Author's Note: I am so sorry for taking so long getting this chapter finished and out. I have just been swamped with school work and the plot bunnies were not nibbling so I had to search them out; yeah, that was fun. Anyway, after this there will probably be one more chapter so we are almost finished with this chapter. Wipes away tear Okay, well onto the chapter.
(I)(I)(I)(I)(I)
Gorgias looked to the robed figure and stepped away from Aragorn. The lust for power was obvious in Gorgias' eyes as he crossed to stand on the other side of the stone. A strong gust of wind blew up the mountain and Aragorn felt the power flow around him. A swirling bright blue ball of energy was hovering above the stone.
"No!" he yelled and lunged forward.
The sorceress' hand snapped towards him and he was knocked back. Something tightened painfully in his chest and he cried out in pain. He could hear Legolas and Athernon yelling at him and the horses squealing in fear.
"Get…Elrohir…and Elladan…away," he yelled before a scream was torn from his throat.
Aragorn felt his life being squeezed away with each breath. He struggled to his feet and looked up just in time to see Elrond look at him in sorrow.
"I am so sorry, Estel," Elrond's voice whispered through his mind.
Aragorn didn't have time to think through it before Elrond forced the ball of energy into Aragorn. A gasp was torn from his throat when he was thrown back several yards. He hit the ground in a crumpled heap and everything fell silent as everyone stopped fighting. Gorgias slowly walked towards the crumpled figure lying outside the circle of light.
"Strider?" he asked warily and watched as the figure slowly climbed to his feet.
Aragorn slowly lifted his head and advanced on Gorgias. Legolas and Athernon watched as Gorgias stumbled backwards and continued to scramble away. Athernon gasped when Aragorn stepped into the light and they could see him clearer. His collarbone was broken badly and the broken tip jutted out from the torn skin. The entire expanse of his chest was burnt badly from the blow and the remains of the tunic were singed. Legolas whimpered softly when he saw Aragorn's eyes. His eyes were blood red as shadows danced across his face that didn't hint at the pain from his shoulder. But as they watched, the shoulder started to heal rapidly and knit torn muscle together. The bone slipped into the skin and the skin melted together until there were no visible signs of the wound. The burns slowly melted away to leave a flawless chest as Aragorn stared at Gorgias.
"Wow," Athernon muttered before sharply elbowing the man next to him in the face.
The fighting erupted again as Aragorn slowly stalked Gorgias. Fear stained Gorgias' face ashes d for a weapon. Finding a discarded dagger, he threw it at Aragorn but the dagger was thrown aside by a wave of his hand.
"Sinta!"
Aragorn gasped softly and stumbled before straightening again. He turned towards the sorceress who had thrown Elrond aside to concentrate on Aragorn.
"Your power has no affect on us, sorceress. We shall deal with you later."
With a cast of his arm, Aragorn threw the sorceress aside. He turned back to Gorgias and instead found Legolas standing in front of him.
"Estel, this is not you. You must fight it."
A soft growl was the only thing Legolas head before Aragorn threw him aside. He was airborne for several seconds before hitting the ground and rolling. Aragorn turned to Gorgias as the elf tried to get away. Reaching out to Gorgias, Aragorn curled his hand closed around thin air and jerked it towards him. Gorgias was jerked across the ground and was lifted into the air with his ankle by an invisible hand. Blood red eyes burned as Gorgias was dangled in front of Aragorn.
"Should I kill you quickly or slowly? Such a decision to make," Aragorn muttered as he glared at Gorgias.
"Strider, you would not kill an unarmed opponent. It is not in you," Gorgias said coolly.
"It may not have been in Strider before but now it is," he snarled and threw Gorgias against the stone.
Aragorn walked to Gorgias and grabbed the elf around the throat. Lifting Gorgias up, the grip tightened as he gasped for air.
"I will jut crush your windpipe and watch you struggle to breath and begin to feel the panic overwhelm you. Until your heart slows and soon…stops."
Aragorn did as he said and slowly squeezed tighter. Legolas and Athernon flinched when they acutely hard Gorgias' spinal column snap and a last wheeze of breath flow from between Gorgias' lips. Aragorn tossed Gorgias aside and turned towards Sinta as she climbed to her feet. Before she could cast a spell or say an incantation. Aragorn grabbed her upper arms and kissed her painfully. When the kiss ended, Aragorn released a shaky breath and looked down at the sorceress.
"I will drink your power down and bathe in it, sorceress," he murmured as she looked up at him with half lidded eyes.
"You may take my power but it is not eternal. Never is it eternal," she whispered in reply.
"But for a moment," he replied and tightened his grip.
