Chapter Thirteen
A/N: TIME FOR REVENGE! XD (The next two (or so) chapters will also be part of the climax.) Hang in there guys, we're nearly done...
I don't think I've ever had a story stray THIS far from the outline...I seriously can't use the original plans anymore because Bewitched has taken such a different turn than I thought it would. Oh well! XD I like where it's gone and where it's going!
Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, following and all that jazz! :D You guys are awesome!
Hinrik swallows nervously as he follows his mother to the water's edge. His heart is pumping so hard in his chest it almost hurts, stars flash in his vision and he's worried he might actually faint... He wonders what his mother would do if he did. Would she just kill him anyway? Probably. And that happens, then Hiccup will definitely be doomed.
Closing his eyes, he shakes his head. Calm down. Just relax. You can do this...you can do this... The roar of the river is nearly deafening. Icy water sprays onto the bank, misting his one flesh ankle and sending shivers down his spine. He can't help but remember what it felt like to be drowned. So much pain... He doesn't want to suffer that again, nor for Hiccup to have to feel it either. I can do it. He tells himself. I can kill her.
"You don't have to." Hiccup's voice floats through his head, sounding oddly calm and collected. "There could be another way..."
No, Hiccup. Hinrik assures him. There isn't. This has to stop. Now.
He and Aragwen come to a stop at the slippery bank. She passes him a sweet smile and motions to the water, telling him to get it. Hinrik bites his lip, only to wonder why he did. It must be one of Hiccup's habits, he reasons. Then, he forces a tight smile and takes the first agonizingly cold step into the river. He gasps, wincing at the bitterness and shivers.
"Go on, son. This will be over before you know it." Aragwen says, her voice firm but tender at the same time. Hinrik hates it when she talks like that. It sounds so fake. Hiccup was right...she doesn't really love him, does she?
With a resigned sigh, he nods and moves his other leg into the water. This one is the metal prosthetic though so it doesn't hurt nearly as much. He hears a splash as Aragwen steps in as well.
"How does she not get frost-bite...?" Hiccup wonders, noticing she is barefoot as usual. "This water is freezing."
Hinrik fights the urge to shrug, not wanting his mother to know Hiccup is still alive in his head. Probably just a spell she cast on herself...or maybe she's just so cold-hearted she's immune to freezing.
Hiccup chuckles, half-heartedly at the poor attempt of humor.
"Alright dear." Aragwen says as she gazes around the tree line suspiciously. "Let's hurry this up. Someone is coming..."
Hinrik's eyes widen a bit, hearing that. "Who?" He asks.
The witch snorts. "Probably this body's family. They must have realized he's missing."
"Dad...!" Hiccup breathes, a sense of joyous relief blossoming in his chest. "He came for me after all...!"
I wouldn't get too excited just yet. Hinrik tells him. We're still standing knee-deep in icy water with a psychopathic witch who wants to kill us. And your father probably isn't anywhere near us yet. Mother has a way of sensing when people are trying to interfere with her plans...which is why we must be very careful.
"Just tell me what to do." Hiccup replies, glaring at Aragwen through Hinrik's eyes.
Just be ready. Once I betray her, she'll likely break my Tether. You'll be on your own after that.
"Your...Tether? What's that?" Hiccup asks, shivering as Hinrik kneels down in the agonizing cold.
Do you see that pedestal over there?
"Yes."
On the other end of the clearing, a small stone pedestal is standing in a chalk circle. Six candles lit around it, casting ghostly shadows around the dark trees. Seated atop the pedestal, is a small, cracked skull...
That skull belonged to my original body. That's what keeps me here and bound in your body. If it gets broken, I'll be cast away from you.
"So, in other words, we have to make sure it stays intact until Aragwen is dealt with."
Exactly.
"Alright sweety," Aragwen whispers, brushing a strand of hair from Hinrik's stolen forehead. "This won't take long..." She purrs. Then, with a sadistic grin, she adds, "And don't forget to breathe once your under."
Hinrik forces a laugh and closes his eyes, grimacing at the feeling of her hands closing around his neck, preparing to force him under.
"Good luck." Hiccup says, just as the dark, frigid water swallows up his body, the roaring of vicious waves deafening him to his companion's reply.
Toothless screeches, furiously as his Rider's scent gets closer and closer. He can also smell someone else. It's the same scent as the one that hung on Hiccup's pendant. The locket's owner is here as well. He can clearly hear the sound of a river, as well as someone...thrashing around in the water. Panic rises in his chest as he continues to sprint after his little Hiccup...
"We're getting close!" Stoick growls, noticing Toothless's urgency. "We need to hurry!"
Astrid only nods, too focused on running as fast as she can to give a verbal reply. After a few minutes, she begins to see a light at the end of the woods. It must open up into a clearing... "Do you hear that...?" She whispers.
"Yes..." Stoick says, listening intently to the sounds of a struggle.
Hiccup...just hang in there! We're almost there!
As soon as the trio bursts into the small clearing, they find the source of the noise they'd heard... Aragwen is kneeling in the river, her hands wrapped around someone's throat. That someone, upon closer inspection...is Hiccup. His entire body is submerged under the surface of the water, his arms thrashing wildly, pushing against the woman who is trying to drown him!
"HICCUP!" Stoick shouts in terror. All three of them charge, intent on saving Hiccup. However, just as they reach the water's edge, the witch whirls around to face them. Her sapphire eyes glowing with fury.
"GET AWAY!" She screams in a demonic growl. As soon as the words leave her mouth, an otherworldy force slams into Hiccup's friends, throwing them backwards across the clearing.
They land heavily, flat on their backs, the breath knocked out of them.
Hinrik notices his mother's distraction as soon as Hiccup's friends arrive. And he wastes no time in taking advantage of it. Reaching up with cold, numb arms, he grabs ahold of Aragwen's elbows and yanks her to the side
She gasps, not expecting her son to fight back. Caught off guard, she simply tumbles sideways into the water and is still in shock when Hinrik flips around and crawls on top of her.
He coughs and fights for air, simultaneously grabbing the witch's throat and pushing her below the water.
As Astrid pulls herself back to a seated position, she stares wide-eyed at her companions. "What was THAT?!" She gasps, touching her stomach where it felt like two massively powerful hands punched in in the gut.
"I don't know..." Stoick admits, also rubbing his stomach. "But right now, I don't care! I have to save my son!"
"Wait, Stoick!" Astrid says, her eyes locking on something at the other end of the clearing. "What is that...?"
He follows her gaze, finding the small pedestal and skull. The tiny bleached bone is glowing, brilliantly. "I don't know that either." He grumbles as he pulls himself to his feet, his eyes flicking back over to Hiccup, who has managed to flip his attacker onto her back and is now fighting her. "But what I do know is Hiccup needs my help and we can't get close until we do something about that power of hers..." He glares at the skull, looking so important off in the distance. "And I think that thing is our best bet..."
Hinrik struggles to keep Aragwen beneath the water. She is far stronger than she look and Hiccup's body is pretty tiny and weak. He won't last much longer and she doesn't appear to be drowning as fast as he'd hoped she would...
"Wait a second..." Hiccup mutters, quietly. There's a hint of fear in his voice. "What are...they doing...?"
Hinrik glances up just for a second...but it's long enough to see Stoick heaving a huge axe above his head, aiming directly for the skull. "No..." He breathes, panic rising within him. If they destroy his Tether, Hiccup will be-
"DAD, NO!" Hiccup screams.
CRACK!
The axe sails down, smashing the skull to the bits.
The last thing Hinrik sees is a brilliant flash of light and then...he's gone.
A/N: Lucky chapter 13, everyone... XD