Thranduil's movements were deft and deadly as he left orcs writhing under plumes of black smoke. The swarms and waves of monsters had lessened but still the rise and fall of the creatures continued, leaving elves and dwarves alike crushed in their wake.
Thranduil looked toward Dale as the sure strokes of his sword directed horizontal waves of flame across the torched ground. The screams of the desperate living as well as the desperate dying echoed above the sound of sword meeting sword and falling stone. As he looked, within the city, another tower fell. He saw the red light of fire leaping from alleys and streets and knew Legolas was hard at work.
The elf king's ears pricked up, straining to hear over the loud voice of war but caught no sounds of the wingbeats that might mean Smaug. Casting an anxious look westward, he still saw nothing.
Yet it was from the high crest of Ravenhill that Kili, Tauriel, and Realn saw the speck first. It loomed closer into a shadow and closer still to take on wings and a tail.
"Durin's beard!" Kili whispered, pausing with his foot on the stair he ascended.
"Valar preserve us!" came the elvish sentiment.
The dragon swooped, the sun shining through gaps in his flesh. His magnificent hide now hung in shreds, the red rotting away under the attack of maggots. The smell of death trapped in a coffin drifted by and left elves and dwarf gagging.
Kili choked and pointed as the flight of the beast brought the Arkenstone into view.
Within the carcass of Smaug's chest, the jewel sat in a cage of bone, gleaming. But its pure light was streaked with pulsing veins of darkness and its light turned sickly yellow.
Smaug's jaws parted, teeth yawning as slime splattered the air. An electric blue glow burst to life in his stomach, sending orcs, dwarves, and elves flying as the unnatural force hit the ground and broke rock as well as bones.
"Ada!" Realn screamed.
"Fili!" Kili shouted.
The trio stood in awful silence, straining their eyes for any familiarity within the dozens of bodies pressed together across the battlefield. The hazy clouds of acrid smoke parted somewhat to afford a glimpse of Thranduil, dazed and stumbling with Fili by his side.
"They live," Tauriel said. "Come, we have a rendezvous with Azog."
Thranduil covered his mouth as he coughed, his breath clearing as he reached open air. He looked to Erebor as a lone figure frowned from the smashed mountain gate. He stepped into the sun.
As Smaug wheeled to make another pass, Thorin raised a fist. His voice came clear. "Ho, you overgrown slug! I have taken back my homeland. You failed to keep yours. Now I am here for the King's Jewel!"
The dragon laughed. "Behind Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror. On the threshold of the throne but never to reach it."
"By Durin's beard, you died once," Thorin snarled. "You will forgive me if I kill you again!"
Blue lightning snapped, carrying the dwarf to meet Smaug, Orcrist in hand.
"I crushed an army with my breath," Smaug hissed. "Left a forest smoldering. I can kill you in my sleep!"
"A pity you will not live to see the night," Thorin said.
Smaug's mouth yawned open into gaping emptiness. Streaks of darkness leeched from the Arkenstone swarmed up his throat and exploded into blue light. "You will die, dwarf! I am used to people falling before me like a weak dam to a flood!"
"I am no weak dam, by Durin's beard!" Thorin roared, his hand cutting through the dragon's blue fire. He returned his own bolt with a snarl and heard Smaug bellow as it clipped his bony wing. "I have a well of those to deliver, you overgrown slug!"
"The same cannot be said of your hapless companions," Smaug replied. And he wheeled to sweep down on the troops struggling against the orcs, spitting fire.
Thorin came in his wake, hands clenched, screaming, "Turn and fight, you coward! Your fight it with me, not them!"
Yet the blue fire never reached the ground and his breath went out in relief, worry turning to pleasure as he saw the blond hair of Brenen and his brothers devastated by the wind. It took all six hands to turn the raging wall, pivoting it away from the bespattered elves and dwarves and heap it down upon the attacking orcs, leaving ash in its wake.
"Did I not tell you?" Thorin said. "I have company. I will retrieve my birthright. The Arkenstone is mine!"
Smaug whipped around into the cloud of miniature lightning bolts and howled as they bounced over his bones. In a cloud of blue, he met the dwarf, the force of their fires meeting hurling both back.
The dragon shook his head, meeting Thranduil's eye. "Will the petty elf king not join us? Your forest smolders. Your kingdom is ravished."
Thranduil smiled. "I know what it is to know fate. Today it is written you die at the hands of a King. But it is not I who wears the crown."
"Face me!" the beast commanded, sweeping past Thorin to cut a wide arc and descend on the elf king.
Realn blocked his path, eyes blazing and his crystal orb nowhere in sight. His palm flashed forth, charred and delicate, but not so the fury that erupted, scorching Thranduil's face.
"Carrion bird!" Realn spat, as the dragon reared and flapped back. "You would do well to keep your priorities straight today! Leave my father alone or I will take Thorin's crown and end you."
"You stay out of this!" Thorin snapped. "Or I will end you."
"Come and try," Realn retorted, spinning to throw flame behind him. "You have priorities to, Thorin."
"May I be as lucky as my forefathers," Thorin swore, and wheeled to enter the shadow of his foe.
Hey, everyone. As you know, I am so grateful for your kind comments and thoughts! It is wonderful to hear from regular and new readers alike, and your enjoyment of this familiar/unfamiliar tale fills me with so much joy!
Next Chapter: "If this is the end, I cannot die without saying I kissed you."
