CHAPTER EIGHT: The Stone of Water

They rode in silence for a few minutes.

"You saved our lives," Brandon finally stated.

"I don't know about that," Legolas said, turning in his seat to look at them. "You looked as though you were holding your own. Elrond will be very proud of you."

"Who?" Sophia asked, while Brandon gasped "Elrond?"

"Ah, your grandfather," Legolas said hurriedly. "I meant your grandfather. You obviously kept up with your training."

"Of course," Sophia agreed. "Les, who were those people?"

"They weren't people," Brandon said softly. "They were Orcs."

"Those aren't real," Sophia scoffed. "That's just fantasy, Brandon. Those things were very real."

"Nonetheless," Legolas interrupted, "Brandon is correct. They were Orcs. Some were Uruk Hai. That is why your blades glowed blue; they always will in the presence of such creatures."

That jogged Sophia's memory. "One of them helped us," she said. "The Uru Kai," she tried out the unfamiliar term.

Legolas frowned at her. "That's impossible."

"No, it's true," Brandon said, and Legolas stared at him in surprise.

"Wait," Sophia complained, "you believe him but you don't believe me? That is so unfair!"

Legolas looked at her mildly. "You don't even believe they are real," he pointed out, "so forgive me if I question your judgment."

"What did it do?" Liriel asked, sensing the start of a pointless argument.

"It killed a guy who was about to put an axe through my head," Sophia noted, stubbornly refusing to call them Orcs.

"And one that was about to attack me," Brandon added.

Liriel took her eyes off the road for a second to meet Legolas's look.

"I've just never heard of such a thing," he said gently. "They are dark creatures, created for the sole purpose of destruction. I have never seen one turn on its own, and trust me, I have seen a lot of Orcs."

"What's your real name?" Brandon asked suddenly.

"There's the lava flow," Liriel interrupted smoothly. "What do you want to do, Les?"

"Ah," he said, watching it for a moment, "it's moving faster than some flows do from these volcanoes." He glanced down the hill at the lights against the harbor. "Yeah, we have a problem - it's heading right for Hilo."

"Will they have time to evacuate?" Brandon asked.

"Sure," Legolas shrugged, "that siren's been going off since the shaking started at the summit. But that's a pretty big flow. It will completely destroy the city." He sighed, tapping a fingernail against his teeth.

"How about the stone?" Liriel asked him. "It seems like it has an affinity for fire, doesn't it?"

"Of course! Good idea," he responded. "Brandon, let's see if you can get the flow to shift direction a bit. Come on." Legolas jumped out of the car, and after a brief hesitation, Brandon followed him.

"This is nuts," Sophia muttered, hand on the door handle.

"Don't over think it, Sophia," Liriel said softly. "Don't question in your mind what your heart knows to be true."

Sophia looked at the woman's solemn face in surprise, and then nodded briefly before stepping out of the car. The fiery edge of a lava flow was boiling slowly down the slope next to them, burning every blade of grass in its path.

"Should we be standing so close?" Sophia asked nervously.

"The magma from these shield volcanoes is silica rich," Brandon lectured her. "You'd have to be really, really slow not to be able to outrun it, and it's pretty pourous, so there's very little danger of an explosion. The breeze is blowing the other way, so we should be safe from any gases that haven't already blown away."

"Thank you, Professor," Sophia rolled her eyes at him.

"Take out the stone, Brandon," Legolas directed. "See if you can push the flow that way," he gestured at the shoreline below Hilo. "You might need to help him, Sophia."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" she said, exasperated. "With a giant asbestos snow shovel or something?"

Legolas looked at her evenly, aware that her bad temper was just her way of dealing with the stress of battle and the unknown.

"You're the one who said you can feel the other stone," he pointed out. "I think you are well aware these are no ordinary gems, Sophia. You might be able to get it to respond to you, especially with that ring on," he gestured toward Melia's ring, and she frowned down at it. "Just try," he coaxed.

Brandon pulled the gem from his pocket and held it out in his hand, and Sophia closed her eyes as the stone's energy surrounded her, relaxing the sore muscles in her shoulders and chest. There was a tug at the edge of her thoughts, and she tried to calm her tumultuous mind - she thought of a still pond, a spring meadow, a full moon on the desert. And then a wave of coolness enveloped her, whispering across the bare skin of her arms. She could feel Brandon next to her, like a bright flame in a blue void, and together, they pushed at the lava. Not with their hands, of course, but with their thoughts and force of will.

And the lava responded, changing course away from the town and surging toward the water.

"We need to follow it," Sophia declared.

"The stone won't come to you?" Legolas asked, trying not to sound too disappointed, given that these two children had just fought off an entire army of Orcs and saved a city.

"Not yet," she answered. "Not until it reaches the water."

