Matt- It's like you're anticipating who will appear in each chapter! Uncanny and awesome. :D
lvin growled. He was in his main hut with Norbert and several men. He had laid out a map of the Archipelago, complete with Berk outlined in red and watched two drops of essence move across the map. Each drop held an image of what was happening in miniature; another Outcast had placed upside-down telescopes above the drops to magnify the images so that each perspective filled the air.
Norbert also watched, stroking his axe. Yet he did not display the typical Hysteric anger, only the feral bloodlust that comes from watching battle. There was curiosity mixed in with that blood lust, and wonder. Wonder at seeing divine wrath in play.
It bothered Alvin that Loki, the god of mischief, had aided Modi. They had named the trees on Outcast Island after the trickster god, and Alvin had healthy respect for those ostracized from powerful places. Loki liked to cause trouble for Thor, and what could be greater trouble than supporting Thor's runt? By logical extension, that meant causing trouble for Alvin.
Modi making the Changewing desert made Alvin clench his teeth. It had taken months to tame that dragon! But he was a patient man, and fortunately male Changewings were easy to tend on Outcast Island. The mothers were harder, but they had an army of dragons for that purpose. How fortunate that he had kept them as a backup.
Heluth had made him swear by the Loki trees not to mess with souls, but she hadn't said anything about keeping tabs on the boy. He couldn't hear the conversations, only the intense emotions swirling from each image. Rage, from Modi, born from an explosive trigger and Magni, sorrowful and determined after the pain. Two brothers, fighting to the near death. It was almost poetic. That Magni had swatted the other two gods who had appeared made this a laughable tragedy.
Other parts of the fight created true tragedy. Savage was lost; Alvin knew that after Magni's essence had swirled with pain and black smudges of death. Burnt by four baby dragon fireballs, not even given the mercy of a broken neck. Several Outcasts had removed their helmets to show respect; Woedin had bowed his head. Perhaps Heluth would show mercy and let his soul recuperate.
More likely not. But if Alvin had Modi as a bargaining chip, then things would change.
Alvin did not express sorrow, however, any more than he had expressed sorrow for Mildew or Woedin. Savage had been a loyal second-in-command, an unwitting victim for Magni's ulterior, stupidly noble motives. Alvin had taken revenge with that iron wood bracelet, by making the god his divine servant.
Getting that bracelet on Magni had been hard enough, what with the demigod's loyalties wavering and crafting the reverse of Fehu onto metal. Alvin at times had to mutter memorized runes under his breath, cursing the loss of that valued book. Of course Magni would have packed it, perhaps to find out to break the bondage spell. But THOR ALMIGHTY appearing and reasoning with him? If not for that bracelet, then Magni could have- would have- caved in. Alvin had to keep muttering spells so that the lightning would single out Modi and Hiccup, when they had vanished with the rainbow beams. He'd have to find a more reliable way to locate the Child of Fire and Thunder.
The serpent had been the last straw. Jormagund appearing, not only saving Hiccup and Modi but also pitching them off onto the distant horizon. Its mere appearance told Alvin one thing: Heluth had lied. She had lied to Alvin about the monsters needing three or four days to travel the Bifrost.
And the affectionate gestures that Modi exchanged with the serpent? Jormagund's eyes had told Alvin that Loki's children would NEVER ally with Alvin, perish the thought. It also meant that if Fenris appeared on Outcast Island-
"We need to find them," he said. The Outcasts and Hysterics, who had watched the swirling images go past with fascination, blinked as if awakened from a dream. Alvin's men replaced their helmets on their head. Norbert stood up and nodded.
"The serpent won't last longer." He pointed to the sphere. "Magni is killing him. And Hiccup's furious dragon cannot fly."
Alvin took the iron wood flask from his belt and poured it onto Modi's droplet. The essence grew and moved to a place on the map, rapidly then it stopped. Alvin whispered a simple charm, and the water froze into a smack of ice. He gave a cruel smile. This was messing with the boy's body, not his mind.
"And now neither can go anywhere. We must prepare the ships!"
The images above Magni's essence gleamed with a screech as a large fang tore through, as long as a man's sword and dripping with green venom. The image blackened, and the droplet on the map sunk through the parchment.
Mud stopped screaming when he had been able to process the electric current running below them, charring the lovely brown scales. Then he had tried to move his arm, to at least get one free and deflect the current. It wouldn't move, of course, because Jo had them wrapped too tightly. Mud's limbs went numb, as did his mind.
