Prologue
Try to catch up Lyn!” I shouted back at my sister as Eclipse dove, catching more speed. I glanced back at her to see Lyn telling her dragon Thunder to go faster.
“Come on Eclipse, let’s show them what we can do.” She roared and spun in the air, doing loops while spinning. I laughed with pleasure as I rubbed her head. Eclipse snarled teasingly at Thunder, who hissed back in annoyance.
We landed on a nearby beach, and I jumped off Eclipses back and waited for Lyn. Thunder landed moments later, Lyn sliding off his back before his talons touched the ground. As soon as she was off, Eclipse pounced on her brother and they rolled in a heap of wings and tails.
I walked over to my sister and nudged her playfully on the arm.
“Too fast again?” I asked, giggling.
She rolled her eyes and looked at me. “Just because your three years older than me doesn’t mean your better or faster. Plus, Thunder is older than Eclipse! And behaves better.”
I laughed. “Eclipse just knows how to have fun. And so do we little sister!”
I tackled her in a hug, and she couldn’t help but laugh. She fought back but I pinned her down. “Got ya!” I exclaimed.
Then in a move so quick, she managed to flip me and pinned me down. “Hmm, seems like I got you now,” she teased.
I smirked. “You’re just more skilled and better with hand fights. I’m better with weapons.”
She clicked her tongue. “Excuses, excuses.”
Lyn may look small, but even at nine years of age she could pack a punch. Her small build and medium stature made her very agile. If anyone wanted to wrestle with her, they would lose. But in a fight with weapons, I was more skilled, able to twirl and spin a blade in a single hand and slice faster than anyone else. Both Lyn and I were the best fighters in Berk, even at nine and twelve years of age. The pair of us strong, agile, and fast.
I shoved her off and stood. “You win. Why don’t you go hang out with Arc, Clyde, and Rein? Eclipse and I are going to head home.” Hearing her name, Eclipse bounded away from her fight with Thunder and stood beside me.
Thunder made his way to his place beside Lyn. “I was wanting to go over there today anyway. Tell Mom and Dad I’ll be home by dinner, please.”
I nodded. “I will, and be safe.”
She mounted Thunder and looked at me, quirking an eyebrow. “Safe? This place is safe! But I will. You be safe too. See you later!” Then she urged Thunder to go and he ran down the beach, leaping effortlessly into the air. They were gone in seconds, heading in the direction of our friends home.
I watched until she was out of sight before climbing onto Eclipses back. “Let’s head home,” I told her softly.
She moaned back and took off.
As we neared our house tucked in the forest, I noticed something was off. I directed Eclipse to the surrounding trees just behind the house and hid in the thick brush.
Together, we snuck through the foliage towards the house. Closer, I heard voices, but gruff and thick voices that belonged to older men and not at all what Dads sound like or Moms. And there were more than a few. I seen Eclipses father Ruff and his sister Dart lying limp outside the door. Both with darts in their neck.
Oh no.
When the voices faded, I darted to the back door of the house, rushing into the building. Nothing could’ve prepared me for the sight before me.
I screamed in horror.
The house was a complete disaster, as though a gronkle came in and ate too much of a certain rock. But not only was there broken pottery and destroyed wooden furniture and smashed glass, but also so much red. Scarlet red. Crimson red.
Blood red.
So.
Much.
Blood.
That’s when I seen the bodies.
I recognized two out of the five or seven littered on the floor.
My vision swam. I put my hands to my mouth, trying to keep the flood of tears at bay. My breathing shook, and my heart sank to my stomach. I felt sick. I wanted to vomit. I wanted to wake up from an awful dream. But it was real.
It was Mom and Dad, lying on the floor, covered in blood, their clothes tattered. I immediately ran to Dad, hoping for a pulse but finding none. I went to Mom next, and couldn’t hold in the tears any longer. My vision blurred as the tears streamed down my cheeks.
Both my parents were dead.
Then I noticed Moms body, smaller than I remember. I gasped as I realized, she was no longer pregnant. Not like she was before me and Lyn left that morning.
I searched the house, looking under furniture and brushing broken pieces of clay and glass, until I found what I was looking for. A baby.
I checked it and found a faint pulse, shallow breaths. It was not awake, unconscious, but alive. I seen it was a boy, and hugged the little one to my chest. My shoulders shook with barely controlled sobs.
Eclipse came in behind me, nudging my back and moaning softly. I set the child in the small tub we had in the kitchen for dishes. I wiped my eyes, smearing some of the blood on my face, and took a breath.
