"Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don't give up." – Anne Lamott

Chapter 7

Fishlegs elected to stay behind with the dragons to watch out for outside danger, and Hiccup led the rest of us into the tunnel in the volcano. I was immediately bombarded with heat, which I had to admit was a nice change from the harsh winter cold.

"Wow, it's hot in here," Skulder said. "We're inside a lava tube! When a volcano erupts, sometimes the lava creates a tunnel as it pushes through soft rock on its way to the surface. Then, this tunnel is used as a pipe for lava during the eruptions that follow. It's the quickest way that lava can leave a volcano! These rock formations on that wall are exactly what I was looking for. Step over here and take a look!"

I walked up to the rock to examine the formations, Harald at my side. "I see."

"If you look close, you can see that the rock formations show multiple layers of different rock. The layer closest to the outside is igneous rock. Lava cools down to form this hard and coarse rock. The layer just below the igneous rock looks smoother, right? It's because that layer is a completely different type of rock. Over time, more lava cools down on top of the igneous rock and creates a new layer of rock over it. The pressure from the layer on top of it and the heat from the magma exert a lot of force onto the igneous rock and change its shape. It gets smaller and more compact, and forms a new type of rock called metamorphic rock. The placement of these layers created the island around the volcano over the course of many years!"

"Thank you for the fascinating lecture," Harald said facetiously.

Skulder glared at him. "Brennda, can you do something about him?"

I glanced uneasily at Harald, who smiled innocently at me. "I doubt it. Don't let him provoke you."

"Now you're talking about the impossible," Harald said, earning another glare from the archaeologist.

I held in a groan. I had to play peacemaker between these two? This was going to be harder than I thought.

"Well, everything looks good in here," Hiccup said. "We're going to have to explore a little deeper to be sure. Let's follow this tunnel and see if we can get a better look. You lead the way, Brennda, but be careful where you step- I mean, we're still inside a volcano!"

So, we explored deeper in the volcano. The air grew even hotter the closer we got to the center. Finally, the magma became visible. And right in the center... there was a giant sleeping green dragon!

"WHOA!" Hiccup said from behind me. " I mean... whoa. Could you, err... quietly walk back outside... before the giant dragon wakes up?"

For a second, I could not move from the shock. Then Harald tugged on my sleeve. I looked at him, and I thought I saw genuine concern in his eyes before he turned away. He kept pace with me as we followed the others back out of the tunnel. The sudden cold air chilled me to the bone.

"Oh, thank Thor we made it," Hiccup said in relief. "That can't be a Red Death... but I didn't want to risk making it mad. Was it just me, or did it have green scales?"

"Definitely green," I said.

"Well, well, well," Harald said, shaking his head. "You know, I didn't want to say 'I told you so', but... Wait. Actually, I did and I will. I told you so!"

This time, it was Astrid who glared at him. "Brennda, can I punch him?"

I frowned. "No."

Harald gave her a smug look. "Ha!"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not your body guard."

"That's not how it appears from where I'm standing."

"Now can I punch him?" Astrid asked.

I sighed and shook my head. I was tempted to do it myself, but hurting him would break agreement. Instead, I said to him, "If you really want our help, you should behave a bit better."

"That was not part of the agreement," Harald said. "And this is me behaving well."

"Lucky us," said Astrid.

Harald looked around at the rest of the group. "So! Great big beastie is in the volcano, lots of destroyed ships are on the outside, and poisonous gas is all around the ocean. It's a mess, isn't it? Hiccup, my boy, give me a lift off the island... or do you only help dragons now?" He turned to me. "Brennda, you need to help me talk some sense into your leader. Help out poor old Harald."

I stared at him. "You really think it will sound better coming from me? Fine." I faced Hiccup. "Harald thinks we should leave. He was right about the danger in the volcano..."

Hiccup frowned. "We can't leave now... there's too much for us to figure out. We need to find out if that dragon is friend or foe. We also really need to figure out if there's something wrong with the volcano that is causing the hydro-thermal vents to go into overdrive. We have to go back inside. And let's not forget, we need to find out exactly why Harald wants to keep us from going into the volcano!"

I looked back at Harald. "You heard him. Fess up."

"Alright, alright!" Harald said in exasperation. "I'll tell you the whole truth about the situation so that you'll take me off the island. Oof. This feels really foreign! Please give me a moment."

I rolled my eyes. "Why do I put up with him?" I noticed Eret open his mouth to speak, and a shot him a look. "If you give a real answer, you're the one who's going to get punched." He shut his mouth.

"Okay!" Harald said. "The truth is, yes, I pinched the dragon hunter chest when you released the Catastrophic Quaken in their camp and caused a ruckus. And when I started this... Red Death bone venture, I decided to put the chest somewhere safe until I got back. I didn't expect this monster to be inside the volcano, and I dropped it!"

"I knew it," I muttered. "That's the whole reason you sold those dragons to the hunters in the first place, wasn't it? And that means you let us catch you."

Harald smirked. "Ingenious, wasn't it?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What's in the chest, Harald? I'm surprised you haven't sold it by now. If you went through all that trouble to obtain it, it must be quite valuable."

