Chapter 21
Ember's legs shook as goblins on either side of her forced her to her feet before the Goblin King. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the foul smell of his breath as the King peered at her. "What are you doing here, girl? Did these nasty dwarves kidnap you?" She refused to answer him, keeping her eyes down. A single finger lifted her chin then her face whipped to the side as he struck her. The dwarves protested loudly, and the King grinned. "Maybe they asked you to keep their beds warm throughout their journey?" Kili growled with rage, and the King chuckled. "Appears you have kept at least one of them busy at night!" He struck her face again, laughing. Suddenly, Ember felt her power surge and she lifted her eyes to him. The King gasped as the full force of her eyes pierced his own.
"Release me," she demanded quietly. The king seemed confused.
"Release you…" he muttered uncertainly. She struggled against the goblins holding her arms.
"Release US!" she ordered, pulling on her powers of persuasion. The King seemed dazed, and was about to speak, when one of the goblins holding her yelped in pain.
"Her skin! It BURNS!" It squealed. It smacked Ember's skull from behind and her eyes were ripped away from the King. He shook his head, before glaring down at her. Ember tried to focus, but her head was swimming.
"You like fire, do you?" He growled. "Let me show you how much we like fire!" She was dragged to a large stone, forced to her knees and pressed face down, her arms yanked to either side. The King raked his long claw down her back, tearing open her shirt and corset, exposing her the pale skin of her back. The dwarves started struggling, Kili roaring in rage, but Ember whipped her head towards them, and they stopped as her eyes held theirs.
"Do nothing," she commanded. She kept her gaze on the dwarves, not allowing any one them to break free, as a large goblin approached with a long black brand in his hand. The tip of the brand glowed red hot, and she struggled to maintain her control over her dwarves. Their fear for her was nearly overpowering, Kili was fighting her most of all, struggling to be free of her gaze. But she couldn't let them risk the mission just for her. The brand was handed to the Goblin King.
"One last chance! Tell me your business here, or she will taste my fire!" The silence from the dwarves angered the King, and he furiously pressed the hot brand to the tender flesh of her low back. A soul wrenching scream ripped from Ember, her eyes closing in agony, the smell of her burning flesh wafting in the air.
"Stop!" Thorin demanded, stepping forward, now free of Ember's gaze.
"Thorin, no," Ember murmured. She was too weak to influence him, fighting the urge to faint from the pain. She could hear the others restraining Kili, heard him screaming her name as she dropped her head onto the cold stone.
"Well, well, well, look who it is. Thorin son of Thrain, son of Thror; King under the Mountain." The Goblin King bowed mockingly at Thorin. "Oh, but I'm forgetting, you don't have a mountain. And you're not a king. Which makes you nobody, really." He laughed at his own joke. Ember's eyes flashed in anger.
"He's more of a king than you can ever be, leib valaz maak al an barathaz rukhsitaz haak!" The king roared at her insult, ripping her away from the stone. He swung a massive club into her ribs, and blood spurted from her mouth. He tossed her limp body towards the discarded pile of weapons.
"Ember!" Kili cried, struggling wildly against Dwalin.
"Enough of this!" The king roared. He glared down at Thorin. "I know someone who would pay a pretty price for your head…and hers." He gestured towards Ember's motionless body. "Just the head, nothing attached. Perhaps you know of whom I speak, an old enemy of yours. A Pale Orc astride a White Warg." Thorin looked at the Goblin in disbelief.
"Azog the Defiler was destroyed. He was slain in battle long ago." Thorin said.
"So, you think his defiling days are done, do you?" The king laughed. "Maybe we will use her to test that theory!" He turned to a small goblin. "Send word to the Pale Orc; tell him I have found his prizes." Thorin's eyes widened, glancing back at his Company. The confusion was apparent on their faces as well. They all knew why Azog would want Thorin….but why would he want Ember?
The sounds of harsh singing brought Ember slowly back to consciousness. She slowly opened her eyes, staring at the pile of weapons and trinkets in front of her. Her eyes shifted, seeing before her the key to Erebor. She slowly moved her hand towards it, pain rippling through her body. Her fingers lightly grasped the key, pulling it back to her body and easing it into a deep leg pocket. The effort had cost her, and she slipped back into the darkness. No one had noticed her movement, all eyes were on the massive instruments of torture that the goblins were bringing towards their King, who was dancing and singing loudly.
