Rider (A Kili/ Hobbit novel)

Chapter 23: Injured

Gothmog rises from the banks of the lake like a dark mist, his fangs bared at Kinjal and my retreating figures. He flies more slowly now, and it is easier for Kinjal and I to stay well ahead of him. The pair of us fly circles around him, leading him this way and that, but always careful never to guide him along too close to the other Riders, all of whom seem to be holding their own.

"Do you think we can lose him in the caves?" I ask Kinjal as we speed again over Gothmog's head, infuriatingly just out of his reach.

The caves below our mountains are long and deep; Rilin and I had gone exploring in there only twice before, for fear of becoming lost in total darkness forever. It is a nightmare for any Rider and dragon to be trapped underground; we are meant to be free in the skies.

"We may become lost as well, but it seems to be the best option. We cannot keep avoiding him forever."

"Let us head back towards the mountains then." I say finally, taking a deep breath.

We had been flying Gothmog in circles, and now the three of us are farther than ever from the others, just above the edge of the ancient forest at the foot of the southernmost mountains. With Kinjal's sudden change in flight tactics, Gothmog follows behind us, but somehow begins to close the distance. I become quickly confused by this, relaying the emotion to Kinjal. She stays strangely silent, which only comes to increases my worry. It is not until that moment that I notice Gothmog is not speeding up, but rather we are slowing down.

"Kinjal, what is wrong? Why have we slowed?" I ask her, tilting my head towards her as if it will help me hear her answer more clearly over the wind, despite speaking in my mind.

When she still does not respond, I gently nudge at the walls around her mind, slipping in to read her most prominent thoughts. It is more difficult than normal; Kinjal is attempting to block me from entering. I have much practice with slipping into her mind though, and am able to slip past the wall regardless. The very first emotion that rushes around me is pain. I feel it sharply in my shoulder blade as if it is my own, located exactly where Kinjal's wing would be.

"You are hurt," I gasp in shock, almost toppling off my perch on Kinjal's back.

In my years of flying with Kinjal, I had never seen her injured. She was always the one saving me when I am broken and half dead from pulling some idiotic stunt. This is backwards and wrong.

"You are injured as well." She counters, trying to direct her attention away from the matter at hand.

She is right; I can feel the warm stickiness of my own blood coating parts of my arms and side, but I dare not look to see the extent of my own injuries. I easily recognize Kinjal is trying to draw my attention away from her own injuries to mine, so lean over to the right anyways for a better glance at Kinjal's wing. A patch of bright, pooling crimson, almost the size of my head, is dead center on her wing; it is a stark contrast to the shimmering bronze of the rest of her scales.

"It is...just a scratch." she says unconvincingly. Her emotions tell me otherwise.

I roll my eyes at her attempt to fool me. "When this is over, I am going to have to teach you to make up better lies. Yours are as transparent as glass, though I would think you would know by now that either of us lying to the other is pointless. I can read your thoughts."

Kinjal shakes her head and growls lowly. "It is of little matter now; we have more pressing matters to deal with."

"Well Gothmog is just behind us, so I suggest we dive." My voice comes out a bit sarcastically, and Kinjal snorts to show she had noticed my tone.

She shifts directions quickly, still moving with amazing agility despite her injured wing, and flies us back towards the familiar landscape of the snowy mountains. This time though, we are not going up, but rather much farther down.

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