Celeborn's Nine - Riders of the Night

Author's note: Hey Marz! I can say this "yes!"......sort of. Prometheus blood was a lot more charmed than he was according to the myths.
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Scopias explained through Tiger that the monster they were looking for was two weeks from Prometheus' mountain. Two weeks of riding through some of the most beautiful and wild country ever seen by men. And there were more beasts about than just the balrog. Some of them belonged to the natural world like leopards and wolves and hyenas, while others seemed to inhabit the lands of shadow and mist.

Mounting up, Scopias said he was leading them towards a pass that would take them through the mountains and on to the northern steppes. Celeborn and Glorfindel rode at the Saka's side, while Melanippus, a cloak of wolf fur covering his upper body, brought up the rear. Haldir had given him the blood dipped arrow the night before, and it showed prominantly in his quiver. Like the Sakas his bow was much smaller than the Galadhrim one, and his red fletched arrows looked weak next to Haldir's arrow. But looks could be deceiving.

High on the ascending side of the pass, the troop spotted the nests of griffins perched precariously on the side of cliffs. They would have attacked an individual Saka, elf or centaur, but chose instead to watch the horsemen and occassionally split the air with their screams. One huge male did make a pass overhead and startled one of the riderless horses so bad it bolted. The frightened animal missed its footing and fell. The Sakas paused briefly to thank the horse for giving its life so the others might go on unmolested. The griffins, squabbling over their feast, didn't seem to notice or care. A meal was a meal.

Then there was the problem of snow in the higher altitudes. The horses had to make it through the pass, but the going would be slow as the Sakas and elves led their animals instead of rode them. Melanippus never voiced his concerns, but Glorfindel imaged the centaur was wishing he was back in Hellenes right now.

Camped in a sheltered valley that Scopias had found for them, Glorfindel and Celeborn decided to step out of the shelter of light to view the land around them from a rocky advantage point. Armed to the teeth, the two elves felt relatively safe as they could neither hear nor see anything of danger to them. But the sky was brilliant! And Celeborn wondered if Galadriel was looking at the same thing he was, thinking about him as he thought about her. Sometimes he could feel her, other times he couldn't. Her presence was lost to him right now, and he missed it.

Glorfindel, couched on the edge of the rocky outcrop, his left arm resting on his thigh, let his eyes sweep the valley and then climb the mountains around them. He would have said this was good orc country, except the orcs had never made it this far south. Trolls, ogres and goblins were about according to Scopias, which was why they had a good sized fire going in the camp. It kept the things of the night at bay, but it also told them that there were people about.

The elflord turned at the waist to see what was behind him. He was still thinking about the way the griffin had spooked the horse to send it over a cliff to its death. Had he not been letting his thoughts drift so, he might have gotten a better look at the shadow that passed before his eyes. Something was out there watching them, something that for a moment had looked at him with red eyes.

"Celeborn," he said and rose up, his sword appearing in his hand, " we are not alone."

Celeborn looked around and saw an enormous shape moving sensuously over the rocks. Deciding they would have a better chance at not being hurt if they rejoined the group, they hurried back to the fire.

"Something is coming!" Glorfindel alerted everyone.

The Sakas climbed to their feet with bows at ready, but as the creature slithered nearer to them, the men became more fearful while the women frowned and gave one another worried looks. Out in the darkness something rose to its full height.

Tiger frowned and growled. "It is a snake," she said, "with a woman's body."

Tomy waved for the women to go with her out to see the creature. Tiger hesitated, but Aslin grabbed her hand and took her with them. Tiger looked up at the snake woman and softly growled.

"Don't anger her," Aslin warned. "This is the great goddess. No weapon born by male hand can harm her. "

"Tiger has heard this story," Tiger said, her dislike for snakes showing clearly on her face.

Tomy was speaking to the snake woman with an upheld hand, trying to appease her, but the snake woman wanted male meat this night.

"I will take one of the golden ones," the snake woman hissed viciously.

"One of the elves," Aslin explained anxiously.

Tiger folded her arms across her breast and frowned even more. "No," she said beligerently.

"You will fight me?" the huge snake woman asked menacingly.

"Tiger has fought snakes all her life," Tiger answered. "You are big, you are small, you are strong, but Tiger is faster."

The demoness reared up higher, amazed that anyone would accept her challenge. "Then I will have the man horse," she decided.

"No," Tiger repeated.

The demoness lowered herself enough so she could look at Tomy. "Does she speak for the Saka?"

"No, my lady," Tomy replied, fear etched on her face.

"Then I will take the boy," the demoness replied sadistically.

Tomy must have known that was coming and said, "My lady, he is my son. Take me in his stead."

