Chapter 4:

All things considered, captivity was actually pretty boring. The wraiths rode essentially the whole of the nights and through a good portion of the days as well, stopping only to rest the horses and allow Irideth to eat and stretch her cramped muscles. They also spoke little, which bored Irideth even further as well as kept her slightly on edge. Though it was nice, Irideth supposed, not to know how close they were drawing to Mordor and her ultimate fate; she probably wouldn't be able to bear the constant anxiety.

The only thing that had broken the monotony of the journey had come today, when her three wraiths had met up with another three whose names, Irideth had learned, were Khamul, Adunaphel and Morgomir.

As Uvatha had predicted, Khamul and Adunaphel were less than pleased with the fact that Murazor had kidnapped her, and the three were currently having a very heated debate in Black Speech in the middle of a forest grove. Irideth sat on a log with Akorahil while Uvatha and Morgomir tended to the sweating horses.

"What are they saying?" Irideth asked in a whisper, watching as the three fighting wraiths hissed back and forth at one another.

"Murazor is adamant that we present you to Lord Sauron; Khamul is torn. He agrees that Lord Sauron will wish to examine you, but he has reservations about taking you to Mordor because of the orcs and our Master's other… less than savory servants. Adunaphel is displeased with the whole affair and believes we should leave you at the nearest village," Akorahil answered.

"Why?" Irideth asked.

"Your age," Akorahil answered simply. "She is currently arguing that it would be possible to set a ring of spies about you, observe, and if necessary retrieve you at a later date."

Irideth blanched at the thought. "What if I ran away?"

"We would likely be sent to retrieve you immediately." At this, Akorahil turned his hooded head to look at her. "Child, whether you like it or not, Lord Sauron will be made aware of you in one way or another. There is no escaping him now."

Irideth felt a chill run down her spine and looked at her hands, interlacing her fingers and clenching her hands into one large fist.

"Do you… is it… possible that… that Lord Sauron will decide to let me go?"

"It is impossible to say, little one. And even if he does decide to release you, you will never be unwatched again."

"Help! Help!"

Irideth glanced up in surprise at the crow that had spoken, startled that one would be speaking in the Royal tongue so far from any elven settlements.

"Help! Help!" the crow called again. Irideth blinked in confusion. It was plainly not a Royal crow, yet it spoke the Royal tongue Carantar had taught her…

Irideth realized then what it meant and her heart leaped in her chest. The crow didn't need help; it was telling her help was here! Carantar and the pack had followed the wraiths! They were going to rescue her! Carantar must have taught this crow, it was the only explanation.

Irideth ducked her head again so Akorahil wouldn't see her smile. She tensed as though afraid, turning away from the wraith and lying down so her body was draped over the log. She closed her eyes and after a few minutes, when her breathing had evened out, she heard Akorahil get up and head in the direction of the horses.

Barely a minute later she felt a velvety nose pressing against her face. She opened her eyes to see Carantar standing beside her, crouched slightly so he was hidden by the log. After a quick glance at the wraiths showed that none of them were looking, Irideth grabbed the scruff of Carantar's neck and swung herself onto his back. Satisfied that she was settled, Carantar turned and made his way back into the trees without a sound. As Carantar walked, they were soon joined by Rochanar, Mithlas, Celephinnel and Nimril. Irideth greeted each of them with a silent, grateful look.

As though on some silent cue, the wolves all picked up a steady, ground eating trot in a bid to get as far from the wraiths as possible before they realized their prisoner was missing.

They had made it a little more than a mile when they heard the first cry. Carantar and the wolves immediately broke into a run while Irideth buried her face in the alpha's fur, doing her utmost to keep from trembling.

"We can't go back to the village; that's the first place they'll look," she said to Carantar as they ran.

"I am aware. You will be staying with the pack for a time," Carantar responded between pants.

They kept running. Before too long, however, the wolves' ears pricked up.

"Hoof beats. They know we went this way," Rochanar said, baring his teeth in a frightened snarl.

Irideth's heart froze in her chest. "You can't outrun them, not while carrying me."

"No," Carantar agreed. "But we can hide you." That being said, he reached back and grabbed ahold of Irideth's shirt in his teeth, pulling her off his back and dropping her in a large tussock of ferns with a startled yelp.

"Your false furs blend well here. They should hide you well enough. We will lead the Deadwalkers away and return for you," Carantar said.

