The Truth About Lies (An Inheritance Cycle Fanfiction)

Family Reunion

"I've been told," I snapped impatiently. "Now speak plainly; what is it you want from me?" A smile spread across his face, revealing a row of white teeth, and he suddenly burst out in a fit of laughter. It was a merciless and inhuman sound, seeming to be more like the screech of a bird of prey.

"You act like her too," he said, peering at me like a scientific specimen behind a pane of glass. His smile stayed plastered on his face, and I was finding it very hard to read this man.

Suddenly, I had a thought that maybe I could unnerve him. "Was there ever a time, in all your years together, that you ever loved my mother? Even in the slightest bit?" It did not have the intended outcome. He actually seemed to ponder the question, as though he were taking a test.

"Once," he finally answered, the word echoing ominously off the stone walls. "I watched her as she held you in her arms, only a few days after you were born. She looked... happy..." His voice faltered slightly, and for a moment he almost looked human... almost. "But then I remembered why I'd made offspring with her in the first place."

"So you could use me for your own advantage," I spat, feeling my hands tightening into fists. My nails dug into the palms of my hands, causing angry red marks to form there.

"Of course," he replied cruelly. "What else would you be worth to me?" His head suddenly turned to the right side of the throne room, where I could just make out a dark archway. With a snap of his fingers, the ground began to shake in a rhythmic pounding. From the archway suddenly appeared a glittering black dragon with milky, pale blue eyes... Shruikan. The beast was huge, far outweighing both Saphira and Thorn put together; but then he was over a hundred years older than both of them. The dragon settled in next to his master, shifting his wings with a ruffling like a thousand trees. Galbatorix stroked the dragon's snout slowly, never taking his eyes off of me. If this display was meant to frighten me, it wasn't working.

After Shruikan entered, another person came into the room—someone I'd already decided I neither wanted to see nor speak to ever again: Murtagh. My face grew hot with anger as he strode into the room purposefully, clad in a black leather jerkin with blood red laces up and down the sides and arms, and embroidered with red jewels in the shape of a dragon breathing fire upon the breast. Behind him came his dragon, shaking the floor slightly less than his predecessor. They settled at the king's left side, standing a ways behind the throne upon the dais. Murtagh had his head downcast and his hands clasped behind his back, averting his eyes from my face. If I'd thought to bring my sword or bow with me, I feared I may have killed him right then and there.

"This," Galbatorix said grandiosely, "is what I want to make you into." He held his hands out to the side in a gesture of triumph, but I saw Murtagh stiffen slightly.

"A Rider?"

"Why not?" he laughed. "You have the bloodline. After all, both of Morzan's sons became Riders." My brow arched involuntarily.

"Both? Morzan had only one son." This last line I spat in Murtagh's direction. But his face remained impassive, studiously avoiding my gaze.

"Ah, only one son that was known," Galbatorix countered, his voice full of glee at my confusion. "The younger son was stolen away while he was still in the womb. His mother sought to save him from the cruelties of his father, so she spirited him away in the dead of night. What a pity she did not hold the same love or regard for her other son. Do you know who this youngest son of Morzan is, Tabatha?" There was only one other person in all of Alagaesia who was a Rider, but I couldn't believe it myself.

"No... It isn't true!" I screamed, my voice bouncing back at me. Galbatorix just threw back his head and laughed viciously.

"I'm afraid that it is, daughter. Your little friend Eragon is the son of Morzan!" My gaze snapped involuntarily to Murtagh, and the look in his eyes only confirmed the truth. It was then that I noticed the swordbelt hanging about his hips. The pommel of the blade protruded from under his cloak and I saw the ruby set into the pommel: Zar'roc. He must have taken the blade from Eragon on the Burning Plains. My anger flared within me.

"Are you happy?" I spat at him, watching as he flinched away from my words. "You finally got your inheritance. Are you happy!" Galbatorix chuckled lightly as he looked back and forth between us, his eyes alight with some exuberance that I couldn't quite place.

"Bravo, Tabatha," he said, clapping his hands together slowly. "It delights me to see you gained some of my temper."

"Why are you doing this?" I demanded.

"I should think it would be quite obvious," he said, sounding like he was tired of this conversation. "I want you to rule by my side, as a Rider."

"I will not rule this Empire of madness you have created," I growled defiantly. There was no way in the world I would ever be queen of his reign of terror. "I will not be queen of this!" I spat the last word, throwing my arm out to the side. Much to my confusion, he began to laugh again.

"That job is not reserved for you," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, I see that Brom has not told you everything," he replied, seeming to ponder how to tell me whatever secret he was holding on to. "This is just too wonderful!" He looked over to Murtagh for appreciation of his twisted mirth, but he found none there. Murtagh just continued to stare blankly ahead.

"What didn't he tell me!" I screamed.

He laughed once more, sending shivers through my body. "He never told you that you have a brother," he whispered. My world came crashing down on me all at once.

"No. That cannot be!"

"I'm afraid that it is, Tabatha. Adelaide bore me two children before she died. I knew that your older brother would be like me when he came into manhood, so I kept him close, always watching for the slightest hint of treachery from your mother." I just stared back at him, my mouth hanging open. "What? You didn't think I knew what she was planning to do? Oh yes, I was aware of her plot long before she ever carried it out. So I kept a tight hold on your brother, so she couldn't steal him away. When you were born, I knew in an instant that you were more like your mother, but ten times more powerful. And even more powerful than your brother, as well. I wanted to train you to use your abilities to their fullest potential, but your mother kept you away from me. She stole you away, and I believed you were lost forever. I had no choice but to kill her."

"Where is he?" I asked breathlessly.

"He's right here, by my side, where he's been all along. Though not always physically. I've kept his identity secret up until now, but it's time to reveal him to everyone as the future king of the Broddring Empire." He turned to look over his shoulder. There was a red curtain hanging behind the throne and his huge dragon, and I saw it shifting slightly as someone behind it moved. And then he stepped around the curtain and my heart stopped. I tried to tell myself that what I was seeing was a mirage; a hallucination; a cruel jape... anything but the truth. That same cruel smile that was his signature was plastered on Galbatorix's face.

When I finally found the strength to speak, my voice came out in a strangled whisper. "Gregorio..."