Rise (Lord of the Rings)

45 - A Chain Reaction

I didn't think about calling for help, I ran to where I thought I heard Merry's cry.

"Gandalf, help!" he cried again.

I burst through the door only to find a startling sight.

Pippin was holding some kind of sphere that, apparently, looked to be the reason behind his convulsions. My heart beat fast from fear. What was that thing?

Gandalf sprung from his cot, scaring me. In the same second, Aragorn and the Elf dashed into the room.

"Someone help him!" Merry pleaded.

Without even thinking about the consequences, I leapt for Pippin, trying to pry the orb from him.

"Marlena, don't!" Gandalf bellowed.

I ripped the sphere from Pippin; he fell into a blanket bed, stunned. Immediately, I was paralyzed with fear. I felt a dark, despicable presence creep into my mind. My eyes widened, a fiery eye stared at me through the sphere.

I see you, a voice crooned.

I yelped as Aragorn ripped the sphere away from me. He dropped it, letting the fiery eye roll across the floor. I stumbled until I propped myself against a wall. I quivered on the spot, shaken badly by my encounter with the chilling voice in my head. No matter how many times I blinked, I saw the fiery-colored eye behind my eyelids each time.

I watched as Gandalf charged the sphere, covering it with a blanket.

"Fool of a Took!" Gandalf roared.

I looked at Pippin. He still looked stunned. Did the sphere hurt him? Was he...dead?

Even though I still didn't understand what was going on, I found myself going to Pippin. I dropped to my knees beside his still form. Gandalf hovered over the Hobbit, putting a hand to his forehead, muttering words I couldn't catch.

With a strangled gasp, Pippin's eyes shot open. I jumped away.

"Look at me," Gandalf ordered.

"Gandalf," Pippin croaked, "forgive me." His eyes darted all around the room, and then landed on me. With my heart full of pity, my hand blindly reached for his.

"Look at me," Gandalf said again, this time in a gentler tone. Pippin looked. "What did you see?"

"A tree," Pippin sputtered. "There was a white tree...in a courtyard of stone. It was dead. The city was burning."

Pippin saw all that from the sphere? The worst I got was a voice in my head.

"Minas Tirith?" Gandalf continued to question. "Is that what you saw?"

"I saw...I saw him." Pippin shivered. "I could hear his voice in my head."

I swallowed, realizing I wasn't alone.

"And what did you tell him?" Gandalf demanded. Pippin hesitated. "Speak!"

"Don't be harsh with him," I snapped.

"He—he asked me my name," Pippin reported. "I didn't answer." His lower lip quivered. "He hurt me."

"What did you tell him about Frodo and the Ring?" Gandalf asked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked the wizard.

"There is too much to explain right now, Marlena."

"I told him nothing," Pippin stammered.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Pippin closed his eyes, shuddering. Gandalf abandoned the Hobbit.