"Woman's blood is poison," the demoness growled. "Bring me the boy, or I will take all."

"You think all," Tiger growled to herself. Then to Aslin, she asked, "What now?"

Aslin who was visibly upset said, "We are giving her my brother."

"Fight her, she will back down," Tiger replied.

"We do not have your magic, and she will kill us all." Aslin turned away and returned to the fire, where her brother was being told the verdict. Barely sixteen summers, he was horrified to learn he was to be given to the demoness.

Tiger returned to Haldir and laid her head on his shoulder, but she was mad.

"Tiger what is going?" on Celeborn asked.

"Snake woman wants boy cub," she said, her lips curling in a snarl. "Tiger would not let them have elf or centaur, so she takes boy cub."

"Then let's stop her," Rumil offered.

"Magic snake," Tiger said without explaining. The Saka boy cub was pleading for his life and it made her very mad. "She is big, she is small, and she is strong, but Tiger is faster," she growled.

The boy was fighting the ropes, but when his mother offered him something to make him unconcious when the snake woman took him, he swallowed it. Now that it seemed inevitable, the boy stopped pleading and showed the courage that marked the Saka people. Tiger became enraged. Melanippus acted like he was going to do something, but Tiger stopped him.

"She will eat you instead," she growled. "You can not hurt her, but Tiger can."

Aslin, tears running down her face, fled to the remuda; Tiger followed. The young woman was clinging to one of her horses weeping bitterly.

"Fight for your brother," the jinn tiger said angrily.

"We did in the past, and she destroyed all," Aslin said. "She will kill all of us."

"She is a snake," Tiger snarled. Reaching into the gortys that Aslin wore on her hip, Tiger handed her the blood dried arrow and said, " We can take her."

Aslin looked at the arrow and then at Tiger. "What if we fail?"

"Tiger has never lost a snake fight," Tiger bragged and then smiled.
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Two men dragged the boy by his bound feet into the darkness. The demoness was waiting and grinned sadistically. There was the power of life in his blood. And death was coming very soon.
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Aslin beat her horse as hard as she could, racing through the camp with Tiger behind her. The snake woman reared up and screamed as Tiger leaped from the horse to the ground, shape shifted and made her lunge. Aslin, readying her Prometheus arrow even as she forced the horse to circle the demoness, looked up and aimed. Tiger at that moment finished her leap and was on the demoness' back.

Aslin released the arrow and watched as it buried itself in the snake woman's body. She screamed savagely as the wound exploded outwards. Tomy, using her own Prometheus arrow, stood over her son and fired into the demoness, the arrow cutting through flesh and bone and exploding outwards.

The demon roared and whipped the ground with her tail and reached for the tiger slicing up her back. Tiger, burning with hatred, buried her nails in the demon's skin and when she could, moved closer to the demon's throat. One small jump and her teeth sank into the demon's windpipe. She held on tightly, bringing her jaws closer and closer together until she heard nothing but death gurgles and the thrashing body was still.

Standing up, black blood on her face, Tiger looked to see the Sakas returning the unconcious boy to the safety of the fire. Tomy stopped a moment and looked back. Gratitude burned in her eyes, then she followed her son back to the fire.

Now that it was safe, everyone came out to see the demoness. Haldir had a rag and wiped the evil blood from Tiger's face. "What will happen if I kiss you?" he asked curiously.

"It will taste bad," Tiger replied. "Tiger is sorry we used two Prometheus arrows, but Tiger could not let the boy cub be killed."

"It's all right," Haldir said and held her tenderly.

"Tiger does not like snakes," she murmured against his shoulder.
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It took a few hours for the drug to wear off, and when it did the boy whose name was Asplil seemed none the worse for almost being devoured by the demon. Tomy hugged and petted him, and then told him all that had happened.

Asplil looked at Tiger, and Glorfindel could swear he had never seen such pride or devotion on the face of a human. Asplil got up and went to Tiger, who was sitting beside Haldir, and fell on his knees in front of her. Taking a knife from his hip scabbard, the young Saka sliced the palm of his hand open and raised it to Tiger. She had saved his life and now he was offering her his protection. If Haldir had not been there, he would have offered her his body. It showed in the way he presented himself on his knees to her. Haldir would have to be a fool not to see it.

Tiger smiled at the boy and then hid her face against Haldir's shoulder. He stroked her head and met the fierce gaze of the young Saka. Perhaps his pledge to Tiger would be of use in the future, but right now he needed to get back to his bedroll and stop trying to seduce Tiger away from him.

Asplil took a deep breath and then got up and returned to his bedroll, but his eyes rarelyleft Tiger's face. Prometheus had said she was what every man desired. Haldir could only guess what this proud manchild was desiring.