"Makes sense," Liriel commented. "Why don't we just drive down to the water and wait there? The way that's moving, it won't take too long."

Legolas nodded, and they all got back in the car.

"You should put the stone of fire back in the case," Legolas nodded to Brandon. "We don't want to advertise where you are any more than we already have."

"Acharnor got away," Sophia said. "Is that who you're worried about?"

"Yes," Legolas agreed, "among other things."

"Is he an Orc, too?" Brandon asked.

"No," Legolas shook his head. "He's not."

"Are you sure?" Brandon persisted, brows drawn. "Because I noticed that his teeth were pointed, and sometimes his eyes were red."

"What?" Legolas said, clearly startled, and Liriel sucked in a breath.

"Yeah," Sophia agreed. "And he kind of smelled like those other guys, too," she added, "the Uru guys."

"Uruk Hai," Brandon corrected her.

"Whatever."

They could tell that some kind of silent communication was going on in the front of the car, between Legolas and Liriel.

"What's that buzzing sound?" Sophia asked.

"Ah, that's just my cell phone," Legolas responded absently, staring out the window now.

"Aren't you going to answer it?"

"No, I don't think so. Not yet." The phone kept buzzing.

"It's really bugging me," Sophia complained. "Someone obviously wants to talk to you."

Liriel cleared her throat. "She's right, you know. You should let them know Sophia and Brandon are okay. Their grandfather will be very, very worried by now."

Legolas sighed. "I suppose you're right," he fished the phone out of his back pocket.

"Is that an iPhone 6?" Brandon immediately asked.

"Yes," Les answered, "with some modifications. Hello?" Wincing, he held the phone away from his ear a little, and they could all clearly hear the voice yelling at him.

"Where have you been?" The man on the other end of the line raged. "Why haven't you been answering the phone? Answer me now, Legolas!" Brandon gasped.

"It's okay, just calm down, Ron," Legolas said pointedly. "I have Sophia and Brandon right here in the car with me. Acharnor had them."

"What? Where did he take them?" Elrond said more evenly.

"Mauna Loa - the Long Mountain," Legolas paused to let that sink in. "We're chasing the second stone now."

"By all the Valar..." Elrond said. "Can you recover it? Is Acharnor chasing it, too?"

"Yes, I think so to your first question and no, I don't think so to the second," Legolas answered, looking back at his passengers, who nodded their agreement.

"He was injured," Sophia said helpfully.

"I think Sophia disabled him somewhat," Legolas smiled at her.

"Well, good for her. You tell her I'm proud of her."

"I'll tell her," Legolas winked at Sophia, who could hear her grandfather perfectly well.

"He wasn't alone, by the way. There were Orcs and Uruk Hai on the mountain," he said casually.

"WHAT?" Elrond bellowed, and this time, everyone in the car winced.

"I believe we killed most of them," Legolas continued calmly. "Sophia and Brandon did an admirable job of fighting them, and then Liriel and I came in for the finish."

Brandon muttered that Legolas was exaggerating.

"You let them fight Orcs ALONE?" Elrond shouted. "What were you thinking?"

Legolas sighed. "Ron, I didn't have much choice. Acharnor kidnapped them and brought them here, and he apparently had several hundred Orcs and a few Uruk Hai at his disposal somehow. There's more to say on that, but we're nearing the water and need to focus on the stone."

"Fine. But don't think for a second I will have forgotten about this by the time you get here. Your behavior has been inexcusable, and I really hate it when you don't answer your phone. Please give the children my love. Wait a minute. Del wants to talk to you."

"Legolas?" Glorfindel came on the line, and Legolas sighed, knowing that Sophia and Brandon had heard his whole name again.

"Yes?"

"You have both Silmarils?" Brandon made a choking sound in the back seat, and Sophia looked at him questioningly.

"Not yet; just one."

"Is it shielded?" Legolas looked back at Brandon, who sheepishly took the stone out and put it back in the obsidian case.

"Yes," Legolas answered.

"When you get the other one, you need to find a shielding container for it as quickly as possible. Obsidian is best; iron or lead will do. Otherwise, it will be like a beacon for that Balrog."

"I see," Legolas said slowly. "Acharnor made Brandon use the firestone to summon the other one, so does that mean we can expect the Balrog any minute?"

Glorfindel chuckled. "Fortunately, Balrogs don't have the power to defy the laws of physics, and I do not believe modern transportation is suitable for someone who uncontrollably emanates flame."

"You're talking over my head, Del," Legolas said impatiently.

"It can't dematerialize, it can't fly, and it takes four or five days to get from Los Angeles to Hawaii by boat. You have time - not much, but some time - before it gets there. So move fast, my friend. And don't get on the plane without a shield, or it will just be able to track your location quite precisely, and who knows what else is out there, now that we have confirmed there are Orcs and Uruk Hai. You should also destroy all the cell phones before you leave, by the way. Acharnor knows how to track those, too."

