The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

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

"To ensure that you are truly not a threat to us, you will be tested," he said. His voice made me shudder; it sounded like nails against stone. Something was definitely strange about this man.

"You don't understand! There's an elf, and she's very sick!" Eragon exclaimed. I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes.

"It must wait!" the bald man snapped. "We must determine if you are trustworthy."

"But she's dying! If she isn't treated immediately she won't survive!" Eragon's voice had become shrill and pleading. The bald man began to say something, but he was cut off by a rough and growling voice.

"Ajihad will have your head if you don't get this elf treated," the dwarf barked. "You almost let them die too! This is ridiculous!" The bald man pursed his lips, but finally turned back to Eragon.

"Very well," he seethed. "You two, get her down and take her to the healers." He gestured to two younger soldiers, and they hurried toward Snowfire to unstrap her from the saddle.

"She needs Tunivor's Nectar," Eragon said, his tone sounding relieved. "It's the only thing that can save her." The two men took the elf down and carried her away. I would be lying if I said I wasn't happy to be rid of her finally.

"Now that that's out of the way," the bald man continued in a low voice, "you must be tested."

"What do you mean?" Eragon spat back.

"I will simply look into your mind and see if you can be trusted," he growled. It took him a few moments, but Eragon finally conceded. The bald man put his filthy hand on Eragon's head, and immediately his face contorted into a look of excruciating pain. The bald man continued his agonizing evaluation for a few more minutes, and then finally removed his hands, a scowl upon his face. The dwarf spoke up.

"Well? Can he be trusted?" the little bearded man said. It seemed like it killed him to say it, but the ugly man deemed he was trustworthy.

My heart skipped a few beats when he turned to Murtagh and me. What if I couldn't keep him from finding out my secret? What's going to happen to me! While I was dealing with my dilemma internally, the bald man slowly made his way towards Murtagh.

"Your turn," he said wickedly. Murtagh shook his head, causing the knife to cut into his skin. "You will not consent to be tested?"

"No." A trickle of blood ran down his skin.

"You will not be protected here if you refuse."

"My mind is my only sanctuary. I will let no man enter it," he replied darkly. The bald man sneered wickedly.

"You don't have a choice!" he cried, launching toward him and forcefully putting a hand on Murtagh's forehead, digging his dirty, grimy fingernails into his skin.

It was unbearable to see the anguish and pain that Murtagh was going through, and he cried out several times. "Stop it!" I screamed, trying to yank my arms out of the strong man's hold. "Leave him be!" I pulled harder this time, feeling my arms slipping out of his grasp. Suddenly, two more men were in front of me, trying to contain my attempted escape.

Flexing my arms, I was able to kick my legs up into the air and hook my feet around each of their necks. And before they knew what was happening, I forced their iron-clad heads together, dropping them to the ground. The action surprised the man holding me so much that he momentarily relaxed his grip on my arms. Turning rapidly, I placed my hands on his wide shoulders and brought my knee up forcefully, feeling it connect with his groin. The man doubled over and hit the floor with a thud.

"Enough!" the dwarf snapped, stopping the other soldiers that were coming towards me and pulling the bald man away from Murtagh with a surprising show of strength. "This is outrageous! Ajihad would never condone this action! Whether you like it or not, you still answer to him! You tested the Rider and found him trustworthy. If these people are with him then they can be trusted as well!" The bald man started to argue, but the dwarf cut him off in a strange language. "Now be gone, all of you!" The soldiers stood for a moment, sharing confused glances amongst themselves. But when the bald man sullenly left, they followed him out.

The dwarf turned back to us when everyone was finally gone. "I'll make sure food is brought," he growled.

"Thank you," Eragon said as the dwarf turned and left, the door slamming hollowly behind him.

I leaned my back against the stone wall and slowly slid down, finally plopping onto the floor to rest my arms against my knees. Murtagh and Eragon joined me, both of them heaving sighs of relief that it was finally over. But I had a sneaking suspicion we weren't out of the clear yet. I looked at Murtagh where he sat to my right and saw him pressing his sleeve to his neck, trying to staunch the bleeding from the wound.

"Are you alright, Murtagh?" I asked quietly. His gaze flickered over at me but then returned to staring straight ahead.

"It's a shallow wound. I'll be fine," he replied.

"That isn't what I meant."

He finally looked at me, his grey eyes as hard as stone. "That bastard didn't get anything from me. I have trained for many years to protect myself against more powerful magicians than him. They'll have to do better than that to extract anything from my mind," he said bitterly. I reached over and placed a hand on his knee, not daring to say anything. He put his rough, calloused hand on top of mine but didn't say anything either. I noticed Eragon watching us curiously out of the corner of his eyes.

Being so close to having my secret revealed, I was beginning to see how dangerous this place really is. I thought that maybe I could be safe here, but am I? Can I be safe anywhere within the confines of my father's Empire?