Part 4

Legolas waited until Eowyn and the two horses had disappeared down the pass, then he urged Arod forward.

A deep sense of foreboding had come over him, raising the hairs on the back of his neck, and he was about to call out and ask Eowyn if anything was wrong, when a deafening crack sounded overhead and, with a blast of foul air, the sky went dark.

Legolas reined in Arod and, trying to keep the horse calm, looked upwards—and found himself staring into a vast, malevolent eye.

He knew it was a dragon—having seen the great worm Smaug when it was laying waste to the lands north of Mirkwood—but he was taken by surprise when the creature suddenly lowered its head, opened its mouth, and poured a river of flame into the gully.

“Agggh,” he screamed, shrinking back as tongues of fire licked his entire right side, singeing his hair and scorching his skin—and, instantly, he thought of Eowyn: “Get clear melmenya!” he shouted. “Ride! Ride!” And he grabbed a handful of cloak and slapped at the flames, reaching out with his Elven senses to search for his wife’s spirit.

He sensed a moment of hesitation from her, then felt her resolve to come back and save him, and he knew that he must stop her: “Bado,” he shouted to Brightstar, confident that the horse would obey him, “BADO, Brightstar!”

Go!

He heard a reassuring whinny, but cursed himself when the dragon took interest, dropping a man from one of its forelimbs, and a second man—arms and legs flailing—from the other, before moving off in Eowyn’s direction.

Legolas dug his heels into Arod’s flanks, urging him to follow.

But the dragon’s tail swung so quickly, even an Elf could not avoid it.