Who killed them? Who murdered my family?
I rubbed Eclipses head and went over to the other unknown bodies. One had a stab in the heart, the other had a broken neck. I didn’t count, but I’m pretty sure there were other lumps in the main room, just a few feet away, but I didn’t want to know if they were corpses or not. Crouching, I looked at the ones in front of me, hoping for some sort of clue of who they would be.
Eclipses sudden growl shook me from my observing. I looked up to see her pupils thin, her mouth curled in a snarl.
“What is it Eclipse?” I asked her, standing.
She did nothing but run out the front door, and I heard a yelp.
“Eclipse?!” I called. I heard nothing in return.
Only the voices in the woods.
I gripped my swords handle, turning in a circle and searching every shadow. No way was I leaving my parents and brother. I would not.
A feminine laughter echoed around me. In front of me, behind me, to my left, right, everywhere. As though she were moving faster than I could catch. I growled in my throat and tightened my grip on my sword, ready to unsheathe it and fight if needed.
A sudden sharp, searing pain tore through my left arm, forcing out a cry. I stumbled forward, grabbing it, and felt wetness. I looked at my hand and seen it coated with red. Not like it wasn’t already.
I turned to find a teen girl, looking to be no more than sixteen, standing at the back door, a smirk on her face and her eyes glittering. She held a gleaming sword, freshly sharpened, and dripping glistening red. Fresh blood. My blood.
She chuckled and stepped closer. “Granddaughter of Hiccup,” she purred. “Daughter of Zephyr, first born of Chieftess Astrid. How funny to find you here. But also, great.”
“How do you know me?” I demanded, drawing my sword.
The girl laughed. “I’ve been reading all I can about you and your family! I guess you could say, I’m a fan.” Her grin held no love of a fan but instead the dark hate of a nemesis.
“Don’t really seem like one,” I mumbled, gesturing to my dead parents and my blood covered arm. It hurt to move it.
“I may not,” she agreed, twirling her sword in her hands, splattering more red on the floor. I sucked in a breath through my teeth.
Only talented sword bearers can do that. She was going to be a tough opponent to fight.
“What did you do to my parents?” I demanded, even though I already knew they were dead. But I wanted to hear it from her.
“Oh, you know, just a little stabbing, slicing,” she counted off her fingers, the butt of her sword in her balled hand. “That kind of thing. Not too hard actually, once the dragons,” she jabbed her thumb out the back door, “we’re taken care of.”
“Did you..?”
She scoffed. “Kill them? No. All that would do is create a war with dragons. And even though my army is strong, I don’t think we would hold with thousands of flying lizards attacking our forts.”
“They’re more than ‘flying lizards’,” I snapped at her.
“Mm, I disagree. And neither are you.”
“Me?” My face twisted in confusion and disgust.
The girl laughed and stepped closer. “Well who else? Yes you. Your grandfather killed mine. Your dragons,” she pointed out the window to the limp forms of the night lights, including Eclipse, “father and mother aided in it. If it weren’t for them, my grandfather would still be alive! I continue of his legacy of destroying the night fury race, but I take it further. I will kill all traces of the night fury, which includes his children, and his grandchildren. While also taking care of the Haddocks, down to his granddaughters. And when I’m done, I’ll wipe out all dragons, track every one down, and exterminate them.”
I laughed. “Toothless is the Alpha if you didn’t know. He and his mate stayed here for awhile, having their own kids. And when they came of age, Toothless made his oldest son the second Alpha, and left Berk to find all others dragons to take them to their real home. You’ll never find him or the others.” I narrowed my eyes and hissed at her. “And you’ll never kill my family.”
She grinned darkly. “I already started. And I’ll finish it, continuing with you!”
The girl lunged, swiping her blade so fast even I couldn’t see it. She took advantage of my wound, my weakness, and sliced at it again. I yelped in pain and threw my fist at her. She seemed to expect that and I got metal to the knuckles. Red oozed down my fingers.
I growled and lashed my sword at her, the gleaming iron meeting flesh. She made no sound even though her black pants now had a red edged tear.
“By the way,” I grunted, wiping my hand on my shirt, “I never got your name.”
She raised her sword. “I’m sorry, mind my manners. I’m Maeve. No need to introduce yourself though.” She slammed her blade down, trying to get my head, but I blocked with my own. The clang of the two blades rang in my ears.
“That’s right, you already know me!” I pushed her away, cutting off a few inches of her braided auburn hair. “Stalker.”
