They walked for what seemed like an age to Nema. Up narrow corridors, down worn steps, through rooms untouched since Smaug had taken the dwarf kingdom for his lair.
Moving through Erebor's dusty halls in the half-dark, Nema could not imagine living there. She could feel the weight of the mountain all around her. It pressed down upon her wings, keeping them tucked up against her back. Her hands clenched into fists whenever they entered a tight passage, and only relaxed when the walls moved apart to form an intersection or a wider room. She needed the sky. She needed to breathe fresh air. Her chest was beginning to tighten. How some dwarves managed to live their whole lives under a mountain was beyond her.
The shear size of the kingdom unnerved her too. Flying around the mountain, she had imagined one large hall, perhaps a few smaller chambers to the sides, but nothing so grand and sizeable as this. It seemed to go on forever. Just when she thought they were about to come back around to where they had left the other dwarves, there was yet another antechamber leading to yet another cavern - though none so large as the one with all the treasure. If she ever got separated from the group, Nema knew there was no way she'd be able to find her way back again.
But Thorin seemed to know where he was going. He was running a hand along the wall, feeling every nook and crevice as he went, and when they came upon one of the old halls he would pause for a moment and look around with an expression of dazed wonder on his face. It was as if he had never truly allowed himself to believe he would see them again. Be a could feel his presence on the edge of her mind. Through her connection to him, she could feel his heartbeat quicken in his chest, could feel the excitement running through his veins as he looked on sights he had hardly dared to hope he might see again.
There was sadness too - a heavy, world-weary sadness that held his joy in check. Every happy memory was tainted by the dragon, and though the rooms they passed through had retained their beauty and splendour for all these years, to Thorin they would always be filled dust and death.
Watching him, Nema almost thought the real Thorin had come back, but of course, the dragon sickness would not have let him go so easily.
"The Arkenstone," he said suddenly, stopping dead in his tracks in the middle of another lesser cavern and rounding on Bilbo. "Did you find it?"
Nema's heart sank. She had known it wouldn't take Thorin long to remember his precious jewel.
"What?" said Bilbo. His mind had clearly been elsewhere.
"Did you find the Arkenstone?"
"Oh. No, I didn't. I'm sorry."
Thorin thumped his fist on the wall and stopped walking in the middle of a crossways of two passages. "Your one task was to find the Arkenstone and bring it back. That was your one task. Some burglar you are!"
"Let him alone, Thorin. He tried, didn't he?" Nema examined the three routes they could take. Straight ahead was dark and unwelcoming. To the left, though it was still dark, Nema could detect a faint glimmer of golden light dancing just around the corner. She looked to the right, and felt the lightest of breezes touch her skin. She wanted to go that way. "Besides, it is difficult to find one gem in a hall of a thousand gems with a dragon hunting you. It's this way, right?"
The dwarf shook his head and pointed the other way. "That way leads back out onto the mountainside. This way will take us back to the rest of the company."
"Back to that cavern of gold, you mean," Nema groaned. "They might have gone back up."
But Thorin was already moving towards the golden light, and she and Bilbo had no choice but to follow.
***
"Are you sure it was this one?"
Dwalin shook his head. "I'm not even sure they flew through one of these at all," he whispered back to his brother. "I could have sworn I saw them go this way but...or maybe they were on the level above," he suggested, gesturing to the wide stairway a few feet away. At the top was another row of dark archways. "They could have gone through any one of them."
"I thought you said you saw which way they went," said Nori. They had all seen Nema dive with Thorin, but only Dwalin had been able to see exactly where they had gone after that.
"Shh, lad!" hissed Balin. "Not so loud!" Smaug had disappeared soon after their companions, but he could come back to their corner of the hall at any moment. He looked back to his brother. "Well? Which way do you think we should go?"
Dwalin rubbed his jaw. "That way," he said, jabbing his axe towards the stairs. "They have to be up there somewhere."
"If we make it up those stairs without Smaug seeing us it'll be a miracle," Balin said. "Right lads, time to go." He beckoned to the others.
The going was painfully slow. The steps carved into the rock were high enough that they had not been completely buried in treasure, but here and there their path was strewn with coins that chinked against each other when disturbed, and chalices that one false move would send clattering to the foot of the staircase and bring the dragon down upon them. Unfortunately, some dwarves were infinitely more careful than others.
