The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

Competition Doesn't Help My Anger Issue!

"That trip took nearly a month!" Murtagh exclaimed heatedly, flinging his hands in exasperation..

"We were moving slowly on account of my injuries," he said calmly, slightly glaring up at Murtagh. "If we push ourselves, we can cut that time nearly in half."

"That still doesn't solve the water problem," I said, always one to be a downer. Eragon furrowed his brow, deep in thought. Suddenly, he jumped up.

"I'm going to try something," he said, walking away quickly. He was certainly acting strangely, and I could only account it to the presence of the elf. Sometimes, I caught Eragon staring at her unconscious form, and I wondered what he was thinking.

~*~

"What's he up to?" Murtagh questioned as the sun sank below the horizon, sitting by the fire and fiddling with another one of his lucky bracelets.

"Gods be damned if I know," I replied bitterly, looking out into the darkness.

"You're supposed to be his best friend, aren't you?" he laughed, focusing on the strings in his hands.

"That doesn't mean I'm a mind reader," I sighed impatiently, abandoning my watch and joining him by the fire. "Why are you making another one?" I pointed to the braided rope in his hands, and he looked down quickly, as though he'd just realized he was making one.

"Oh..." he started slowly. "I just do it when I'm nervous. It's a bit of a calming thing for me. I just focus on making the bracelet and I can tune out whatever stresses are on my mind. It's especially helpful for clearing one's head before a battle or a sparring match."

"That's certainly convenient," I remarked, watching him out of the corner of my eye. "Murtagh..."

"Hmm?" he replied absentmindedly, keeping his gaze on his hands.

"I... Well, I just wanted to thank you, for what you did in Gil'ead. You didn't have to stay and help me. But I'm glad that you did." Slowly, he turned his head towards me, locking his grey eyes onto mine.

"Can I be hearing correctly? Am I really hearing a 'thank you' from her High Ladyship Tabatha?" He knew how I hated to be compared to nobility, but I let it slide this time. It was somewhat warranted, as I'd still never properly thanked him for any of the other things he'd done for us.

"Yes, you are," I replied, punching him harder than necessary on the shoulder. "And if you keep that up, you'll never hear it again. So don't press your luck." He laughed at that and turned back to the charm in his hands, a smile plastered on his handsome mouth.

Murtagh and I waited for almost half an hour, spending most of the time talking about how reckless Eragon was, until he came back. He was out of breath, but there was an idiot grin on his face.

"Well," I said, standing up and facing him, "is the desert open to us?" Eragon was beaming, but he looked very tired.

"It is," he breathed, his voice exhausted. "At first, I tried to turn the sand into water, but that sapped all of my strength; I couldn't even take a drink after trying that. But then, I realized that there was water underneath the sand. All I have to do is dig a hole in the sand, which takes a little amount of my energy, and then the water fills it up."

"That's brilliant," Murtagh commended. "It's settled then, we will take the path of the desert."

~*~

The Ramr River was a daunting sight as we sat atop a hill, gazing down at it. Saphira had gone ahead to check how far across it was, so all we could do was sit, and wait. I kept glancing over my shoulder as I could see the glowing torches of the soldiers. No matter how hard we had ridden, they were still right behind us. Suddenly, Saphira appeared out of the darkness.

"Alright," Eragon said, "Murtagh, you go across first so you can calm the horses on the other side." Murtagh nodded sharply and mounted Saphira, to whose belly the elf still was strapped. I couldn't help but think that things would have been so much easier if we'd just left her behind in Gil'ead. They rode off into the night sky and Eragon prepared the horses for their perilous journey. Saphira came back without Murtagh or the elf; Murtagh must have unstrapped her on the other side.

Slowly, Eragon led Tornac closer to Saphira. The horse began to whinny nervously as she flew up into the air. When her talons wrapped around his belly, he began to scream in terror, the sound sending chills up and down my spine. Snowfire did no better, nor did Cadoc. Once they were safely forded across, Eragon and I mounted Saphira, the soldiers nearly upon us.

The noise of the river as we flew overhead was deafening. I was glad to be rid of it on the other side. We wasted no time with getting on with our journey. The probability that the soldiers would try to cross the river here was very low, and that fact lifted all of our spirits. But it did nothing to stifle our fatigue.

As the sun rose in the sky, I looked up and noticed just how far we had come. The earth had grown soft beneath our feet and all vegetation, and even life itself, ceased to exist. We all pulled our horses to a stop and gazed out in awe and wonder. Stretching out vastly before us was the Hadarac Desert.