“Such a compliment,” she piped, attacking again. I stepped away and lashed at her side, the tip of the blade barely grazing her skin.
“I wouldn’t say that,” I grunted as her sword yet again met my arm.
“Oh, but it’s true, so I take it,” she laughed, pushing a hand against her side. It wasn’t too deep but it gave me an advantage.
Or so I thought.
She was stronger than she looked and seemed to not notice the pain at all, even though her pants were turning red and her side was injured as well. She was persistent; she lunged again.
The sound of metal against metal echoed through the air. More slashes were made to my arm, the pain nearly unbearable. Blood dripped onto the floor, some getting on my shoes and even her own. I silently begged for Eclipse to wake, or even Ruff or Dart. It was in vain.
“You know,” Maeve said when I stumbled away, clutching my arm. “For being a daughter of the chief, and being supposedly ‘the best in Berk’, you don’t seem like it.”
“Maybe you just haven’t given me a chance yet,” I hissed between clenched teeth.
She chuckled. “I’m giving you many chances. Go ahead, show me,” she purred.
I growled and jumped at her. But I changed technique.
She turned, expecting me to land in front of her and stab at her. So I landed behind her. Lifting the blade close to her back, when she turned, I pushed.
The tip of the sword sank into her side and grazed her stomach until it reached her other side. It would’ve been a lethal wound had she not stepped back when the sword cut through her flesh.
But it was enough.
She howled in pain and wrapped an arm around her bleeding wound. She crumpled to the floor, hugging herself. One of her hunters came in to help hearing her cry, and I slowly stood. I held my sword in my right hand, leaving my left arm hanging. Blood oozed down the torn skin, making a small puddle below it.
Maeve looked at me with pure murder and rage in her eyes, her teeth bared. Then she barked out a dark laugh.
“I was wrong,” she said. “You’re pretty strong. No one has left a hit like this on me in years. You should feel lucky.” The hunter slung one of her arms over his shoulder and helped her up, taking her sword as she wrapped the other hand around her waist. “But remember, Adira Hawk, I’m coming for you. And I’ll kill your sister too,” she grinned maliciously, “but I want to have some fun with you first. You’ll pay for what you did to me.” With that they walked out of the house. I ran after them, hoping to get them, but they were already leaving on a hidden deathgripper. I yelled in frustration and anger and pain.
Ruff and Dart came from the other side of the house, both looking mildly asleep. Ruff ran to Eclipse when he seen his daughter lying unconscious.
“She’s fine,” I assured him gently. I walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “She will wake up soon.”
He moaned and looked at me. Dart came up behind him and looked at my arm with worry.
“I’m fine, but you guys go get Lyn. She’s at Arc and Reins place. Bring them too along with Clyde. Please.”
Ruff nodded and turned to his sister. She flew off faster than light, Ruff following behind.
I really didn’t want them to go, not with Eclipse knocked out. I was in agony, I was in a spiral of emotions, I was confused, angry, torn, and so much more. But I felt afraid.
I was defenseless without my friends or dragon.
I stepped back inside the house, hugging myself and staring at the space before me. The golden light of the setting sun filled the house, making the pools of blood look like liquid rubies. The metallic scent of the blood hung in the air, and death seemed to still all sounds.
What’s Lyn going to think? How will she act? I wondered, shaking slightly. What will we do? What’s next?
Trying to get my mind off the corpses of my parents, I decided to move the cold forms of the dead hunters. I counted five, each one killed differently. It seemed the Alpha and Dart got a few enemies to themselves. Some had deep claw gashes, one had severe burns, the other had what looked like teeth marks. Me parents got one each, and I couldn’t help but wonder how Mom managed to fight, saying she either was in labor or had just given birth. But she is…was a strong woman. Nothing held her back.
As I worked I felt numb. I was in shock. My mind was in a cloud, so much so I almost didn’t notice the heaviness of the men with their armor, or the searing agony of my arm, or the faint whimpering of the baby in the little tub, or the whining of the waking dragon outside. I realized my side was warm and sticky, and when I looked down I seen a rip with red. Maeve got me on my side and I didn’t notice it.
I stumbled out the door, looking down at Eclipse, who was shifting in restlessness. I kneeled and rubbed her head. “Wake up Eclipse,” I whispered.
She whined in protest, but eventually opened her eyes. She looked around, seeming to scan the area for danger, and relaxed when she seen none. But she sat up when she seen the blood on me. Her pupils enlarged and her ears flattened.
