Luminescent (Inheritance Cycle and Beyond)

Chapter Forty-Eight: Blinding

"Do you think that the Vault of Souls contains spirits?" Eragon asked, setting the book he had been reading down. My gaze turned to Solembum as his tail twitched.

Spirits are not the souls of the dead.

"No, but what else could they be?" Solembum rose from where he had been sitting and stretched, a wave of motion moving through his body from his head to his tail.

If you find out, I would be interested to hear what you discover.

"Do you think we should go, then?" I asked the werecat.

I cannot tell you what you should do. If this is a trap, then most of my race has been broken and enslaved without them realizing it, and the Varden might as well surrender now because they will never outwit Galbatorix. If not, then this may be an opportunity to find assistance where we thought none was to be had. I cannot say. You have to decide on your own whether it is a chance worth taking. As for me, I have had enough of this mystery.

He jumped down from the cot he had been sitting on and walked over to the opening of the tent, where he paused and glanced back at Eragon and me.

There are many strange forces at work in Alagaësia, Shadeslayer. I have seen things that defy belief: whirlwinds of light spinning in caverns deep below the ground, men who age backward, stones that speak, and shadows that creep. Rooms that are bigger on the inside than the outside. ... Galbatorix is not the only power in the world to be reckoned with, and he may not even be the strongest. Choose carefully, Shadeslayer, and if you choose to go, walk softly.

And then the werecat slipped out of the tent and vanished into the darkness. Eragon released a deep breath and leaned back. I knew what we had to do; we had to go to Vroengard. But we could not make that decision without consulting Saphira or Alethea.

"We need to ask them," I said softly, playing with the twine in my hand. "We cannot make this decision by ourselves."

"Agreed," Eragon responded before a weird look came over his face. He was talking to Saphira. I gently brushed Alethea's mind, and she sleepily poked her head up from my pack.

"Yes, we should go." I frowned at Alethea, and she let out a puff of smoke. "I've been dozing lightly, I heard everything."

"You should be sleeping, Alethea. We've had a rough couple of days with Nasuada being taken."

"I'll rest when you rest my Rider," Alethea responded cheekily. I sighed and rolled my eyes before focusing back on Eragon.

"Have you to come to a decision?" Eragon nodded with a grim expression.

"We need to go."

"We need longer claws and sharper teeth if we are to best Galbatorix and Shruikan in addition to Murtagh and Thorn. Besides, Galbatorix expects us to rush straight to Urû'baen in the hope of rescuing Nasuada. And if there is one thing that makes my scales itch, it is doing what our enemies expect." Saphira grumbled sleepily to the three of us.

"And if this is a trap?" I asked. A soft growl sounded outside the tent as Alethea let out an angry squeak.

"Then we will teach whoever set it to fear our names, even if it is Galbatorix."

"Right, then," Eragon muttered. "I'll contact Arya."

Arya arrived at Eragon's tent mere seconds after he contacted her. Her speed seemed to puzzle him until she explained that she had been keeping watch with Blödhgarm and the other elves, lest Murtagh and Thorn return. When all of our minds were linked, Eragon burst out our plan faster than I could blink.