Chapter 2

Incoming Riders

Eight hundred feet over the western cliffs, about an hour's walk south, peaked the solitary, perpetually snowy mountain known as Raven Point. Hanging against the clouds a few hundred feet above that were six unknown shapes in a clear, straight formation. They weren't birds — they were too big. But dragons flew in a clump, not a line.

"I don't know," Hiccup answered.

They were just hovering. Maybe if she got closer… Where was Toothless?

"Hiccup! Look!" Astrid shook her shoulder. She abandoned the search and looked. The shapes were moving, growing larger and falling. Her heart leapt into her throat.

A high pitched dragon-scream, soft at first but growing ever louder, blanketed the town. Her mouth fell into a gape as she stared. It couldn't be. She knew that scream, but there was no way it was a —

"Night Fury!"

"Get down!"

Everyone in town cowered under shields or their meaty arms, but not her. She stared at the dots, transfixed.

This had to be a dream. How many times had she dreamt about finding Night Furies? Any minute now Toothless would start talking or she'd be standing in the Academy in her skivvies.

The spots became silhouettes, black as night with four legs and a pair of wings pulled tight against smooth, nimble, cat-like bodies. They were all were Night Furies! She'd never dreamed of an entire flight finding her. Toothless finding a girlfriend and having a clutch? Finding a nest of a thousand? Those she'd dreamed. This was something else entirely.

What if it wasn't a dream? Were they attacking? During the day? They never attacked during daylight raids. Nadders and Gronckles, sure, but never Night Furies.

It took mere seconds for them to reach town, but there were no fireballs, no explosions. Then time seemed to slow. Their wide wings unfurled and caught the air. The wind whistled as they pulled up. She pivoted on her heel to follow as they blew past. They blotted out the sun for an instant and in that instant, she could make out their scales, the nails on each of their claws and leather straps wrapped around their chest.

Leather straps?

… Riders?

Riders!

Odin's ghost! Riders! Her chest just about burst, and a giddy grin spread so far across her face it was almost painful. Never had she dreamed — please don't let this be a dream! They weren't attacking, they were announcing themselves!

The flight banked around over the ocean, well past Berk. She squinted; there was definitely something on their backs. She had to get a closer look, she had to know — and then she remembered.

She patted her vest until she found the lump in her forward pocket and practically tore out the spyglass. She put it to her face so fast she hurt her eye, but she ignored the pain and focused.

Each dragon had at least one rider. Two had a pair. Eight riders — from the body shapes: five men, three women. The middle one was obviously the commander, but they were all wearing the same royal blue dyed leather, of the same shape and cut, and their heads were covered by shiny, round helmets. When they came around, she saw their face masks; Simple, leather coverings with a single slit at the eyes. Compared to them, the armor worn by the warriors of Berk seemed chaotic.

They came around to Black Skull Beach, just west of the town. The commander held up his hand and they came to a stop mid air. She had a notion to fly out to meet them, but those thoughts were quickly dashed.

"What in Thor's name is going on out here?"

The chief's voice thundered from the smithy as he burst out. She forced herself to lower the spyglass and turn toward her dad. Gobber followed, his usual hook hand replaced with a pair of tongs holding a bent sword. Gobber searched the skies, while her dad's eyes fell someplace much closer.

"Hiccup!" He placed his fists on his hips and shook his head. "What did I tell you about buzzing the town like that?"

"It wasn't me, Dad!" She motioned over the cliff. "Look! Dragon riders!"

"What?" He stormed over to get a look at the new arrivals. At that moment, the Night Furies folded their wings and plummeted to the beach below, only to splay at the last moment and sink softly onto the sand.

Her dad didn't take his eyes off the riders. "Hiccup, stay here. Astrid, make sure she stays here. Gobber, with me."

Her heart fell as he turned from the cliff. "Dad, I —"

"Not now!" He yelled as he galloped toward his Thunderdrum, still at the trough. The dragon looked up when he whistled, then leapt through the air to meet his rider half way.