"Clearly, you know nothing about finding the proper buyer."

"And why hide it in a volcano? It must have a pretty high melting point."

"That stands to reason."

"Who were you hiding it from anyway? Who else did you think was going to find this island?"

"You lot did, didn't you?"

I continued to stare at him, examining him. His expression was totally controlled and void of any emotion. Very unhelpful.

"Everything he said sounds logical enough," Eret said. "But what do you think, Brennda?"

"I think that all may be factually true, but that doesn't mean it's the whole truth," I said. "I still think there's something else going on here."

"Do you have any speculations?" Valka asked.

I hesitated. "Well... we're assuming he doesn't want us to go into the volcano."

"He does keep trying to get us to leave," Astrid said.

"Exactly. It's way too obvious. He spent a lot of time with us. He knows we're not that dumb."

"You're suggesting he wants us to go into the volcano?" Eret said.

"It would explain the weird feeling I had earlier about him wanting us to follow his trail."

"How reliable are these 'feelings' of yours?" Astrid asked skeptically.

"When I say 'feelings,' I mean intuition - not emotions." I looked at her with a serious expression. "All I know is, the last time I had a weird feeling about him, I ignored it and ended up regretting it." Her eyes flashed in understanding while I fought back the memories. If I had stayed behind while Harald sent us to save those dragons that day, would things have turned out differently? There was no way to know. "Anyway, I know it doesn't make sense, but that's because we're not seeing the whole picture. There has to be a plan here somewhere."

"You know, it would be a lot easier on you if you simply believe me," Harald said, appearing amused.

I looked at him with a frown. "Easier, yes. Better, no."

"Have you ever stopped to think that maybe whatever I'm planning has nothing to do with you? Our goals are not necessarily at odds. To prove it, I'll help you, my friends. If you're dead set on going back in the volcano, I know a way that might get you in without the dragon noticing you. Then you can take me off the island. Follow me and I'll show you the secret entrance."

I glanced at Hiccup, and he shrugged. "Fine," I said. "Lead the way."

We followed him around the side of the volcano and to the back. Harald approached the volcano and pointed out the camouflage. "Here we go!" he said. "Cleverly disguised, wouldn't you say? I did it myself."

"Very clever," I said. "You were hiding it from crazy people like us who happened to stumble upon the island?"

"Are you mocking me?"

I let out a fake gasp. "No! Why would I do that?"

Harald merely smirked in amusement. "After you, Brennda." He motioned to the entrance, and I led the way inside. We all gathered at the base of the tunnel. "I've done my part now, lads and lasses. I'll wait here until you've finished."

"All the same, Harald, I think we'll feel more comfortable if you were walking with us," Hiccup said. "Brennda, will you hold onto him to make sure he doesn't get away?"

"Sure thing," I said. I reached out to grab hold of Harald but stopped when I realized this required some strategic thinking. I quickly scanned his attire and came to a decision. I took hold of his right elbow, just above his glove.

Harald frowned at me. "Is that necessary? It's quite uncomfortable."

"Very necessary. If I grab anywhere on your glove, you can just slip it off."

"Hmm... Give me a moment, will you? I have a solution."

Surprised, I let go of his arm. He removed his right glove, tucking it under his strap on his back. Then he grabbed my hand and entwined our fingers. I sucked in a sharp breath at the contact.

"Secure, isn't it?" Harald said, holding up our interlocked hands to show me. "You don't have a problem with this, do you?" He smirked as if anticipating my response.

"N-No. This is fine." No way I could admit what his touch still did to me... especially with everyone else around.

Harald's smirk widened. "Good. Then should we get going?"

I wordlessly led him through the tunnel, the others following behind. We stopped when we arrived at a more open area. The green dragon had its back to us, and it appeared to still be sleeping.

"Good, it's resting," Hiccup said. "Maybe if we're quiet, we can take a good look without disturbing it. Green scales, same ugly face as the Red Death... should we call it the Green Death?"

"Sounds appropriate to me," I said.

"That dragon's nest is incredibly made but also very troubling..." said Skulder. He glanced at me. "Can you take a closer look at it?"

"Sure," I said. I took a step forward but was pulled back by Harald, who did not budge. I looked at him with a frown. "Do you mind?"

Harald smirked. "Yes, I do. It looks quite dangerous up there."

I bit back an angry retort. I could not physically move him. He was stronger than me, and his will even more so. I needed a different approach. "I told you I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Harald. This may be a difficult concept for you to understand, but I keep my word. You can trust me." I ran my thumb over the back of his hand in a soothing motion, and his eyes flashed in surprise.

"We don't have time for this," Skulder said. "I'll take a look." He moved closer to the edge of the cliff, and a few loose rocks tumbled down. Suddenly, the Green Death woke and looked around for the source of the noise with its many beady eyes.

"We need to get away from the dragon's nest right now," Hiccup said in a low voice. "Stay out of its line of sight, or it might roast us with its breath attack!"

It was time to run. In my panic, I dropped Harald's hand. He was the fastest out of all of his and quickly got ahead.

