The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

Finally, We're Safe... Or Are We?

"Murtagh!" I called helplessly, still coughing water out of my lungs. My clothes had grown heavy, and I felt as though I was sinking back down to the frigid, dark depths where only death awaited. "Murtagh!" My head dipped below the water and bobbed back up. "Help!" He finally looked over, eyes going wide as he saw me struggling. I tried to push my arms forward to swim to shore, but the weight of my clothes would not allow it. My arms flung about wildly, thrashing the water into white foam.

"Tabatha!" I heard him scream. My head dipped below the water again, but this time it didn't come back up. Everything was quiet here in the icy pool, and this time my eyes remained open. I could see clearly the bodies of men and Kull alike falling into the water near me. The breath was leaving my body slowly in tiny bubbles, but I was strangely at peace. If this was to be the way I would die, at least it would be in silence.

~*~

Screams of war assaulted my ears once more. The water churned all around me and the shouts of pain and fear echoed off the stone walls of the alcove. My eyes flickered halfway open and I saw the pool of water retreating from me. Strong hands were locked under my arms, dragging me out of the freezing water. My teeth began to chatter and my fingers were going numb. What's happening?

The arms laid me down on the rocky shore and I saw a shadow moving above me. But the edges of my vision were going black, the world closing in around me. I couldn't breathe! Frantically, I tried to draw in a breath, but I found I couldn't move either; my body had gone numb. I saw Murtagh's face appear in front of me, and his mouth moved, looking like he said my name, but I could hear nothing of his voice. He pressed his hands together and began pushing down on my chest, rocking my body back and forth violently. Then his face came down to meet my own and I felt his lips touch mine. What's going on? He went back to pushing on my chest, and I saw the frantic look in his eyes. Once more, his lips meet mine, and I suddenly felt air rush into my lungs.

Eyes flying wide and arms flailing wildly, a rush of water came out of my throat, splashing against the rocks. I coughed forcefully, getting any more of the water out of my chest. I felt Murtagh's hand resting comfortingly on my back.

"Tabby!" he exclaimed, leaning his face down to mine. "Are you all right?"

I wiped little droplets of water away from my mouth and looked up at him, his hair sopping wet and dripping into his face. "You saved my life," I whispered. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him close to me, feeling his arms wrap around my waist. And then I began to cry-no, sob-uncontrollably. I was so frightened that I was about to die.

"It's okay, Tabby," he said soothingly, holding me tighter. "You're safe now." Finally, the sobs that wracked my chest subsided and I pulled away from him. I looked over my shoulder and saw that the entire party of Kull was dead, and Eragon and Saphira stood near the human warriors on the rocky shore.

"What's happening?"

"The Varden..." he replied bitterly. A large man, clad in iron armor, strode over to us with a wide gait. He bent down and gathered up a handful of my tunic, hauling me to my feet with a rough pull.

"Hey!" I cried indignantly, trying to pull away from him. Murtagh had jumped to his feet to try and come to my aid, but a short, ugly, bald man came up behind him and produced a dagger at his throat. What's going on here? I looked over and saw Eragon standing there helplessly next to a creature I never thought I'd live to see: a dwarf.

"Quickly! Inside!" the bald man barked viciously. He drug Murtagh roughly away as the large soldier holding me unceremoniously picked me up and carried me off.

We were led through two huge stone doors in the side of the cliff. Small blue lanterns on the walls cast an eerie light through the cavern, and a little ways down the tunnel, we veered off to the right into a huge room where Saphira could easily move around. The big, brute of a man was still holding tightly to my arms, and the bald man handed Murtagh off to another soldier, the knife remaining at his throat. The bald man turned his attention to Eragon.