Katie was deep in thought as she walked swiftly alongside Arwen's horse. Something in Elrohir's words had snagged in her mind. Somebody named Delwon wore a "marker" on a thong around his neck. "Radek" had lost one when the thong broke. It was elf-magic, used to signal the "others", who would be waiting on the far bank for the signal to cross the Ford.

There had been no one on the other side of the river when Mithrandir's party came through, but that didn't mean they were headed that direction, and in fact, it had been several minutes and it was quite possible they were there already.

Elrohir hadn't known that the ellyn had returned to Rivendell; he was worried that Delwon would set off the marker to call in reinforcements, and they would be overrun. But there was something Elrohir hadn't thought of. His own presence in the water was what had allowed Delwon to cross, and they had left him there. Arwen said it was for the return journey. But it was just as possible that he had been left there so that the others could cross as well! With Elrohir gone—and it was so dark now that the reinforcements wouldn't be able to see if he were there or not—the river would take care of the bandits before they ever reached Rivendell. The bandits were a threat; they needed to get rid of them, get them to enter the river. They needed to set off the marker.

At this point in her musings, Katie heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching and looked up. Three riders were bearing down on them—Estel, Elladan and Glorfindel. Katie stepped aside so that Estel and Elladan could pull up on either side of Arwen's horse.

"Muindor-nín?" Elladan said quietly, touching his twin's battered face. But there was no response.

"Let us not stop here," Estel said in a low voice. "We must get him to Lord Elrond as quickly as possible."

The others agreed, and Glorfindel offered Katie his hand and pulled her up behind him. They became silent, but for the quiet constant sound of Arwen murmuring comfortingly to her brother in Elvish. Katie's mind flew back to its earlier thoughts.

They had to find Delwon's marker. If Delwon escaped the battle, Elrond was going to have to send somebody to hunt him down, and they probably wouldn't find him. But if Delwon had been killed, perhaps he was still wearing it? As for how to set it off—it was "elf-magic", wasn't it? Someone would surely know how it worked. And they had to set that marker off quickly, before anyone who might've escaped the fight got to the Ford to warn the others. Speed was imperative.

As they entered the torchlight of Rivendell, a crowd hurried up to them, Elrond at the fore. Elrohir was carefully lowered from Arwen's horse, and Elladan carried swiftly into the house, Elrond leading the way. But Katie caught Erestor's sleeve before he could follow.

"Which one is Delwon?" she asked urgently. Erestor, startled didn't answer her immediately, but Arwen and Mithrandir joined them. "There are more bandits waiting on the other side of the Ford for a sign to attack. Elrohir told us Delwon wears a marker around his neck. We have to find it and set it off."

"He is right over here," Erestor said immediately, and headed for one of the bodies on the ground. Katie turned her face away; she didn't want to see any more dead bodies. That had happened enough on her last visit to last her a lifetime.

After a moment, he returned. "There is nothing," he said, puzzled.

An ellon Katie recognized as Sadron appeared to have overheard this conversation. "When Delwon fell, one of the bandits snatched something from the front of his tunic and fled," he offered. "It must've been the marker."

Katie threw up her arms in a helpless and frustrated gesture and turned away. She thought she was finally going to be able to help, finally going to do the thing she had been sent to do, by putting all the pieces together.

But it wasn't over yet. Her mind kept coming back to what Elrohir had said: Radek lost his when the thong broke.

Katie clapped her hands over her mouth and her eyes widened. "What is it?" Arwen asked her, concerned. Katie shook her head, thinking furiously. Did it fit? Was it possible?

"I know where it is!" she burst out, then turned on her heel and ran for the house.

Arwen took a step after her, then stopped. "What does she mean?" she asked the others, who shook their heads. Mithrandir looked thoughtfully after the strange girl.

Katie flew down the corridors as fast as her skirts and her legs would permit. She ducked and dodged around a number of elves she encountered in the lamplight, finally skidding to a stop and racing into her own quarters.

Where had Lithorniel put her clothes? She pulled out one of the drawers in the dresser and started flinging things everywhere. Not that, not that, not that… Where on earth were her own clothes? The ones she had arrived in?

She pulled out another drawer and started rummaging. There! Jeans, a tshirt… and her hoodie.

Praying her personal effects had been left where they were found, she stuck her hand in the pocket of the sweatshirt. Nothing. She tried the other, and her fingers closed around the object she was hunting.

Barely taking a moment to cry, "YES!" triumphantly, she dashed out of the room and retraced her earlier path back to the courtyard.

"I've got it!" she cried, hurtling toward the small group, who still stood where she had left them. Coming to a screeching halt in front of them, she held out the object to them.

Mithrandir took it gingerly and examined it. It was a small wooden pendant on a leather thong.