"Look out!" Skulder exclaimed

We all skidded to a stop when the Green Death looked through the fissures on the side of the tunnel. My heart pounded in my chest, and my breathing grew shallow.

"As soon as she looks away, be ready to move!" Hiccup said.

A second later, the Green Death removed her face from the fissures. We all set off to running again. However, there were several more fissures along the way, and we constantly had to stop and avoid the dragon's gaze.

At one point, I stumbled and nearly fell into the Green Death's line of sight, but Harald caught me and steadied me. It was then I realized he was running with me instead of ahead of me. Surely he could outrun all of us and make it out of the volcano faster. I gave him a questioning look, but he was all business.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, we all made it out of the tunnel. We stood around in a circle, panting and catching our breaths. "Why did you do that?" I asked Harald once I could speak.

"Do what?" he said.

"Stay behind and help me out instead of running ahead."

"You're the only one who will listen to me. I can't let you get hurt." His emotionless expression betrayed nothing.

"Are you going to take that at face value?" Eret asked. "You've questioned everything else he's said. It all sounds perfectly logical, but..."

I frowned. "There's more to it?" I watched Harald but could discern nothing else. "My only speculation on this is also pretty crazy."

"Then it must be true."

I rolled my eyes. "Right." I looked around. "Is everyone okay?"

"Never in my life did I think I would ever be inside a volcano, running away from a dragon as enormous as a mountain!" Skulder said. "Goodness. It's very good that we decided to go back inside, Brenda, because I actually spotted what's causing all this deadly fog! We must figure out a solution right away."

"Oh? What is it?"

"I think that the Green Death's nest is blocking the way that the lava would normally flow. The pressure from the magma can't penetrate it, so it's got nowhere to go but through the hydro-thermal vents. That's what must be causing the fog. We need to divert the lava so it is flowing again."

"Do you have any suggestions?" Hiccup asked.

"Perhaps we could excavate our own set of vents below the nest? It would leave the Green Death and its nest out of harm's way. I'm just not sure how we can do it. Even if we had a hundred Vikings, I don't think they could withstanding the blistering heat. If only we had a dragon that resists these intense temperatures and can burrow through the rock."

"I know of one such dragon," Valka said. "There is only one dragon that can do this. It is the Eruptodon! These dragons live deep inside volcanoes and they eat lava, so of course their magnificent skins have adapted to resist even the hottest of temperatures. The Eruptodon can dig a tunnel from inside the volcano, inches from the magma."

"That's great!" I said excitedly. "Where do we find one?"

"Unfortunately, Eruptodons are a rare breed. I have met only one Eruptodon, and he was the Great Protector of Defender of the Wing Island. He is... well, we cannot rely on him."

"I met the Great Protector too!" Hiccup said. "Small world. I don't know where to look for another... and it won't be easy."

"Actually, I think I know where to find one," Eret spoke up. "Back in the day, there was an island that shook the oceans with earthquakes, and many great dragons leaped from its volcano at any passing ships to protect their home. No hunter would dare sail near it... except yours truly, of course."

I smirked. "Of course."

"I still remember high-tailing it out of there when one Eruptodon flew too close. It flew so close that it almost made me soil my britches. I reckon it's time to get over those fears. We'll need Valka along with us, since I haven't the faintest idea how to train the dragon once we get there! Join me on my ship and, if the seas are kind, we'll be there in no time."

"Thanks, Eret!" I said. Valka and I started to follow him back to his ship.

"Have a fun trip!" Harald called.

I stopped in my tracks and turned around to look at his smug face. I forgot about him. Astrid and Skulder stood on either side of him, appearing uneasy.

"You're not leaving him here with us, are you?" Skulder said.

I looked to Hiccup. "It's up to you," he said. "You're in charge."

Well, in that case... I trudged over to where Harald stood. "You're coming with me."

Harald's smirk vanished. "Why? Are you that paranoid?"

I held out my hand to him. "If you don't want to come, I can leave Astrid in charge of you."

"We'll have lots of fun together," Astrid said mischievously.

Harald took my hand. "Fine, but if anything happens-"

"I told you, nothing is going to happen. I promise." Maybe it would help if I revealed the real reason for my declaration, but I dare not say it in front of everyone else.

"Mom, will you feel safe if Harald is with you?" Hiccup asked.

Valka smiled at him. "I will be fine as long as Brennda is with him. And I think I will have Cloudjumper accompany us."

Bolt also tried to tag along as we passed the dragons, but I put a stop to this. "Sorry, buddy," I said. "I can't risk Harald trying to ride you out of here. No more acting as an accomplice!"

Bolt whined and bowed his head.

"Oh yeah, Heather told me he broke him out of jail," Eret said. At this, Valka looked back at us with interest.

I flushed. "Yeah... He acts strangely around him."

"No more strangely than you do," Harald said.

I gave him an odd look. "What's that supposed to mean?" But he did not respond. I let go of his hand when we approached Eret's boat. It was time for the next phase of our mission. Hopefully, there would be few bumps along the way.