CHAPTER 25
Stoick and Astrid burst into the cavern, their weapons swinging. The Thornridge roared as they swung at his legs. With a savage kick, he flung the Night Fury off him and swiped at the Vikings.
Stoick leapt out of the way as the long claws flew past his chest and glared at the dragon that had taken his son from him. It was bigger than a Monstrous Nightmare, one of the biggest dragons he had seen, and a shiver ran down his spine. He'd fought hundreds of dragons in his lifetime and had searched for the Nest for years, but this dragon was nothing like the ones before. From the way it looked at them, Stoick could see the intelligent gleam in its eye, something he had not thought a dragon would have. It had snarled at the Night Fury in a way that perceived a language not much different from his own. Could it be that the dragons were not what they thought they were? Wasn't the Night Fury shakily getting to his feet an example of their ignorance?
Stoick shoved his thoughts aside as the dragon lashed out again and he raised his axe just in time to ward off the blow. It still sent him stumbling back a few paces and he stepped quickly out of reach.
His eyes landed on the small figure at the other side of the cavern, watching the scene unfold with horror, and his breath caught in his throat. Their eyes locked and Hiccup gave him a disbelieving look before a steely determination shadowed his face and he looked away. His fingers gripped a long dagger and he pulled his arm back, aiming to the left and threw. It flew a few meters before embedding itself in the dragon's forearm as it swiped at Astrid.
The dragon screamed and whipped its head around at him, forgetting its former target. It roared again in fury and got no further as a dark shadow barrelled into him. The Night Fury screeched and bit at the dragon's throat, clinging to his back.
Stoick and Astrid stood frozen for a few seconds, watching the two grappling beasts in an almost sense of awe. Never had he seen two dragons fight with such ferocity. The smaller dragon moved with such speed that Stoick could see why it had never been caught before and he wondered what the fight would be like if the Night Fury were at full strength. He drew his attention to Hiccup, who had not moved, and he nodded to Astrid.
"Help Hiccup," he ordered. She nodded and slipped away.
The dragon flung its enemy off, and the Night Fury hit the ground with a screech. He rolled and sprung to his feet, human again, and drew his sword. Blood trickled down his head and his bandaged wound had reopened. He let out a demonic screech that sliced through the air and stabbed at the dragon. The dragon smacked him away with a hiss.
Toothless rolled as he landed and leaped to his feet again, scales dotting his now-grey skin. "Now, Camicazi!"
With a shout of delight, the Bog-Burglar dashed out of the shadow behind Astrid, her sword swinging wildly and her hair even wilder. She rammed into the dragon's side with enough force to unsteady him and anger him even more. "That's what you get for attacking my best friends, you stupid, oversized lizard!"
The dragon snarled at her, but she paid him no heed, dancing out of the way of his great claws. With a laugh, she slipped under his next blow and rapped the flat of her blade on his back leg. She sprung to her feet and grinned at his evident pain, waving her clenched fist at him gloatingly before hurling her prize into the air.
"All yours, Nraseri," she said, ducking as an obsidian dragon leaped over her. Camicazi watched as the dragon shifted into his human form, snatching the falling object and rolling to a stop. Toothless opened his palm. And there lay the amulet, pulsing slowly in his hand.
He looped the amulet around his neck and felt its power flow through him once again. The coolness washed over him, familiar, yet different. As if split between two bearers. And it was.
"NO!" The Thornridge screamed.
Behind him, Astrid was helping Hiccup to his feet. Toothless didn't have to be close to see that he wasn't faring well.
He bared his teeth, now sharp amidst the change, at the dragon. "You have made a grave mistake, hurting those I care about. Leave now."
The dragon gave a wicked grin. "I am not yet finished here." He let out an ear-splitting roar that shook the cavern and suddenly dragons poured in through the high tunnels, filling the air.
Astrid let out a sharp cry, and Stoick whirled around, axe gripped tightly in his hand as the girl collided with the wall. The Thornridge snatched up Hiccup, who shouted and beat the dragon with his fists.
"If I cannot have the amulet, I will settle for his blood," he snarled and took off down one of the many passages.
Toothless, now back in his true form let out a roar and leaped over the dragons that battered him from every side. Stoick rammed another dragon out of the Night Fury's way. He locked eyes with the dragon.
"Save my son."
The dragon nodded and bounded out of the cavern.
He ran blindly, straining to hear about the cacophony of screaming dragons, but there was so much noise, and the heat was stifling the deeper he went. The tunnel split and he chose one at random, praying to anyone who would listen that he was going the right way.
"Keep going," a soft, painfully familiar voice whispered in his ear as he bounded on. Toothless spared a glance to his right. The shadowed dragon was back, running along the walls, its footsteps silent as it ran. It turned its head to look at him with its large green eyes.
His footsteps faltered. "Nira?"
The shadow snarled impatiently. "Do not stop, Taelos. Do not let him get away from you again."
He picked up speed, his shoulder almost brushing against his companion who whispered directions softly. He could hear the others not far behind him, but he was too focused on where to go.
"Right. Up ahead. Turn. Through here." The voice whispered and he obeyed until finally, the tunnels opened up to a large, deep cavern, the same one he'd been in hours before. He skidded to a stop, his sides heaving as he inhaled the smoky air. The heat was smothering.
He looked around, trying to see Hiccup or the Thornridge, anything.
There! A small form heaving himself to his knees on a high ledge over the burning pit.
The Thornridge barrelled into him. They tumbled off the ledge. He snapped at Toothless' shoulder, and he jerked out of the way. laws dug into his side as the larger dragon kicked him. Toothless screeched in pain and kicked him off and lunged into the air.
