CHAPTER 16
"Today is about survival and teamwork," Gobber said as the last boat bumped against the beach. Nraseri hopped out and pulled his and Hiccup's boat onto the sand. The trainees had been woken early for a special day of training, as Gobber had put it.
After a quick breakfast, they had been hauled into boats and had had to navigate Berk's waters to a beach on the side of the island. Already, the twins had pushed each other into the frigid water. They had spent the rest of the trip around the island shivering and bickering.
"Hurry up," the older Viking said. The teens gathered around him, laden only with their weapons, six packs, and a map.
Gobber had enlisted his help for this particular exercise. The two of them had rowed out to the island the night before to ensure that everything was in place and that there was little chance of the teens running into too much trouble during their stay. none of the trainees knew what they there expected to do and Gobber had made it very clear that they would only find out once they had reached the island. That hadn't stopped some of them. Toothless had already had the twins try to pry clues from him. They'd even tried to follow them when they'd gone out the day before, but Gobber had threatened to disqualify them.
Now, they listened, still a little soaked from the trip over, as Gobber explained the next part of their training.
"The point of this exercise is to survive on the island. Each of you will choose a pack of supplies. They're all different, so choose wisely. You can go by yourself or together. During these two days, you must find three different spheres hidden across the island. One in stone, one in the sky, and one in the sea. Those are the only clues ye get so ye better remember them." He eyed the teens. "Each person must retrieve one of each and be back here at sunset of the third day. Failure to retrieve these this or return here will result in unspeakable unpleasantries."
The teens shifted uncomfortably. Anything Gobber found unpleasant was bound to be horrendous and none of them wanted to risk it.
"But that is not the only challenge you will have to overcome. I've enlisted Nraseri here to make things a little more difficult. A half-hour after the challenge begins, he will follow you. He will be stealing supplies. If you catch him, you get one of three options: you get the supplies he has with him, a clue to the nearest sphere, or for him to join your group for one hour.
"Wait, so he just steals supplies?" Snotlout didn't seem very happy that Toothless was tagging along. He'd glared daggers at him all the way from Berk.
"That's exactly what I said, Snotlout. Open yer ears, lad."
"Why did we have to come all the way here, though," Tuffnut grumbled. "We have a perfectly good island back on Berk."
"Because some of ye spent most of their time in the forests on Berk," Gobber replied, shooting a look at Hiccup. "Wouldn't want anyone having that big of an advantage. It's no fun that way. Alright, grab a pack. Ye may want to leave before ye waste any more daylight. Remember, be back in two days with yer objects. Oh, and watch out for dragons." Gobber chuckled to himself and walked back to the boat to grab his own supplies, leaving the teens to their own devices.
Snotlout shoved Hiccup out of the way and grabbed the largest pack and held it out to Astrid. "You should come with me. We'll make a great team."
Astrid rolled her eyes and picked up her own pack. "No thanks." She turned and walked off into the forest.
Ruffnut grabbed the pack that Snotlout was holding. "You're so kind, Snotlout. Come on, Tuff. Snotlout's teaming up with us. We'll show him what real survival looks like."
Her twin yelled in agreement and slung an arm around Snotlout's shoulder and steered him into the forest.
Hiccup and Fishlegs exchanged glances. "Wanna team up?" Hiccup asked.
"Yes, please."
Hiccup gave Nraseri a quick wave. "Maybe we'll catch you out there."
Nraseri flashed a smile. "Not if I find you first."
It turned out that he and Fishlegs made a good team, so much so that Hiccup remembered why they had been such close friends when they were younger. They seemed to get each other. While Fishlegs rattled off dragon facts, Hiccup found himself able to counter them. Sure, he didn't know the logistics or strike number of a Scaldron or a Zippleback, but his time watching them and spending time around Nraseri meant that the two of them could have a proper discussion for the first time in years.
In fact, it was Fishlegs who spotted the Gronckle tracks less than an hour after they had set out, which gave Hiccup the idea that maybe each sphere had something to do with dragons. This idea proved right as they followed the tracks to a rocky clearing where a pack of Gronckles was snoring.
They exchanged glances.