Jo's dying. He's dying to protect us from Magni. It's because of me.
"Hiccup, help me get an arm free!" he whispered, whispering because his voice was hoarse.
"Easier said than done!" Hiccup grunted, from where his face was smashed against Toothless's wings. "I can barely move my own arms!"
Mud's hope died. A sense of helplessness took over once again. He managed to twist his frame so that he could look downward and see a black hole in the middle of the ocean. Heluth's back door. Jormagund must have used that to travel, just as he did all those months ago. It resembled an empty maelstrom.
What seemed like hours zoomed past them as snake got electrocuted below them, although it was only thirty minutes. The tail slowed down above a chunk of rocky island. By then both the boys' faces burned with wind chill, and their lips were dry. The scales had kept them warm, but Jormagund's unwrapped and deposited them onto cool soil, just as the lightning traveled through it. Toothless and Mud landed on their feet, but Hiccup collapsed against his dragon. He was taking swift breaths.
Mud staggered to the side of the rock. He raised his arms, but the electricity already taken its toll.
"No," he whispered, sending lightning into the water. There was no response. "Jo? You have to get up. I need you."
Hiccup got to his feet and walked towards the smaller boy. Mud took no notice of him. He kept sending down bolts of lightning with increased desperation,. Charred scales the size of shields floated to the surface, crashing against the cliff-side. So did dead fish, electrocuted from the lightning.
"You are not dying on me, Jormagund Lokisson! You're not allowed to!" His vest fluttered to the ground like a dead leaf, and Mud bent his knees in preparation of a dive. Then his limbs froze. "Oh gods."
"Mud, what's wrong?" Hiccup approached him, eyes on the dissipating lightning bolts.
"I can't move." He made an effort to straighten his legs and couldn't. He attempted to make a fist and punch the air, but even that was unfeasible. It was as if someone had poured transparent wax over him.
Hiccup tried to pull him away from the spot. It wasn't a matter of weakness; being thirty pounds heavier than your younger brother made a difference. But he could feel the stiffening limbs rooted to the cliff, and Mud nearly toppled onto him.
"Let's get you onto Toothless." Hiccup tried to pull him forward, and Mud cried out in pain. "What happened?
"Alvin," Mud cried with anger. "He used my essence to paralyze me- that son of a half troll!" More sluggish attempts to express his rage.
"Is there a way to break this spell?" Hiccup asked. He looked around him and immediately knew where they were: Dragon Island.
"Only one." Mud gritted his teeth. "Do you still have a water flask?"
Hiccup had one clipped to his waist. He took it out and opened it.
"Hold it to my finger. It's a long shot, but it's worth it."
Hiccup did as he was told. A glow flew from Mud's body to the flask; he was able to let his arms fall and gasped. Some color vanished from his face, and he gasped in pain.
"This was how Magni found me on Berk," he said, dipping his finger into the flask again. "Alvin must have kept a tracer on my essence, so he knew where I was. That means-"
"It's fine," Hiccup said. "Don't finish that thought until I can get you on Toothless. There's something I want to know, though."
"What?"
"How in Odin's name are you on good terms with the World Serpent?" Hiccup's voice rose higher. He attempted to calm it. "Jormagund is supposed to be imprisoned until Ragnorak, and he's a giant snake!"
"Was a giant snake." Mud's voice was miserable. "I let him free a couple of years back."
"But . . ." Hiccup turned to watch the floating scales. "He could have swallowed you in one gulp!"
"That was the idea."
The flask slipped out of Hiccup's hand. Glowing water spilled onto the cliff, sinking into it. Mud groaned and was able to move his legs. His cheeks were pasty white.
"I'm still tethered to the spot, but at least I'm not paralyzed. Bloody Outcast."
"Mud," Hiccup said with disbelief, "you WANTED Jormagund to kill you? WHY?"
"I wasn't of use to anyone," Mud said, looking at the scales. "Except to Heluth, and she was lonely in the Underworld. Even when my punishment was lifted, no one liked me in Asgard, except Heimdall and Uncle Loki. No one thought a runt like me was fit for a great destiny, but Odin had made me vow not to take my own life. So I thought, let the serpent kill me and reunite with his sister, give Thor a reason to hate Jormagund so that they could have their fight to the death during Ragnorak, and another Modi could be born as a proper Asgardian. I could stay in the Underworld with Mum and help run the place. Everyone would be happy."
