Chapter 19: Saving Heather

Eira managed a few hours of asleep. When she could no longer keep her eyes closed, she got up and walked around Dragon's Edge while thinking about everything that transpired the previous night. Hiccup told everyone they needed to think of a strategic plan before the rushed in to save Heather. Knowing what they did about Viggo, Eira agreed.

But what kind of plan could they devise that Viggo would not see coming? He probably believed them desperate to free Heather and so prone to mistakes. Eira bet he planned to kill her no matter what they did. There was no way he could let her live.

And what about Dagur? Eira understood his anger. His sister had betrayed him. Still, would he really be able to watch her die? Eira remembered the rumor that Dagur had killed his father to become chief. A rumor she still did not buy. But she bet Viggo did, and that meant he had little reason to doubt Dagur could kill his own sister as well.

Eira entered the clubhouse to find that Hiccup and Astrid had just returned from a mission to check Viggo's ship for anything useful. Hiccup carried a board with carved playing pieces. It seemed to be some sort of game she had never seen.

"Hiccup, Maces and Talons!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "Does this mean-"

"No, Fishlegs," Hiccup said, setting the game on a table.

"But Maces and Talons was designed to test the abilities and decision making expertise of future chiefs in the heat of battle."

Eira smiled at him, grateful for the explanation.

"I'm not taking over as Chief of Berk," Hiccup said. "Viggo left this for me. He wants me to play Maces and Talons with him."

"Viggo's here?" said Tuffnut.

"We got next!" said Ruffnut.

"Guys, no, no," Hiccup said. "He's not here and we're not using the board. We're playing for real. With real people. Viggo is forcing my hand. He's making me play him for Heather's life." He picked up a playing piece and examined it.

"And what happens if you don't play?" Fishlegs asked. Hiccup dropped the piece on the board, showing it had been sliced in two. Fishlegs' eyes went wide. "Oh, no, no, no. Well, you you have to play, Hiccup. You just have to."

"And we need a strategy," said Snotlout.

"We do, Snotlout," said Hiccup. "And that strategy has to be different than any he's ever seen or tried. Otherwise, Heather won't stand a chance."

"May I say something?" Eira said tentatively.

Hiccup turned to her. "Yes, of course. What is it, Eira?"

She took a deep breath. "I doubt Viggo is going to have Heather lying around for us to take. If I had to guess, I'd say when we attack, he will make it a race for us to get to her before he has her killed. Or he may even kill her in front of us."

Astrid winced. "Do we really have to think about that?"

"We do if we want to save her," Snotlout said. "And Eira has a point."

"She does," said Hiccup. "Do you have any other speculations, Eira?"

"Well," she continued, "Viggo is not someone to do the dirty work himself. He will certainly have someone else in mind to kill Heather, and who better than her betrayed brother who has already - allegedly - killed a family member."

"Dagur," Snotlout muttered.

Eira nodded. "I talked to him before we fled last night, and he was angry... at me a little bit, but especially at Heather."

"Makes sense," said Hiccup. "How exactly does this help us?" As he watched her, she saw his eyes flickering in understanding. "Oh no, Eira. It's too risky."

"But it might be our best bet to save Heather and Dagur," Eira said.

Astrid glanced between the two. "What are you talking about?"

"Eira doesn't believe Dagur would actually kill Heather," Hiccup said.

"He wouldn't," Eira said.

"Hiccup's right," Fishlegs said. "I know you've become close to Dagur, but are we really supposed to bet Heather's life on your observations?"

Eira looked right at him. She did not know how to make a completely logical argument for her assertions, but she knew they were true. "If Dagur would actually kill his sister, then everything I thought I knew about him is wrong. And if my intuition is that off, I might as well go home now because I'm useless to all of you. But if I'm right... Dagur needs a chance to prove he is who I think he is. It's this or nothing."

"What exactly do you want to do?" Ruffnut said. "Beg Dagur to let Heather go?"

"Oh, I'd love to see that," Tuffnut said.

"I want to find Dagur and make sure he actually has Heather with him," Eira said. "I don't think I need to beg him to do anything. If anything, I'll only need to give him an opportunity to free her."

"This is assuming you can find them," Snotlout said.

"I'll bring my Terrible Terror Squirt. He's delivered letters to Dagur before, so he should be able to find him."

"And if you need to, are you willing to fight Dagur to save Heather?" Astrid said.

Eira gave her a steady look. "Yes. I'll assess the situation and act accordingly."

"Fine," Hiccup said. "You're in charge of Dagur."

"There's one more thing." She waited until all eyes were on her. "If I am right and Dagur does turn on the dragon hunters, he will need a means to escape the island."

"And I suppose you want to fly him somewhere safe. We can't bring him back here."

"Of course not. I'll bring him to the island where we've been meeting. No one else knows its location. Then I'll check up on him tomorrow."

Hiccup nodded. "That sounds reasonable enough." He turned to Snotlout. "What do you think about her plan?"

Snotlout blinked in surprise. "Me?"

"Sure. You are her partner."