"Wait here," Hiccup said, sliding his pack off and handing it to Fishlegs. He crept forward past the sleeping dragons. One snorted awake, and he froze. Its eyes opened slowly. Holding his breath, he reached over and scratched it under the chin. The Gronckle hummed with pleasure and its eyes slid closed. Seconds later, it was snoring once again.
Hiccup let out a slow breath and looked around.
There, nestled into a dip in the ground, was a pile of wooden spheres roughly the size of his palm. The Boulder Class emblem was painted on each with a deft hand, likely Nraseri's since Gobber couldn't paint to save his life. There was one missing. Someone must have already found them.
It was probably Astrid.
Hiccup took two of the spheres from the pile and crept back to where Fishlegs was waiting, wringing his hands anxiously. He handed one to Fishlegs and shouldered his pack again.
"Okay. That's one down and two more to go," he said. "Any ideas where the next one would be?"
Fishlegs hummed. "Well it's in the sky, so it's probably somewhere up high."
"Maybe a dragon's nest? Which ones roost in the trees?"
"There's a lot of Terrors on the island."
Fishlegs brightened. "We might actually do this."
Hiccup smiled at his sudden enthusiasm.
The flap of wings made him glance up. Three Terrors had perched on one of the rocks. One of them squawked indignantly at something behind it.
Hiccup frowned. Too late, he noticed the rope pulled tight in front of them.
"Fishlegs, watch out!"
Fishlegs tripped and fell face-first into the dirt. His pack went flying, hitting the ground with a thump, and spilling its contents everywhere, including his sphere.
There was a familiar cheer and Snotlout and the twins emerged from behind the rocks.
"See, I knew if we waited, we'd catch them." With a laugh, Snotlout picked up Fishlegs' sphere.
"Hey! That's mine." Fishlegs exclaimed.
"Gobber didn't say anything about not stealing other people's spheres."
"Give it back, Snotlout," Hiccup said.
Snotlout sneered. "We found that fair and square. It's not our fault that he trips over his own feet."
"Yeah!" Tuffnut interrupted. "Too bad, so sad."
"Better luck next time," Ruffnut finished. They high-fived, grinning like idiots.
The Terrors watched the scene unfold, their heads cocked to one side. All three of them kept glancing down at the strewn contents of Fishleg's pack, particularly, the piece of wrapped fish from their breakfast.
Hiccup scooped it up and threw it at Tuffnut. It smacked him in the face with a splat! There was a burst of excited squawks and Hiccup ducked just in time as the three Terrors darted forward.
Tuffnut shrieked. "Not again!" He threw the fish at Snotlout who shouted and dropped the sphere and swung his mace at the dragons who easily evaded his attacks.
Ruffnut, being the only smart one, snatched up the sphere, grabbed her brother's arm and took off into the forest, Snotlout not far behind.
Hiccup helped Fishlegs to his feet, the latter red-faced and looking on the verge of tears.
"Sorry, Hiccup."
Hiccup patted his arm. "We'll get it back, Fish. Don't worry."
Fishlegs sighed. He began shoving his things back into his pack. "I don't think I'm cut out for this. Not like you guys."
"Oh, don't talk like that. They're just idiots."
"I mean it," he insisted. "You guys are so good."
"I'm not that good," Hiccup said.
Fishlegs looked surprised. "But you're, like, at the top of the class."
"I think you've mistaken me for Astrid. It's all luck, believe me. I'm not half as good as you think."
"You're pretty good with the sword. When did you learn that?"
"Toothless—Nraseri—showed me some tricks, mostly so that I wouldn't kill myself out there."
"I should have guessed that," Fishlegs said. "He's pretty cool."
"Yeah."
"Where's he from?" Fishlegs asked. "I mean, I know he was travelling with the merchants that came a few weeks ago, but which tribe is he from?"
Hiccup thought about when Nraseri had told him his true name and the circumstances that forced him to leave his tribe behind. He didn't think Nraseri would appreciate him telling others about that. "He's from the outskirts of the Archipelago," he said instead. "I don't think his tribe is well-known."
"oh," Fishlegs said. "he's probably been all over."