I tried to smile, but it felt pained. “I’m all right girl. We’re okay.” I looked at the house and mumbled, trying to calm my hammering heart. “We’re okay.”
Eclipse watched me as I made my way back in the house, her being too weak to walk yet. I gazed at the house, my eyes trailing over everything.
So many windows were shattered, and so many of our storage compartments were smashed. I noticed a few of our weapons missing, as well as some of our money. Much of our pottery and decorations were destroyed, but there were still some intact. We could sell those to get money. At least, enough to get us food for a month or so. Long enough to find a job.
Without the corpses of the men littered on the floor, I was able to see how much blood was on the floor. Too many puddles to count. One may even vomit over the amount of crimson splattered on the floor. I was standing in a pool of red. No amount of scrubbing and cleaning would remove the stain of scarlet and crimson from the wood.
The walls had many gashes. Both from claws and metal. I even spotted a few black spots from the blasts. They fought hard, and strong. If only I was here to help.
The rush of wings sounded beyond the walls behind me. A dragon roared, probably Thunder, seeing his sister on the ground. Lyn had come, and her friends were here too. They talked amongst themselves, but one running to me.
“Adira, what’s going...” her voice trailed off when she seen me, and she gasped when she seen the bodies.
“I couldn’t move them...without someone else here,” I croaked, my voice not wanting to work.
“What happened?!” Arc demanded, rushing to us and putting a hand on my shoulder. I cried out as his fingers grazed my wounds. He pulled back in fear, seeing blood on his fingers.
“Adira!” Lyn cried, coming to me and grabbing my arm gently. I hissed in pain. “What happened to you?!”
Clyde and Rein entered a moment later. Clyde sucked in a breath through his teeth as he stepped behind his cousin. Rein averted her eyes from the sight and looked at me.
“Your arm is covered in blood,” she said softly. Her voice was always quiet, but this time it seemed louder than usual. “I am going to have to clean it before I can wrap it or anything.”
I nodded as she ran to Luna to get her supplies. She never went anywhere without them.
Arc spoke for Lyn. “What happened here?”
I took a shaky breath. “They were attacked while we were gone. Maeve. She and some hunters came and killed Mom and Dad. I came not long after, while they were still around. She attacked me and did this.” I pointed to the gashes, not daring to move the limb.
“Who’s Maeve?” Clyde asked.
“Honestly? I have no idea. She said she was the descendant of Grimmel.”
“The one who tried to kill Toothless,” Lyn whispered.
I nodded. Everyone had heard of him, as he nearly killed the Alpha as well as the chief at one point. It was a story no one forgot, and to the younger ones an old tale.
“So she’s back for revenge..” Arc started.
“On the descendants of Hiccup and Toothless,” I finished.
“Hence she killed your parents,” Clyde gasped.
“And tried to kill you,” Arc continued.
“But failed,” Lyn said, sounding more like a question rather than a statement. Her eyes were still on the corpses of our mom and dad.
“But failed,” I assured her.
Rein came back with her arms full of bottles and cloths and bandages. She gestured me to the dining table, and the others followed, Arc gently pulling Lyn away.
Rein laid a long piece of clean fabric on the table and motioned for me to lay my arm on it. I did as she told me and bit my tongue. She started wetting a cloth with the oils and cleaners to clean my arm.
“This will hurt,” Rein warned. “Or sting.”
I said nothing as the cloth touched the open skin. Pain like needles stung the wounds, and I clenched my other fist.
“I am sorry,” Rein murmured, sensing my discomfort as she rubbed the limb gently. “I need to wipe the blood off the skin and clean the wounds to make sure they don’t get infected.”
“Just do it,” I forced out. “I’ll deal with the pain.”
She nodded and continued, her brow furrowed in concentration.
“Can you do anything to prevent scarring?” Arc asked, Lyn coming up behind me.
“Unfortunately, I do not think I can,” Rein whispered. “Some of the skin was sliced clean off, stitching it would be impossible right now. And no amount of balms or oils or creams will take away scars.”
“So what, she’ll live with gashes forever?!” Lyn cried.
“No they will heal,” Rein assured. “It just will take awhile for the skin to come back together. I cannot promise your arm will remain healthy though,” she said to me. “It may be deformed for the rest of your life. You are lucky I do not have to amputate it.”
“What?!” Lyn exclaimed.
“Her arm is badly damaged, I am sure nerves are severed in it, and blood vessels are broken. Only time will tell how the limb heals.”