Snotlout frowned and looked from Hiccup to Eira. "I don't like it. It's way too dangerous. But... this mission will be dangerous for all of us. And... I trust Eira. I think you should let her do it."

Eira smiled at him, warmth filling her chest. "Thank you, Snotlout."

"It's settled then," said Hiccup. "Eira, your plan is a go."

Perfect.

"All right," Hiccup said as the dragon riders flew in formation on the way to the dragon hunters' base, "remember guys, Viggo is a master of deception. We have to be one step ahead of him at all times or it's game over."

"Sounds a little to me like it's already 'game over,'" Tuffnut said, nodding at the arrows that flew through the clouds, barely missing the riders.

"Yep, that was my interpretation," Ruffnut agreed.

"Whoa!" Fishlegs exclaimed. "Where are those coming from?"

"Beneath the cloud cover," Astrid said. "They must have ships down there."

"How did they know we were up here?"

Eira glanced at Snotlout and winced. Hookfang was on fire, which his rider used to warm his hands. "I think I have an idea..."

Everyone shot Snotlout looks.

Snotlout blinked. "What? I was chilly. Now I'm warm and toasty."

"There's nothing we can do about it now," Eira said.

"We must be close to the island," Hiccup said.

Within seconds, they emerged from the clouds and could see an island coming into view. When they got close, however, a huge spiral of fire shot up to meet them.

"He's using flipping Typhoomerangs as blow torches?" Snotlout exclaimed.

While the others pondered a way to get through the fire, Eira turned to the Terrible Terror sitting behind her on Swiftwings' harness. "You're up, Squirt," she said. "Fly around the island and see if you can find Dagur, but be careful not to let anyone see you!"

Squirt gave a squeak in affirmation. Then he beat his tiny wings and flew towards the island, away from the fire. Satisfied, Eira returned her attention to the group conversation.

"He doesn't want us to get through," Hiccup said. "He wants us to go around and attack him from the back."

"Oh, that sounds way better," Snotlout said. "But that's not what we're doing, is it?"

"Nope. We're going in this way. Straight into the fire. Now, I know you guys think I'm nuts."

"Yes."

"The fire from the Typhoomerangs is like a giant tornado. If we fly right into the eye of it, it'll be hot, but the fire won't touch us."

Snotlout gave him a suspicious look. "Inside it? This whole plan sounds completely theoretical."

"My fine sister and I have performed said feat of daring many times throughout the history of Nut," said Tuff.

"Yeah, for fun!" said Ruff. "It does work... as long as you don't panic while you're inside."

So, that was exactly what they did. Eira urged a reluctant Swiftwings into the fire. She held her breath as they followed the others. Right when they got to the Typhoomerang, the dragon ceased fired, allowing the riders to escape the fiery tornado. The dragon hunters on the ground looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions.

"You guys free the Typhoomerangs," Hiccup said. "I'm going to find Heather."

"And I'll find Dagur," Eira said. She and Hiccup flew in opposite directions just to cover more ground. She did not have to wait long before Squirt made his way back to her. "Did you find him?"

The Terrible Terror nodded.

Eira grinned. "Lead the way!"

While she followed the little dragon, she went over her plan in her head. If she found Dagur alone, she would talk to him and convince him to help her save Heather. If Heather was already with him... she would assess the situation and see if she needed to intervene.

She really hoped she would not need to intervene.

After flying over half the island, Squirt began his descent. Eira squinted her eyes to see beyond the trees. There was movement, so she landed well behind the Vikings. She dismounted Swiftwings and then looked at her with a finger to her lips.

Swiftwings whined. Eira rubbed her neck. "I'll be back soon," she whispered. She did not think it wise to bring the Windwalker with her for this mission.

She resumed following Squirt on foot. She halted when the Vikings came into view. She saw two dragon hunters, and... Dagur escorting a chained Heather! All four of them entered a cave.

Eira glanced at Squirt, who hovered beside her. She needed a way to find out Dagur's intentions, and she had one crazy idea. "Go in after them. Go to Dagur and land on him. If he pushes you off or seems hostile in any way, come back to me, okay?"

Ever the optimist, the Terrible Terror squeaked in agreement. As he zoomed to the cave, the girl wondered if she made the right choice. Had she put him in danger? No, she doubted dragon hunters would bother with such a little dragon. And he might just lead her to the truth.

Dagur marched into the caves with Heather and his two dragon hunter guards, his expression and movements stiff and cold as he focused on his destination. He had to admire Viggo for his ingenious plan. There was no way Hiccup and his dragon riders could see this coming. Too bad the methods he used did not fly with him.

Dagur was still mad at his sister. She had betrayed him after all. However, he realized Eira had a point when she told him Heather was trying to take down the dragon hunters, not him. And had not the two of them conspired to betray Ryker and Viggo together? He had became so caught up in his ambitions to best Hiccup that he did not realize he had lost control. Since when did he take orders from anyone? He was the chief of Berserker Island! It was time for him to take back what was his.