The sorceress' head went back as she screamed. A fine mist drifted from Sinta and into Aragorn as his back bowed and he breathed deeply. Sinta continued to scream until Aragorn released her and she crumpled to the ground. He looked at his hands in amazement and slowly looked up at the other men; some were dead, others were dying, and the others were being guarded by Athernon. With a broad wave of his arm, every human was turned to ash and blew away in a gust of wind. Athernon stepped back in shock and looked around the see all the humans gone. Legolas was kneeling beside Elladan and Elrohir looking them over but he looked just as shocked.
Aragorn slowly walked towards the three elves and Legolas moved to shield the twins. Stumbling slightly, Aragorn pressed his hands to the sides of his head. He shook his head and growled in frustration as his nails dug into his scalp. Athernon moved in front of Legolas and the others as he notched an arrow and faced Aragorn.
"You will not harm them, Estel. I will not let you," he said and watched as the human seemed to struggle with himself.
Athernon still had the bow lowered when Aragorn lunged at him and grabbed the elf by his upper arms.
"Shoot me, Athernon. Shoot me now," Aragorn panted and looked at the elf to reveal his silver eyes.
"What?"
"Pain helps me control it. Shoot me!"
As Athernon watched, the silver eyes wavered as flames licked at Aragorn's eyes. With a hoarse cry, Aragorn pushed away from Athernon and pressed his hands to his face. The sharp twang of a bow came a moment before an arrow pierced Aragorn's abdomen. He was close enough to Athernon and the elf had enough strength in his draw that the arrow went straight through Aragorn's midsection. He jerked back in shock as blood immediately gushed from the wound. Slowly turning back towards the stone, Aragorn stumbled towards it and touched a bloody hand to the stone. He collapsed to his knees as his skin seemed to ripple as the energy poured back into the stone. Bruises appeared on his skin as his wounds slowly reappeared. The broken collarbone jutted gruesomely from his flesh and his chest was decorated with burns.
Aragorn's silver eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the side. Athernon glanced to Legolas before jogging to Aragorn's side and rolling him onto his back.
"We need to get off this hill. The evil spirit still lurks here," Athernon said and gently collected the human into his arms.
"Is he…?"
"Nay, but if we do not stop the bleeding soon then he will be dead," Athernon muttered before whistling sharply for the horses.
Legolas nodded and turned back to the twins and Elrond. They took it slowly getting down the hill and traveled until they were a safe distance from the hill. Athernon built a fire quickly as Legolas pressed a cloth tightly against the wound. There was so much blood coming from his friend that he didn't know how to stop it. He was not trained in healing. Athernon came to his side and looked at the two.
"How is he doing?"
"I do not know. The wound is bad, that is what I know definitely. Neither you nor I are trained to deal with this. I just do not know," Legolas commented quietly and pressed harder on the wound.
"I am trained."
Legolas and Athernon looked to Elladan as the son of Elrond turned his head to look at them. He still looked exhausted but his eyes were clearer then the last time he awoke. Athernon moved to his side and helped him sit up and lean against the warrior. Elladan squeezed his eyes shut tightly as his world spun fitfully around him and he waited until it passed. When it finally did, he had Athernon help him towards his brother and carefully knelt at Aragorn's side. Elladan was extremely pale but he waved off suggestions to lie down.
"The bleeding must be located and stitched to contain the flow. The thread and needles should be in a squarish leather pouch," he said softly as Athernon searched through the bag with one hand.
Finding it, he handed the pouch to Legolas who looked at it warily.
"I? I should stitch it?"
"You are the only one…who can. I am…too weak. Athernon does…not know. Make stitches…small, tight."
Legolas was slow to begin but finally came to realize that he would have to do it. Elladan told him what he would need to do until he felt a bit more comfortable. He had to see past the person as a friend; focus on the task. The threaded needle was in one hand and his other hand pulled away the cloth soaked in blood. Immediately locating where all the blood was coming from, he quickly went to work. While working, he had to press a knee into Aragorn's chest to keep him still. Elladan advised him what herbs to use before tightly binding the wound. Once binding that wound, he worked on the broken collarbone and set that before working on the burns. His hands had ceased shaking and soon all the wounds were bandaged and Legolas was finished. Sitting back on his heels, Legolas stared at the white gauze before looking to the blood on his hands. Standing, he wiped his hands clean on his leggings and slowly walked away. Dropping to his knees, he dry heaved a few times but only bile came up. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he looked at Athernon who knelt beside him.
"I am fine, Athernon. Tend to Strider and Elladan."
Legolas stood once Athernon left him and slowly walked towards the fire. A blanket was tucked around Aragorn and Athernon was coaxing some tea into Elladan. Legolas knelt by Elrohir and started to look over the wounds that decorated the elf's body. Between Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir and Aragorn, the herbs were used up quickly. Legolas knelt by the fire exhausted and pressed the heels of his hands into his eye sockets.