"I found it in the woods when I came!" Katie gasped out. "Well, actually, I landed on it. Elrohir said Radek lost his in the woods when the thong broke. Look," she said, pointing to the torn place in the leather. "This is it!"

"Perhaps," Gandalf said, turning the object over.

"I know it is," Katie said with assurance. "It has to be."

Gandalf didn't question how she knew, only looked at her green eyes glinting with triumph. He didn't need to know how, but it was obvious she knew it anyway.

"But how do we set it off?" Erestor said, looking intently at the marker. He had obviously never seen something like this before, and no one else looked any more confident than he.

Katie paused only a moment before saying, "Burn it."

"What?"

"Burn it! Elrohir said not to set it off—not to get it in the fire. We have to burn it!"

Once again, she seemed completely sure. So without further ado, Gandalf touched the end of his gnarled staff to the marker in his hand, and set it alight.

The others fell back, startled, as something shot into the air and exploded in a brilliant flash of light, like fireworks or a flare gun. Katie jumped and gave a little yelp.

Far away, the elves heard the sound of a shout, of many voices calling. Then a pause—and the slow, mounting sound of rushing water. Screams of terror pierced the night air as the river rose and plunged over the remaining bandits, dashing them against the rocks of their own greed and drowning them in their own selfishness.

The slavers were never seen again.

000

Elladan laid Elrohir down on his own bed and opened the front of his tunic. He and Estel both gasped at what they saw there. Elrohir's chest and stomach were absolutely covered in a terrible collage of purple and black bruises and a number of old lacerations. It was obvious that at least a couple of his ribs had been broken, signified by the swelling around them.

Further removing his tunic revealed more wounds and signs of a beating so extensive, Elrond was amazed that more of his bones had not been broken than just a few ribs. He rubbed some salve onto his son's bruises whilst Elladan washed the dried blood off of his face. Finishing, the elder twin smoothed what little hair Elrohir retained off of his forehead.

"Brutes!" he said in a choked voice. "They could have at least left his hair alone!"

Both he and his father jumped and turned toward the window as they saw a flash and heard a loud sound from the courtyard. Leaving his brother's bedside for a moment, Elladan ran to the window and looked out.

"I think it was something Mithrandir did, though I cannot tell why," he reported, coming back to his father. "I am sure they will tell us later."

000

Katie felt a strange sense of elation as the marker went off, and she knew from the expressions on the faces around her that they had succeeded. For a moment she stood perfectly still, waiting for the sound of bells. But none came.

The shock and disappointment ran through her like ice. That had been it, hadn't it? The reason she had come? Ilúvatar had dropped her down in the middle of the forest in the snow so that she would slip and land on the marker and take it into Rivendell, and use it to protect the elven lord's people. She had done that. So why had she not disappeared? The fire of anger took the place of the icy feeling. What more did he want from her?.!

She realized that Arwen had taken her arm and was saying her name, and she shook her head, coming back to the present.

"Katie," Arwen said commandingly, and was relieved to see the girl turn and focus on her. The strangest expressions had flitted across her face and instant before, and Arwen wondered if she were ill or in shock. But the eyes that lit upon her face were clear and aware, though strange emotions broiled in their depths.

"Come, let us go inside," Arwen said. The ellyn were clearing the bodies from the courtyard, and it was preferable to leave. Besides, she wanted to be in the house when her father was finished working over Elrohir, so that she could find out his condition.

Katie nodded, understanding. "Yes," she repeated almost to herself in a disappointed voice, "let's go in."

Exodus 14:13-14, 27-28

TBC

AN: Aaaand the cliffies have it! The number of reviews on this fic is gaining on the ones for "Something Rotton in Rivendell"! lol

crazycatluver: lol Oh, but cliffies are so much fun to write! And they're great for holding up the tension.

Erasuithiel: Yes, the idea of the river letting non-Rivendellians (I know, not a word…) cross the Ford as long as a Rivendellian was actually in the water was a plot point in a fic by Jay of Lasgalen. And I thought, You know, you could use that to make a very interesting fic… And so this plot was born!. :) And I definitely recommend Jay of Lasgalen's stuff.

werewoflemming: Have spent a bit of time this morning writing the chappie for the HP fic, and hope to have it posted soon!

Ravens Destiny: I love it when reviewers start making predictions. It's always fun to see how far off or how close they are. My goodness, we're a bit sadistic, aren't we? lol

Madd Hatter: lol Refreshing to find an Elrond fangirl! You're a rare species, you know. I would pay to see Elrond kill somebody with his Eyebrows of Doom™. (Have you ever read the Owner's Manual fics? The Elrond one is particularly amusing, by Allocin.)

Thanks also to Fk306 and lunelwe! Once again, reviewer demand caused this chapter to be published quicker. :)

I'm running out of jokes. Just review. lol