"Nori, don't touch that! Can't you see it's holding up a whole chest full of gold?" Dori whispered to his brother.
Nori's fingers twitched closer to the silver helm, but thought better of it and straightened up. He glanced over his shoulder at Dori. "If I'm going to die tonight I may as well have some of Smaug's horde in my possession," he said.
Further down the line, Bofur was struggling to convince his brother to keep moving.
"One more step," he said softly. He held both of Bifur's hands in his, and walked up the stairs backwards, glancing over his shoulder whenever he stepped up so as not to lose his footing. "It's not far now. Just take one more step for me - that's it."
Bifur went up a bit further then stopped again, shaking his head and looking back the way they had come.
"It's all right," said Bofur. "We're perfectly safe. The dragon's gone off somewhere else. We'll be up and out of harm's way before he even notices."
Bifur shook his head again, more violently this time. He pulled his hands free of Bofur's and grunted as quietly as he could manage.
Bofur sighed and laid a hand on his brother's shoulder. "They're fine, I promise. And no, Nema would never deliberately hurt Thorin. She was just trying to draw Smaug's attention away from Bilbo."
More grunting followed.
"They're alive, Bifur. Dwalin says he saw them fly up here. Don't worry. They're safe. Now can you come up a bit further? We're almost there." Bofur offered his hand again.
Bifur waved it away and reluctantly followed his brother.
***
"They're gone."
Nema's heart sank. Why can't dwarves just stay put? She thought. Her only consolation was that Fili was still in Laketown with his brother, away from the mountain. At least he will be safe from the dragon.
"As I suggested earlier," she said to Thorin, "they probably went back outside to wait." She turned her back on the cavern of gold, hoping the dwarf would follow, but Thorin was not convinced.
"Or they may be continuing the search for the arkenstone in place of this useless hobbit."
"Thorin!" Nema glared at him.
Bilbo did not seem to notice the harsh words directed at him. He was staring across the gold pile, as if he had noticed something they had not.
"I don't think the others are outside," he said quietly.
Nema and Thorin followed his gaze. It took a second for them to see what he was looking at. To the left of the passage and about a quarter of the way into the cavern sat a large staircase half buried in gold. It zigzagged up the wall, leading to a line of dark archways. The other dwarves were very slowly moving up that staircase.
"There they are!" said Bilbo, a little too loudly. He opened his mouth as if to call out to them, but stopped when he saw Nema's warning look.
"We can't make any loud noises," she reminded him. "We don't want Smaug to hear where we are."
"But we need to get their attention somehow. They're nearly at the top and if they disappear down one of those passages we might never find them again." He tried waving his arms around to get their attention, but they seemed to be too focused on getting up the stairway in silence to see him.
"I could fly over and let them know where we are," Nema suggested. "It's the fastest way to get over there but it would be incredibly risky. Smaug might see me. Thorin, what do you think? Thorin?"
But the dwarf had stopped listening. His dark eyes were fixed on the mountains of treasure. "It's in there," he muttered. "I can feel it. My arkenstone is so close."
A flash of anger shot through Nema. Her jaw clenched, her wings shook against her taught back and her hands balled into vicious fists. But before she could take one step towards Thorin, Bilbo moved between them. He took her hands in his and rubbed his thumbs over her knuckles until she calmed down. The anger slipped away and all of a sudden she felt very tired.
"I'm sorry," she said, but Bilbo only shook his head. Nema swallowed hard and gave her wings a shake. "I'm going to fly you up to the others."
"What about him?"
Nema looked at Thorin, who was turning a coin over and over in his hands. "He'll be fine so long as he stays here. But I need a moment away from him." She need a lifetime away from him. "Turn around."
Bilbo complied and allowed Nema to wrap her arms around his torso. She spread her wings and flew away from Thorin. As the distance between them grew, the sickness hovering in her heart diminished to the point where she could think a little more clearly.
"Thank you," she whispered in Bilbo's ear. He reached up and briefly touched one of the arms wrapped around him in response.
