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Chapter 17
A New Enemy
As Lord Elrond and Elladan walked down the steps to the courtyard, Mithrandir, or Gandalf the Grey, as he was sometimes called, had just finished climbing down from the back of the giant eagle, Gwaihir, also known as the Wind Lord. The grey wizard thanked the giant eagle for his assistance then asked if he would mind returning to Imladris after he had eaten so that he could speak with him.
Gandalf had a feeling there would be much to talk about after he talked to Lord Elrond for not only had he received the request from the Noldor Lord to come to Imladris but had received a message from Anayah as well. Although he knew something of what had gone on the night before, he felt a great need to speak to the young she-elf before he voiced any of his thoughts or conclusions. He did not want to appear hasty, as an old friend has once remarked of his sometimes-hasty tendencies.
Lord Elrond met his friend before the steps of the house and smiled at the wizard as he held out his hands in greeting.
"Mithrandir, my old friend. It is good to see you."
As the two grasped hands, Gwaihir took to the air, showering all those in the courtyard with dust from the first powerful downward sweep of his great wings. When Elrond and Elladan had escorted Gandalf into the house, they were surprised when the first words out of the grey wizard's mouth were, "I must talk to Anayah - is she here?"
"Yes, Gandalf she is here, though resting at the moment. My daughter and Elias arrived home about dawn this morning, after having been in a great battle where both she and the stallion received minor wounds. Why do you ask, Gandalf? Has something disturbed you? What has happened?"
As they were passing the library Gandalf pulled both Elrond and Elladan into the room and began to speak to them in hushed tones.
"Elrond, there is a new evil walking this land that is connected to the Dark Lord himself. At this moment, I have more suspicions than information and so the form and purpose of this evil remains hidden to me but when I received Anayah's summons, I knew that she might have stumbled upon the first clue to this mystery. Your message to me served to indicate that the evil is closer to us than we realize but more than this I cannot tell you at this time. I must speak to the young she-elf as soon as possible. How is she?"
"Her wound was not as bad as I thought it was going to be, for even though there was a small amount of blood loss, she tended the wound well after the battle and it shows no sign of poison or infection. She seems to have a substantial knowledge of herb lore of which I am impressed."
"Yes, she does – she has always been an apt pupil. Haldir of Lórien has taught her well and I have spent much time with her also, teaching her various healing techniques, although our skill level is not comparable to yours."
Lord Elrond inclined his head to the wizard in acknowledgement of the compliment.
Gandalf paced back and forth in front of the window in the library, deep in thought. The wizard was disturbed by the events of the evening before and clearly wanted to speak to Anayah as soon as possible but knew he would have to wait until she awakened and being an extremely impatient individual by nature, he chafed at the notion. He cared deeply for the young she-elf and knew the paths she walked in Middle Earth and how difficult they were, and were going to be for her. He also knew that she had stumbled upon something he had little knowledge of and having gotten a sense that time was critical at this point, knew the sooner he found out what was haunting the land the better things would be for all.
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Her eyes opened slowly, almost reluctantly, but when they had open fully and were no longer blurred, Anayah took the time to look around her room. It was empty except for her foster brother, Elrohir, who was sitting in a nearby chair quietly reading a book. She sighed and reached up to rub her eyes but soon found the movement to be a mistake, for as soon as she lifted her left arm, she was painfully reminded that it had been injured and was not in the mood to be shifted about. She tried unsuccessfully to stifle a groan which immediately caused Elrohir to look up from the book he had been reading then come swiftly to her side.
"Hello sleepyhead. How are you feeling?" He felt her forehead and frowned then checked the bandages on her left arm.
"I feel like I want to go outside, run swiftly from one end of Imladris to the other, dive into the Bruinen and swim for several hours then come home and quietly pass on to the Halls of Mandos - and you?"
He laughed at her analogy.
"Ada can give you something to make you feel better."
Seeing the frown form on his sister's face he quickly told her that the medicine would be for pain and fever only, and would not put her to sleep. Before he left the room to tell his father that she was awake, he helped her sit up then gave her a cup of water, which she quickly emptied for she was indeed extremely thirsty.
After he left, Anayah leaned back onto the soft pillows with a groan and began to think about her encounter of the night before. Once more envisioning the "thing" coming at her and remembering the feeling of evil that emanated from the creature the closer it got to her, she shuddered. Well, she thought, if Gandalf was here, he might be able to put things together for her, for Gandalf, as far as she was concerned anyway, knew everything about everything. The door of her room opened and the wizard entered followed closely by Lord Elrond and the twins. She frowned when she saw that her father carried a cup of the dreaded tea in his hands.