"Bones will be shattered, necks will be wrung!
You'll be beaten and battered from the racks you'll be hung.
You will die down here and never be found,
Down in the deep of Goblin TOWN!"
He finished with a loud roar, as his minions cheered his anthem. "Has that female awoken yet?" The king asked, grunting in anticipation. A goblin approached Ember, but was distracted by a weapon lying near her. He picked up the sword, sliding it from his sheath. Screaming in horror, he threw the sword down in front of the king. "I know that sword!" The king screeched in fear. "It is the Goblin-Cleaver, the Biter, the blade that sliced a thousand necks! Slash them! Beat them! Kill them! Kill them all! CUT OF HIS HEAD!" Goblins grabbed Thorin tightly, holding him down. One pulled out a curved knife, preparing to behead him. Suddenly, a massive explosion of bright light broke through the darkness, flinging goblins in the air and destroying the torture machines. The blast knocked everyone to the ground, even the Goblin King. Thorin rolled away from his captors. Everyone stared up at as a figure came into view.
"Take up arms!" Gandalf yelled. "Fight! FIGHT!" The dwarves quickly scrambled to their feet, punching and kicking the goblins around them. Dwalin reached the pile of weapons first, tossing several to their owners. Bofur raced to Ember, gently reaching for the front of her shirt and tying it around her neck, covering her chest. He noticed Oin's ear trumpet and grabbed it, before he scooped Ember up in his arms. Kili reached for her but Bofur shook his head.
"You're a better fighter than I, lad. We need your sword! Go!" Bofur cried. Kili nodded at him, trusting him with his One.
"Follow me! Quick! RUN!" Gandalf shouted, racing along a walkway leading away from the throne room. Dwalin pulled out his axes, slicing at the goblins racing towards them. Sounds of swords clanging and grunts of pain echoed the air as the Company raced through the tunnels. They soon approached a bridge that seemed to be leading out of the giant cavern. As they tried to cross the bridge, the Goblin King suddenly broke through from underneath the bridge, pulling himself up in front of the Company.
"You thought you could escape me?" The king sneered in disgust. "What are you going to do now, wizard?" Gandalf looked at the others, before leaping forward and striking the king in the eye with his staff. The king grabbed his face in pain, as Gandalf stepped forward, slicing into the great belly before him. The king looked stunned down at his belly. "That'll do it." The king mumbled in shock. Gandalf swung his great sword at the King's neck, and he fell down dead. The dead weight caused the bridge to start shaking. Bofur clung tightly to Ember, as the bridge began to slide down the wall of the cavern, demolishing everything in its path. As it neared the base of the cavern, the bridge finally broke apart, and the dwarves landed in a pile of broken wood and timber. The jolt brought Ember back to consciousness, and she thrashed in startled fear, backing away from Bofur, who was still stuck in the wreckage.
"Well, that could have been worse," Bofur said. He spoke too soon as the dead corpse of the Goblin King plummeted onto them, squishing them.
"You've got to be joking!" Dwalin growled. Kili reached for Ember, and she curled into his embrace. He looked up and saw thousands of Goblins racing down the cavern towards them.
"GANDALF!" Kili cried, lifting Ember into his arms.
"There's too many! We can't fight them!" Dwalin yelled.
"Only one thing will save us; daylight! Come on! Here, on your feet!" The Company raced after Gandalf, trusting that he knew where he was going. They soon saw an opening, with daylight shining like a beacon into the darkness. They raced through the exit, and down the mountainside. Finally, gasping for breath, they stopped, Gandalf counting to make sure they were all accounted for. At her insistence, Kili relunctantly lowered Ember, her legs wobbling. She whimpered softly, her wounds burning, her thirst unbearable. "Where is the Hobbit? Where is Bilbo?" Gandalf cried.
"Curse the halfling! Now he's lost?" Dwalin groaned.
"I thought he was with Dori!" Gloin said.
