AN: Blondiez, thank you so much for the really great, thoughtful review. We're changing the rating, but the bigger issue is that one of us isn't too interested in writing romantic passages and one of us is. But that's the fun of writing together.

Still thinking about Tuor... Not sure what we'll do yet.

And it may take a few chapters, but we'll get there on granny and what happened. Glad you like Glorfindel's quips!

Chapter 21: Stranded

Sophia brought them up to the surface, keeping the bubble intact, just in case. A vast and empty sea yawned all around them in every direction, with no sign of the great armada of elven boats. Nor could they see land. They both stared around them, dumbfounded, lightly treading water.

"Shit," Sophia finally said.

"They're gone," Brandon answered in a shocked voice. "They left. They actually left without us."

"I don't think they had a choice," Sophia observed. "Shit, shit, shit. I have no idea which way land is."

Brandon squinted up at the sun, puffing out his cheeks. "Can you tell where the current is going?" he asked her.

"Yeah, sure," she answered, pointing over his shoulder. "That way."

He nodded. "Well, unless we traveled a big distance underwater, land should be that way." He pointed in the direction they were both facing. "Do you think we did? Travel underwater, I mean?"

"I really have no idea, Brandon. All I can tell you is the current is going that way and the water is really deep here." She started moving them forward in the direction he had indicated. "I don't understand what just happened."

"Sure you do," Brandon said softly. "Melkor just made sure two of the Silmarils wouldn't make it to Valinor."

"Oh God," Sophia moaned. "It's all over then. He's won."

Brandon's shoulders suddenly shook reflexively, and he clenched his jaw. "No. No, we can't let him. We can't give up. There has to be a way to get to Valinor."

"It's hopeless," Sophia panted, feeling panic rise in her throat. The light around them flickered.

"There has to be a way," Brandon repeated firmly. "There has to be. Don't give up, Soph, or he really will win."

"There's no way," she moaned. "No way at all."

"Well, I don't know, maybe they forgot a boat or something."

Sophia gasped and looked at her brother, wide-eyed.

"What?" he asked.

"There is one more boat," she said excitedly, picking up their pace over the water. "They left one - for Braichon. If we can get there before he leaves, we still have a way to get to Valinor."

"Then we'd better hurry," he cried.

It took them another 30 minutes to catch sight of land, and when they did, they knew right away that something was wrong.

"That does not look like Otango Bay," Sophia observed.

"No," Brandon agreed tersely. "It's not. Hey, look!" he exclaimed, as a flash caught his eye. "What's that?"

"Don't know, but let's head for it," Sophia responded, concentrating on moving them across the water. As they drew closer, they could see it was a lighthouse, out on a craggy promontory, with odd tooth-like rocks jutting out of the water beyond. Suddenly, a shiny black head emerged a few feet away from them, and they both gasped.

"It's just a seal," Brandon said with relief.

"You think?" Sophia drawled, as several other curious animals popped up nearby. "At least they're not made of metal."

"Well, let's stay away from those rocks, just in case they're territorial - seals like to nest in rocks. It'll be easier to get out of the water on the sandy beach over there, anyway."

Soon, they dragged themselves out of the water and up onto a crescent beach, the white sand warm in the late afternoon sun. Sophia staggered and flopped face down, breathing hard. Sitting down next to her, Brandon looked at her in concern.

"Are you okay?"

"Just tired. Not as tired as I would be if we'd actually had to swim all that way, though, so no complaints."

They sat there quietly for awhile, neither really wanting to confirm their situation by talking about it again. It was Sophia, of course, who finally broke the uneasy silence, flipping over and sitting up, easing off the straps of the backpack.

"Can you still sense Ela?" she asked abruptly.

"No," her brother answered hollowly.

She nodded slightly, frowning at the wet pack on the sand next to her. "Well," she muttered, "at least we know now why he wanted us to keep them on. He could have warned us."

"He did warn us," Brandon pointed out.

"He did not!" Sophia snapped. "He didn't tell us anything. He never tells us anything!" She could feel tears starting up in her eyes, and Brandon put a hand on her arm.

"I really don't think he knew, Soph," he said gently. "I suspect he saw we were going to get separated somehow, but not where or when. He has these visions in the books, you know, and they aren't always very clear - it's almost like a curse for him sometimes."

She drew in a couple of long breaths and put her head between her knees. When she looked up again, Brandon had his cell phone out.

"Can you tell where we are?" she asked.

"No. Looks like it's shorted out. Want to check yours?"