“So...what now?” Arc asked. “The best fighter is lost on a limb, the Chiefs heir is gone, there’s an insane enemy on the loose and looking for revenge I know. What do we do?”
“Whatever we can,” I answered. “I’m going to keep training. I’ll never stop moving this arm, will always keep a set of blades with me, and until I die or this enemy does, I won’t stop fighting.”
“I’m with you,” Lyn said. “But what do we do now? Us? Our parents are gone, and the village will panic when they hear about this!”
“Then, we don’t tell them,” I said.
“We what?!” Clyde said. “We can’t just lie to the Chief!”
“Do you want the village in pieces over this and us all die?” I asked.
Clyde paused. “Good point.”
“So, then what will we tell them?” Arc asked.
I thought for a moment. “We don’t tell them how they died. We say Mom died during birth, and Dad died before the birth because of a fall.”
“Will they believe it though?” Lyn questioned. “They aren’t dumb.”
“If they don’t, we’ll think of something,” I answered.
Arc sighed. “I don’t like this, but like you said, it’s all we have.”
I nodded in return. Lyn looked at my arm and her fingers traced over my shoulder. “But what about this?”
“What do you mean?” Clyde asked before I could.
“Like Rein said, no matter how it heals, she will always have scars,” Lyn explained. “And by the looks of it…ugly ones. No offense,” she added quickly.
“None taken,” I promised.
“But no one’s going to miss it, and to think it just happened over night? People won’t believe they just popped up or she’s had them but just hid them.”
Arc pondered that. “That makes sense. She’s right; they will question.”
“Then I’ll cover it,” I decided. “I’ll wear a long sleeve over the arm, made with the shirt. It’ll go to the wrist, and will cover every part of skin on my arm.”
“You’re sure that’ll work?” Arc asked.
I nodded. “Positive.”
Rein grunted and said, “on three!” I didn’t get to think about what she was doing until my arm was squeezed. She only made it to two when she tied the knot.
“AGH!” I yelled. “You said three!”
“I know, and if I counted to three you would have tensed up then and I could not let you do that,” Rein responded.
I sighed.
“Do not move it yet. Give it a moment. And do not give it any excessive weight, stress, or force. Not for awhile.”
“All right, I’ll try.”
“I am serious, Adira. That means no using your blades for until I say so.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Lyn said. She had a fierce look in her eyes, but also something else I couldn’t pin.
“Well, we have a plan,” I said. “We won’t stop fighting.”
“Who’s to say we will win?” Clyde asked. “I mean, we’re just kids! You and Arc are the oldest, being only twelve! And Rein’s the youngest, and she’s only eight!”
Arc glared at him and I stood. “We will. She may have more years than we do, but that doesn’t mean we’ll lose. Like I said, we won’t stop fighting. Continue to train, train hard. Stay subtle about it, and get stronger.”
Lyn wiped her nose and stood beside me. “We will avenge are parents.”
I smiled down at her, glad she was willing to fight, though she never enjoyed the act of killing. I had a feeling this fight would change us all.
“The Chief and Astrid will return soon,” Clyde reminded. “What are we going to tell them?”
“The same we will tell the village,” I answered.
He nodded and Arc looked me in the eye. “We’re with you Adira . We won’t stop, not til’ it kills us.”
I smiled in turn before I turned grave. “And no matter if it kills us, we fight to the end.”
“She called a battle,” Lyn said. “We call war.”
“War is a strong word,” Clyde mumbled.
“But it’s true, we call war with her,” I said.
“I love a good war,” Arc said, rubbing his hands together. Rein chuckled.
“Well then,” I told everyone. “For Berk, and for the ones we lost today.”
They all repeated the words and the boys got to moving our parents to the edge of the backyard to bury them. Lyn lended a hand, though her eyes were red and fighting tears. I wanted to help but Rein forbid it. She then turned to my newborn brother to check on him as I asked. I stood by the table, watching everyone work together in burying our parents, and rubbed my arm gently. The bandages and ointment on the skin still burned. Maeve’s sick and twisted smile flashed before my face again. Her words haunted my brain.
I will have fun with you.
Somehow, deep my in gut, I had a feeling I wouldn’t see the end of the fight and the light of victory. Somehow I felt I wouldn’t live to see it. Maeve wanted me, me dead more than anyone because of what I did to her.
“You won’t win, Maeve,” I mumbled. “You won’t.”
The war was ours.
