The wind hit her face like sharp cold blades, tossing her hair widely around her, golden strands slapping aggressively at her cheeks, neck and back as they ran fast through the forest. The trees flew past them in a blur of branches and trunks as they maneuvered around them, trying to stay close to the rest of the party, which had started to separate in the chaos of the run, the narrow distance between the trees making it hard to stay together.
Her heart drummed on her chest, the hard beating matching the strong galloping of the horse as Elerrina tightened her hold on Elladan. She could see some of the elves riding to their sides, the figures like dark blurs that appeared and disappeared from her sight, cut every once in a while by the lean shapes of trees that blocked the view. She could not make out any faces, did not know where Legolas was, where Elrohir was. Even the tight group of elves that closely escorted Glorfindel and the unconscious Elf-Lord had been swallowed in the chaos of branches and leaves.
Elladan was leaning forward on the horse to ride faster, his silver eyes narrowed in concentration as his sharp reflexes guided the horse expertly through the labyrinth of trees, turning from left to right at the precise moment to avoid collision.
The air felt chilled, dangerous, as her body seemed to be guided by instinct instead of mind. The high pitched screech of the black-cloaked rider still echoed in the wind, liberating in her a kind of fear she had never felt before, a fear that seemed to sharpen every single one of her senses, making her feel more alert and awake than ever.
Her eyes kept moving from left to right, scanning the flying forest around them, frantically searching for any signs of the black horses, but every shape around them seemed to fade into infinite blackness. It was hard to make out any figure in their fast run, the galloping of the horses deafening her along with the ringing wind.
Vilya cried loudly inside her head, its whispers rising in volume until it became too difficult to ignore them, calling all of her attention. She desperately tried to escape them, to pull away form the loud cries in the strange tongue she could not understand. The blue stone shone brightly now, glowing in a vivid azure at her neck as it cried and screeched in her ears, the sounds merging with the raging wind, which appeared to speak in return.
Tension hung heavily in the air, as her heart drummed widely with anticipation, with maddening fear, but nothing had yet come. Darkness swirled around them, revealing nothing but the expected trees of the moonlit forest. However, the fact that no rider had yet crossed their path did nothing to calm her altered nerves. Had the riders really not found them yet? Or were they following without their notice?
Another cry echoed in the wild wind, sending cold shiver down her back as her head instantly turned in the direction of the sound. It sounded close, to their left, but her eyes found nothing than the dark trees, which flew by in a blur. Her hands gripped tighter to Elladan's middle, her cheek against the soft fabric of his cloak, her body pressed close to his as if her scared mind believed he carried an invisible shield that could protect her from any harm.
She heard Vilya cry out again, the sound so loud it seemed to ring inside her head with an indescribable force, blurring her vision for a moment as the high-pitched sound bounced inside her skull. She could feel it calling to her, whispering loudly, sending a strange sensation through her body, like a strange tingle running through her veins.
Another iced cry. Her heart paralyzed inside her chest. It sounded so close. Too close. She turned her head to the left, gazing slightly behind her and her eyes caught sight of a dark silhouette moving fast between the passing trees, coming in their direction. Elladan's head also moved quickly to gaze behind and she could see his silver eyes now alert, worried under the deep furrow of his brow.
She could see the feeble fog engulfing the rider as it moved with a ghostly appearance, the torn black cloak floating tenebrously around its figure. She could feel the cold, the hopelessness and emptiness that seemed to radiate from it, like haunted claws traveling in the cold air, grasping her arms, face and hair.
The entire forest seemed to have gone cold, darker than it had been seconds before. Dead leaves floated in the wild wind, sprawling to the sides, as the totality of her surrounding suddenly appeared to be lifeless. The trees had gone silent, like dead trunks of wood that stretched thin and frail towards the black expanse of night.
Elladan turned the horse to the left, jumping over some low bushes, away from the other elves they still had in their sight. He was leading them deeper in to the forest, expertly zigzagging through the trees, making her have to duck her head a couple to times to avoid some low branches.
Elerrina turned her head to glance back once more, only to find the rider following closely behind. It had also turned left. Her body went cold, her heart beating rapidly. The rider seemed to be following them, coming closer and closer.
They kept running fast, the foliage only a chaos around her as her eyes could not make out any of the shapes that flew past her. She knew Elladan was using the forest to their advantage for he knew the territory, maneuvering with perfect exactitude around the thick vegetation. However, the rider never fell behind. She could see it directly behind them now, slightly to their left, its dark, ghostly figure only obscured by the thick branches and tree trunks that squeezed in the way.
Seconds seemed to stretch and she felt as if her senses had accelerated to a point in which everything else appeared to go slow. The rider was almost parallel to them now, the black horse breathing fervently while its condensing breath seemed to threaten her, vanishing in the cold air, which was now heavy with despair and desolation.