"Do not make such a face daughter - you look too much like Estel when you do!"
Everyone laughed including Anayah. Lord Elrond felt her forehead then checked her wounded arm, putting fresh bandages on it for even though he had been diligent in his stitching, blood still seeped from it. Making a mental note to himself to keep an eye on both the wound and the fever she had begun to run, he sat back and spoke to both Anayah and Gandalf.
"You are beginning to run a fever young lady although your wound is already looking much better. I plan to keep an eye on it as well as you so please do not get out of this bed until I give you my permission."
"But Ada, there are things I must attend to!"
Seeing the distress on her face, Gandalf took the opportunity to turn her mind elsewhere.
"Anayah could you please tell me what happened last night – what occurred that made you feel the need to summon me?"
She looked furtively at Elrond and the twins before she began her story and Gandalf correctly surmised that she had not been forthcoming with some details of the previous night's battle.
"I was out last night some distance from Imladris when Elias felt a presence. He managed to warn me of it just before a blue fireball flew over me and hit a nearby tree. I ... countered, then the being and I fought, as did our horses and after I drew first blood, he turned to run, but not before he managed to draw my blood as well. That is about all there was to it. I knew you would want to know and I would also like to know what this creature is for I have not encountered one such as he beofre."
"What do you mean you countered his fireball?" Elrohir had asked the question before he saw the cautionary look on his father's face.
When Anayah seemed to be uncomfortable in giving an answer, Gandalf patted her arm gently.
"Young lady, this is your family now, and a more honorably family I have yet to have the pleasure of meeting. You may speak freely to them."
When she finally looked into his eyes, she saw a twinkle and a good-natured wink. Sighing, she finally told them what she had done.
"I threw one back at him!" She said quietly.
"One what?" Elrohir seemed puzzled by her answer until his twin swatted him alongside his head. His eyes widened when he finally understood what exactly it was that his sister meant.
"A fire ball, ok? I threw a stupid fire ball right back in his stupid, ugly face, and missed!" She crossed her arms angrily and looked away with angry tears filling her eyes.
Elrond looked at her a moment before he spoke. "Anayah what is upsetting you? Is it that you missed your target or is it that you suspect this family will think you odd because of what you are able to do?"
"I'm sorry for being such a child about this, Ada, but I'm just not feeling myself right now. In truth, I didn't know how any of you would react if you found out what I could do."
Gandalf sensed the immediate emotional crisis was over. "You did the right thing when you summoned me Anayah. But can you tell me anything about the being himself - what he look like or any impressions that you may have got from him?"
She shuddered at the remembrance of her encounter and looked away from the wizard and sensing his sister's emotions, Elrohir laid a comforting hand on her uninjured arm. When Lord Elrond saw the color drain from her already pale face, he gave her the cup of tea he had been holding and this time she drank it without complaining. After spending some time collecting her thoughts, she continued.
"He looked, felt and acted like one of the Nine, Gandalf, and yet I was able to wound him ... he bled, he showed fear and he ran. It was a very strange experience."
When Anayah made the comparison of the creature of the evening before to the Nazgûl, all three elves and the wizard sat up straighter and looked at one another nervously. She continued.
"The feelings I got from him were very - evil - there is no other way to describe it." Everyone but the distressed young she-elf felt the room shake.
Gandalf patted her arm. "Anayah, would you give me your consent to look at your memory of last night?"
Nodding, she closed her eyes as Gandalf laid his hand on her forehead and closed his own. The two stayed that way for some moments and once more, the room began to shake, more intensely than the time before. The cup rattled in its saucer and Elrohir grabbed it to still the rattle while Elladan looked at his father questioningly. Lord Elrond just shook his head and remained silent.
Without opening his eyes or breaking their mental link, Gandalf told the young she-elf to calm herself after which, everything in the room stilled once more and after another moment or two had passed, the wizard opened his eyes and removed his hand from Anayah's forehead. Frowning, he gestured towards the water pitcher, indicating he was thirsty. After quickly drinking a glass of the liquid, he spent a moment gathering his thoughts before sharing them with those in the room.
"I am greatly disturbed by what I have seen and even though I do not have all the information I need to speak with certainty, I can tell you this - the creature our dear Anayah fought last night was indeed a wraith, not one of the Nazgûl, but something almost as deadly!"
TBC