Chapter Eighteen

Allaura removed her hand from covering the blue stone necklace and quickly shoved it toward Legolas’s neck. The sooner she could get the stone against his skin, the sooner she believed she could get complete control over him. She also needed to get it done without alerting the elf to what she was planning.

As quick as a cat, Legolas reached up and grabbed the necklace, encircling the stone in his long fingers and holding on to it with a death grip.

Both Allaura and Ricard immediately saw the two mistakes that had been made. Despite her efforts, Allaura had uncovered the stone while it was still within the elf’s sight, and though Ricard had his arms wrapped around the elf, he was holding him above the elbows, allowing Legolas the use of his lower arms.

As soon as the pendant was secure in his grasp, Legolas raised his right foot and brought it down on the top of Ricard’s foot. He wore only thin velvet house shoes, so the force of the blow was such that it caused the heel of Legolas’s boot to break the bones beneath it.

The man screamed and let go of Legolas, who then used his shoulder to push the man away from him. Falling to his right, Ricard was unable to put any pressure on his injured right foot, so he lost his balance and fell sideways onto the floor beside the bed. He moaned loudly, as he sat up and tried to cradle his damaged foot.

Ignoring the whimpering man behind him, Legolas used his left hand to push Allaura backwards so suddenly and so hard it caused her to lose her balance, as well, and she fall to the floor in a heap.

Legolas was so overjoyed at having the necklace in his possession that he started to look down at his prize but stopped just before it came into full view. He still retained enough presence of mind to know that if he looked at it, he would be helpless to prevent his enemies from taking it from him, and he would probably never see it again. That thought was the only thing that would - or could - prevent him from immediately losing himself in the sparkling blue fire of the stone.

Not pausing long enough to spare even a quick glance at either Allaura or Ricard, the elf ran out of the bedchamber and down the hall. He had no notion of where he was going, but he knew he had to find a safe place to hide, so he could be alone with the necklace. The trouble was that this house belonged to Allaura and Ricard, so they would obviously know all of its hidden places intimately.

It was then that Legolas thought of the dungeons far below the house. He wasn’t sure how he knew about them. He didn’t think he had ever been there. Perhaps it was just logical that a place like this ruled by someone like Allaura must certainly have dungeons. It was perfect. After all, what captive would deliberately hide down there?

Behind him, Legolas heard Allaura screaming. She was demanding that Ricard to go after the elf, but Legolas knew that whoever came after him, it would not be her husband. His foot was broken much too badly to even limp on, much less allow him to try and run down a swift elf.

Legolas disappeared down a staircase at one end of the corridor just as Allaura came out of the bedroom door. Luckily she had turned to look down the opposite end, and by the time she turned to check the other end, Legolas was out of sight.

Again the elf heard the woman scream, this time for the guards.

After several moments, none had arrived. Allaura would have been even more enraged than she already was, if she had known just how the guards were currently being occupied.

*~*~*~*

One of the double doors in the dragon’s chamber slowly opened. All of the guards knew that the chain holding the dragon would prevent him from physically reaching them, but they were also well aware that his flame easily could.

Hoping the huge beast would think he was about to be fed and thus hold off any attempt to harm them, one of the guards poked his head around the door and looked across the chamber. The dragon appeared to be asleep.

The guard stared. It was the first time the dragon was not waiting anxiously for them. The man pulled his head back, disappearing from sight for a moment before the door opened a little wider and another head appeared.

It had been several years since five men had been captured and given a choice: Become Allaura’s victims or lose their tongues and become her guards. Four of them chose the latter. The fifth did not and was ‘used up’ by the woman’s insatiable appetite for the life forces she needed to keep her alive and young. He had eventually shriveled up, begging her all the while to allow him to change his mind and become a guard. Allaura didn’t give second chances, so he had died.

In the intervening years of muteness, the four guards had developed a type of sign language. It was rudimentary, involving only basic words, but it was sufficient for their needs, and only they understood it.