She pulled it out of the side zippered pocket. "Not working," she sighed.

"Feel like hiking over to that lighthouse and finding out where we are?"

"Sure," she agreed, as Brandon offered her a hand up.

They pulled their wet packs back on, brushing the sand off their soaked clothes as much as they could.

"Hey," Brandon said, as they trudged towards the rocks, "do you think you can pull moisture out of things with the ring?"

"What, you mean, like dry the packs?"

"Yeah."

She shrugged. "I guess I could try." Sophia stared at Brandon's pack, with a mental image of a straw sucking out moisture. "Anything?"

He reached back and felt the ripstop fabric. "Yeah," he said brightly, "I think that worked! Awesome. Now do yours - it'll take some of the weight out."

"I'll try," she agreed, "but I'm pretty tapped out."

She repeated her trick, knowing that while it worked, she didn't get as much water this time.

"I'll do it again later when I'm not so tired," she said absently, concentrating on scrambling up the rocks. Soon, the slick, craggy cliffside gave way to scrub brush, and the hill became steeper. Finally, it popped up on a dirt trail with a white, wooden handrail, which led up to the fenced-in tower of the lighthouse.

"I think it's automated," Brandon said, shading his eyes and peering up at the swinging black lantern. "There's not going to be anyone here."

Sophia shrugged and began heading for a blue story board along the trail. "Welcome to Nugget Point," she read. "Well, super, but that still doesn't tell us where we are."

"Yes it does," Brandon corrected her, pointing to the faint white writing in the far corner of the sign. It said Dunedin, with an arrow pointing north.

"Well, it doesn't say how far," she grumbled.

"No," he sighed, "so we'd better just start walking. Unless you need to rest?"

She shook her head and grasped his shoulder, giving him a wintry smile. "Let's go."

"I'm sure we'll find a ride," he reassured her.

They walked down the winding path to a parking lot, which was devoid of cars, and then headed out onto the road, surrounded on both sides by brown and green rolling hills, rugged with stubby trees. They plodded along in silence on the side of the road, which eventually dumped into a wider road that hugged the shoreline, with the bright, broad beaches stretching out to their right, the sparkling ocean and a long, vacant horizon beyond.

After about an hour of walking, they saw a farmhouse off the road to their left, its silos poking up over a hillside.

"Should we go ask for help?" Sophia asked hopefully.

"I guess so," Brandon answered, biting his lip.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's just...don't you think it's weird that we haven't seen a single car yet?"

Sophia shrugged. "I think this is a pretty remote area, and it looks like there's no major cities or anything. Plus it's a weekday, right?"

"Yeah," he agreed, "it's Tuesday. But still, there should have been somebody by now."

"Well, let's see what we can find out," she said decisively, turning in to the driveway for the farm. As they crested the hill above the house, though, they could already tell no one was there. The yard was utterly still, and there were no cars or trucks. They approached the white clapboard structure quietly, and Sophia knocked on the door, which creaked open under her knuckles. The siblings looked at each other, and Sophia pushed the door open a little more.

"Hello?" she called. "Is anyone home?"

"Let's go," Brandon said, pulling on her arm.

They walked back out the driveway and onto the main highway. Neither said a word as they continued up the road. After what Sophia judged to be about a mile, they saw a sign for the Nugget Lodge and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you have any money?" Sophia asked.

"Just those credit cards Glorfindel gave us - you have yours?"

She shook her head. "Didn't think they would take American Express in Valinor."

Soon, they were looking down at a small weathered, brown structure, nestled right up against the beach. They hiked to it and found it was really two structures, and both were empty. The doors were unlocked.

"Let's go in," Sophia urged.

"Okay," Brandon agreed uneasily.

Someone had obviously been staying there; there was a suitcase open on a stand, and the bed was unmade. Plates of half-eaten food sat on the table in the kitchenette.

Brandon wandered around the cozy house, full of beige furniture and ocean views. He found a binder of tourist information on a desk in the living room, "Welcome - Nau Mai" written in cheery orange letters on the front. He began to flip through it.

"Well?" Sophia asked, "What'd you find?"

"We're about 70 miles south of Dunedin," he murmured. "So, not too far. There's a little town just up the road called Kaka Point - we should be able to find a ride there. The sun will set soon, though, so we should make tracks. I'd rather not be walking on that road in the dark." He unlatched the rings of the binder and pulled out one of the plastic pouches, removing a map. "Just in case," he said, glancing up at his sister. "This has the whole area, including hiking trails."

