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"Aahh... that my boy, would be a fine choice! Leprachan Essence! It turns things it touches into gold! But be warned, spill this on anyone and it shall turn them into gold too! Ingest it and your throat muscles will be turned to gold. Horrible death it is, perfect to kill your enemies. Make them suffer!" cackled the old man.

Eragon turned to Eriol. "That sounds pretty neat! Turns things into gold, but not harmful! Would come in handy!"

Illyria turned in shock to Eragon. She pulled him and Eriol into an aisle where the old man couldn't hear him. "That's not what he said! He said it could kill people! Eriol, put that back!"

Eragon frowned. "That's not what I heard, Illy you've been upside down all day! I clearly heard him say the potion was completly safe, wouldn't harm a fly!"

Illyria grabbed her brother by the shoulders and shook him. "What's wrong with you? That old man's got some sort of spell over you! You can't see him for what he really is!"

Eragon hissed. "Then why can you?"

Illyria shruged. "No clue, but Eriol doesn't seem effected either. Your the only one seeing this really nice old guy when we see a bad man!! Eragon!! We need to get out of here! It's not safe!"

Illyria blushed as Eriol grabbed her hand and began dragging them to the door. My hero... she thought. She blinked as he tried the door knob and it wouldn't budge. What kind of a hero is blocked by a rusty door knob?!? shesh! she thought, frowning.

Eragon pushed Eriol over slightly and tried the door himself. He shook it hard, but it wouldn't budge. "What? Hey, mister! Your door seems stuck!"

"It's not stuck, I locked it." said a voice from behind them. Everyone turned as one to see the old man had crept up behind them and was standing a few feet away. Illyria screamed. Grabbing the boy's hands, they ran down an aisle, away from the man.

The moment she was thrown under the table, she attached herself to Eriol. Shaking in fear, Illyria closed her eyes. Wonder if that 'there's no place like home' phrase works for me like it did for Dorothy in the wizard of oz... she thought as she tried to click her heels together.

"That's it!" whispered Eragon as he held up the bag full of DS's cookies. Ripping the bag open, he levitated one of the cookies. Peaking out from under the cover of the tapestry, he sent the now hard cookie flying into the eye of the old man.

"OPH!" The wicked man held his eye.

Eragon sent more cookies flying in his direction. "I can only hold him off for so long! We need to find the keys to the door!" he cried, sweat drops dripping from his nose.

Illyria was stunned. Eriol actually spoke to her and recognized she was there. Well go figure, we're about to die and the boy decides to be nice... go figure. she thought. Turning her attention to the drawers, she began to pull them open.

The first one she opened was filled with jars filled with liquid. Looking through it quickly, she saw no key. The one above that was filled with scrolls. Opening the bottom drawer, she let out a scream, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. Inside, she could clearly see the key, but the drawer was crawing with insects.

Eragon could see the terror in his sister's eyes. He smiled to her and nodded. She gulped and nodded in return. Turning back to the wicked man, he flung more cookies in his direction.

Sighing, she quickly stuck her hand inside the drawer. Grabbing the key, she ran to where the boys were. "Got it!" she yelled, smiling.

Eragon burst into the street, hitting the wall across the shop with force. "Keep running!" he yelled as he turned and began running back the way they came. Illyria and Eriol ran after him, sticking together.

Stopping when they were a mile away, they sat on the ground and gasped for air.

Eragon held his head in his hands. "God that was close!"

Illyria panted. "Too close... hey... look at the sky!" she said, pointing upwards. They had left the library early during the day, but it was night, and the moon was high above them!

"We must have been there hours!" yelled Eragon as he got up.

Illyria went to get up, pressing her hands to the floor, with a groan and a yelp, she fell back down. Grasping her hand, her eyes watered. "Oww... I think one of those bugs must have bit me." she sniffled.

Illyria sniffles as she puts the bandage on tight. She watched as Eriol began to point at the newstand and yell.

Looking up, she walked over to where the two boys were staring, mouth's wide open. Infront of her was a small newstand riddled with magazines and travel maps. Inside was a nice old man having a snack. Turning to the boys, she asked, "What's the matter with you two?"

Eragon turned his sister around. "Look harder."

Illyria stepped foward and looked again. There was something odd. The old man seemed to not be moving. His sandwich had a piece of ledduce dangling... wait... it was detached and floating in the air.

With a shriek, Illyria fell backwards onto Eriol and attached herself to him in fright. "What?! How's that possible?" she asked.

Eragon shook his head. "I don't know, but time has seemed to stop."

Illyria walked over to the man. Shaking, she pulled her hand up and touched him. She didn't feel anything, not hot, not cold, nothing. As if he was just another object.

Eragon paced. He seemed to be concentrating. Stopping, he faced Eriol. "Has to do with that man in the shop! Just has to! That was the last place we went to!"

Illyria turned and stood by her brother, hands wrapped around her. She shivered. "This is soo creepy..."

Placing an arm around his sister to comfort her, he nodded. "I think we might need to go back there..."