Rider (A Kili/ Hobbit novel)

Chapter 15: Warnings

Kinjal and I fly faster than we have ever flown before; I can feel our fear mix together and fuel Kinjal on even faster. The top of the mine comes into view in mere minutes, but to me it seems to take a lifetime.

As soon as we break the top of the mine, Kili comes running over to us.

"Well that was rather fast." he says, a smile on his face that seems out of place with this knowledge of the danger everyone is in.

He quickly notices my wide eyes and scared expression, and sobers. "What has happened? What is it you found in that mine?" he asks very seriously.

"I will explain to you on the way. We must alert Thorin, come on." I hold out my hand for him to take and climb up behind me.

Without even questioning me, he climbs onto Kinjal's back, wrapping his arms lightly around my waist. I feel my cheeks turn slightly pink, but ignore it for now; there are far more important things to think about.

"Hurry Kinjal," I whisper, and we are off.

There is enough room for Kinjal to spread her wings, but the corridor is too small for her to fly. This forces us to keep a swift run; thought grounded, Kinjal is still moving much faster than I could have hoped to sprint.

"There are too few of us ready to fight. We will all perish." Kinjal says urgently to me. "Castor may not be ready in time, and Mae is not old enough to be a warrior."

Though she doesn't add it, I know the sentence she leaves off. That will leave only her and I.

"Why are we all going to die?" Kili asks me, leaning in so that I can hear him.

I freeze up immediately, and speak through my bond with Kinjal. "Can you hear me, Kili?" I ask hesitantly.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be able to?" he says out loud again.

"Because I am speaking through my bond with Kinjal in my mind. It is a gift only the Riders have."

"Unless the two of you are entwined. Then he would be able to communicate through you because your souls are one. By extension, he is then able to speak with me while you are touching." Kinjal puts in.

"What?" I hear Kili ask, only this time it resonates through my mind.

"How did you not figure it out sooner, little one? It was quite obvious to me." Kinjal says, and I feel her smirking at me.

"Kinjal! You can't just drop that on me, now of all times!"

"What is going on?" Kili asks again.

"There isn't time to explain now. Everyone is in danger. There are at least two Balrogs that will attack Erebor soon; they somehow have found out that Riders have taken refuge with you, and it has pushed up when they plan to attack. I know not if there are more, but there are too few Riders to fight them." I explain to Kili.

The surroundings were beginning to look familiar again; I recognized this part of the mountain.

"He better believe us. We do not have time to convince him if he does not." I say, worried.

"We have no reason to lie; I hope you are right." Kinjal answers.

"One thing at a time. We will worry about that once we get there." Kili says to me, still causing me a bit of a shock when I hear his voice in my mind again.

Kinjal does not slow down until we have reached Thorin, pulling to a stop directly in front of the throne. I quickly slide down off Kinjal's back and make sure Kili does not fall attempting to get off before turning and walking up to Thorin.

"You are all in grave danger." I state bluntly.

"And what might this danger be?" he asks, making it obvious with his tone that he does not believe me.

"The moment I entered Erebor, I sensed there was something wrong; a great evil has been lurking in the depths of your mines, and it means to destroy all of you. They are Balrogs of Morgoth, and one of them is Gothmog, Lord of the Balrogs. I do not know how many there are, but somehow they have found out Riders have taken refuge here, namely me. We must act now, while there is still time."

"How do I know you tell me the truth?"  the King under the mountain asks suspiciously.

"I have no way to prove it to you," I say ruefully, "but I will fight with your people, as will Kinjal, to the best of my abilities. Our kind are old enemies of the Balrogs; dragon fire is one of the only things that can kill them."

Thorin sits there for some time before responding. "If I did believe you, you say that Balrogs can be killed by few things; how are we to kill them?"

"You will not be able to," I say softly. "Hold their attention for as long as you can, and Kinjal and I will kill them with dragon fire."

The King under the mountain stares me down for a moment, as if daring me to lie to him. I meet his gaze unflinchingly though, end he eventually yeilds. "Very well. We prepare for battle as of now."

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That's Castor's dragon, Verath (for future reference).

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