"I never imagined I would use up all the herbs in one of Estel's medicine bags," Athernon said and tossed the empty bag aside before sitting down beside Legolas.
"Aye, it does have a bottom. Never would have believed it," Legolas replied with a tired smile.
"Should we try and make it back to Mirkwood?"
Legolas shrugged and glanced over to the injured. "We should; we have no herbs with us. There are healers there that could do much better than you and I."
Athernon nodded and looked towards the eastern horizon. "We will see how the morning looks."
(I)(I)(I)
Elrond sensed movement around him and he slowly opened his eyes to view his surroundings. He recognized the room as those at Mirkwood but he couldn't remember ever getting here. Looking to the individual sitting in a chair next to the bed, he was surprised to see King Thranduil.
"Welcome back, Lord Elrond. I had started to worry you might sleep your entire time here with us."
Elrond was more confused now as he struggled to sit up in the bed. Thranduil helped the elf lord sit up and waited as Elrond caught his breath. Every muscle hurt from the movement and he cringed at the dull pain.
"What happened, Thranduil? I do not remember being injured."
"Legolas and Athernon said something about the Stone of Erech. They were so exhausted, however, that they went to rest before I could get a complete story," Thranduil said while watching the fellow elf.
Elrond stared at Thranduil as everything started to slowly come back. He groaned softly and held a hand to his forehead when he remembered everything.
"And my sons?"
"All three of your sons are well and recovering. Their injuries were tended to and there have been no complications," Thranduil explained and Elrond relaxed.
"What of Gorgias?"
"Dead; killed by Aragorn. When he was possessed, it seems, from what I heard."
Elrond nodded before answering. "Gorgias wanted the power in the stone and used me to retract it. Instead of putting it into Gorgias, I forced it into Aragorn."
"Why?"
"Isildur vowed a curse upon it; a man. Only a man of Isildur's line can control it. Gorgias could never have controlled it but Aragorn could," Elrond explained as Thranduil nodded.
"Apparently Aragorn did not want it to control. He had Athernon shoot him to control the power enough to force it back into the stone."
"Shoot him?"
"Aye, but as I said, he is doing well now."
Elrond pushed back the sheets and slowly moved to stand. Thranduil knew better to try and stop the elf lord. He held a robe ready as Elrond stood and slipped into the robe. Thranduil offered an arm for support and was mildly surprised when Elrond took it. They walked slowly out to the hall and to the right where his sons' room was located. Elrond's grip upon Thranduil's arm tightened with every few steps. Once they reached the room, Elrond paused and regained a fraction of his strength before pushing open the door. He withdrew his arm from Thranduil before any of his sons could see his weakness. Thranduil raised an eyebrow but said nothing as he followed the lord inside.
The shades were drawn to only let a little light into the room but it was enough for the elves. The scent of herbs was heavy in the air and thick from the extensive use. Elladan was against the left wall, asleep under a sheet. His brother was in the next bed and was decorated with more bandages than his older twin. Elrohir's breathing was shallow but steady and a healer was sitting by his bed. Aragorn was on the last bed and under a blanket. A healer by his side was blotting his forehead with a damp cloth. Elrohir healer came to her king and Lord Elrond to inform tem of the patients' status. Elrohir's wounds were healing and the infection had been purged from his body. Elladan was recovering quickly and would be out of bed by tomorrow. Aragorn's fever had broken just a few hours ago but he was still weak and had not yet awoken. Elrond took all this in and felt confident that the Mirkwood healers had everything under control. Elrond departed the room and once the doors closed behind him, he started to collapse from weakness. Thranduil caught him under the arms and helped him to a nearby chair.
"You are a fool, mellon nin," Thranduil scolded softly as Elrond chuckled.
"Aye, at least we know where my sons got it from. Where is the prince?"
"Resting in his room. Athernon says he still has nightmares but they are infrequent."
"What are the nightmares of?" Elrond questioned as he looked up at Thranduil.
"Legolas does not say. I think once he sees Aragorn awake and healing then Legolas will be better."
Elrond nodded and slowly stood to see if the room spun or titled. When it didn't, he started to walk back to his room with Thranduil by his side. The sun shone brightly through the large windows and into the hall. Elrond was only focused on getting back to the bed so he could rest. He was so tired. Thranduil shook his head and helped Elrond to the bed side.
"You are just as stubborn as your children."
"My sons may be, but Arwen is not stubborn," Elrond muttered and
Thranduil chuckled.
"Your daughter is just as stubborn as you are; perhaps even more. She just hides it when she is around you," Thranduil replied and helped Elrond out of the robe.
The elf lord muttered something but he was climbing into the bed. Before Thranduil departed from the room, Elrond was fast asleep with his eyes closed.