She nodded. "See anything else we should, um, borrow?"

He shook his head and they made their way back out to the road. The sun began to drop, disappearing behind the mountains, lighting the scattered high clouds in a wash of pink and orange, which reflected back on the water.

"It's so beautiful," Brandon said wistfully. "I thought we had those colorful sunsets in LA because of the smog, but that's sure not why it looks like that here. The air is super clean. Check it out, Sophie."

She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the road ahead of them. "All I can think about is that it's all going to end soon."

"Yes," her brother said, shooting her a look, "that does sort of kill the mood."

Just as they saw a sign that said they were entering Kaka Point, they heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. It was twilight and fast growing dark, so they scooted as far over on the shoulder as possible. Looking eagerly up the road, they could see a pick up truck approaching.

"Looks like they have a bunch of people in the back," Sophia commented. "They may not have room for us."

"Soph," Brandon said slowly, staring at the blue light glowing under his sleeve, "Those aren't people... Get down!" He hissed, grabbing her by the pack and pulling her over the side of the road. They slid down the embankment, tumbling toward the rip rap above the beach. They were just able to get into the rocks and crouch down when they heard the brakes of the truck squealing above them and the rumble of fiendish voices.

"The rings," Sophia whispered. "They won't be able to see us if we don't want them to."

Brandon nodded, putting a finger to his lips. They could see orcs along the road now, and a spotlight on the side of the truck was turned and aimed down toward them. They orcs milled around, grunting to each other, but must have decided there was nothing there, for they all piled back into the truck and drove away.

"We should go warn the people in the town," Brandon said softly. "They'll be sitting ducks for those guys."

"Yeah," Sophia answered, but she didn't sound sure.

"Come on," he said firmly. "We can't just leave them helpless like that."

"Okay," she agreed, rubbing the back of her neck, "but let's cross the road and get up into the hillside. I don't like being trapped here against the water."

Brandon agreed, and they cautiously clawed their way back up the embankment, grabbing at weeds for handholds and peering up over the side of the road before running across and scrambling up the hill on the other side. There was brush, some trees and a series of rolling hills on this side of the road, with much more opportunity for concealment. They began to pick their way toward the town, as quickly as they could.

Before too long, they heard other vehicles approaching. Ducking down in the brush to watch, they saw that every single car or truck going by was carrying orcs. Sophia's heart sank. She didn't want to leave the townspeople to their doom, but they couldn't very well stand against a whole army of orcs by themselves. She glanced at Brandon, and from what little she could tell of the dark blur of his face, he had reached the same conclusion.

"I have binoculars," he whispered. "Let's get up above the town and take a look. Maybe we'll be able to help people escape."

She nodded, and they began to jog cautiously over the uneven ground. Once they reached a good vantage point above the little town, tucked into a lovely cove, they lay down on the ground and Brandon took out the binoculars. After peering through them for a few minutes, he passed them to his sister without comment.

Sophia scanned the area, bracing herself for a scene of carnage and people fleeing in fear. What met her eyes instead was a very strange sight, indeed: Kaka Point was full of orcs. They were strolling on the sidewalks, standing in the streets, even sitting at the sidewalk cafes. There was no sign of any people at all.

"What the hell?" Sophia muttered.

"Do you think they killed them all already?" Brandon asked softly.

"I have no idea," Sophia answered, looking all around again and still not seeing any humans. "But I think we'd better get as far away from here as we can."

Brandon nodded and put the binoculars back in his pack. "We have to be careful," he said. "They could be up here in the hills, too. Let's count on the rings to keep us concealed and try to avoid a fight, okay? They obviously have us outnumbered."

"Yeah," Sophia agreed, "Do you think it's safe to take a quick look at the map? See if there's a trail around here? We obviously need to stay off the road, but I'm worried one of us is going to sprain an ankle going over this rough ground in the dark."

Brandon nodded and took out the map and a small penlight, while Sophia kept watch around them, listening tensely for any sounds.

"Okay," he said, tucking the light and the map in his pocket. "We're not too far from a trail that takes us toward Dunedin. Follow me."

They picked their way carefully through the brush, slowly making their way up the hill. As they finally crested the rise, they could see the trail below, stretching out over a long, shallow valley, dimly lit in the starlight and a small smear of a crescent moon.

"They're everywhere," Sophia breathed. There were small clots of dark shapes moving all along the trail and up the next hillside. "What do we do?"

