Honest? Pheda called. Where'd you go?

'I'm outside,' came the reply. 'I thought I saw something taking off, but now it's gone. It looked an awful lot like a Night Fury, but I'm not certain.'

A Night. . . Pheda started, then her eyes widened a little as a new idea struck her. Honest, do you see Everlynh out there?

Nope, answered the Night Light.

Calm down, Pheda told herself. She's probably back at the house. But after their conversation not long before, Pheda found that hard to believe. Honest, she said, can you do me a favor, and see if the Furies are at the Hidden World?

'Sure, though I don't see why they wouldn't be.'

Pheda glanced out a window just in time to see a flurry of white and black as her friend took off. Then she turned her attention back to the two code masters. One was scribbling furiously on a piece of paper, and the other was flipping through a notebook, and nodding to herself. After a moment, both set aside their things, and focused on Zephyr and Pheda.

"After working at this code for approximately three hours without any rest," the one with the notebook - Aron - said, "we have concluded-"

"That its meaning is this," the other - Nila - finished, holding up his paper. "'To the Admiral from the Captain of the Windhawk. Greetings. I am writing to inform you that the child kept aboard the Ironside has been lost to the Dragon Rider girl, and the ship herself sunk. The New-Berkians seem to be growing bolder, and General Arvelon demands that security be stepped up a few notches. He requires a new shipment of weapons, and intends to enact the next phase immediately. He also demands that the prisoners be relocated. The General will be traveling to Headquarters at his earliest opportunity. He wants everything in order by the time he arrives. He assures us that by the end of the year, the dragons will have been pulled from hiding, and the world will once more be what it was. Yours truly, Captain Ursaw.'"

Nila looked up. "That's it."

She gestured to the map. "I imagine there's something hidden there, but we've been putting our effort towards the Terror Mail."

"Thank you for your time, Nila and Aron. If it's not too much to ask, could you get to work on the map?"

Zephyr turned her attention to Pheda. "This is grave news indeed. I can only assume that this means that another attack is imminent, and we must prepare as best we can."

Pheda nodded. "I agree. Wh-"

She cut herself off.

'Pheda,' came Honest's urgent voice in her mind. 'Pheda, the Night Furies are gone. I can't find any of them anywhere. As soon as I got back to New Berk, I went through your house, and Everlynh's not there either.'

"Oh snap," Pheda said, then realized she'd spoked out loud. "Sorry, but I need to go. I'll be back as soon as I can. Let's just say that I may have some misbehaving youths who are causing trouble."

She turned and sprinted out, not waiting for an answer, then ran through the village. I'm headed for the center, Honest. Can you meet me there?

She skidded to a stop beside the fountain, and Honest joined her a moment later. Pheda mounted, and the two took off.

0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0.o.0

The wind blew through Everlynh's hair, forcing it off her sweating neck with a cool, steady breeze. The dragon she rode focused its gaze on the ocean far below, but Ever preferred not to look. It was rather too high for comfort.

The dragon made a soft sound, a crooning noise, and she felt the vibrations of it in the creature's neck. Fighting her instincts, Everlynh looked down. Five ships. A large one in the middle, flanked on all sides by the others. A shiver ran down her spine. Maybe I should have listened to Miss Kint.

She patted the dragon's flank. "Uh. . . girl? Maybe we should head back, get some backup."

The dragon looked intently at the ships, then dipped down, below the clouds, using the maneuver to turn around. Shouts drifted up from the ships below - they'd been spotted. Almost before Everlynh's mind had time to register that, a net catapulted up straight at them, entangling both her and the Night Fury. The dragon struggled to remain aloft, but failed, and both plummeted down to the ocean and ships below.