"Kill him!" the Thornridge roared. The dragons hesitated. "Now!"
A Zippleback dove at him, but Toothless ducked under its jaws and dove under the jet of Nadder fire. He had to get to Hiccup. He let out an explosive plasma blast. The dragons scattered. The Thornridge shot a stream of fire at him, not caring that he caught the others in his wake. Toothless rolled around the stream, the heat scorching his back. He slammed into the Thornridge and sunk his teeth into his leg. Blood exploded in his mouth. The Thornridge screamed and snapped at his neck. They tumbled through the air, clawing and snapping, at each other, alight with bloody intent. The Thornridge racked his stomach with his back claws and slammed him into a ledge. His back lit up with pain, but Toothless managed to choke out a plasma blast that hit the dragon in the chest, giving him time to duck away and bound along the ledge. His shoulder was bleeding heavily. He grit his teeth and took flight again just as another stream of fire hit the ledge.
The smoke was burning his eyes. He scanned the cavern again. Hiccup was leaning over the ledge, his gaze fixed on the churning smoke below.
There was something in the pit, deep beneath the churning smoke. Hiccup leaned forward to get a better look. Something moved, and a gust of wind made his eyes water.
A low hum thrummed through his mind. His burned hand tingled.
"What is this?" a voice crooned. "A human in my Nest?"
"Umm," Hiccup said. "I didn't mean to be here. Sorry."
There was a hint of surprise and amusement in the ancient voice. "Oh, a human who understands my tongue."
"Who are you?"
"Who am I?"the voice repeated. "I am the Queen of the Nest. The Red Death."
A shiver went down his spine. He could no longer hear the battle below. Above him, a handful of dragons hissed and scuttled away.
"Why do you not come down here, Human-Who-Enters-The-Nest?"
Some part of him wanted to. He peered into the fire and smoke. The pain in his leg, forgotten for a moment, jolted him out of his revere and he pushed himself away from the edge just a little bit.
"I'm okay up here, thanks."
"Ahh, a shame. It seems that you can resist my calling. I am truly weaker." The Queen let out a gravelly sigh. "There was a time where I held the minds of hundreds of my kin. They did my bidding, raiding, stealing, plundering the human tribes. I was as immovable as this very mountain." Her voice twisted and writhed when she spoke. "But a deceiver entered my home. He brought with him whispers of a relic that could destroy your kind."She laughed bitterly, a low grating sound that reverberated in Hiccup's chest. "He took my slaves from me. I grew weaker as he stole what was rightfully mine." She paused. "But you do not want to hear a dying dragon's tale. No, I wish to know why one of my enemies is conversing with me. Tell me, Human-who-Enters-The-Nest, how did you get here?"
Hiccup hesitated for a second. "The Thornridge brought me here."
The hum turned into a snarl. "I should have guessed,"the Queen spat. "the Deceiver continues to take everything from me! I will make him PAY!"
She let out a deafening roar. The caves shook, smoke parted. The Red Death rose through the fire, her massive head smashing the jutting ledges and her jaw snapping up dragons as they fled.
Hiccup threw himself back. Something grabbed his shoulders and hoisted him into the air just as the ledge crumbled. From the air, Hiccup could see the Queen's massive head turning as she searched for her prey.
Her six eyes opened and homed in on the Thornridge. "DECEIVER! IF I AM TO DIE, THEN I SHALL TAKE YOU WITH ME!"
She roared, sending a gust of hot wind through the cavern. Hiccup was dropped lightly on a safer ledge and the Night Fury spread his wings, shielding him from the heat.
And then he was human again.
"Are you okay?" Toothless asked. "We have to get you out of here."
Dragons were converging on the Red Death, blasting her, and swooping in with their claws. She was screaming both in anger and pain and slammed herself into the far wall. The cavern shuddered. Stone crumbled and a gust of wind from the outside world below through the cavern. The Thornridge shot out and, snarling, the Red Death followed, her footfalls shaking the cavern.
"We have to help her," Hiccup urged.
"And I will," Toothless said, scanning the cavern as dragons poured out of the opening. "As soon as I get you out of here and back to your father."
"What? No, there's no time. We have to do something now."
"Hiccup, no. I'm taking you back to your father. No arguing."
Hiccup grabbed his arm. "If the Thornridge gets away, he's going to go after the tribes, after Berk. We have to stop him here."
Toothless shook his head. "No. I'm not putting you in danger like that again. You already got hurt because I wasn't careful enough. he came to Berk because of you, Hiccup. I was in the cavern and he came to Berk. Look at your hand. The amulet is linked to you. That's why you can understand him, understand me. That's why we kept crossing paths. Please, just let me do this. I have to fix this. I have to keep you safe."
"Look at me, Toothless. I'm right here, you found me again. But I don't think the Thornridge cares about the amulet anymore. You heard him. He's not going to stop until every last human is dead. We have to stop him here before he has a chance to get away. You don't have to do it alone. You just said that we're linked. We're in this together."
Toothless was waning. "I promised your dad I'd keep you safe."
"We both know that I'm the safest with you. My dad knows that. Hel, the entire tribe probably knows that now. It'll be all over if you try to get me to safety. We have to distract him. the Queen, you heard her. She's angry. She wants revenge. She can help us."
"The Queen is suicidal. She doesn't care if she kills us too."
"What other option do we have?"
Toothless gave him a pained expression. He closed his eyes for a moment. when he opened them, they were glowing. He shifted and once again, the Night Fury was in front of him. He lowered his wing, revealing an old saddle. "Climb on."