Chapter 5:

Eragon gently probed the walls surrounding his brother's mind. He knew how strong they were and he could already see his failure on entering his mind. But there was this nagging feeling deep buried in his heart that would not let him give up before he even tried. It wouldn't let him give up even if he was met with the strongest wall a magician had ever seen.

Carefully he tapped against the pulsing conscience that his brother was. And nothing prepared him for the sudden jolt that had him fall forward into darkness. He felt himself falling and his own imagination swept him away into this unreal place that would never exist outside the boundaries of his mind. Just as sudden as it started the swirling blackness faded away, leaving him swaying and disorientated in the middle of vastness.

Eragon's vision was grey, in fact everything around him was. The sky above his head had taken on the color of dark grey, black clouds decorating the dark sky occasionally lightened by the flash of an ascending lightning bolt. Deep sounding thunder accompanied the light that illuminated the scenery.

In front of Eragon rose dark and threatening a tall wall. How high it actually reached into the sky was beyond Eragon for the top of the wall was buried in the clouds. The next lighting strike lightened up the rough surface of the stones surrounding the dark opening of the gate that allowed entrance to the castle that must be lying beyond.

But as soon as Eragon took a step towards the opening, he could feel the darkness and cold emerging from the gate. It enclosed him, merging with his inherent fear of the unknown and possible danger. It left little space for the courage of the Dragonrider but the inner battle of dread and braveness was finally determined by the persistence of the boldness of the young rider.

He stepped out of the fog of promised misery surrounding his heart and mind, and took another step towards the gaping darkness ahead of him. The responds wasn't immediate; it took him another handful steps to reach the gate. But with every step he felt the cold tightening up the grip on his heart.

He still fought forward though, one step at a time until he found himself standing just under the portal. He was slightly panting, his breath leaving his mouth in hard huffs that instantly turned into fogged crystals hanging in the cold air. Eragon could feel his hands trembling by his side, the cold forcing his body to shiver while numbing his normally too focused mind.

He looked around the vast emptiness that seemed to occupy his brother's mind. He stood in what looked like a desert, dark sand to either side of him, only interspersed by withered or charred trees that stood black and dead. The whole picture in front of him was illuminated by a bright orange fire along the horizon.

Disbelieving Eragon turned back to the dark wall.

"Murtagh!" he shouted, hoping to get a reaction from the high castle that represented the shit mind of the young rider. But nothing changed. "Murtagh!"

He took another step towards the gate, determined to reach the Red Rider. And something made him stop short in his tracks.

The air before him in the gateway started to flicker and a dark glow began to shimmer. Eragon could feel the magic that surrounded the dark silhouette that started to appear out of the flickering air. He recognized his brother even before the familiar features finally stopped to shimmer in and out of his view. Eragon exhaled slowly, feeling an incredible weight being lifted off his heart as he saw the young man who seemingly was unharmed. "Murtagh."

Pale eyes met Eragon's gaze and he couldn't help but take another step forward as he saw the confusion written in them. Murtagh looked at him, obviously distraught by the sudden appearance of his younger brother and Eragon suddenly felt unsure of himself and came to a halt.

"Murtagh?" he called out again only to be met by a slight tremor running through his brother's body but otherwise complete silence. The Red Rider stared through him, his pupil wide blown, the black emptiness swallowing the mesmerizing silver of his eyes.

While the Rider was motionless, the scenery changed dramatically. Heavy rain began to crash onto the dry sand, soaking it up and creating muddy moisture that let Eragon slowly sink into the sticky mud. The walls of the mind's dungeon were now glowing with dark fire.

Black flames, occasionally interlaced with an unnatural electric blue, licked up the stones. There was a hissing sound whenever the raindrops hit one of the flames, the angry sound vibrating through Eragon's skull. The wind had picked up and blew now furiously around Eragon's still figure. Angry lashes of wind whipped uncontrolled across Eragon's face and as he continued to look into the motionless stare that met him, he suddenly understood.

Murtagh was trapped. Trapped in his own mind. With no way to escape. He couldn't escape his thoughts and those were destroying him. The destruction, the vastness, the darkness, they were Murtagh's mind, his thoughts. Eragon felt dead by just being here for a short time. Murtagh must have died a long time in here.

Eragon's focus snapped back to his brother and without thinking he threw himself on the Rider. Their bodies collided and Eragon wrapped his arms around the still form that was rigid pressed against his chest. He tilted his head up to murmur into Murtagh's ear.

"Murtagh! Listen to me. You've got to come back. Hear me? Come back!"

But he got no responds.

"Come on. Murtagh! Stop it, it's killing you! Come back." His voice had risen and he started to shake the man in his arms. "Come on. Come on. Come. On! Murtagh!"

He shook him again but this time Murtagh's head lolled limply forward to rest on Eragon's shoulder while his knees buckled and he sank against the younger rider and towards the ground. Eragon went with him, the arms still firmly secured around the back of the young man. Murtagh rested now comfortable between Eragon's spread tights against his chest. Not knowing how to handle the situation, Eragon buried his right hand in his brother's thick hair and let his forehead sink to lie on soft strands before he began to mumble soothing into the hair.

"What did he do to you? How could he break you? He destroyed you. It's like you died in here and nobody even noticed. He destroyed your mind, he poisoned it and…"

…and he felt the body shutter against him. This was the first reaction the body of his brother gave to his presence. Obviously Murtagh's mind had picked up on his rambling. And Eragon had to encourage this. Maybe Murtagh would come out of wherever he was hiding.

"Shh. You're safe. And your dragon's safe. Galbatorix won't hurt you again."

And again he felt the limp form jerk. This time Eragon was sure of the connection.

"It was him, right? Galbatorix?" Eragon asked, even though he had been sure of this since he saw the injuries on Thorn's back. A small jerk confirmed his assumptions and hope and determination immediately sparked up in Eragon.

"You have to tell me what he did. We can help you. We will help you! Just tell me what he did." His voice wavered slightly but his words were firm. Eragon held the Red Rider as he began to convulse against him and Murtagh's head jerked back to stare at Eragon, his eyes quickly transforming from black to silver and back. They stayed silver for a few seconds before quickly switching to the endless darkness of his pupils, but every time the change happened he could see more silver in them.

Murtagh was still violently shaking but Eragon could feel how the Rider was slowly coming back to his senses, how his mind cleared. The clouds above his head broke and he could feel a lonely ray of sun hit his back.

Once again he shook his brother. "What did he do? Come on, Murtagh, tell me! How is he doing that to you?" he pleaded desperately with the older boy.

Murtagh's eyes flashed, bright steel blazing, and his body stiffened. His eyes met Eragon's and his lips twitched before Eragon could hear the sound of a whisper.

"'s pois'n."

It was barely audible and before Eragon could comprehend anything, Murtagh slummed against his chest while Eragon was grabbed by an invisible force and was dragged backwards into an unknown darkness.

A/N:

So she is back.

Yeah, I haven't read the last installment of the Eragon books yet. But honestly I don't care.

So here is another chapter for this little Eragon story.

Hope you enjoy and leave me some lovely feedback. Thank you.

Until next time...

LaLaina