The Other-worldly Protector

Chapter 26: Painful Consequences

The mist cleared quickly, revealing that neither dragon had made it to their intended hatch and that Kiara lay flat on her back in the middle of Ryker's deck. A jolt of fear shook Whiplash's heart.

"GRAB HER!" was Ryker's command.

Hiccup's face was pure horror as he realised what happened and Toothless' wide eyes portrayed the same feeling. Whiplash swooped in immediately but was stopped by a voice in her head—Kiara's voice. "Stay back, Whiplash! Don't come for me!"

"But—"

"STAY BACK!"

She didn't have much choice as she ducked to the side to dodge an arrow then had to swoop back up to not get tangled in flying bolas.

Kiara rolled onto her side as two hunters came up to her. She swiped her leg under one hunter's knees, making him fall on his back, then sprung up before the other could grab her. "Get back here!" he shouted as Kiara grabbed the fallen hunter's sword and darted away. She turned to the two hunters and raised the sword. It felt heavy, unbalanced and clumsy in her grip. Great, Kiara thought bitterly as she backed away from the advancing pair.

"Kiara, behind you!" Whiplash warned. Kiara spun around with the sword in hand, only to have it immediately knocked from her grasp by Ryker's jagged green broad sword.

Before she could react, Ryker kicked her in the gut. "ARGH!" She was thrown backwards and rolled to a stop a few meters from him, her side throbbing in pain. Whiplash roared furiously and tried to swoop in but was faced with a volley of arrows each time. "Stay away from her!" Hiccup shouted as Ryker roughly grabbed Kiara's shoulder and jerked her up.

"You keep them feisty," He remarked in her ear as he held her in a firm yet effortless headlock, "I like that." 

Kiara gritted her teeth. "Wanna know what I like? It's not having your dirty breath in my face!" She elbowed him in the stomach, which was about as effective as telling a brick wall to move. He grabbed her arm and twisted it backwards, making her howl in pain. Fighting back angry tears, she stuck her free hand in her pocket and snatched out the familiar small cylinder. Bringing it around, she pepper-sprayed Ryker in the face!

"AARGH!" Ryker stumbled back, letting go of Kiara as his hands instinctively covered his face. Kiara fell forward, clutching her arm.

"Jump into the water!" Whiplash told her. She pocketed the pepper spray and, ignoring her pain, sprinted to the edge of the ship. She jumped off. Then the collar of her jacket dug into her throat, choking her as she got yanked up by her hood. "AAH!" The scream escaped her mouth as she collided with the deck. The hunter who had yanked her down pulled her back by her arm and another grabbed her other arm, his grip like a vice to stop her from struggling.

"Alright, alright! You got me! Jeez," Kiara said, concealing her fear behind a cocky exterior.

"Tie her to the mast!" Ryker yelled.

"Oh, real original," Kiara muttered. Her mood lifted slightly when she saw Ryker's puffy red eyes and the amount of water that was flowing out of them. Thank you, Alex!

"Sir? Are you crying?" the Viking who had the spyglass earlier asked.

"NO!" Ryker hollered at him, "Get back to yer firin' Jasper before I throw you overboard myself! An' you two! Don't jus' stand there gawking, tie her up! She'll be helpful later on..."

The men started dragging her to the mast. Kiara did everything in her power to resist, but their fingers only tightened more painfully around her arms. When pulling the other way proved useless, she started to stamp on their feet and gained more satisfying results.