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How to Train Your Dragon: How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel

Page 9

by Cressida Cowell


  And he hurriedly picked up his yacht, and turned

  it around, and started sledging as fast as he could in the

  direction of the prison.

  Thank Thor Toothless and Eggingarde hadn’t seen

  that…

  Stoick shielded his eyes, and looked out to where

  you could just see the shining glimmer of the tide on

  the horizon. ‘We need to move fast now,’ said Stoick.

  They had plenty of amber, but no Dragon Jewel.

  But they had to return to the prison, before

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  the tide came in.

  Sailing as fast as they could, they met up with

  the other returning Amber-Hunters. All of them poled

  swiftly now, reaching astonishing speeds on those wet,

  sliding sands, afraid that they might yet be caught by

  that incoming tide.

  They stopped only to pick up Snotface Snotlout,

  little though he deserved it.

  We left Snotface Snotlout all alone on the

  Eastern Sands, do you remember? Thinking?

  Well, he thought a great deal over the next two

  hours, and what he thought made him convinced that

  nobody was going to come back to save him.

  He had been running back through that sludgy

  sand, though he knew that it was hopeless, and even

  running as fast as he could, he would never be able to

  out-run the incoming tide. Only a yacht could do that.

  He was also attacked on the way by three

  Brainless Leg-Removers, and two smallish Rocket-

  Rages, which he had to fight off all on his own. So, all

  in all, when he finally saw the yachts returning to collect

  him he wept with relief.

  Hiccup had never seen Snotlout cry: he wouldn’t

  have believed it possible.

  Baggybum and Gobber stopped on either side of

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  the weeping, exhausted boy.

  ‘The lesson today,’ said Gobber, ‘was that you

  have done nothing to deserve us coming back to save

  you, Snotlout. Nothing at all. But we are going to save

  you nonetheless, because perhaps – just perhaps – you

  might do something in the future.’

  Snotlout said nothing.

  The two Warriors balanced Snotlout in between

  their two yachts, so that they could still go reasonably

  fast, and paddled back to the prison.

  They did risk their lives for Snotlout, for he

  weighed down their yacht, and the rest of the slaves

  were already back at the prison, looking anxiously out

  at the incoming tide, worrying when they realised the

  Amber-Hunters were not back yet.

  And then they spotted the Amber-Hunters on the

  horizon, racing against the tide, and cheered them, as

  one by one they reached the prison, moving so fast that

  they had difficulty stopping.

  Gobber, Baggybum and Snotlout were the last in,

  so late that the tide caught under the yacht. The wave

  rolled in with the upended sled and carried them right

  up to the castle battlements, splashing against them

  with a wild swoosh…

  And now, where there had been red sand as far as

  the eye could see, there was water instead.

  Has Snotlout learnt his lesson yet?

  We shall have to wait and see…

  Snotlout did not speak to Alvin and the witch

  about the mutiny and treason as he had threatened to,

  and perhaps that was wise, because that unpleasant

  pair were not in the kind of mood to listen to

  complaints.

  The witch and Alvin strolled up and down

  the bay with whips in their hands, examining each

  yacht returning from the Seeking, and shrieking with

  disappointment as each one did not contain the

  Dragon Jewel.

  ‘Whereisitwhereisitwhereisit?’ hissed the witch,

  bounding up to each and every yacht with greedy

  fury, and tumbling the contents out upon the sand

  when she found that they did not contain the Jewel.

  ‘I do not understand it, Alvin. I saw it in my

  dream… The dice told me… I would be holding the

  Jewel in my hands within the next few days.

  ‘YOU WILL GO TO THE EVIL REACHES

  AGAIN TOMORROW!’ shrieked the witch. ‘AND IF

  YOU DO NOT BRING ME THE JEWEL, DO NOT

  BOTHER COMING BACK!’

  As Hiccup followed the slaves to the dungeon

  bedroom, he thought sadly of the ruins of his

  original plan. What was he going to do? Sneak in,

  rescue Fishlegs and his father, find the Jewel,

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  and sneak out again.

  This is going to be so much more difficult than I

  thought it was going to be.

  He was trapped in the Amber Slavelands, and

  he had this terrible sinking feeling that he was never

  going to find the Jewel, or poor Fishlegs.

  But all he could do was keep on looking, even

  though he was more scared than he had ever been

  before, now he knew what terrible dangers were

  lurking out here on the Amber Sands…

  Because Hiccup did not tell Eggingarde and

  Stoick the Vast one small important detail. He didn’t

  even tell the Wodensfang.

  Back there, when the bugle rang out, and

  Eggingarde roared, his sand-yacht had tipped

  over. And he looked down and realised that the

  indentation in the sand was in fact… the footprint of

  a gigantic dragon.

  And then when he looked up, he thought he just

  caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his

  eye. Something so unlikely, that it seemed that it could

  not possibly exist.

