Deception (A Dragons Race to the Edge Fanfic)

Chapter 11

Something hit your face hard. You had been sleeping on the beach, as usual, but as you opened your eyes, you saw Astrid glaring down at you. You immediately got to your feet, searching for Ember. He was nowhere to be seen, and neither were any of the other dragons.

"That's for what you did to the Edge last night!" she yelled. You still felt slightly dazed but, as adrenaline and panic kicked in, you readied yourself to fight. Not really your preferred option. Having said that, you had just kind of attacked the Edge. You should be expecting something like this, really. But revenge has a strange way of blinding you, and you hadn't expected them to recover and come after you so quickly.

"And that!" she said punching you in the stomach, "That's for everything else!" You stumbled backwards in pain. You were about to launch yourself at her, when Snotlout grabbed you from behind. You tried to struggle free, but it was no use, the twins had joined in too. Before you knew it, all the riders had surrounded you, all of them looking as angry as Astrid. From out of the corner of your eye, you saw that Ember, along with your other dragons were laying lethargically on the northern bank of the river that flowed through the forest. Dragon nip! They must have used dragon nip to disarm your dragons while they captured you. Hiccup walked in front of you, blocking your view of the dragons.

"What you did last night was unacceptable."

"And you're not gonna get away with it!" Snotlout added. Toothless roared at you. You could see his plasma fire rising in his throat, but Hiccup gently told him not to blast. Astrid pushed you to the ground, her ax to your throat.

"Ember!" you called frantically. It was the only hope you had.

"That won't work!" Astrid said. But, at that moment, Astrid was knocked from her feet, and you saw Ember standing protectively over you. Somehow, when he had heard you call, his loyalty to you had overpowered the effects of the dragon nip! There was no time to think about this now, though, you had to get out of here, or Ember's efforts would have been in vain. Quickly, you mounted your dragon, and flew into the air, at the steepest angle you'd ever flown at. You grabbed on to Ember for dear life, as your stomach churned. As the gradient of your incline lessened, you could see the Dragon Riders weren't far behind, and they were firing at you. Swerving and spinning to avoid their fire, you thought that you might actually get away. Then, you felt a sharp pain searing through your leg. Stormfly had hit you with one of her poisonous Nadder spines. A few seconds later, Ember yelped as you realized he had been hit too.

"Ember- "you couldn't finish your sentence; the poison had worked its way through your body too quickly. You hoped that, due to Ember's size it would take longer for the poison to take effect in him, and that he might be able to safely land on an island, before he was no longer able to fly. At that point, your eyes involuntarily flickered shut, and you gave way to darkness.

*****

The darkness faded as you regained your senses. Great, you were half conscious again. Lying on the ground, you had no idea of where you were, but you managed to open your eyes slightly. You were on a beach and, as far as you could tell, Ember wasn't there. The waves lapped at your boots, and you could tell that the Deadly Nadder spine was still deeply lodged in your thigh. It ached, and you felt weak. You knew it wouldn't be long now until the venom finished you off. Whether it was because of Ryker or Stormfly, you seemed destined to die on a beach... Except, this time, you had no idea which island you were on. You considered trying to get to your feet, but it was no use – the cure was back at the Edge, and you highly doubted that the riders would simply hand it over to you after what had transpired. That was something: somehow, you'd lost the riders, or at least Ember had. But where was he now? He was injured too, so he must be out there somewhere, struggling. Unable to escape from other dragons, he would be easy prey. You hoped that he would be smart enough to camouflage himself until you could find him. But wait, no, that wouldn't happen...You were both doomed.

Voices behind you snapped you abruptly from your thoughts.

"How's the Changewing? Alive, I hope." That voice sounded familiar.

"The cure seems to be working. But, remind me why we are doing this again?"

"That sounds like something my brother would ask. That's none of your concern, just find the girl. She must be on this island somewhere." You held your breath, and felt sweat start trickling down your face, as you tried to keep as still as possible.

"There!" you felt the ground shake as they came towards you. You were picked up by the hood of your jacket, your feet dangling pathetically, as a dragon hunter held you to face Viggo Grimborn.

"We meet again!" Viggo said. For a moment you weren't sure if he said this genuinely or condescendingly. But it was Viggo – he couldn't be greeting you in a non-disdainful way. You were convinced he wouldn't be capable of it, even if he wanted to. Unable to do much to free yourself, you looked at him through narrowed eyes and gritted teeth. You didn't even flinch as the hunter holding you up carelessly tugged the Nadder Spine out of your leg.

A/N: I know this chapter wasn't as long as some of the others, but hopefully you enjoyed it anyway - Thanks for reading!