Irideth leaped up and gave him a quick, hard hug. "Please be careful, all of you. I couldn't… I couldn't bear to lose you, too," she sniffed, barely keeping her tears in check. Carantar, Mithlas and Celephinnel all gave her face a brief lick before the wolves all dashed off in different directions. Irideth hunkered down between the leaves of the ferns; there was nothing to do now but wait.

She didn't have to wait long. Within the span of minutes she herself heard the sound of hoof beats, then saw the hooves of the wraiths' horses as they went trotting past her hiding place. However, they paused barely a moment later. Someone… Uvatha or Khamul… said something in Black Speech, and a short debate sprang up.

They know the wolves have split up, Irideth realized. She screwed her eyes shut, resisting the urge to clap her hands over her ears as the wraiths' voices seemed to chill the surrounding air.

The debate seemed to last an eternity to Irideth, but finally the wraiths split up, each following a different wolf's path. One, to Irideth's horror, remained in the clearing.

Murazor's horse paced in slow circles as his rider turned his hood left and right, examining the ground. Irideth hardly dared to breathe as he rode past her again and again, feeling that the slightest sound or shift in position would give her away. Eventually, Murazor guided his horse down one of the wolves' trails at a steady trot, disappearing into the foliage.

Irideth still didn't dare move; she suspected a trick.

After several minutes, however, Irideth shifted her position just slightly so she could lie down, pillowing her head on her arm. She had a feeling she would be here a while; she might as well rest while she could.


The sound of crackling leaves woke Irideth with a start. She nearly screamed, then realized with a sigh of relief that it was only Celephinnel, coming to stand over her. It was twilight, Irideth realized with alarm. According to all the stories she'd heard, the Nazgul's power grew in the night; they would be able to see her without the aid of their horses.

Unless… Murazor had said that her life force was practically invisible. Maybe they wouldn't see her.

But they could find the wolves.

"I don't think I should go with you," Irideth said abruptly. Celephinnel tilted his head to the side, puzzled.

"Murazor… one of the wraiths… he told me that they can't see my life force, but they can see yours. I have a better chance of escaping them if I'm alone," Irideth explained in a rush.

"You are certain they were not lying?" Celephinnel asked.

"Yes; that was the only explanation he gave for taking me. He said… he said that Sauron would want to examine me, to find out why," Irideth answered with a shudder.

Celephinnel snarled at the name of the Enemy. Then he said, "If this is true, you should go alone. Travel south-west; you should find the rest of the pack within three or four days. Those of us who came here will find you when we can."

Irideth hugged him quickly, planting a quick kiss on his nose, before running off in the direction he'd indicated.

Barely five minutes later, she heard a cry from one of the wraiths coming from the direction of the clearing; it sounded absolutely furious.

Irideth broke into a sprint.


Murazor glared daggers at the wolf that was snarling up at him, fur bristling along its spine. The wraith grasped the hilt of his sword, drawing it while his horse snorted and pawed the ground threateningly.

"Where is she, wolf?" he hissed. "Lead me to her, and I will allow you to live."

The wolf's only response was a low growl, which Murazor correctly interpreted as direct refusal.

"Well, then. If you will not assist me in that way, perhaps you can assist me in another."

Faster than the eye could track, the deadly silver blade came flashing down.

The wolf yowled in pain as he fell.


Irideth crouched beneath a bush, shaking. Celephinnel lay in the center of the clearing she had just left, whimpering quietly every now and then. There was a large wound in his left side, blackened by poison; he would bleed to death in less than half an hour if left like this.

Irideth swallowed thickly, tears running silently down her cheeks. She wanted to go to him, to comfort him at least, maybe try to help him, but… Oh, Valar, this was obviously a trap!

"Child… do not…"

Irideth screwed her eyes shut at Celephinnel's whine. He wasn't looking at her, but he plainly knew his role in whatever plan the wraiths had crafted. He could smell her, he knew she was here and he wanted her to run.

Another pained whine had Irideth ignoring all sense and running out into the clearing, dropping to her knees by his side.

"Celephinnel," she whispered, voice thick with tears. "Celephinnel, I'm so sorry!"

The sound of crackling leaves drew her attention to the other side of the clearing. A black horse stepped from the shadows, guided by Murazor, whose hooded gaze was fixed on her.