  The gigantic hand of a dragon sticking out of the

  sand, and on the end of each taloned finger, an evil

  dragon eye…

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  Watching… Waiting…

  Hiccup had never seen anything quite like this

  dragon hand. It was absolutely horrible, like something

  out of a nightmare.

  Hiccup did not tell Eggingarde because he

  thought it might be bad for morale.

  10. THE DEADLY SHADOW

  Hiccup was so tired he fell asleep immediately.

  All around the castle battlements, the nightly

  shrieking and the screaming of the Dragon Rebellion

  had begun, the exploding weapons, the whine of the

  arrows being launched at the dragon attackers.

  But while the sentries were on duty up there on

  the battlements, the rest of the prison was sleeping:

  witch, King, warriors, slaves and all.

  And that night, through the quiet corridors

  of the sleeping prison, something moved like an

  invisible mist. You could not see the shining mirage

  of the Deadly Shadow as he crept through the rooms

  like a silent doom. But he was there nonetheless, like

  Death himself.

  He knew exactly where he was heading.

  Outside the dungeon entrance he paused, and

  his three heads sniffed with satisfaction, drinking in

  the smell of Hiccup.

  If you could have seen the Shadow, you

  would have seen a gorgeous, shining invisible tail

  disappearing down the stairs going to the dungeon,

  like the tail of a beautiful im
aginary cat entering a

  mouse hole.

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  But you couldn’t see him.

  Meanwhile, Hiccup woke up from a nightmare

  about the Monster of the Slavelands breaking into

  Prison Darkheart itself…

  And then when he sat up, sweating, he found

  nothing there but the slaves all around him, sleeping

  the sleep of those who had spent an exhausting day

  sailing their way across the sands.

  But what was that?

  He thought he heard a noise, a noise that was

  nearer than the constant distant din of the Dragon

  Rebellion outside.

  There it was again. He strained to hear the noise

  once more. Nothing.

  Toothless and the Wodensfang were still snoring

  on the straw. They were sleeping so soundly. Surely

  that must mean it was nothing? Surely they would wake

  if there were any real danger?

  But still Hiccup’s heart beat as quick as a mouse.

  What was that noise? Was that the noise of nothing?

  He was just thinking that the entire thing had

  been all in his imagination, when out of nowhere

  something jumped on him, wrapping itself tightly

  around his mouth so he could not scream, and he and

  the Wodensfang and Toothless were wrapped around

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  like a parcel and picked up off the bed.

  The Wodensfang’s ears were as purple as

  blueberries and jumping about pointing to north, south,

  east and west so violently they threatened to rattle

  themselves right off the poor Wodensfang’s head.

  ‘Danger!’ the Wodensfang was trying to squeak.

  ‘Danger! Danger! Danger!’

  But Hiccup had already realised he was in a

  dangerous situation.

  Hiccup tried to struggle but his arms and legs

  were clamped by his sides, as if by tentacles, or some

  strange invisible force so strong that he could barely

  move as he was inexorably carried off.

  He was so scared he could hardly think. How

  could he be attacked from inside the castle? What

  could this be? His mind jostled with Rocket-Rages,

  with Piranha Hermit dragons, with Something Worse

  than all of these, something that could not possibly

  exist, a thing with a claw that had an eye atop every

  single talon.

  But how could any of these things, in real life,

  sneak past the sentries that were currently blasting their

  way at anything that tried to get near the castle walls?

  ‘Mff!’ cried Hiccup, trying to kick out. ‘Mff!

  Mff! Mff!’

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  11. A GENUINE SURPRISE

  Hiccup could feel himself being carried up the

  dungeon stairs, could hear the sound of soft footsteps

  and whispers all around him, and then, as he struggled,

  he began to realise the voices he was hearing were not

  dragon voices, but human voices.

  He had a feeling of being dragged into a smaller

  area, where the voices became more echoey and even

  colder than the dungeon. And then, more surprising

  still, he recognised the voice of someone he knew well,

  but just hadn’t heard for a very long time…

  ‘Don’t panic,’ said the voice. ‘We’re friends.

  We’re here to help you escape from Prison

  Darkheart… We had to cover your mouth in case you

  screamed, because you weren’t expecting us.’

  And then the hands unwound him from the sheet

  he was wrapped in, and took the gag and blindfold

  from his head, and he was in what felt like some sort of

  drainage tunnel.

  And he was surrounded by faces, the nearest of

  which he did, indeed, know very well.

  ‘Camicazi!’ whispered Hiccup in joyful surprise.

  Camicazi was a small, chatty and recklessly brave

  Bog-Burglar, with a lot of wild blonde hair that looked

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  like squirrels had been break-dancing vigorously in the

  back of it.

  She also just so happened to be one of Hiccup’s

  best friends.