Legolas groaned. "But I really like this phone."

"Well, if you've been backing it up the way you're supposed to, it won't be a problem. I'll have a new one waiting for you."

"Thanks - we have to go now," he said, as the car came to a stop.

"Give my best to Sophie and Bran."

Legolas tapped the screen and returned the device to his back pocket.

"Legolas?" Sophia snorted. "Your mother named you after a fictional character?"

Legolas turned and looked at her. "Maybe the fictional character is named after me." He gave her a big smile, and opened the door. "Let's go."

"Something really weird is going on here, Soph," Brandon muttered to her as they followed Legolas out of the car. "Did you hear that he called our grandfather "Elrond"?"

"Yeah," she said, "so? Maybe they just really like Lord of the Rings. They do live in New Zealand now, you know - maybe they were extras in the movie or something, and they can't let it go."

Brandon looked at her in disgust. "And I guess the Orcs were just extras, too? And that cut on your leg isn't real? And if this is all make believe, why are you watching that lava like your life depends on it?"

Sophia didn't answer him, just pursed her lips and looked up at the burning lava making its way down the hillside in front of them. Watching its slow progress, she felt an almost electric surge of anticipation rush through her. Although she herself had never really been in love - her life was just too complicated for that - she imagined this was how it would feel, the almost synaptic rush of excitement fluttering through her cartilage. She calmed her thoughts and reached out, letting the stone gently brush her mind. She bit her lip to keep from laughing in response.

"I just can't process it all right now, Bran," she admitted softly. "I don't know what to think and I don't understand what I'm feeling. But I get that it's all real and that something important is happening. Okay?"

"Okay," he agreed, running his fingers along the obsidian box in his pocket.

"Everything alright?" Liriel said, approaching them. She and Legolas had discreetly been giving the siblings some space.

"I'm trying not to think too much," Sophia told her, and Liriel patted her on the shoulder.

"Good girl. How's the leg?"

"As I said, I"m trying not to think too much."

Brandon walked over to where Legolas was standing, his eyes fixed on the flow.

"Grandfather sounded pretty mad," Brandon commented.

Legolas chuckled, his eyes never leaving the slope above them. "Yes, I seem to have acquired a talent for pissing him off of late."

"I never saw him do more than raise an eyebrow, and that was bad enough."

"Indeed."

"You've known him a long time," Brandon stated, watching Legolas closely.

Legolas smiled, still keeping his eyes on the lava. "All my life," he hedged. "Are you alright?" Legolas asked softly, glancing at Brandon, who looked away.

"I'm fine," he said, far too quickly.

Legolas turned back toward the slope, waiting. He knew Brandon had already understood and accepted the situation, that elves and Orcs were real, that the stories he grew up on were not just stories. But something was obviously bothering him.

"And Sophia?" Legolas looked at Brandon sidelong. "Is she fine, too?"

Brandon closed his eyes tightly and whispered, "yes. No."

Legolas turned away from the lava and looked at Brandon sharply. "What did they do to her?" he asked, alarmed.

"One of the Uruk Hai punched her in the face, and Acharnor cut her. She's pretty tough, and I know she can take it, so I'm not really worried about that." He paused, and Legolas said a silent prayer of thanks that it wasn't anything worse. "But they did it to get to me, to make me do what they wanted. And I just fell apart, Legolas," he whispered. "Sophia couldn't count on me."

"You looked pretty confident when I saw you on the mountain," Legolas pointed out. "You did not seem to be in the least bit intimidated by hundreds of monsters screaming for your blood. Most American teenagers would have been completely helpless, not to mention scared out of their minds."

"That's different," Brandon said. "That was a battle. The calculus is completely linear: fight or die. I've trained for that situation my whole life - not that I knew why, mind you, but I'm glad it turns out there was a reason. But when I'm given a choice, do this or see the person you love suffer? Turns out I don't know how to do the math."

"No one does," Legolas said, looking at the boy until Brandon raised his eyes. He put his hands on both of Brandon's shoulders. "That never gets easier, but you do learn to trust your instincts and be at peace with your decisions, no matter how hard they may be. But it never gets easier."

"Not even in 3,000 years?" Brandon teased.

"Not even in 5,000," Legolas smiled back, turning again to watch the lava.

"I'm not sure that's all that reassuring," Brandon commented. "And I think we'd better get out of the way," he said casually. "It's going to start moving faster."

They all climbed down the steep slope to a cliff edge that dropped off into the water and they waited. Sophia was startled to see that the sky was beginning to lighten; another day was dawning.

