The Night Rider: Book Two

Chapter 8: Beating

ASTRIDS POV.
Present Day

It was dark, very dark. And blistering cold, within the hull of the metal ship Astrid shivered against a metal beam. Astrid struggled against the ropes that bound her to the metal pole that was securely bolted to the floor and roof.

"I wouldn't try that if I were you." Said the man from somewhere in the darkness, his location obscured by the cloak of darkness around her. From the open hatch on the roof light shone through but that only illuminated a little.

On the roof of the boat Astrid could hear her dragon, Stormfly. Nervously prancing around squawking like a chicken. She knew that something had happened to her rider but because of her scale she was unable to get inside the hull to help.

"Why not?" Astrid asked the darkness, her attention was directed in the direction she had heard the captor speak from. But when a spark of light briefly illuminated the hull she realized that he had been no where near where she had been looking.

Another spark of light filled the room but this time it didn't go dormant once more. It caught flame within an old, rusty oil lamp that hung tirelessly from the ceiling. Astrid briefly spotted the man but then he moved away into the darkness once more.

"Oh I don't know." He said. His voice was deranged, but in a way calm. This made him more threatening. "Your hands are tied. Trying to escape is pointless. And all it's going to lead to is frustration."

The man lit another lamp, this one was closer to her. The thought of this man being anywhere near her made her quiver with disgust. He turned his head towards her and caught her eye.

"But then again." He stepped back into the darkness, his next words were spoken directly into Astrids right ear. "I like a woman with some frustration."

Astrid jerked her head right and head butted him in what felt like his face making him stumble back and collapse onto the metal group.

"You bi-!" He yelled spitting something wet onto the ground beside her. Astrid smiled, it was probably blood.

The man grabbed her forehead with one of his hands. His skin was rough, like the scales of a fish. He pushed her head cruelly back into the pull sending a loud clang echoing through the ship.

Astrid's head fell limp a loud ringing reverberating through her skull like war drums.

Her eyelids flickered wanted to go shut but Astrid's will kept them open. The last thing she needed was to also be unconscious around this man.

Another lantern took light and with the three of them the hull was illuminated well enough for her to see him clearly. He had a rusty colored head of hair that was chopily sliced into a repulsive haircut, down his face were sets of scars and his teeth were uneven and crooked. Astrid was sure his breath was probably repulsive. At the thought of it she grimaced. The man was also beaten, cuts and bruises covered his body.

"I remember you, you know." He said picking up her axe and slinging it over his shoulder, walking towards her slowly like he was hunting a scared animal.

Astrid scanned back through her memories, when had she seen him before? She hadn't he must have been wrong. She would have remembered him, his insanity.

"I came to this island long ago. When I was just a young chief who had just killed his father." The man smiled thinking back on the memories.

Astrid thought that she faintly remembered hearing about a son that overthrew his father for chief. But then again, this was the Barbaric Archipelago. Kinda happened a lot.

The man studied her face and when he noticed that she clearly didn't remember him he rolled his eyes.

"Dagur. Dagur the Deranged, Chief of the Beserker's." He said and Astrid's eyes widened as she remembered him. He was different when she had met him, they had never talked only seen each other. He had come to Berk about a week after Hiccup had been presumed dead. Dagur had been mean and abrasive, but nothing like this.