  Camicazi looked at him for a moment in

  puzzlement, and then she pulled up his eye patch, took

  off his wart, and exclaimed in gob-smacked happy

  astonishment, ‘Hiccup!’

  Bog-Burglars aren’t supposed to show when

  they’re really pleased to see someone, so Camicazi now

  turned bright red with the effort of not knowing what

  to do. She scowled furiously, and pummelled Hiccup

  three times on the shoulder, and then she hugged him,

  and then she hit him again – a little harder this time –

  whispering ferociously (and if it hadn’t been Camicazi,

  you might have said slightly tearfully), in between each

  punch.

  ‘Where… have… you… been? I haven’t been

  worried about you…’ she added hastily. ‘No, no, I

  haven’t been worried, because us Bog-Burglars never

  worry, we’re too cool, but where… have… you…

  been?’

  ‘Ow!’ grinned Hiccup, holding his slightly bruised

  shoulder. ‘You’re the first person who’s actually

  recognised me. Not that I actually want people to

  recognise me in this place, but still, it’s nice to know

  that I haven’t changed completely in just six months.’

  Camicazi was still bright red and scowling more

  furiously than ever. ‘Why didn’t you come and find

  me?’ She hid her face in her elbow. ‘Was it because I

  Turned My Back with everybody else when the witch

  got us to at the school? Because I’m sorry about that,

  Hiccup, and I’ve been wishing and wishing that I had

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  stood up for you, like

  Fishlegs did, ever

  since… It was just a

  bit of a shock about

  the Slavemark and

  everything…’

  ‘No, no,’

  Hiccup assured

  her. ‘It wasn’t that,

  I knew all along that

  you didn’t really mean to

  Turn Your Back.’

  ‘You’re sure?’ said

  Camicazi, still a little muffled.

  ‘Absolutely sure,’ lied Hiccup awkwardly.

  ‘Besides, I was watching you the whole time and it

  wasn’t really a full turn, it was just a sort of twist… A

  kind of sideways-on, Half-Turn if you like, and only for

  a moment…’

  ‘A Half-Turn?’ sniffed Camicazi hopefully.

  ‘The only reason I didn’t come and find you was

  that everybody’s after me at the moment, and I didn’t

  want to put you in danger as well,’ explained Hiccup.

  ‘Well that wasn’t very kind of you, was it?’

  grinned Camicazi, who had cheered up no end.

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  ‘You know I love danger!’ She rubbed her hands

  together excitedly. ‘Danger is my favourite thing!’

  ‘Yes, well,’ said Hiccup, changing the subject.

  ‘Speaking of danger, what on earth are you doing here,

  Camicazi?’

  ‘We’re the Escape Artists,’ explained Camicazi,

  beaming. ‘This is my Team: Sporta… Typhoon…

  Harriettahorse… Beefburger…’ She introduced th
e

  four Bog-Burglars who were sitting beside her in the

  drainage tunnel.

  They had been the ones who had wrapped

  Hiccup in the sheet, and they must have carried him

  together along the corridor.

  They were all considerably larger than Camicazi,

  but dressed similarly in black burglary suits, with a

  lot of burglary equipment and weaponry dangling off

  them.

  To Hiccup’s surprise, the other Bog-Burglars

  blushed and looked extremely self-conscious as they

  shook his hand. ‘This isn’t…

  the Outcast, is it?’

  blurted Typhoon.

  ‘That’s right,’ said Camicazi carelessly, but

  bursting with pride. ‘This is my friend, the Outcast,

  Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.’

  It was very nice to have somebody being so

  proud to present him to others as their friend.

  ‘Wow,’ said Typhoon, pumping his hand. ‘This

  is an honour. Camicazi’s been telling us about your

  work, hasn’t she, guys? Releasing the dragon-traps…

  standing up against those fiends Alvin and the witch…

  Respect.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Hiccup, in surprise.

  Meanwhile, Toothless was delighted too.

  Slinking behind Camicazi in the tunnel was Stormfly,

  Camicazi’s gorgeous golden Mood-Dragon, who

  changed colour according to her mood, and Toothless

  was in love with Stormfly.

  ‘H-h-hello, Stormfly,’ stammered Toothless

  carelessly.

  ‘Why hello there, Toothless,’

  said Stormfly.

  ‘We’re O-o-outcasts… You should see Toothless in an

  eye patch…’

  ‘I bet you look marvellous…’ simpered that

  mischievous Mood-Dragon, turning a little purple.

  ‘And this is Toothless’s side-kick… Er… W-w-

  wodensfang the Desperado. Don’t cross him… He’s

  one tough dragon…’

  The Wodensfang was a little surprised to

  be introduced as Toothless’s sidekick, but obligingly,

  he tried to make himself look tough, which was tricky

  for a dragon who was thousands of years old, no larger

  than a biscuit tin, and a little wobbly on his wings.

 

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