Soon, the lava reached the edge of the shallow cliff and began dropping off into the rocky ocean, immediately sending up an immense cloud of steam. They were all so riveted by the collision of lava and waves that no one noticed Sophia, who appeared almost to be in a trance, approach the edge of the cliff. She wavered there for a moment, and then jumped into the water.

Liriel screamed and Brandon ran after her to the edge, but Legolas grabbed him and pulled him back.

"You stay here!" he yelled. "Hold him, Liriel!" She grabbed a struggling Brandon by the shoulders, as Legolas jumped into the water after Sophia.

Even with his heightened senses, he could not see a thing in the turbulence, and dared not get any closer to the lava flow than he already was - motlen rock was shooting out in all directions, and the water closer to the impact point would be superheated. He came up for air, looking around frantically for some clue as to where Sophia might be. Seeing nothing, he drew in another breath to go under, when he felt a strong current suddenly surge around him, lifting him up. Then Sophia suddenly broke the surface, gasping, about twenty feet further out to sea. He swam out to her, reaching her in a few, long strokes.

"Sophia" he shouted at her, "Are you alright?"

She appeared dazed but unharmed. Then she looked at him, eyes wide, and held out her fist. He could see a shimmering blue-green light streaming from between her fingers, and he sighed in relief.

"Come," he called out, over the roaring clash of water and fire, "it's not safe here - we have to get back to the shore." Sophia nodded. Without saying a word, she turned and moved rapidly toward the beach, easily outpacing him, though it did not look as though she was even swimming. They had to scramble up some slick, sharp rocks to get to the shore, leaving their hands criss-crossed with cuts by the time they pulled themselves up the cliffside.

Back on the bluff, Legolas sat with his elbows on his knees and his head down, breathing hard for a few minutes. "Warn me first the next time you're going to throw yourself into a boiling ocean, okay?" he finally said.

"Understood," Sophia panted back. "Though I should tell you now that I have no future plans to do so."

"You never know," Legolas said, rising to his feet and holding his hand out to her, "there are a lot of volcanoes in New Zealand."

She took his hand and let him pull her to her feet, nodding at the blood dripping off their joined palms. "Does this mean we have some kind of blood bond now?"

"Yes," Legolas said seriously. "There is definitely a bond between us."

Sophia flushed and snatched her hand away, and Legolas grimaced. He had learned the hard way not to ask for too much, too fast from mortals. Particularly mortals from this family.

"Sorry," he said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to sound like a creepy old man, there."

"No, no," Sophia said, backing away from him and chewing her bottom lip. "You're not old! I mean, ah, that wasn't creepy. It's just...you know...we, Brandon and I, we don't get out much."

Legolas had no idea what she meant by that, but he just nodded sympathetically and said, "I know what you mean."

Fortunately, Brandon and Liriel caught up with them at that point. Liriel shot him a quizzical look, to which he just shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Why did you do that?" Brandon exclaimed, grabbing his sister in a tight hug. "You could have been killed!"

Instead of answering, Sophia gently extricated herself from her brother's embrace and held out her fist, slowly opening her hand. The gem, so like the other in shape and size, sparkled with shifting shades of blue, shimmering like water where the other pulsed like fire. Legolas wondered if the gems had been cast into the volcano and the sea because of their properties, or if they had adopted the properties of their environments over the millennia. Perhaps they would have the opportunity to ask some of the original owners of these jewels, if the second prophecy of Mandos proved as accurate as the third was turning out to be, and all the elves were resurrected.

He started as he realized Liriel was talking to him. "I beg your pardon?"

"Do you think we have time to rest, before we go find a container for the stone?" She was gently swabbing at Sophia's hands.

"No," he said, looking at Brandon and Sophia and seeing that Liriel, as usual, was prompting him rather than truly asking a question. The siblings both looked dead on their feet. "Let's hit Hilo first and see if we can find a container; there will be plenty of time to rest on the plane."

Hilo, however, was a ghost town. Not a single store was open and there wasn't a soul in sight.

"I guess they all evacuated and don't know it's safe to come back," Liriel speculated.

Legolas glanced up at the mountain. "Maybe it isn't safe," he considered. "The mountain may not be finished with us. What do you think Brandon?"

Brandon reached into his pocket and brought out the gem, opening the box and running his finger along it. "Hard to say, honestly," he admitted. "The volcano is still unsettled. It could go either way."

"Alright," Legolas sighed. "I'm afraid we're going to have to leave Hilo to fend for itself. Let's get back to Honolulu. We'll pick something up there. Sorry, you two, but I'm going to have to ask you to last a little bit longer."

Everyone piled back into the Porsche and they headed to the airport. In their wearied state, none of them noticed that a very large man in a hoodie, with sunglasses that covered half his face, had been following them.