"You have no idea. you should ask him about some of the things he's done. He's been travelling for years."
Fishlegs laughed nervously. "I don't think I have enough courage for that."
"Well, you have an advantage over the others. Nraseri's travelling brings him into contact with a lot of crazy dragon species."
His eyes widened. "Really?"
Hiccup nodded. "You should ask him about it. He's got a lot of stories. One time, he told me about this boulder-class dragon that likes to hang from the underpart of cliffs that jut out. Apparently, he made the mistake of camping under one of them and it dropped down in the middle of the night. It didn't attack him, though, just took his food and flew off." He stopped. "The cliffs!" Hiccup pulled out the map and glanced over it. "The spheres are probably somewhere near the cliffs."
"But why the cliffs?" Fishlegs asked, looking over his shoulder to peer at the map.
"Think about it. there are seven classes of dragons: Stoker, Boulder, Tracker, Sharp, Tidal, Mystery, and Strike. Look at the paintings on the spheres. It's a Boulder Class. Stone. We found them in a Gronckle nest. I'm betting that the three hints Gobber gave have something to do with the class. The cliffs are also the highest point on the island."
"We'll need the rope to get there."
"We might not. We have the three hooks, remember? We can figure it out when we get there."
It took them the better half of the day to reach the cliffs. They craned their necks to look up at the steep rock face. "We're definitely going to need rope," said Fishlegs.
Hiccup pressed his lips together and thought. Maybe they could braid some vines together and tie them to the hooks. But the cliffs were steep in some places and he didn't know if vines would hold them as well as rope.
They heard a shout of dismay. Startled, Hiccup and Fishlegs looked at each other before dashing toward it. Astrid was standing at the base of the rocks, fuming. "I turned around for one second!"
She saw them and scowled. "Hiccup, when you see Nraseri, tell him he'd better watch his back."
"What happened?"
"He took my rope."
"You had rope?" Hiccup asked.
"Well, not anymore." She kicked a nearby tree in frustration.
"Did you see which way he went?" Hiccup asked.
Astrid gestured to the east. "Somewhere that way. Probably off to loot the others."
"Okay. Let's think about this." Hiccup unshouldered his pack and rummaged through it. "We don't have rope, but we do have a spare hook." He pulled out the two hooks. "If we catch him, we can get your rope back and the three of us can go up together.
Astrid stared at them, still scowling. "Fine. Whatever."
"Uhh, isn't he like, really good not getting caught?" Fishlegs asked. "How are we going to catch him?"
Hiccup thought for a moment. "Give me a few minutes."
Toothless hummed to himself as he picked his way through the forest in search of a stream, a makeshift basket of leaves tucked under one arm. It didn't take long to find a stream, and, after a thorough search to make sure none of the others were lying in wait for him, he pulled off his boots and got in, shivering slightly at the icy water.
A whisper ghosted past his ear.
Toothless froze, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He scanned the forest. Nothing. Tearing his gaze from the trees, he focused on the silver flickers in the water. Minutes crept by. He caught another fish.
The forest was growing colder as the sun set. He couldn't shake the wariness that caused him to look up now and again. The shadows grew longer. Again, something whispered just out of his hearing's reach. He strained his ears, hand creeping to his amulet.
Nothing. He shook his head and tore his attention from the uneasiness that had settled in his bones to the present.
There were six fish on his pile. He pressed his lips together in annoyance.
Dammit.
He'd been fishing for his dragon form, not his human form. He sighed. Maybe he could find some dragons to give them to or drop some off for one of the groups, whichever came first, he guessed.
He turned back to the shore.
The amulet hummed loudly, a grinding pulse that shot through his body, knocking the breath out of him, and he stumbled out of the water. His knees hit the shore and he clutched his head. He grit his teeth. It felt as if some thing were digging into the back of his head, sinking its claws deeper as the amulet hummed and pulsed louder and louder and—
It was gone.
Toothless let out a deep, slow breath as the agonizing pain dispersed as if had never been there. The amulet was silent.
He looked up. The sky was a deep red. Toothless pulled himself to his leaden feet and pulled on his boots. He shook himself. This wasn't something to worry about now. The amulet would sort itself out soon. But still, he'd never felt anything like that digging pain before. It was intrusive, unsettling.
