Sméagol's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

Sméagol crept east along the river before dawn, following the water like his people always had. The thief had passed this way. He was sure of it now. He kept to the mud and the reeds, sniffing the bank for any trace of the ring. Then the sky changed. The sun rose over the far trees and struck the open bank. The light stabbed his eyes. He hissed and pressed his face to the ground. The riverbank had no cover here, only flat stones and low grass. He was out in the open, easy to see. His skin burned. He could not hunt the trail like this. Anyone watching would spot him at once. He scrambled toward a stand of reeds and pushed inside. The stalks hid him, but they slowed him too. The thief was walking free in the daylight while Sméagol crawled and hid. "Losing ground, precious," he whimpered. "The nasty sun, it helps the thief, yes it does." Every hour of light was an hour the thief gained. A shadow crossed the water. Sméagol froze. Something large sat on the far bank, black against the bright stones. It had folded wings and green eyes, and it watched the river the way a hunter watches. A dragon. Sméagol had seen carvings of such things, but never one breathing. It did not move toward him. It only stared at the water, waiting for fish. Sméagol's belly cramped. Fish. The dragon guarded a shallow pool thick with them. But the dragon lay in full sun, and Sméagol could not reach the pool without crossing the open bank. He watched the black shape strike the water and pull up a wriggling fish. Then another. "Please," Sméagol called from the reeds. His voice shook. "We only wants the shade, precious. And a fish, one little fish." The dragon's head turned. The green eyes found him. "You hid all morning," the dragon said. His voice was flat. "Weak eyes. Sun hurts you." "Yes, yes," Sméagol whined. "The light burns us. We cannot follow in the light." The dragon looked back at the water. "Follow what?" "A thief. He took my precious. He walks the river ahead of us." Sméagol crept one step closer, still in shadow. "You sees things from the sky. You could tell us where he goes." The dragon was quiet. Then he spoke. "A man passed here two days ago. Alone. He kept to the north bank. Walks by night now. Hides by day." His tail flicked. "Like you." Sméagol's heart jumped. The thief hid from daylight too. That was why the trail felt cold. "By night," he breathed. "We hunts by night, precious. The sun stops hurting us both." The dragon flung a fish onto the mud beside the reeds. "Eat. Then wait for dark." Sméagol seized the fish and swallowed it whole. He would not fight the sun anymore. He would sleep, and rise when it fell, and chase the thief through the dark where his eyes were strong.