Movement behind him caught his attention. The hunters braced themselves for attack. But it was merely a Terrible Terror flying through the caves. Wait a second... that was Squirt!

Dagur's eyes examined the little dragon, but he could not see a note attached like normal. Then Squirt landed right on his shoulder, startling him. The hunters raised their weapons, but Dagur shook his head. "This guy is harmless. We need to proceed."

Heather opened her mouth to speak, but a sharp look from Dagur silenced her. Dagur allowed the dragon to ride on his shoulder as he resumed his walk. If he did not have a message, did this mean Eira was close by? If she had seen him, why would she not run in after him to try to free Heather?

The answer came to him as he neared his target. She trusted him to do the right thing. Somehow, that left him with confidence that everything would work out.

"Wait," said one of the dragon hunters, "This doesn't seem right."

"Aye," said the second. "Viggo specifically said-"

Dagur turned to them and banged their heads together, knocking them out. "News flash!" he said. "I no longer care what Viggo has to say." Squirt squeaked, and he soothed him by patting his head. "Don't worry. I've got this." He turned to Heather and raised his axe.

His sister flinched away from him. "Dagur, please. Don't-"

He silenced her by coming down hard with his axe. He broke the chains that bound her wrists together, freeing her. She stared at him in shock. Then he whistled, and the girl's Razorwhip bounded around the corner.

"Windshear!" Heather exclaimed. "You're okay."

Dagur turned to leave. He had done all he could do for her. It was time to part. He shared one last long look with her before heading for the exit.

Once they were outside, Squirt took off and glided through the air. Dagur followed him, knowing he would lead him to Eira. He picked up the pace when he spotted her hiding crouched down behind some bushes. She noticed him, but she could not see the dragon hunter coming up behind her.

Dagur let out a battle cry as he took a flying leap right over Eira. He came down hard on the hunter, catching him by surprise and knocking him on the ground. He smirked as he stood over the unconscious hunter.

"Dagur!"

He turned around in time to see Eira leap at him, engulfing him in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "You're safe," he breathed.

"Thanks to you." She pulled back and smiled at him. "Where's Heather?"

He looked past her and noticed Windshear taking off into the night sky. He pointed.

Eira followed his gaze. Then she looked back at him with a grin. "You let her go."

"Of course I did!" he said. "Did you think I could kill my own sister?"

She shook her head. "Not even more a second. I'm proud of you, Dagur."

She hugged him again, and he allowed himself to enjoy her warmth for a minute. But then it was back to business. "You need to get out of here. It's dangerous."

"For you too. That's why I'm here, to help you escape. Come on!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the trees.

He had to smile as they approached her dragon. "Oh ho! Where to? Dragon's Edge?"

Eira stopped beside Swiftwings and mounted her. "No, you're not ready for that, but you do know the place." She offered him her hand, which he accepted.

Dagur still loved the feeling of flying through the air on a dragon, especially when it was with Eira. He remembered to keep quiet so they would not be spotted. Soon, Viggo's island was but a distant memory.

"I'm taking you to the island where we used to meet," Eira said once it was safe to speak. "I know there are no supplies there, so I can come back tomorrow and-"

"No need," Dagur said. "I can manage on my own."

Eira looked over her shoulder at him in surprise. "Are you sure? You must not be sure what you want to do, so I-"

"That's why I need to do this alone. I have a lot of thinking to do, and I can't have any distractions."

Eira frowned, but she nodded. "Alright. If you're sure..."

By then they reached the island. Swiftwings landed on the shore, and they dismounted. Dagur faced Eira with a sad smile. It was time to say goodbye.

"Are you sure you have everything you need?" Eira said.

"Don't worry about me. I'm very resourceful."

"But if you-"

Suddenly, Squirt whizzed past her and landed on Dagur's shoulder once again.

Eira appeared startled at first, but then she smiled. "You know what? Why don't you keep him with you? He can keep you company, and after you have become settled here, you can send me a letter to let me know you're alright."

Dagur scratched Squirt's chin. "That sounds like a plan to me."

Eira nodded. "Goodbye, Dagur. I'll see you later."

His eyes trailed her back to her dragon and then into the sky. "Goodbye, Eira." Now it was time for him to figure out what he wanted and how to get it.

Eira landed at Dragon's Edge in pretty high spirits. Her mood immediately darkened when she found her friends and saw Hiccup's expression. "What's wrong?" she said.

"Viggo outsmarted me again," Hiccup said darkly. "He got the Dragon Eye."

Eira's eyes widened. "That is not good! We have to get it back."

"I know. He can cause all sorts of havoc with it."

Eira looked around. "Where's Heather?"

"She left," Astrid said sadly. "But at least she's safe. How's Dagur?"

"Safe as well." She could not help a small smile. "I was right about him. He let Heather go."

Astrid offered a small smile in return. "Good. I'm glad."

"Me too," Hiccup said. His expression softened as he looked at Eira. "You followed your instincts, and they proved correct. I'm proud of you, Eira."

The young girl could not think of a better compliment. She really felt part of the team here. They may have lost the Dragon Eye, but they would get it back... together.