Another Nightmare book 1

Chapter 22

"So he... I mean, they, really have two minds?" Fishlegs asked. Best way to gain his undivided attention was to offer him new dragon knowledge.

"Yes. Or, at least, mostly... They're connected, but when I first made contact with Barf, I didn't even notice Belch's thoughts immediately."

"Ooh, I wish I had something to write this down on! You really have to tell me everything you've learnt later, so we can record it."

"Yeah, maybe it would be a good idea. But, then again, someone could find it and that would be hard to explain."

"True, but we could hide it. You could leave the notes with Toothless. You have to hide him from people anyway."

"That could work; we'd need a waterproof box or something," Hiccup paused for a moment "but that's something we can talk about later. I still want to meet the Nightmare tonight."

"The Nightmare? Are you sure it's safe?"

"I wouldn't want to make him angry, but I'm not planning to fight with him."

'You, fighting a Nightmare,' Toothless chuckled.

Of course Fishlegs couldn't hear Toothless' comment, but the look that Hiccup gave to the sniggering dragon was easy to notice. Toothless returned with pretend innocence and Hiccup soon found it impossible to keep a stern face. Maybe there had been some benefit to Toothless not understanding human speech; back before their bond had grown strong enough to get the information straight from each other's head.

'Fine, we aren't planning for YOU to fight the Nightmare.'

"Uhm, Hiccup?" Hiccup had almost forgotten Fishlegs, who had followed the silent interaction from the side.

"Oh, yeah, sorry. He just commented on imagining me fighting the Nightmare."

"It's really amazing that you can talk with dragons..."

"It's a lot more than talking," Hiccup lowered his hand, down onto Toothless' head next to him. "Especially with Toothless."

"Are you going to do that with the Nightmare?"

"Kind of; it seems that I can talk to dragons now, even before I really get into their minds. It's not as... deep though."

'Hiccup, are you going to handle that dragon today? If you are going to do it, I will feel a lot better after this is over,' Toothless complained.

'Okay.' "Let's get this done. Can you go to unlock the gate Fishlegs?"

"Sure; just be careful."

With Fishlegs relatively safe outside of the ring, Hiccup finally got to the main event of the night. He was standing in front of the gate to the Nightmare's den, literally. Toothless was standing next to him. Hiccup could sense how tense his friend was, and he didn't like the feel of it.

'Are you really that worried?'

'I'm worried for you. I already let one dragon attack you, and a Nightmare won't just push you aside.'

Hiccup could tell that Toothless was blaming himself, but they would have to talk about it later. They had to get this done. Hiccup couldn't sense the Nightmare inside any better than he had with Barf and Belch, except that he was angrier than them. Maybe Toothless was right to be worried...

Hiccup took a deep breath, trying to calm his thoughts. He couldn't calm down a Nightmare without calming his own mind first.

"Okay, open it up!" He shouted to Fishlegs, who was now outside the ring. The Nightmare's gate was a bit more secure than the others, so Hiccup couldn't open it from inside. The heavy log holding the gate rose slowly. For a moment everything was quiet.