"Spitelout! Gather a defensive party!" He yelled as he grabbed his Thunderdrum's reins. "Arm them! We don't know what they mean to do here, be ready. Gobber, get up here."

Her dad had already climbed onto Thornado's back and grasped Gobber's good arm to pull him up. Spitelout hurried to the Thunderdrum's side, giving Gobber a sword and taking the bent one he still held. Stoick gave his dragon a swift kick and they were airborne.

She returned the spyglass to her eye and trained it on the riders. They had dismounted and were taking off their gear — the helmet, face mask, and the heavier portions of their armor. Was that their riding gear? Her eye fixated on the commander. He wasn't remotely like the men she knew.

You could be forgiven for mistaking a Viking on all fours for a yak, but these foreigners were… svelte, was the only word she could think of. The commander was the most chiseled; she'd guess he was no more than five years older than her. He had a nice face with a confident look about him that somehow kept her from looking away. He might look even better if she got closer...

"What're you smiling at?" Astrid said in a teasing voice. Hiccup hadn't even realized she was. She lowered the spyglass and forced her smile to fall.

"Eh, nothin'." She shrugged with a sheepish glance at her friend. The notion returned — she could just take Toothless and fly down! She looked around as she pushed the spyglass into her pocket, but she didn't have to look far. He had already slunk up to the cliff and was looking down at the riders. "What do you say, Bud? Want to go visit the Night Furies?"

She was on his back before he'd had a chance to coo his response. She hooked her safety lines and twisted the pedals into a take off position. He coiled up —

Astrid jumped in the way, her arms raised, and Hiccup jolted in surprise. She twisted the pedals back, afraid they'd hurt Astrid if they took off now. Astrid glared at her. "What do you think you're doing? Your dad said to stay!"

"But… Oh come on!" She gestured past the cliff. "They're right there! I've been wanting to see more Night Furies for ages!"

"This is more than just dragons, Hiccup!" Astrid said. "Your dad knows how to handle foreign chiefs. Think about what it'll look like if a Night Fury comes shooting at them during negotiations. Will they think they're under attack?" Her glare turned into a scowl. She lowered her arms and crossed them. "What will your dad say if you mess this up?"

Hiccup couldn't match Astrid's look. The best she could muster was crossing her arms back, but she couldn't even meet her eye. She had to admit Astrid did have a point. She didn't want to go back to being the town screw up. She shifted the tail back to a neutral position and Toothless relaxed.

"You'll have plenty of time to meet them if things go well." Astrid stepped around Toothless and pet his shoulder. She smiled reassuringly up at Hiccup. "Just be patient."

Hiccup nodded in defeat and dismounted, the spring in her prosthetic sinking as she pressed into the ground. She went back to the cliff, taking out the spyglass again. Thornado had landed, and both Stoick and Gobber were talking with the foreign commander. It wasn't easy to make out through the spyglass, but her dad looked tense. Gobber looked like he was probably cracking wise at every opportunity.

But the commander smiled, his back straight and arms wide. He had a nice smile, she thought. As he spoke, he gestured in a very smooth and effortless way. He turned and waved at one of the Night Furies. Stoick and Gobber looked at it, and she followed. Such a beautiful creature! Oh how she wanted to see it up close!

She lowered the glass and threw a glance at the path down to the beach. She could get closer on foot! It wouldn't look like they were being attacked, right? She'd just have to give Astrid the slip. She'd wait until she wasn't looking, then sneak around a house. Then down the path, keep to the tree line —

"Uh uh."

Astrid grabbed her hand.

"I can see what you're thinking. Let your dad handle this."

Hiccup's shoulders fell and she gave her a pitiful look.

"No!" Astrid tightened her grip. "Sit with me. Be patient."

She followed Astrid in sitting, resting her back against Toothless. She knew she wouldn't be able to slip off now. She put the glass back to her eye and hoped things were going well down there.