"We're going to need to find a place to hide," Brandon answered. "Maybe there will be another farm, or some trees tall enough to climb. Maybe some rocks we can get down into."

"Okay," Sophia agreed. "Let's stay up here for now and just take it slow."

Brandon nodded, and they started moving forward again.

It was a long, nightmarish walk for the siblings, with many close calls. Several times, they had to crouch behind rocks or roll into the bushes to avoid small patrols of orcs, but they managed to cover some terrain while successfully avoiding detection.

"Do you think they're looking for us?" Sophia wondered out loud.

"Not sure," Brandon answered. "But they all seem to be more interested in heading toward Kaka Point than in scouting around, so maybe not."

She nodded.

It seemed as though they had been walking all night when they suddenly spied a farm up ahead. Crouching down in some rocks in the hills above a large barn, Brandon scanned the property with his binoculars.

"It's pretty dark down there," he whispered, "so I can't really see too well, but I don't think there are any orcs."

"Let's head for the barn," Sophia whispered back.

They gingerly made their way down, creeping along the side of the peeling red walls. They stopped every few feet just to listen, but they heard nothing, beyond the buzz and saw of night insects, and the chirping and peeping of frogs in a nearby pond.

The barn had a small door next to the main gate, and Brandon lifted the latch carefully. It creaked slightly, and they could hear rustling inside. Sophia took the risk of pulling her knife out, and showed it to Brandon. The glimmer of the starlit sky reflected faintly off the blade, but it was otherwise not glowing. There were no orcs present.

Brandon eased the door open, and they slipped inside, quickly realizing what the rustling sound was: the barn was lined with horse stalls. Sophia made a soft whickering sound, hoping to reassure the animals, but that only seemed to make them more restless, and several began stomping and whinnying.

"They're hungry," she realized immediately.

She and Brandon quickly located a bin of oats, and he stood at the door, peering out through a crack, while Sophia moved around the barn, feeding the horses. Once she had filled the bins in every stall with a horse in it, she touched Brandon on the shoulder, nodding toward a ladder that led up to the hayloft. Sophia went up first, finding a spacious loft, full of clean hay, with an open hay door looking down onto the yard between the house and the barn.

"Come on up," she whispered down.

The siblings settled themselves as much as possible, taking out beef jerky and granola bars. Sophia had a steel water bottle, which they shared before she refilled it, drawing moisture from the air around them, as Earendil had showed her how to do.

"You sleep first," Brandon whispered, and she nodded, settling her self under some hay. She had doubted she would be able to sleep, but exhaustion won out, and she immediately dropped into an uneasy, dream-filled slumber.

Brandon watched the yard for awhile from the hay door and then examined the map, looking to see if he might be able to pick out a safe place for them to hide the next night. He tried not to think too much about what had happened, or worse yet, about all the things that still could happen, though it was hard to keep his mind from wandering. He tried to think instead of Elanordis. Though he missed the newly-forged connection with her with an almost physical pain, he found he could think of her without much distress. He realized he was sure he was going to see her again, and decided to trust that feeling.

Sophia had been asleep for a couple of hours when she started tossing and turning, moaning quietly. He watched her, biting his lip and wondering if he should wake her. While everything looked quiet out in the yard, he was worried that it might be dangerous to make too much noise. Finally, she cried out in her sleep, and Brandon gently grasped her shoulder.

"Soph," he whispered urgently. "Wake up. You're having a bad dream."

She woke up quickly and quietly, as they had been taught to do.

"What's wrong?" she asked, still foggy with sleep.

"You were calling out in your sleep," he said apologetically.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Brandon." She yawned hugely and brushed some hay out of her hair. "Just as well," she sighed. "Why don't you get some sleep now? It will be dawn soon, and we're going to need to get out of here once it's daylight."

"Okay," he agreed, burrowing down in the hay and instantly falling asleep.

Sophia crept across the loft and sat by the hay door, letting the night air cool her sweaty face. She closed her eyes, straining to remember the terrible vision she had seen in her dreams. She had been walking through the smoking ruin of a once-beautiful city, its majestic white walls tumbled down to rubble, the bejeweled streets marred with ash and burned timber. And everywhere, there were bodies. Silver-haired, dead-eyed elves who looked like Celeborn, tangled in long, sky blue and blushing pink robes. Their maimed, broken bodies were in the street, hanging from the walls, floating in tinkling fountains red with their blood. She shivered violently.

