Come Darkness, Come Light

Chapter 31 - On The Defensive

A/N: Thanks for the reviews and favorites and follows, everyone! Wish I could update quicker for y'all :(

Dargur - Thanks so much! I'm glad you found this story, even accidentally! I always love to hear from a new reader.

Silverleone - Yay! I do so love faves and follows!

DragonHighElder - LOL, I literally spit out my water reading your review ;)) If it makes you feel any better, I'm panicking right along with you!

Disclaimer: ಠ_ಥ Hello darkness, my old friend...

HICCUP'S POV

The color drained from my face as the net met its mark, wrapping around Toothless in a split second and rendering him unable to open his wings fully. The screech he let out as he plunged toward the ship was mostly of fury, but I could detect the fear underneath. He'd never been caught before—I'd always been there to protect him.

Instead of falling into the water, his momentum carried him over the deck and crashing into a pile of cargo. The men aboard shouted to each other in warning and ran for cover as splinters of wood shot out in every direction due to the impact. I even had to duck as a large piece of a barrel zipped through the metal bars of the window I'd been standing in front of and lodged into the far wall.

When I looked back out, I could see the vikings were slowly recovering from their shock and were hesitantly moving closer to Toothless' motionless form. He was partially hidden amongst the broken boxes and torn pieces of cloth, but it was obvious the fall had knocked him out. He was completely defenseless.

The growl I released was primal and instinctive; I crawled over to the other side of the room, gripping the sharp piece of wood and yanking it out of the wall with a determined set of my jaw. My leg burned, but not as fiercely as the growing flame of anger in my chest.

A small chunk of one of the doors had been chipped away after Toothless crashed. I shoved the barrel wedge into the gap as far as it would go, then lay down parallel to the doors. Once I was sure I had the right angle, I struck out forcefully with my right foot, gritting my teeth as the action sent reverberations through my injured leg.

Thankfully, my plan was successful. The hinge broke off with a loud crack, and the door swayed open. Wasting no time, I scrambled up and out of the room, reaching into my boot to grab my small knife. It wasn't an ideal weapon, but my daggers were in my satchel and I didn't bring a sword.

A crowd had gathered around Toothless, Stoick ordering the men to hurry up and tie him before he woke. The net was being cut away only to be replaced with iron shackles and some other leather contraption that they buckled around Toothless' jaws to keep him from using his teeth or fire. They were too busy to notice me as I approached, half limping on three limbs.

The sight of my dragon bound like an animal set off every negative emotion I was capable of, so I didn't regret a thing as I burst past the unwitting humans and lunged for the closest body. The man yelped in surprise as I tumbled into him, sending him sprawling onto the deck face-first. The man directly next to me reached for his sword, but I slashed out with the knife, cutting the backs of his knees. He yelled out a pained string of curses and fell onto his side, gripping his legs and rolling back and forth.

I jumped onto Toothless' back, almost losing my balance on his rain-slick scales as my useless leg weighed me down. All the vikings had brandished their weapons, but eyed me warily instead of attacking. A few glanced at the injured man with wide eyes or sympathetic grimaces. I glared back at them, raising my now-bloody knife in a clear threat.

If I was going down, I was taking some of them with me.

I managed not to flinch as Toothless groaned underneath me, the vibrations shaking the floorboards. The men jumped at the startling noise, automatically directing their swords toward him. While I wanted to check on him, I knew better than to take my eye off the enemy.