I snapped harshly.

"I just came to let you know that I'm going to find something for us to eat," he replied, his face taken aback at my harshness. Maybe I was being rude to him, but he was irritating me. I couldn't help it if my temper was running away with me.

"Fine," I grumbled sullenly. He cocked his head to the side, eyeing me quizzically, before suddenly kneeling down and staring me straight in the eyes, our faces mere inches apart. I jerked away from him, but I couldn't go very far without almost falling over. "What!" I snapped, trying to scoot away from him, but to no avail; he had me pinned against the wall of the cave.