These men were smart enough to know not to sign in front of Allaura. She may not be able to decipher what they were saying, but she would be well aware that they were communicating among themselves and that would bring about intense mistrust. They knew what that would lead to.

As far as Allaura was concerned, the guards were not only speechless and glad to be alive but ignorant, as well, which meant they were easily dominated. She was so dismissive of their ability to do anything but faithfully obey her every whim that she found it easy to push them from her thoughts until she needed their muscle.

The two guards, who were now staring at the dragon, turned to each other and signed: -Sleep-.

The other guard frowned and shook his head. -Dead?- He raised his eyebrows to indicate it was a question. The man didn’t know why he suspected the dragon had died. Maybe it was the way the beast’s head was lying on the floor. For some reason, it just didn’t look right.

-Dead?- The first guard repeated the sign for that word, also raising his own eyebrows.

The second guard nodded but was unable to explain his reason for thinking so. Instead, he just indicated with his hand they were to go and check. He started forward. The other guard followed behind him, hoping that his friend was right, and that the dragon was indeed dead and thus incapable of hurting then.

Suddenly the guard that was following the other one, slammed down onto the stone floor, having been hit on the head from behind. When the first guard turned he was met with a fist that came flying into his mouth. It knocked him back but did not drop him.

Aragorn spared a swift kick to the stomach of the downed man to keep him there and then turned his attention to the man that was now advancing on him.

Squaring his shoulders, the ranger dropped down to the floor, rolled forward and then kicked up with both feet, catching the guard under his chin and instantly knocking him unconscious.

Making sure the first guard was equally unable to fight by punching him hard, as he tried to rise, Aragorn quickly searched both until he located the two keys he was looking for.

After tucking the keys into a pocket, he ran to the open door and yelled, quickly flattening himself against the wall, just as he had done a few moments ago. He had to get the other two guards into the room. If they left, he would not only not get their keys, he would soon be faced with the wrath of Allaura, which would doom them all, Treco included.

The two guards outside the chamber knew, of course, that the yelling was not being made by their friends. It had to be the human ranger, who had escaped from the vault below.

The two men looked at each other, not sure what they should do. The only way they had of finding out what was happening was to go inside and see for themselves. Neither one was too eager to do that, but what choice did they have?

Each man slowly approached the doors and looked inside. As soon as they saw the other two guards on the floor, they looked immediately toward the back of the chamber. The dragon appeared to be - asleep? That make no sense. They noticed that their friends had not been burned. Had they killed the huge creature?

Risking the ire of the dragon if he was awakened, the two guards silently approached the two downed men. They realized their mistake too late.

Aragorn did virtually the same thing he had done to the two unconscious men. He knocked one in the head and kicked the other one under the chin. Both went down.

Aragorn retrieved the two keys these guards had and then stood and stared down at them. This was a lot easier than the man thought it would be.

Hearing nothing for a moment and being too curious to stand the wait any longer, Treco opened one eye just wide enough to make a slit he could see out of. When he saw that all four guards were on the floor and not moving, he opened both eyes and raised his head. “Well you seem to have taken care of the guards.”

“It wasn’t very hard, which was very surprising.. I guess Allaura can’t get very good help way out here,” the ranger remarked wryly. “That’s good for us.”

“Did you get the keys?” Treco asked anxiously.

“Indeed I did.” Aragorn reached into his pocket and pulled out the two keys he had placed there and put them with the other two. He proudly held all four of them up to show the dragon.

Treco nodded. “So which one of those keys unlocks this chain around my leg?”

Aragorn froze. He had completely forgotten that the dragon was chained to the wall. As far as he knew, the keys he had retrieved from the guards worked only on the doors. He couldn’t be sure about that, of course, so he wasn’t about to say that to Treco. One of the keys might well prove to be the one they needed to free the creature.