"Don't blame me!" Dori yelled in defence.
"Well, where did you last see him?" Gandalf asked.
"I think I saw him slip away, when they first collared us," Nori spoke up.
"What happened exactly? Tell me!" Gandalf spoke frantically.
"I'll tell you what happened. Master Baggins saw his chance and he took it! He's thought of nothing but his soft bed and his warm hearth since he first stepped out of his door! We will not be seeing our Hobbit again. He is long gone!" Thorin snarled. Ember shook off Kili, stumbling towards Thorin angrily. But before she could say anything, a small voice broke the silence.
"No, he isn't." Bilbo strode forward, patting Balin affectionately on the shoulder. He reached for Ember, who grasped his hand with a small smile.
"Bilbo! We'd given you up!" Kili smiled.
"How on earth did you get past the Goblins?!" Fili added.
"How indeed?" Dwalin frowned in suspicion.
"What does it matter?" Gandalf spoke up. "He's back!"
"It matters!" Thorin said. "I want to know; why did you come back?" He glared down at the Hobbit.
"Look, I know you doubt me, I know you always have. And you're right, I often think of Bag End. I miss my books, my armchair, and my garden. See, that's where I belong. That's MY home. And that's why I came back, because you don't have one. A home. It was taken from you. But I will help you take it back if I can." Thorin stared in silence at the Hobbit, before a terrible thought entered his mind. The key.
"You want to help? You will go back and get the key which those filth stole from me!" Thorin said quietly. Bilbo looked at him steadily. Ember glared in anger.
"You would send him, alone, back to that place?" she asked tightly. He glanced at her, noticing how angry she was.
"He is our burglar, isn't he?" Thorin sneered. "They removed the key when they took our weapons, we cannot continue our quest without it. Go on, burglar!" Ember strode forward and slapped Thorin across the face. He stared at her in shock, as tears filled her eyes.
"Why do you hate him so much? All he has ever tried to do is prove to you that he belongs with this Company. And now you would send him alone into certain death, because you want MORE proof? You care more about this quest than any of the people who are in it with you!" He stared at the small girl before him, bruised, bloody, her words a knife to his heart. "Bilbo is more than our burglar. He is our friend, a part of this family. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" She angrily slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the key, throwing it at him. They all gasped in surprise.
"How…" he trailed off.
"Take your precious key. Take it with you to your mountain. I was wrong when I said you were more of a king than that Goblin. Right now, you are no king of mine." She broke off, her tears spilling down her cheeks. The Company rumbled in anger at her words. She turned to Kili, noting the pained look in his eyes, torn between his love for her and Thorin. Suddenly a loud howling filled the early evening air.
"Out of the frying pan…" Thorin murmured.
"…and into the fire! Run! RUN!" Gandalf yelled. The Company raced down the mountain as fast as they could. Before she could argue, Dwalin had grabbed her into his strong arms, carrying her as they fled. They could hear the Wargs gaining on them as the sun began to set. The Company reached large outcropping of land, with a few trees growing near the edge. They realized that they were trapped. "Up into the trees, all of you! Come on! Climb, Bilbo! Climb!" Bifur threw an ax, killing a Warg that was approaching, before scrambling up into the tree. Bofur jumped off of a rock, grabbing a tree branch. The other dwarves began to climb as well. Dwalin looked at Ember, smiling reassuringly at her before tossing her into the air. She landed in Fili's arms, on a low tree branch. Fili kissed her forehead before tossing her again, and she felt strong arms grab her, felt Kili's body press against her. He pressed her to the tree trunk. She coughed violently, spitting blood from her mouth in pain. Kili looked at her worriedly, as she smiled weakly at him. Gandalf climbed to the top of the furthest tree. Dwalin boosted Balin into the tree next to them. Ember looked up at Gandalf. He was whispering to…a moth? He blew the tiny bug gently, causing it to flutter away. Her attention turned as the Wargs ceased their growling. A white Warg, with a pale Orc on its back approached slowly. Thorin's face was a mask of disbelief.
"Azog?"
leib valaz maak al an barathaz rukhsitaz haak - You cowardly son of a bloody goblin bitch