He shoved the fish into the makeshift basket and headed back to his campsite.
He was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't notice the trap until it was too late. The ground shifted from under him and he let out a surprised yelp as he fell into a shallow hole that had been covered by carefully placed foliage.
Dazed, he shook the leaves from his hair and sat up.
Astrid stood over him, Fishlegs and Hiccup peering over her shoulder. "I'd like my rope back."
He smiled sheepishly. "You caught me." He accepted her extended hand and brushed his clothes off. "So, you guys teamed up after all."
"We can thank you for that," Hiccup said. "I didn't expect to catch you so easily."
"You're just lucky I wasn't looking where I was going." Toothless bend and fished out the basket from the hole, happy to see that none of the fish had been spilled. "So, supplies? No clue?"
"Supplies," Astrid said.
Toothless nodded. "My campsite is this way."
He led them to an enormous pine tree as the last of the sun faded. "Wait here," he said and set the basket of fish down. He grabbed a branch and hauled himself up. Once he was high enough that the others could see him, he allowed his fingers to sharpen into claws and climbed until he found the hollow a few metres up. His pack was where he had left it and he shouldered it and scaled back down the tree, dispelling his claws before reaching the last branch. He dropped down to the forest floor.
"Here you go." He emptied the pack at their feet. A flint, Ruffnut's mace, Hiccup's cup, Astrid's rope, and two wooden spheres.
Fishlegs gasped. "You have two?"
"Nabbed them off Tuffnut and Snotlout while they were arguing."
Hiccup picked them up and handed one to Fishlegs. He handed the other one to Astrid. "Here."
Astrid paused for a moment. "I've got that one already. You take it."
Hiccup reddened slightly and slipped it into his pack. "Thanks."
Toothless didn't miss how Astrid turned away quickly as she coiled the rope around her arm and divided the rest of the loot between them. "We should camp here for the night and head up in the morning," she said. "I can find some food while you make a fire."
"Wait a moment," Toothless stopped her, pulling three fish from the basket and handing them to her. "Here, there's enough for the three of you. I got carried away." He picked up his now-empty pack. "Well, glad to be of service. I should probably get going. I'll probably see you guys in the morning."
Hiccup caught his arm. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned.
Toothless forced a smile. "Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He extracted himself from Hiccup's grip and gave them all a two-fingered salute. "Good luck," he said and vanished into the trees.
It took the three of them until mid-morning to scale the cliff.
"One, two, three!" Hiccup and Astrid pulled Fishlegs over the lip. He lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
"Please don't make me do that again," he said. "I don't ever want to do that again."
Astrid rolled her eyes. "We're going to have to go down again."
"Maybe I can just stay up here."
"Come on, Fish," Hiccup said. "The sooner we do this the sooner we can go home."
Fishlegs sighed morosely and got to his feet. The three of them split up to search, poking into the numerous alcoves that pocketed the walls. There was no greenery all the way up here.
It was cold on the cliff. A sharp, biting wind pulled at Hiccup's hair as he looked around. scanning the grey rocks for any sign of the spheres.
Astrid was doing a wide circle, axe ready in her hand in case they came across anything hostile.
"Any luck?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I saw some grooves in the stone over there near the edge of the cliffs. I think a dragon may have nested here."
"Show me."
She led him to the edge of the cliff and motioned to a set of four long gouges in the stone. Hiccup knelt and touched them. They were shallow and smooth around the edges. "From the way they're pointed, I'd guess a dragon was launching into the sky. But they're old."
"How can you tell?"
"Nraseri showed me some similar ones in the forest where some dragons used to nest. See, the edges are smoothed from the wind and rain. If these were new, the edges would be sharp. My guess is that this used to be a nest. It would explain all the alcoves."
She eyed him. "You know a lot about dragons."
Hiccup laughed nervously and stood. "You've got to know your enemy, right?"
Her eyes lingered on him for a moment before she stood as well. "I'm going to look over there again. See if I missed anything."
"I think found them!" Fishlegs shouted. They exchanged glances and jogged over to where Fishlegs was crouched in front of an alcove that had been filled in with rocks. "I can see something behind there."
