Soul of Furies (Book Three)

Chapter 23: Chieftess

I don't feel pain. In fact, I feel absolutely nothing that would result in a demon dragon attacking me and ripping me apart.

I open my eyes to find that Nightstar is standing above me, her stomach heaving with her breaths and her skin glowing blue with plasma. My lips part in absolute shock. The only other time I've seen a Night Fury look like that was when a Toothless became the Alpha of all dragons.

The demons are shrieking at us, red eyes narrowed in anger, but every time they try to come nearer something pushes them back. I get to my feet, looking down at my necklace to see that the gem is shining furiously, shooting out rays of magic from it and causing a sort of shield around us.

Nightstar shrieks again, her skin glowing brighter as the wind whips around us. She strikes out, sweeping her claws through the demons and causing them to disintegrate into smoke. I cast my gaze to Alrek, seeing that his resolve has started to crumble.

"No...NO! What is the meaning of this?" he shouts, gripping his own necklace as if desperately trying to make its magic work. "Why won't this stupid thing work?!"

I find myself grinning, a wide and mischievous smile breaking across my features as I laugh into the sky, Nightstar still blasting fire and clawing at every demon that comes near us. He never noticed that I switched our necklaces. What a fool.

Nightstar lets out a roar, rearing onto her hind legs as the wind whips the smokey mess of decimated demons around in a whirlwind. My hair flies around my face and my clothing presses against my body with the force. Nightstar's wings beat against the smoke, her skin still glowing with power. The Vikings of Berk hold on to their helmets and sink to the ground, trying to remain planted.

I focus on my necklace, the magic spreading even further with every push I give it. Some strands surround me, some connect me to Nightstar, others trail outwards into the shield. As the magic surges, I feel my skin starting to tingle. Ghostly black wings appear behind me and seem to sprout from my back, a long leathery tail of the same kind trailing from me as ghostly Night Fury ear plates appear above my head. Alrek frantically shouts for more demons, but none can break through the magic barrier before being destroyed.

"WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Alrek demands, the wind shoving against him as he grips his deadened necklace in his hand. He fixes his cold eyes on me, his face registering absolute fear. "I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE!"

An odd sort of calm washes over me, one that I haven't felt in what feels like an eternity. I leap onto Nightstar's back as she stands on all four legs, the both of us tall and proud.

"I am Thora of Hermaōr, the daughter of Thord and Sigrid," I shout, addressing both the trembling crowd before me and Alrek. I aim my hand at my old enemy, my fingernails jet black and pointed like a dragon's claws. "I CARRY THE SOUL OF FURIES WITHIN ME! I POSSESS MAGIC SENT FROM THE GODS!" I roar, a sort of shriek rising from my mouth a second later.

Nightstar joins in on the battle cry, making me realize that the sound I made was that of my dragon's. We close our eyes, power surging through us as though our souls have been connected.

The wind seems to roar even louder than we did as dust and smoke flies everywhere. We open our eyes, and judging by how Nightstar's have become two pure orbs of white, mine must look the same. The force of our combined power sails forwards, sending a blue aura throughout the entire village and blasting out over the ocean as a light seems to grow brighter and brighter with each movement. Alrek screams as the light engulfs everything.