Was it really a dream, she wondered with a spreading sense of dread, or was she seeing what Legolas was seeing in Valinor? She couldn't feel any connection to him at all, now that she was awake, but it had seemed so real. Sophia reached under her fleece and pulled Legolas's necklace out, clutching it in her hand. Would he be able to see what she was doing when he slept, too? At least then he would know she was still alive, she reasoned. Though elves didn't sleep as much as humans did, so it might take awhile for him to realize he could reach her that way.

Or maybe I just have a really good imagination, she thought to herself. A really sick imagination.

Sophia let Brandon sleep past sunrise, figuring that she should see if anyone came out of the house before they got down out of the hayloft, anyway. And while she could hear roosters crowing and the raucous cackles of chickens laying eggs, there was neither a sound nor a sign of human activity. Finally, once the sun was fully up, she gave her brother a shake.

"Brandon," she said, "we should get going."

As she had earlier, he sat up immediately, without making a sound.

"I think it would be okay for us to get something to eat here and use their bathroom. There doesn't seem to be anyone here."

"Okay," Brandon yawned.

Sophia put her backpack on and moved carefully down the ladder. In the dim light, she could see the horses looking hopefully out of their stalls at her.

"Hungry again, are we?" she asked soothingly, heading back to the oats. She refilled all of the bins, talking softly to the animals, patting a velvety muzzle here and there.

"Ready?" Brandon asked her.

"Uh huh," she said absently, following him to the door. They opened it carefully and glanced out, but there was still no sign of anyone in the yard. They could see now that the door of the brick house was open, and there were no cars anywhere in sight, with the exception of an ancient blue truck propped up on cement blocks.

They tiptoed over to the house and entered. "Anyone here?" Sophia finally called out, and her voice sounded unbearably loud in the oppressive silence of the empty rooms. She looked at Brandon and nodded, and he crept down the hall. "Here's a bathroom," he said in a low voice. "You first."

She nodded and went in to use the toilet and wash her face. Sophia knew it might be the last time she would see running water and plumbing for a while, so she tried to enjoy it. But when she picked up a handtowel and noticed "home sweet home" embroidered on it, she felt a wave of uneasiness wash over her and hurried through her routine.

"Your turn," she said, opening the door.

Brandon was just as quick and visibly uncomfortable as she was.

"Let's check the kitchen - I really want to get out of here, but we should conserve our food as much as possible. If there's something to eat here, we should grab it."

Sophia nodded.

They were able to find a full jar of peanut butter, as well as a loaf of bread that was only a little stale. Sophia also grabbed a bag and stuffed it full of apples and carrots she found in the refrigerator.

Back out in the yard, they headed for the barn again and clambered into the hayloft with their loot.

"I think," Sophia said, washing her peanut butter sandwich down with a swig of water, "we should take a couple of these horses. The sooner we get to Dunedin, the better, but we can't go on the main roads."

Brandon eyed her silently. "Look," he finally said, "swiping a jar of peanut butter is one thing, but horses? Are we really going to steal horses?"

"Brandon," she answered patiently, "look around you. These people are gone, and they're not coming back. And even if they were, the world is about to end."

He chewed his sandwich thoughtfully.

"In fact," she added, "these horses obviously haven't been fed in days. I think we need to turn them all loose or they'll starve to death."

"Okay," he finally said in a small voice, stashing the rest of the peanut butter and bread in his pack. "Let's get going, then."

They hunted through the barn for the tack room, finding it in a back corner behind the stalls. There were four saddles, all in good condition. Riding bareback would have been fine, too, but they knew for a ride of this length, the saddles were important, especially if they wanted to be able to walk once they got to Dunedin. There was a time when they were both in good riding shape, but other than some recent rides around Paradise, neither had been on a horse in years.

They wandered through the barn, taking a close look at the horses. Sophia knew which one she wanted - she had known last night, the first time she had seen the chestnut mare, which whickered softly when she saw Sophia approaching. There was a wooden nameplate up above the stall, with the word "Ataahua" carved in it.

"Ataahua," Sophia murmured, stroking the horse's muzzle. "I'm going to guess that means beautiful, because you certainly are." She opened the gate and stepped into the stall. Ataahua stood patiently while Sophia slid the bit in her mouth and the bridle over her head, and then nudged Sophia gently with her nose.

Sophia laughed. "No hiding anything from you, is there?" she murmured, taking an apple out of her pocket and offering it to the horse, who lipped it softly out of her hand. "You look fast, girl," Sophia said then. "Can you run like the wind for me?" Chomping loudly, the horse dipped her head up and down, as if to agree, "Well then," Sophia said in surprise, "let's get you saddled up."