Suddenly, a dark figure jumped ahead of them, to their right, making Elladan pull to the reins of the horse abruptly. A muted scream left her lips, her voice never leaving her mouth as the horse suddenly rose on its rear legs for a quick second, almost throwing her down before it sprang into a quick run again, turning sharply to evade collision.
Her already wild heart seemed to accelerate, if that was even possible, as she recognized that it was the second rider what had jumped at them in surprise. Her blood went cold inside her veins, pumping with inexplicable fierce through her body as they continued their despaired run, now flanked by two riders.
They were trapped to left and right, the black, beastly horses pressing close to them, almost touching them now. Cold seemed to emanate from their foggy black figures, the dark cloaks floating weightlessly, swirling like black vapor around their empty bodies. She could feel despair taking possession of her, all of her hopes vanishing as pure, iced fear swallowed her.
Vilya continued to screech, the loud noise ringing in her ears, pushing into her mind and almost blurring her vision again from the noise. She pulled away, her heart drumming insanely as she looked from left to right. She forced her eyes to focus, to think straight, but she could not concentrate on anything other than horrifying terror.
Elladan drew out his sword, holding it securely in his right hand, as he kept his eyes focused on the front. Realization struck her as her eyes caught sight of the silver sharp edges of the long sword, and suddenly she felt all of her security, the invisible protective shield she felt around him, vanish. Somehow she suddenly knew that the sword would be useless; that their only option was to run and escape.
Her fear suddenly disappeared, abruptly replaced by pure instincts and adrenaline.
She knew that Elladan would try his best to protect her, but at the same time she somehow understood that this time he could not protect her, he could not protect even himself. She did not know what the terrifying rider in the black cloak was, but suddenly she realized that this was an enemy Elladan could not fight. No one could protect her now.
Without a warning, Elladan pulled strongly at the reins of the horse, making her tighten her hold around his torso as not to fall off the horse. Their sudden stop had not been foreseen by the riders, who kept running for only a fragment of a second before imitating him. However, that fragment of a second was enough time for Elladan to guide the horse in a sharp turn to the right and spring back into a run, the riders following closely behind, but at least not trapping them now.
A low branch hit her right arm by the elbow, and she felt a sudden pain spread through her it like fire, burning from her shoulder to her fingers. She did not move, did not even flinch as she maintained her tight hold around Elladan.
She felt drops of a thick liquid falling over her arm and her eyes looked up quickly to find three deep red scratches over Elladan's right upper arm, marking the place where the same branch had hit him before hitting her. He had not seemed to notice as she saw him quickly throwing a glance behind at the approaching riders. She knew their advantage over the riders would not last long. They seemed to ride faster, catching up with them easily.
The dark silhouette of one of the riders started to appear in the periphery of her vision, to their left. They were once again flanking their sides, she noticed. Once again riding almost parallel to them, closing the small gap between them and pressing tight to their sides. Elladan's narrowed eyes move quickly from left to right, no doubt searching for a way out, his silver irises filled with transparent despair. There was no way out.
The rider to their left slowly turned its head in their direction and her body seemed to freeze. Her eyes could see nothing but black emptiness beyond the dark cloak; Nothing but a cold, black void, that seemed to suction her entirely, unable to look away.
Every second that passed in the presence of the riders made the cold increase around her, hopelessness swallowing her until she felt weak, as if it could drain life out of her body. She could feel Elladan also weakening through their bond, unable to escape the two nightmarish presences that seemed to trap them both in their cold, lifeless grasp.
Vilya's loud whispers echoed again inside her head, and she could not hear anything else. Every other sound disappeared, the wind hitting silently at her face, the horses mutedly galloping over the cold ground. Nothing reached her ears but the ring's loud cries in the strange tongue, calling to her. It did not want to be found. Could the riders see it? Did they know she carried it?
Suddenly, she caught sight a slight gleam of light in the forest ahead of them, a glittering surface that reflected the pale silver moonlight. Water. The River. It was only some feet away from them, if only they could hold on until then. She did not know why, but she felt that crossing the river was all they needed to do in order to be safe. It had been what Glorfindel had said.
She felt herself shanking now, her strength sucked by the cold, desolate aura of the riders. Elladan was also shaking, although slightly less than her, but she could feel his skin turning ice cold underneath the fine fabric of his tunic. His breathing seemed heavier now, labored against the cold grasp of the haunted air.
One of the riders slowly drew out a long sword, its sharp edges looking threatening under the pale gleam of the moon. Her heart stopped and her blood froze inside her veins. Her eyes seemed to watch petrified as the rider swung the blade in Elladan's direction, but the Son of Elrond was quick to react and a loud noise echoed when his sword met the rider's blade; a loud clash of metal hitting metal.