Unfortunately, it was Bifur who noticed them first. He let out an excited cry and waved to get Nema's attention. His outburst was quickly shushed by Bofur, but the damage was done. The cavern shook under Smaug's rumbling roar.
"Make haste!" Balin called down the line. He had already reached the archways and was trying the chivvy the others along. Nema set Bilbo beside him and then flew down the stairs to Bifur.
"We need to keep going!" Bofur was saying. He was speaking in a soothing tone but Nema could hear the strain in his voice. Smaug had heard them and it wouldn't be long before he came around the corner.
"Hello Bifur," Nema said with a smile. "Look you're nearly at the top! Shall we keep going?"
Bifur grinned and waved his hands around but did not take another step. He just grunted and tried to hug Nema.
"We don't have time for that now, Bifur," said Bofur, taking him by the arm. "Yes, she's alive but we need to go up there now. Come, brother."
"Listen, Bifur, if you just follow Bofur up a little higher while I fetch Thorin you can give me a big hug then. Can you do that for me?" She gave him a gentle nudge towards the next step. "Please, Bifur?"
When at last the dwarf began to move, Nema took to the air again. It was just Bifur and Bofur out in the open now - the others had reached the top. If Bofur could just keep his brother moving they would make it to safety in time.
The heavy footfalls of the dragon were reverberating around the hall, every one louder than the last. He was getting closer. Any minute now and he would appear and roast them where they stood.
Frantic, Nema started back to where she had left Thorin, only to spot him halfway across the hall on a heap of gleaming gems. She flew towards him, sensing the irritation seeping back into her mind the closer she drew.
"Why must you continue in this pointless search?" She screeched, landing beside him, her face flushed with fury. "It's just a stupid lump of rock!"
"You do not understand." His once deep, mellow voice was now hard and biting.
"No I don't understand! I don't understand how you could send Bilbo - the same Bilbo who has saved our lives who knows how many times - to die in here for the sake of a jewel? Are you truly so petty?"
Thorin ignored her. He continued to tip chests over and delve into the piles of gold whenever he saw a glint of white light.
"Stop it!" Nema cried. "There is a dragon coming, in case you are so wrapped up in this fool's errands you've forgotten about Smaug. Stop this madness or so help me I'll kill you myself!"
"You are not a dwarf!" Thorin threw a ruby the size of his fist at her but she dodged it. "You cannot possibly understand!"
"What about them?" Nema jabbed a finger up at the others. "They are dwarves too. They are your kin and I don't see any one of them putting each other at risk for the arkenstone! It's the dragon sickness, Thorin! I know you know that. You have to fight it. I know you can-"
"You know nothing, beast!" Thorin bellowed. He lunged for her, knocking her down. Her wings half-unfurled but she before she could break her fall the dwarf slammed into her again and she hit the ground. Thorin pinned her down and continued to shout in her face. "You are my Guardian and you will do as I say! Do you hear me?"
"Thorin please...you're hurting me!" Several sharp items were pressing painfully into her back.
"I said, did you hear me!" Thorin buried his hands in her wings and clenched them around her feathers.
She shrieked and tried to claw out his hands but that only made him twist them further. "Thorin! Stop it! Thorin please! It hurts!" Tears stung her eyes but she kept her gaze on his face. "This isn't you," she whimpered. "Thorin, wake up, I'm begging you. Please stop-" she screamed again.
"You took the stone!" He said suddenly. "I know it! That's why you want me to give up the search! You stole my arkenstone!"
"No, please! I never saw it!"
Movement over the dwarf's shoulder caught Nema's attention. When she realised what it was her blood ran cold.
"Thorin? Please let me go," she tried to keep her voice calm but her every word trembled. "We need to go. It's not safe. Please trust me, we need to get out of here. Thorin stop hurting me! Thorin! Behind you! It's Smaug - he's back! Please listen to me!"
The fear in her voice must have reached Thorin somehow. He glared at her for a brief moment and then, ever so slowly, he looked back over his shoulder.
There was Smaug, barely thirty feet away, his amber eyes fixed on the dwarf.
***So here is the penultimate chapter, as promised. I hope you enjoyed it! The final chapter will be published soon followed by a very short break before we get on to Part 3! Thanks for reading!***