"Are you sure we're not uncovering a nest?" Astrid asked. "There were claw marks at the edge of the cliff. I don't want to fight an angry mother dragon."
Fishlegs squeaked and pulled his hands back like he'd been burned. "What if it is? Where's the mother? Are we going to die?"
"Calm down, Fishlegs," Hiccup said. "We haven't seen any recent sign of dragons around here."
"Besides," Astrid added, "if there was one, we'd know by now."
"But what if it's waiting? Like the dragon Nraseri told you about." Fishlegs looked up at the cliffs, obviously searching for any sign of a dragon.
Hiccup sighed. "That was far away from here. Let's just move the rocks and take a look. If they're eggs—and I don't think they are—then we'll leave them alone. But there's only one way to find out."
Fishlegs hesitated, whimpering slightly and Astrid rolled her eyes and began pulling at the rocks. Hiccup helped, and with a bit of effort, they came free. Nestled there were the spheres.
"Looks like we beat the others." Astrid pulled out three of the spheres and handed them their own.
Hiccup looked at the Strike Class symbol painted on the sphere. Nraseri had a sense of humour. His mind moved to the Night Fury back on Berk. What was it doing right now? He shook his head. Time for that later. "Fishlegs and I only need the one in the sea," he said. "I'm guessing it has something to do with Tidal Class."
He squinted and shielded his eyes to look over the island from the cliffs. "One in the sea," he murmured, searching the shores for anywhere Nraseri could have hidden the spheres. It couldn't be too far into the water otherwise they'd risk being pulled out with the currents. Far in the distance, sunlight glinted off small pools of water. "There are tidal pools on the other side of the island. That's probably where the last sphere is. It'll take us the rest of the day to get there if we leave now." He turned to Astrid. "Are you coming with us?"
She thought about it for a minute. "Sure, whatever. Strength in numbers."
They reached the tidal pools as the sun was setting. Fishlegs and Astrid off their boots and searched the tidal pools while Hiccup guarded their supplies and kept a lookout for Nraseri and the others.
Astrid found them in a sack jammed between two rocks. They were too heavy to wash away when the tide came in, but the sack had been secured with a length of rope just in case. After taking three, she jammed the sack back in his hiding place and waded back to the shore.
The Tidal Class had been carved into these spheres since they had spent a good few days submerged in water and the paint would have washed off by now. Nraseri sure thought of everything.
"That's all of them," Astrid said. "We should make camp before the sun goes down completely."
"Oh, thank the gods." Fishlegs lay down on the ground, exhausted.
"I don't trust Snotlout not to try something," Hiccup said. "I'll take first watch."
Astrid nodded. "I'll take second. Fish, you're third."
Fishlegs put a thumb up and let his arm fall back into the sand.
They set up camp a distance from the shore where the undergrowth would shield them but open enough that they would catch anyone sneaking up on them. Fishlegs fell asleep almost immediately after they'd eaten and was snoring softly next to the fire. Astrid Hiccup found a fallen log to sit on and turned himself toward the trees and got ready for a long night of keeping watch. He leaned his sword against the stump and settled down for his watch.
Stars peaked through the treetops. It was a brisk night, though not as cold as it could have been. The gods had blessed them with good weather. The trip would have been miserable in the rain.
He heard the tread of feet and was surprised when Astrid sat down next to him.
"Can't sleep," was all she said.
An awkward silence fell as they sat there. Hiccup kept sneaking glances at her, but she didn't move, just stared out into the darkness. "We're lucky it hasn't rained," he said when the silence became unbearable. No answer. "You're a natural out there. I always knew you'd be a great warrior. You're going to win for sure."
"Why are you doing this?" she demanded.
Hiccup blinked. "what?"
"Dragon training. You could barely hold a sword a few weeks ago."
Annoyance flared. "Maybe you don't know me as well as you think," he snapped. "I'm not useless, Astrid."
Astrid scowled. "I never said you were. I asked why you're in dragon training."
"It's what every Viking wants. The honour of killing the dragon." The words felt bitter in his mouth.
"Don't lie to me, Hiccup."
