A/N: Thanks so much to all those who have stuck with this story. You are all greatly appreciated.

Chapter Five

Just before the skin of their naked bodies could touch in a passionate embrace, there was a loud rumbling followed by strong vibrations.

Though startled, Quintella knew exactly what it was and quickly pushed Legolas away from her. Once he had rolled onto the bed beside her, she sat up and angrily narrowed her eyes. "Altimir, why have you interrupted my pleasure?" It was obvious she was upset, but there was also a touch of trepidation in her voice. There was only so far she knew she could go when speaking in such a manner to the Lord of Pantos.

"You are not allowed to be physically intimate with a captive. You know this," the voice of the demon boomed out.

"I have had others," the woman pointed out, as she looked down on the pleasing form of the ethereal being next to her. "Why not him?"

"You planned to go too far with this one. You are a Priestess and must remain chaste. I demand that of you for all I have given you. You agreed to this rule."

"But it has been so long," she pouted. "And he is so beautiful. I have been faithful to you. I had hoped for a reward."

"Do you not consider immortality a reward?"

Quintella wanted to argue further, but she knew that, in the end, it would not only prove to be useless but might anger Altimir to the point that she would be punished with the removal of her immortality.

Her fears were confirmed when Altimir said, "I can revoke that gift of immortality and make it as you were when first you came here. Then you could do as you wish."

Quintella blanched and reconsidered saying anything further. For one thing, Alrimir was right. Chastity had been one of the prerequisites for her current position, a position that she dearly coveted. All the other captives she had been with had merely been superficial dalliances.

Staring down at the elf, she sighed. He would have been supremely delightful, she had no doubt, but he was not worth the sacrifice it would take to have him the way she truly wanted him.

Altimir's interruption had put a damper on her desire, for the moment at leas, so she stood and reached down toward the pile of clothes on the floor. With one hand she grasped the elf's belongings and threw them to him with a terse, "Get dressed."

Her sleek, black dress she donned in a matter of seconds, slipping it easily over her head and letting it slide down until it settled on her body.

Legolas, still in a spell-induced fog and having no feelings one way or the other about the turn of events, did as he was bid. In short order, he, too, was dressed again.

Out of the habit of centuries, he reached up, grasped the hair on each side of his head and pulled the strands together at the back. With deft fingers he began to braid it.

"Leave it," Quintella said, as she took the elf's hand and began walking away from the bed, pulling him with her.

x x x x x

Aragorn, sword in hand, crunched across the glass-strewn floor, as he led Elladan, Elrohir and Gandalf toward the rear of the temple. His temper was barely under control, as he approached the wall.

Just as he reached the rear of the temple, it began to shake. Fearing that Altimir was trying to warn them to halt their advance, Aragorn stopped and glared at the barrier in front of him.

It quickly became obvious that someone on the other side was speaking rather loudly. A deep, muffled voice was heard, but the ranger could not discern the words being spoken. It sounded more like rumbling thunder than anything else.

He turned to look at his elven brothers, knowing that their hearing was much more keen than his own, but all they did was shake their heads. So did Gandalf, when Aragorn looked his way.

Elladan explained. "We cannot hear the words, Estel. He must be speaking to Quintella and Legolas and must not wish us to know what he is saying."

That thought did not bode well.

Aragorn turned to face forward. With a determined look, he put his left hand out and pushed against the temple wall, hoping he and the others would be able to move through it as easily as Quintella and Legolas had done earlier.

He smiled when his hand disappeared into the cold, black substance. It felt worse than any substance he had ever encountered in his life. A shudder went through him. Even so, he couldn't help

a small smile of triumph that formed on his lips. He shivered as his entire body slid through the wall.

Elladan and Elrohir also shivered, but theirs was more from seeing their foster brother disappear into the evil blackness than from any cold that they felt.

Normally, cold did not bother the Eldar, but this was different. Knowing from their previous encounter on the stairs how it would feel, didn't really prepare them. How could anyone prepare for something like walking directly into a physical manifestation of pure evil?

Gandalf was not spared, either. Confronting evil was one thing, but being inside of it was... The wizard wasn't sure what word could best be used to describe the feeling. Unnerving was the first one that came to mind. It wasn't really adequate, so he decided not to try and think of any more.

When the four companions found themselves in what could only be Quintella's bedchamber, they were stunned. None of them was sure exactly what they had expected, but this was definitely not it.

Looking around, they were expecting to find the woman and Legolas, but neither was anywhere to be seen.

"Where did they go?" Elrohir asked no one in particular, as he made a complete circle, surveying everything in the room.

There was no evidence that either the woman or their elven friend had even been in the room, other than having seen them enter the wall.

"Is there another room they could have gone into?" Aragorn asked, looking toward Gandalf.

The wizard had hoped that he could provide some information once they had entered the room, but he found himself feeling frustrated that he could not ease the minds of his friends, not to mention his own.