Hiccup stared at him. Mud rubbed his arms and picked up his vest. He recalled that day, looking into those eyes for the first time without fear, awaiting the poisonous fangs.
"Perhaps he would have swallowed me whole if I hadn't smelt like Heluth, carried the scent of death with me." His voice was quiet, still morose. "Instead, he let me take him to the Underworld and create glamour to take his place. Lu got him to swallow all the decayed souls, and that's what he does now. Did. He let me ride on his back."
Hiccup's lips opened, but no words came out. Toothless nuzzled him. They both recalled that day in the woods, when Hiccup had found the Night Fury wrapped in bolas. Yes, each had thought that the other would kill him, but to deliberately seek death? To welcome that swift descent into darkness?
"It wasn't enough. I then released Fenris from his muzzle, expecting death or permanent confinement to the Underworld. Again, he didn't kill me and I wasn't exiled. He didn't pose a threat to anyone in the Underworld, not till Ragnorak happened. That's when Odin sent me to the Norns, however, to give me a productive education. I thought it was to keep me out of trouble." Mud's voice was bitter. "Instead, it was to become what I was supposed to be, a child of destiny."
They stared at the horizon.
"They're coming. Alvin and that barmy Norbert lunatic," Mud said.
"And we're trapped here," Hiccup said with fake cheer. "Should be fun fighting two hostile tribes."
"Do you have a spare tail-fin for Fury?"
"Fury- oh Toothless. Yeah, but it's back on Berk. Besides, even if I had it, I'd need the spare connecting rod-"
A beam of rainbows shot from the sky into Mud's hands. They solidified into a green satchel and a rainbow phone. He managed a wan smile.
"Freedom of the rainbows comes in handy. You should go," he said, handing the bag to an open-mouthed Hiccup.
"What about you?" Hiccup opened the satchel and took out the yellow cloth. Toothless inspected it.
"I may be stuck, but I'm not helpless." Mud indicated with a tiny zap of lightning. "Besides, Alvin needed both Magni and me to control the world after Ragnorak. Now that Magni's dead, he's lost one of his pawns."
Hiccup set his teeth as he replaced the tail-fin. "We're not leaving you."
"And I'm not letting you get bloody captured!" Mud snapped. "I don't know how far I can walk from this spot, and it's two armies combined as one. Even with their armory reduced-"
"We're not leaving you. We'll make a plan once we know how far we can go." Hiccup grabbed his small wrist. The iron cuffs were damp with chill. Being thirty pounds heavier did make a difference, and he was able to drag Mud towards the Night Fury.
"Why can't you think of yourself for once?" Mud brought back his free wrist, about to summon lightning. "Why do you have to be so noble and self-sacrificing instead of thinking? At least one of us can make it back intact!"
"Mud," Hiccup said in what he hoped was a reasonable tone. "You can zap me all you like, but this rune stone is going to protect me, so nothing can stop me from dragging you onto Toothless. Besides, Heluth told you for find the Green Death's magic, whatever it is?"
Mud, fist still drawn back, nodded.
"We're on Dragon Island, where Toothless and I fought the Green Death. Jormagund must have left us here for a reason." Hiccup nodded at the distant mountain. "Maybe it's in there, where he lingered before Dad attacked. If Alvin's coming, there's a good chance he will find it. But we're here first, and we have a head start."
Mud's fist dropped. He followed Hiccup, who still led him by the wrist, and mounted behind him. Only a backward glance at the spilled water and essence on the ground, thanking the gods that Hiccup had not asked why his lightning bolts had become smaller. Instead, Hiccup made an irrelevant, sarcastic comment.
"People used to think I was crazy for releasing Toothless," he said. "But releasing the World Serpent, thinking he was going to kill you and then befriending him? Then doing the same with Fenris? That makes what I did small in comparison. I'm starting to get jealous of you."
Mud managed another wan smile. He looked to the skies and prayed that he could still control the clouds. No one like fighting with all that rain and thunder.
Prayer would have meant nothing. Mud was mortal again, having drained his entire essence to gain that limited mobility. He said nothing as they entered the powdery darkness.
"That could have gone better." Loki threw up his hands to cover his quivering eyes. "Children. Whatever can you do with them?"