"What?" he stuttered.
"The others might be blind, but I'm not. You're not a dragon slayer. Neither is Nraseri. So why," she said, "are you so determined to win this? What could you possibly gain from it?"
What could he gain from it? he already had the pride of the village, already had a best friend who didn't judge him for his choices, knew more secrets about the dragons than any Viking could hope to. What could he gain from this? He looked into the fire, into the glowing embers at its heart. "My father always wanted a warrior."
Astrid stared at him for a long time, eyes narrowed as if seeing him for the first time. Then she stood. "You can't keep pretending to be something you're not. One day, they're going to find out. The question is: what are you going to do about it when that day comes?"
She left him there, staring after her, and settled down next to the fire. the embers popped, sending a few sparks up into the air. They danced for a moment before blinking out. Hiccup watched them before turning back to the dark forest, mulling over Astrid's words as the moon crept across the sky.
He already knew what he was going to do. he was going to leave before they ever found out. He knew he was running away, but what else could he do? He'd be leaving Berk behind to continue the war with the dragons.
You could try to change their minds, a voice whispered. Just like Nraseri changed yours.
If Nraseri could do it with him, maybe they could change Berk's mind too. he shook his head. he didn't think that would happen. Maybe he could try in a few years when he knew more. The idea ran around and around in his head, driving him crazy. He tried to dispel it, but it kept eating at him.
The undergrowth rustled just outside the small ring of light cast by the dying fire. Hiccup froze as a prickling sensation fell over him. Something was watching him.
He had grown used to having a pair of eyes on him in the forest. The Night Fury was never far behind. No matter how well it tried to hide, Hiccup always knew it was there. It was comforting despite the fact that the beast could very well kill him without a second thought. But it had had so many opportunities.
But this? This sent chills down his spine and a cold feeling settling in his bones. Whatever was out there was not friendly.
He squinted into the darkness, straining his eyes, searching for any sign of movement, but he couldn't tell if his eyes were playing tricks on him or if there really was a creature slinking just out of his line of vision.
The prickling feeling vanished.
Spooked, he took a slow breath.
A branch snapped. Hiccup was on his feet in seconds, drawing his sword rasping from its sheath. A sense of clarity fell over him. He stood still, ready, listening. Behind him, Astrid had woken. He could see her moving ever so slowly for her axe. Fishlegs snorted awake when she elbowed him in the ribs and put a finger to her lips.
Two figures burst from the darkness, shouting and waving their arms. Alarmed, Hiccup struck out blindly with the flat of his blade. His attacker shouted in pain, and the sound was very familiar. Hiccup lowered his blade and peered at his attacker, annoyed.
Tuffnut was holding his nose and swearing.
Astrid had her axe at Ruffnut's throat. "What are you doing?"
"Uhhhh, nothing?"
Snotlout stormed into view. "Oh, come on! Seriously? Astrid, how could you betray me like this?"
"Really, Snotlout?" Hiccup was fed up at this point. "Again? Couldn't you just leave us alone?
"No."
Hiccup threw up his hands.
"At least Nraseri isn't here," Tuffnut said, wiping his bloody hand on his shirt.
Ruffnut cackled. "Yeah. You'd have been skewered like a pig." He squawked as she jabbed him in the ribs.
"Wait, he hasn't taken anything from you guys?" Hiccup asked.
"Well, yeah, yesterday mor—oof!" Snotlout smacked him in the stomach. "I mean, no. as if he could get the drop on us."
They all glanced at Ruffnut. "He stole from us yesterday morning, but we haven't seen him since. We thought he was with you guys since you're so buddy-buddy."
"He's not with us," Fishlegs said. "Hiccup?"
Hiccup shook his head, growing increasingly more concerned. "No, I haven't seen him since yesterday. He said that he was going after you guys."
"So, none of us have seen him. Great," Snotlout huffed. "Just how good is this guy?"
Something didn't feel right. Hiccup started toward the trees. "I'm going to go look for him."
"What about keeping watch?" Fishlegs asked.
"I got it," Astrid said. She pointed her axe at Snotlout and the twins. "You guys are going to walk away slowly," she threatened.