Swallowing hard, the ranger started walking toward Treco. “Let’s see, shall we?” All the while, he was paying that he was wrong and that one of them was the right one.

Treco turned as the ranger walked past him and headed to the spot the very large, very strong padlock rested on the floor below where the chain was anchored to the wall.

Holding his breath, Aragorn slid the first key into the lock and tried to turn it. It didn’t budge. The man exhaled and tried the second and third keys with the same results.

By the time he pushed the fourth key into the lock, he had a thin film of sweat on his forehead. He lifted his head and looked at the ceiling. ‘To whichever of the Valar who may be listening, please let this be the one that works.’ With those silent words, Aragorn inserted the last key and twisted.

A big sigh of relief came from the man, when the key turned and the big loop holding the chain to the metal cuff around the dragon’s leg popped open.

Before Aragorn could reach down and unfasten the cuff, Treco raised his leg and shook it violently, sending the cuff and the padlock flying across the chamber.

Treco looked down at the man standing near his foot. “My gratitude, ranger...uh...Aragorn.” Calling this human by his name was a concession the dragon was willing to make, considering what that human had just done for him.

“You are most welcome, Treco,” Aragorn replied. “You are also free to go.” He hoped the dragon would change his mind about helping to find Legolas, but he wasn’t going to ask.

Treco nodded and started to head for the doors.

Aragorn called after him, “Are you going to flame them?” He was curious to know if the dragon was actually going to kill these men.

The ranger’s question was met with one from Treco. “The doors below are locked, are they not?”

“I doubt the one to my vault is now, but as I said before, there are three others. I’m pretty sure the guards would have locked those, even in their haste to get up here. Why do you ask?”

“If we left them here and locked this door, they could not get out. Even if they dropped to the vault below, they would soon come to the locked doors in the lower passage, and they would be trapped.”

“But what if Allaura comes down here? I’m sure she could open the doors without the keys.” It seemed a reasonable idea to the ranger. It struck him as odd that it was the dragon who seemed reluctant to spare these men. He really wasn’t anxious to see the guards killed, despite what they had done, but he also didn’t want them running loose to warn Allaura and/or track him down.

The man shook his head. He couldn’t worry about the guards right now. He had a search to conduct. Time was of the essence. Aragorn didn’t know what was being done to Legolas, especially since the elf had been in Allaura‘s clutches for far too long. “Do with these guards what you will,” he finally said to Treco. I have to find Legolas.”

Without another word, the ranger moved past Treco, walked across the chamber and exited through the massive doors.

Once in the huge tunnel, he went in search of the stairs that would take him up to the main house and eventually to Allarua’s bedchamber where he believed the elf was being held.

Treco just stood in stunned silence and watched the human leave. It seemed the guards’ fates were being left up to him.

*~*~*~*

Legolas ran down first one corridor and then another, trying to find the way down to the lower levels where the dungeons were. He kept the necklace clutched tightly in his right hand. There was going to be no chance that he would lose it in his desperate race to find a secure hiding place.

The elf’s keen ears soon picked up the sound of footsteps coming down the corridor he was in. He knew he wouldn’t be able to retrace his steps and go back down the corridor before he was seen. There just wasn’t time.

Fearing that he was about to be discovered, Legolas saw a door to his left and tried the handle. It didn’t budge. The door was locked. He tired the next one with the same result.

The elf was trying not to panic, as the footsteps grew louder, bringing the approaching person closer to him. He rushed to a door directly across the hall.

This door was unlocked, and the elf wasted no time in opening it and slipping inside just before the other person could see him.

Legolas started to leave the door slightly ajar so he could see if it was Allaura, who had come after him, or someone else. On second thought, he was afraid that the crack, no matter how small, would be noticed. He couldn’t risk being found, so he closed the door and let out a deep breath of relief.

Aragorn rushed down the corridor past the door that Legolas was now leaning against, never suspecting that the friend he was so desperately seeking was only a few feet away.

TBC