Stoick, who had just arrived to see the giant serpent sink his fangs into Magni's shoulder, glanced sharply at the sorrowful trickster god. Same glowing perfection as Thor, but with a dark undercurrent. The god had Hiccup's sarcasm, albeit with more polish.
Hiccup . . . Stoick shook his head against what Astrid and the twins told him, that Jormagund had pitched them away. He had told them to follow the tail, but Loki had put a stop to that. Thor was pulling Magni away from the serpent's dying head, laying him in a quiet corner under a large tree.
"Great idea, chief, but you have a personal Bifrost at your beck and call." He nodded at Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins. "They'll need you, of course, and we will join when we can. Find Modi's sword and take it with you; it will come in handy."
They obeyed, trudging off. Stoick moved to follow, but Loki stopped him by gripping his arm. He held the chief in place, and Thornado growled with suspicion.
"And why should they trust you, trickster?" Vali said. He had recovered but still staggered.
"Maybe it's because Modi freed two of my children from a lifetime of imprisonment and reunited them with my third," Loki said calmly. "Maybe it's because his mother did me a great favor that I can only repay in this fashion. Or maybe it's because I'm fond of the boy. But if you want to risk your necks to save them, you don't need my permission." He waved them away. "Be warned that you will probably fade into nothing if you get caught."
With suspicion, Vidar and Vali followed the dragon riders. They leaped to the trees and followed, swinging like hairless gorillas. Vidar, not burdened with an axe, swung with more grace while Vali struggled.
Stoick watched them with numb resentment. If only Baldr hadn't caught the village's attention, with his pretty face and gentle manner. If only Thor hadn't challenged Stoick to that customary drinking contest, keeping him busy while Vidar and Vali searched for Modi. If only Snotlout had arrived sooner, with the news of Hookfang being out of action. If only, if only . . .
"We're following them later, chief," Loki said, his tone softer. "You have a more important task at hand."
There was a padding of footsteps. Those who remained in the clearing- Stoick, Gobber, Thornado, Loki, Thor and a dying Magni- backed away as a giant wolf knocked down trees with paws the size of Gronckles. He left a magnificent trail behind him.
Snotlout let out a shriek, only to blush when everyone stared at him. Thor raised his hammer.
"Hold it, big brother!" Loki waved his hand. "You've already done enough damage today, and I don't want to lose another son." His eyes hardened as he gestured at a dead Joramung. "I most certainly do not."
Thor backed away, went back to Magni, whose breathing had started to rattle. No one approached them.
"Fenris comes in peace. He means no harm, don't you, Fenny?" He let go of Stoick and started stroking the wolf's large paw. The wolf gave a muffled whine when he saw Jormagund. Ashes fell from his thick pelt.
"Oh, no Outcasts on the island to slaughter? They all left before you could have your fun, and invisible dragons attacked you? You poor puppy." Loki stroked him with morose affection.
Fenris bent and opened his mouth. A large chunk of rock- bitten from the center of an island that smelled of Loki tree- came out, with a hut glued to the top of it. There was a cry of "Fenris, be careful! I'm not exactly solid!"
Stoick gaped. He recognized the voice. "Val!"
"Eos," Loki corrected him. "Though she was once your wife, Valhallarama of the White Arms. It seems Fenris found her on Outcast Island. She was in an underground part of it, it seems. Atta boy, Fenny."
"Is that you, Loki?" Her pert voice came out. "Don't worry about me; Alvin's gone after the boys."
"We know, darling," Loki replied. "But we have to save you first."
"Loki Odinsson-"
He ignored her. "You see, Chief Stoick, you knew her best in her mortal life, and I know her best in her Asgardian life. You may not know this as well, but Modi packed a cutting of the World Tree with him, which I believe is in the village. If we work together, your hands and my brain, we can give her a proper body. Then she can rip Alvin in two with her plants."
"What do you mean?" Stoick asked harshly. He didn't dare think, dare hope that the trickster god spoke true. "You mean, we can bring her back to life?"
Loki nodded. "If you want to call it that, yes. I prefer to call it 'divine wood carving 101.'"
The sarcasm didn't dent Stoick's confused elation. Part of him wanted to go after Hiccup and Mud, keep them safe from Alvin. Most of him wanted to stay, however, and believe. If anyone deserved to hurt Alvin, it was his Val.
So he and Thornado stayed. Gobber went with Snotlout to tend Hookfang.