The Shadow Queen (A Rider novel)

Chapter Nine: The Deserters

The others didn't make it back to us in time.  

I see the glares that the riders throw in my direction when they think I can't see.  I hear them whispering again, as they were a short while ago.  They do not trust me, still. It makes Kinjal far more nervous than I, she refuses to leave my side as we pack up camp to return to Erebor.

How easy it is to turn us against one another. The idea itself worries me more than the precarious position it puts me in.

Kili is never far off either, which offers me a small sense of relief. I worry, perhaps a bit excessively, about him being stolen away as a pawn to use against me.  All of my dreams as of late are of him being taken away from me in one way or another. My mind is becoming clouded by these not entirely rational fears, I just hope these things will not affect my judgement for whatever is to come.

"Pan," Kinjal's voice burst suddenly into my mind, "look to the south of the mountains. Those are riders, and they are heading this way at a very fast pace." 

"Can you tell if something is wrong?" I ask, glancing around to see if anyone else had noticed yet. Several dragons are looking our way, but none seem focused on the horizon.

"I cannot tell, they are still much too far away to make out details. Take a look through my eyes, child." 

I calm myself and close my own eyes, and when they reopen I am seeing through Kinjal's.  This enhanced sight allows me to now see the dragons, though they are little larger than grains of rice. "That is a larger number of riders than we sent out; perhaps they are just flying quickly to make up for lost time?" 

Kinjal does not reply. We both continue to watch as the dragons and their riders move in closer.  

A hand closes gently over mine. Kili. "Are those riders out there? There, in the distance where you are staring so intently."

"Yes, and moving very fast."

"And this worries you?" he asks, not understanding my unrest.

"Even if they are trying to make up time lost, they should not be flying at break-neck speed. They will not be able to keep that pace for long, and it leaves them vulnerable to attack while they recover."

I freeze, looking carefully at the riders. None of the ones in the front of the group were ones I remember sending in the search party. 

"I think they're being chased."

"By what?" Kili asks, "There's nothing behind them."

A low growl rumbles deep within Kinjal's chest. "The pursuers are our scouts."

By now some of the others have begun to notice. "We can fly out and cut off their escape." I say slowly, thinking out loud. "They'd be trapped, and would have no choice but to land and explain themselves."

"But why would they be chased, I don't understand," Kili's question voices my own thoughts.

"I don't know," I respond, "but we're about to find out."

"Riders! We fly now to meet the others!" I nimbly climb up onto Kinjal's back, offering Kili a hand up behind me.

I raise my voice so all of the riders can hear me. "The riders flying at the head of the group are being chased by our scouts; we'll fly out and cut them off!"

A coiled knot of confusion and worry is growing in my stomach, but I do my best to ignore it as we rise as a unit to meet the other riders.

***

So sorry this chapter took longer to update than expected! My life has been a bit hectic lately, and finding time to sit down and write has been hard.

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