Brandon had chosen an enormous black stallion, who bit Ataahua lightly on the neck when she approached.

"Are you sure?" Sophia said doubtfully, eying the spirited horse.

"Absolutely," Brandon declared, hefting a blanket up on the horse's back. "Sometimes, you just know."

"What's his name?"

"Tai Nui," Brandon responded. "I have no idea what that means."

"Me either," Sophia answered, cinching the saddle in place. "Mine is Ataahua, and I would bet that means 'beautiful.' What language do they speak around here, anyway?"

"English," Brandon said absently, to an eye roll from Sophia, "but the aboriginal populations speak Maori, and I'm sure that's what language their names are in. The elves know it."

"Well, too bad there aren't any elves around to translate for us."

"Yeah," Brandon sighed, "too bad. Ready?"

Sophia nodded, handing Brandon the reins. She opened the barn door, and he walked the horses out into the yard while Sophia circled the barn, opening all the stalls. They climbed up into the saddles and headed out of the barnyard toward the trail.

They kept a wary eye out, scouring the landscape around them, but there was no sign of orcs or even humans, only the occasional cow dotting the hillside. They stopped after a couple of hours of hard riding to walk around and look on the map for the nearest water source. While Sophia could pull together water in a puddle, they knew the horses were going to need more than that soon.

They came to the small river they had found on the map early in the afternoon and stopped to let the horses drink and rest. Sophia draped the bridle over the pommel of the saddle and let Ataahua graze freely, and then Brandon did the same with his horse.

"You sure about that?" Sophia frowned, pulling another peanut butter sandwich out of the pack.

"I'm sure," Brandon answered. She shrugged and took out a couple of carrots, as well, and right away felt the warm nose of a horse at her shoulder.

"Hey girl," she chuckled. "So you like carrots, too?" But when she turned, it was the stallion standing there, eying the carrots with interest. She laughed again and held one out for him, which he took delicately in his teeth and promptly trotted away.

"Is that how you won him over?" Sophia asked her brother, who was sitting with his feet in the water.

"Yep," he responded, smiling up at her. "Works every time."

Even with the rest stops, they were making decent time; someone had taken good care of the horses, and they were in excellent physical shape. Sophia felt a wave of sadness overtake her at the thought that those people who had once loved these magnificent animals were likely dead now, but she ruthlessly tamped the thought down. She knew if she started going down that road, there might be no coming back.

"Hey, Brandon," she called out to him. "Should we find a place to hide for the night, or just push on to Dunedin?"

"I don't know," he answered. "I've been wondering the same thing all day. But if we're going to keep the horses, we should probably just keep going - it will be hard to hide them."

"Do you think the rings conceal them, too, while we're on them?"

"I have no idea," he sighed. "But I think the sooner we get there, the better."

"I agree," she nodded. "Let's press on."

It was a deep moonless dark by the time they arrived in the foothills above Dunedin. The city was spread out below them, and while there were some lights shining in the night, there were not as many as their should have been.

The siblings looked at each other.

"We have to go through it to get to the harbor," Brandon finally said.

"Now I think we should wait until morning," Sophia quickly followed. "What if the city's been taken over by orcs, like Kaka Point? Better to stay out here for now in open ground and wait until first light."

"Such sound reasoning," a voice rasped from behind them. "Your elven keepers would be so proud." They both whirled around to see a large Uruk Hai standing behind them, a muddy green gem glowing malevolently on his chest and throwing a sinister light under his features. A small band of orcs stood behind him in the darkness.

"Ride!" Sophia shouted, turning the horse in the opposite direction and digging her heels into Ataahua's flanks. But the horse shied, nearly throwing Sophia off, and once she had the horse back under control, she saw why. There were more orcs in front of them. Many more.

"We're surrounded," Brandon said in disbelief.

"Yes, you are," the Uruk Hai crowed, his laugh grinding through the night air. "We have been waiting here for you all night. Our scouts reported you were on your way, but I must say it took you long enough." The hulking monster looked like any other Uruk Hai - the gray flesh, mottled and scarred, the pointed, rotting teeth, and the beady red eyes. But Sophia thought there was also something familiar about him, the way he moved, the thin curl of his lips, his throaty voice, so unlike the Uruk Hai...

"Oh my God," she gasped. "Acharnor?"

"At your service," the Uruk Hai smirked, sketching a small bow.