"Child," the wraith said. "I can heal him, if you will come to me and submit to being bound."

"What?" Irideth said, unconsciously fisting her hands in Celephinnel's fur. "You…," she swallowed, then ducked her head. "I don't want to be tied up," she whispered, biting back a sob.

"You have proven yourself too troublesome to be left unbound and unsupervised. That condition is nonnegotiable," Murazor said.

Irideth screwed her eyes shut, burying her face in Celephinnel's fur. There had to be a way out of this; there had to be! What if Murazor was lying? Celephinnel would die without medicine! She couldn't let that happen, she'd just lost Cevin!

Celephinnel's surprised woof drew her back to herself; she realized her hands felt strangely warm, as did her core. Irideth raised her tear-stained face and blinked, gasping in surprise.

Her hands were glowing faintly with a warm golden light and Celephinnel… Celephinnel's wound was healing! The blackness had already receded, and the wound had begun to look like it was days old, not a few minutes.

Irideth's brow furrowed in concentration as she focused on the exposed sinews and torn skin. The glow increased and the wound began healing faster; in a matter of seconds it was almost gone.

After a few seconds though Irideth had to sit back, gasping, perspiration dripping into her eyes; she felt strangely drained, as though she'd been running too hard for too long. Celephinnel sat up, looking at his mostly-healed side in astonishment.

"Child, what did you just do?" Murazor hissed.

Irideth, suddenly remembering her audience, gulped. "I… I don't know I've… never done anything like that before. It just… happened."

Then she screamed when Murazor drove his horse forward, armored hand darting out faster than she could track and latching onto the front of her dress, hauling her upward. Celephinnel howled in fury, biting at the horse's side and forcing it to move sideways. Murazor, however, kept his seat and his hold on Irideth.

Irideth, feeling that strange burning feeling in her core again, decided to grab onto Murazor's arm. Let me GO!

She was just as surprised as the clearing's other occupants when bright orange flames flowed from her palms, igniting the wraith's dark cloak. Murazor dropped her with a pained shriek, the flames traveling rapidly up his arm and over the rest of his cloak. His horse reared in a panic and dashed off into the trees while Celephinnel nosed a winded Irideth to her feet. Irideth quickly hauled herself onto the wolf's back and they too ran off into the trees, in the direction opposite the one the wraith and his horse had taken.


Uvatha and Khamul would not stop laughing, and it was getting annoying.

"It's not funny!" Murazor snapped for the umpteenth time. He'd expected the reaction from Uvatha, but to have his lieutenant joining in was a little bit insulting.

"Not funny? The Black Captain, the Witch-King of Angmar, being out-fought by an eight year old girl isn't funny?" Uvatha asked between laughs. Khamul cracked up again, while Akorahil snorted and Adunaphel coughed into her fist. Morgomir and Indur, at least, were blessedly silent. Judging by the noise behind him, Hoarmurath and Ren were cackling to themselves as they loosened the horses' girths.

They had been joined by the final three wraiths shortly before dawn, and eight of them had been conversing when Murazor rode up to them, still patting out the flames on his cloak. Uvatha hadn't shut up since.

"This is more serious than I initially thought! The girl is a magic-user!"

That got everyone sobering up a bit.

"Magic? Are you sure?" Khamul asked.

"Where else would she have gotten fire from? Carrying a torch in her skirts?" Murazor said. "She can heal as well."

If the magic had sobered everyone up, this turned several heads.

"Healing? A human with healing magic?" Indur asked incredulously.

Murazor turned his head to glare at him and Indur raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I don't mean any offense, it's just… that's unheard of."

"So is a being without a soul," Adunaphel pointed out.

Silence reigned for a few moments. Then Ren said the words they'd all been dreading.

"If what you say is true, we need to report this to Lord Sauron. Immediately."

"And return to him without the girl?" Hoarmurath shot back. "He won't be pleased about that."

"Khamul and I will go," Murazor said. "The rest of you, track down the girl. We will rejoin you once we have delivered our report. If you find her and you see an opportunity, capture, do not kill, and try to avoid unnecessary injury."

"If she can set fire to things just by touching them, that might prove to be a bit of an issue," Uvatha muttered.

"It will be an even bigger issue if we return to Lord Sauron empty-handed a second time," Murazor responded gravely.

If wraiths could gulp, those present certainly did so.