"It is possible," he offered, "that once inside the wall, they could have been diverted to...somewhere else." Those words sounded lame, even to his own ears. Truth was, they could be anywhere, even no longer in the temple itself.

Gandalf shook his head but said nothing more. He couldn't remember a time when he felt so inadequate. His young friends were looking to him for answers, but he had nothing more than speculation to offer them.

"If that is true," Elladan said, "then, how can we possibly find Legolas?" He was surprised by the amount of hopelessness that came through in his voice.

The silence that had greeted that question was finally broken.

"Maybe, they're still here, and we just can't see them," Aragorn offered. "This is a strange place, after all, and who knows what powers Altimir or even Quintella has."

Each of the four began to systematically search the room, paying particular attention to any place that could possibly provide Legolas with a hiding place. Having seen Quintella detach herself from the wall when she first appeared, they knew she could be hiding in plain sight. Not so with the elf, so he was their focus.

"Don't just look for Legolas, as he normally appears," Gandalf said. "Look for any type of distortion that could be him in disguise." It was a reach, but as Aragorn pointed out, this was a strange place.

Except for the gloom and the black of all the furnishings, there was nothing that appeared out of the ordinary to any of them. Even the two elves, with their superior vision, could not spot anything that could possibly be what they sought.

After they all agreed that Legolas was not in the room, Aragorn asked, "What do we do now?" Anger and frustration were both plainly present in his tone.

"Altimir!" the man screamed. "Altimir!"

"Estel, what are you doing?" Elrohir asked his foster brother. "Do not upset him."

"I want to know where Legolas is?" His words were aimed at both the demon and the younger twin.

Altlimir laughed. "Return to the main room, and you will see."

Not only was Aragorn surprised that Altimir was apparently telling them where Legolas was, but he was also a bit shocked that the demon lord even answered him at all.

Before taking a step toward the wall they had entered the room through, the ranger looked at Gandalf. "Should we go through that wall again?" The mere thought of it made Aragorn cringe.

"I do not see any other way," the wizard replied. He was at as much of a loss as his friends were.

With a renewed sense of resolve to find Legolas , Aragorn held his sword out in front of him, took a deep breath and ventured back through the black barrier, followed closely by his three companions. Another shiver went through him, and the ranger hoped this would be the last time he had to go through that creepy experience.

The man was pleasantly surprised when he suddenly saw Legolas, again on his knees, while Quintella stood in front of him. It irked Aragorn that she had her hands on his shoulders and was leaning down, her head beside his, whispering in his ear.

If her touching Legolas bothered Aragorn, he would have been horrified had he known what had happened, and worse, what had almost happened in Quintella's bedchamber.

Anger swelled within Aragorn's heart as he once again crunched across the glass-strewn floor, arching resolutely toward his elven friend.

He had almost reached Legolas when Quintella turned around and saw him coming toward them, his face red with fury. "Come no nearer, human," she spat contemptuously.

The ranger didn't even slow down. He had no idea what was about to happen, but he was as determined as he had ever been to rescue the elf from this woman's clutches.

When he reached the two, demon priestess and elven prince, he reached out with his left hand and grasped the elf's left arm,

jerking Legolas to his feet and yanking him roughly backwards.

The ranger stepped in front of his friend and put the tip of his blade against Quintella's white throat. "Release him." Aragorn's deadly tone left no doubt of his implied threat, if she didn't do as he said.

"Do not hurt her," Legolas said flatly. There was no real passion in his tone, but there was the hint of a warning, nonetheless.

Sure that the archer's words were the automatic result of the spell he was under, Aragorn paid his words no heed.

The temple began to shake once more. It was becoming a familiar, though still disconcerting, feeling. The intensity increased until Aragorn had to spread his feet to brace himself and keep his balance. His sword, however, never left Quintella's throat. "Release my friend." Aragorn spoke in a low yet demanding voice, bordering on a growl. "Unless, of course, you wish your death to do it." He had no idea if that was even a possibility, but he was more than willing to issue the threat and see what happened.

Quintella felt the cold steel begin to bite into her flesh. She was immortal, of that she had no doubt, but no one had ever tried to kill her before, so she was not entirely sure that she could not die. She had unwittingly influenced the circumstances that allowed these beings to challenged Altimir, as no one else had ever done, so he might be unhappy enough with her to let her die.

She did know by the man's demeanor and tone of voicee that he would certainly make the attempt if she did not comply with his demand. Still, she hesitated.

The temple continued to shake so badly that Legolas, still somewhat lost in his trance-like state, almost lost his balance. He reached out and grabbed firmly onto Aragorn's shoulder for support.

For a second, the ranger thought that Legolas, in defense of Quintella, was now attacking him.

TBC

Ooops. Shades of Túrin and Beleg. Let's hope that that terrible mistake is not about to be made again.