She felt his body shake with the force of the blow, but quickly readied himself to block yet another attempt from the rider. He was weak, and she knew it. She herself felt weaker by each passing second, a thin layer of cold sweat starting to form on her forehead.
The rider prepared to strike again, but this time she caught sight of the second rider, to their right, also drawing out a long, sharp blade. Her heart sunk to the ground as fear once again rushed through her body. Elladan could not do it. He could not fight both of riders. He moved his sword in a fast movement to block the third blow from the first rider, and she saw in horror the second rider preparing to swing the blade when Elladan was not watching.
Then everything seemed to freeze for a moment as something snapped inside of her. Instinct took over her body, completely abandoning her mind and rational thought.
She did not know what she was doing, or why she was doing it, but suddenly she stopped trying to ignore the Vilya's cries. Instead, she listened to it. She could feel its power flowing through her body as she welcomed the strange whispers into her mind. For the first time, she answered its calling, embracing her connection with it. The ring had already in various occasions broken to her mind, sending her visions, speaking to her. Why not reach to it willingly?
A strange warmth seemed to suddenly spread through her veins, like a burning fire as she felt Vilya's power swirling through her. She heard its loud cry like a hig-pitched ringing noise inside her skull as she felt her whole self suddenly merge with the ring's own mind. And, surprisingly, it felt natural.
The blue stoned ring whispered again, but this time she understood it, even if the words still sounded foreign to her. She could not understand the words, but could understand the message, for it seemed as if the ring's thoughts, were her thoughts, as if they shared one mind. There was no way of knowing if the ring was controlling her, or if she was controlling it. They were the same. She was the ring.
Everything around her suddenly felt different, so confusing. Every sound was gone, and her eyes appeared capable of seeing with an unimaginable precision, able to clearly see each tree trunk in detail as it flew past her with incredible speed.
The riders still flanked their sides, but she could see more than weightless black cloaks now. Beyond the vaporous black fabric, she could see the silvery white ghosts of men. They did not seem to be able to see her, although its faces continued to look in their direction.
The wind hit her face hardly, but it felt different now, it was not aggressive, but welcomed. She felt the wind suddenly seem as a force that gave her strength, speaking to her, dancing around her in a powerful current. It seemed to move at her will.
The second rider swung the sword in quick strong movement while Elladan was still busy blocking the first rider. She heard the loud noise of collision, so loud it seemed to deafen her, but noticed that the dark blade had never touched Elladan. Instead, it had crashed hardly against a strong wall of wild wind, the blade bouncing back with the force of the collision. The rider let out a high-pitched cry that joined Vilya's loud cry as both ghostly white faces turned to look in her direction. Their eyes were empty, like white wholes inside their skull-like faces, staring into her.
Then everything happened so fast she was not sure she could remember the sequence. She saw water splashing around them as the horses suddenly ran over shallow water, the wide river extending to their sides. The ghostly faces were still fixed on her as they reached the middle of the river. She did not know why but she had not expected them to attempt to cross it.
Then a loud noise reached her ears, and she saw a body of water rushing down the river, white shapes appearing and disappearing in it under the pale glow of the moon. She heard it crash on them, without giving them time to think, time to realize. She shut her eyes closed and tightened her hold on Elladan as the high-pitched cry of the riders echoed again through the air while their black figures were hit by the strong wall of water.
Yet, nothing hit her and she opened her eyes once more. She could see water splashing widely around her, blocking her vision, the crashing sound ringing in her ears, but it did not touch them. The wall of water seemed to move around them, blocked by a swirling wind that surrounded the two of them, sending the aggressive body of water flying in every direction as it approached them.
A second after, everything stopped. The water level lowered again as the river suddenly returned to its calmed, steady flow. The riders were gone, washed away by the current. Her strength vanished, Vilya going quiet once again as its presence left her mind, once more separating from her.
Her vision blurred and she felt here body sway slightly. The last thing she remembered seeing was a very familiar white horse standing at the riverbank, Glorfindel siting straight on its back. Lord Elrond sat in front of him, also straight up as his awake, piercing silver eyes stared deeply into hers…
Here is chapter 35! I apologize for the long wait, this week was also a crazy week for me. Please let me know what you think! I really appreciate all of your comments!
Also, again, thank you to all of you who reviewed my latest chapter: luckyponygirl, Coco99, Calaniel, , alexiana75, Oleanne, booklover1498, SarahWeasley, Lizzie, MinNinniach, Zee, Paperlanterns86, Sovereignty3, Glory Bee, and CeffylGwyn. Each of your words mean a lot to me! And I hope you find this chapter as thrilling as the last one!
Love,
Elena