They gulped and backed off.
He was falling.
His wings were trapped, pinned to his sides with thick rope. He tried to shift, but the amulet wouldn't listen. The water came closer and closer, wind screaming in his ear, hot and smothering.
He screamed and wrenched his wings open, snapping the rope just as the water rushed up to meet him. he veered up and crashed into the shore, tumbling, sand spraying up around him.
Toothless got to his feet, trembling and confused. The night was pitch black, and, as he watched, the darkness swallowed the water and he was standing in the forest of Grimdel, surrounded by the members of his clan. Their blank eyes glowed and stared ahead. Their bodies were covered in gashes and burns, wings torn, wounds weeping, dead.
One lunged at him and he scrambled back as Nira snarled and swiped a bloody claw at him. a gash ran down her front, from neck to belly, but her eyes were filled with rage. "You left me to die. We were slaughtered and you left me."
"No!" Toothless cried."I did not mean to—I did not want to leave you!"
"It is too late. Your words mean nothing to me."
She dissolved into shadows and suddenly he was in the Nest. Cavernous openings yawned around him, hot wind howled through the openings.
A dragon flew from one cave and leaped onto a low ledge. It was three times his size and its red eyes gleamed with hatred. Its maw dripped blood that stained its coat crimson.
"Where is it?"it snarled. "Where is the Vinr Sætta."
Toothless clutched his head. The voice was too loud. It echoed painfully and tore at his mind. The Night Fury screeched and tried to get away, but the voice grew louder and louder.
"Find them," it howled. "Find them and bring them to me!"
His foot slipped off the ledge and he was falling. Rope tightened around him. He couldn't spread his wings. He screamed as fire rose up around him and he could see nothing but red, red, RED—
Toothless bolted upright, his hands reaching to grasp anything, anything, that would save him from that horrible red raging inferno….
Where was he? This wasn't Grimdel. No—Berk. This wasn't Berk.
The island. How did he get here? He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember the last thing he'd done. He'd been helping with dragon training. Hiccup and his group had caught him and then he'd been trailing the others. Something had startled him. there pain and fire and—
The amulet! He grabbed it. It was still around his neck, warm to the touch.
His head pounded. He staggered to his feet. Somehow, he'd ended up on the other side of the island. He needed to get back and find the others.
Behind him, something snarled. Spines shot toward him and he stumbled out of the way. One pierced the ground inches from his foot. another sheered through his sleeve, but instinct drew scales across his arm and the spine ricocheted off into the forest. He slipped on something and landed hard on his back, cracking his head on the ground. Stars burst in front of him. The Nadder screeched, and he rolled just as its talons sunk into the ground where he had been.
He jumped to his feet, vision tilting, and as he did, its tail caught him in the side, sending him crashing into a tree. The roots dug into him as he landed, and for a terrifying second, he could do nothing but lie he lay there, winded and dizzy.
Get up, Get up!
The Nadder screeched again, and all he could hear was Nira shouting at him to run, run!
"Hey!"
The dragon shrieked in pain as a stone nailed its wing. It spun and Hiccup was there, sword in hand.
The Nadder charged at him and Toothless' heart dropped as the deadly beak came closer and closer.
Hiccup dropped and rolled to the side and swung the flat of the blade, hitting it square in the face. The Nadder squawked and launched itself into the air. It circled twice before disappearing.
Toothless scrambled to his feet, fear coursing through him turning to anger, amulet and heart pounding, still seeing sharp beaks and deadly spines. "What are you doing here?"
"I was looking for you. You were pretty shaken when you left."
"You could have been killed!"
Killed killed killed.
"You were in trouble," Hiccup protested. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I was worried," he said as Toothless started pacing, hand clutching the amulet. He needed air. He needed to get away.
Your fault your fault your fault.
"Toothless, what's going on? The others said they haven't seen you all day and I thought you might need help—"
Toothless spun around. "I DIDN'T ASK FOR YOUR HELP, NIRA!"
His words echoed across the trees, their burning rage piercing him like arrows. Silence fell. Hiccup was staring at him, face ashen, eyes wide and fearful.
Toothless paled. Without a word, he turned and ran.