"Tyra, where did you last see Emma and the others?" I asked.
"I can show you..." She replied, observing us very carefully. It was evident that she still wasn't sure if she could trust us, but that's understandable. She's not used to seeing a bunch of vikings at peace with dragons, let alone riding them.
"Great." Snotlout beamed, placing himself between Tyra and I. "You can ride with me, babe." He put his arm over Tyra's shoulder, which she promptly grabbed and twisted it backwards, causing Snotloud to shriek and stumble back. "Not ready to move forward in our relationship, t-that's cool... No-no worries." He said sounding scared.
"Ugh. Can we just go already?" Astrid folded her arms across her chest.
Out of nowhere, the night fury reared up and roared, before darting away and disappearing. Where did it go?
***
"Emma?"
"Danny..." I replied calmly, my hand slightly out infront of me incase I had to use my powers. Drago Bludvist eyed me cautiously, looking completely furious yet calm at the same time. It was unsettling how he could stirr two opposite emotions together so blatantly on his face.
"Emma... T-Tyra... you remember that girl Tyra, right?" Daniel's face turned white, and he was shaking.
"Yes..." I replied, cautiously taking a step toward the pair.
"She's... I think she's my... sister..."
"Of course she's your sister, how could you forget her?!" Drago burst lunging toward his son. I quickly placed myself in front of Daniel, holding my hand up as a warning.
A memory played in my mind... "You might as well forget about everything you wished to achieve, or I can make you forget..." (A/N: This was from the end of chapter 15, if you were wondering)
"It's Ezra..." I mumbled. "You didn't choose to forget her, he made you forget..."
Daniel looked frustrated. He was trying so hard to remember what has already been erased from his mind. "But... I just dreamt of her... How did I dream about her if I have no memory of her?"
"The past always finds a way to leak through..."
I gasped and clutched my head, my satchel sliding to the floor. A vision played through my mind once more, quaking my my head with immense force.
"Darkskies, stop!" the mystery girl ordered her dragon, authority pouring into every word she spoke. Her face was anything but playful like it was back on Drago's ship. She was dead serious and the anger in her face made me flinch.
A gasp escaped my lips. A blast of something powerful hit me, making me fall to the ground. I hit my head in the process, but that was the least of concerns. I sensed power radiating from her. She was powerful, probably more powerful than me.
The dragon stopped landing to the ground with a thud. For the first time since I've met the dragon he looked ashamed of himself. His eyes dilated, no longer slits. He warbled softly, walking to the girl who gave him a stern look. From my perspective it looked like they were having a conversation.
"Sorry, about Darkskies. He is very protective and wary of strangers," the girl apologized sheepishly, giving me a kind smile.
I returned the gesture with a smile of my own. "It's okay. I understand his wariness."
"Thank you for saving me."
"No problem. I couldn't just leave you there."
"You left my brother," I remembered. The sad look in Blaze's eyes was still imprinted in my mind.
--
In my pain, I tripped backward over something and crumbled to the floor.
--
(A/N: My italics option stopped working here, so just pretend everything below is in italics XP)
"I'm kinda--the Shadow Lord," she confessed, running a hand through her fiery red hair.
I gasped, my mouth wide open. "You exist!"
"Of course, I exist!"
"Prove it!" I declared, needing some kind of evidence.
She thought for a moment and then a small smile spread across her face. Suddenly, she disappeared. There was no smoke or anything. She was just gone.
Then she reappeared, bursting out into laughter, clutching her stomach. "Oh gods! You should have have seen have seen your face! It was priceless!"
"Ha ha. Very funny," I laughed sarcastically, when really I guess I was pretty funny.
Once Venancia calmed down we spent the rest day talking and laughing. She even let me fly, but not on Darkskies. The night fury-like dragon, which she referred to as a Shadow Fury still wouldn't trust me, but I didn't blame him. Apparently, Venancia could shift into a Shadow Fury.
I stayed on the beautiful island for three days and those were the best three days of my life. For once, I didn't have to hide who I truly was. I didn't have to look over my back afraid that someone would spot me and try to kill me. For once, I was free.
"I guess I should go now," I said sadly. I didn't want to leave.
"You don't have to. You could stay here with me, Darkskies, the dragons and Shard. Please?" she begged.
"I'm sorry I can't. I don't usually stay in one place for too long," I explained with a heavy heart. Why couldn't I say goodbye? Oh right, because she was first real friend.
She nodded. I noticed tears in her eyes and immediately I felt guilty. She's been through so much and here I was probably about to make everything worse.
"You're not. You can go. I understand that you want to save your brother."
I was about to ask how she knew that, but I pushed it aside. "I'm gonna miss you, Venancia."
"I'll miss you, Emma. Starfire will take you where ever you want to go." She gestured to a beautiful violet colored Monstrous Nightmare, who nudged my shoulder in a playful way. I was a little frightened at first, I got over it.
I gave Venancia one more smile, before turning to clamber on Starfire's back.
"Emma, wait!"
The second I turned around, I was engulfed in a tight hug. My body tensed at the unfamiliar contact, but then thought this is my friend. I hugged her back, squeezing my eyes shut. We pulled away half-heartedly.
"I made this for you," Vena spoke pulling something from her pocket. I took the gift from her.
There was a single dark gray colored scale on a silver chain. Simple, but I loved it. I never received a gift before.
"What is it?"
"It's a charm infused with some of my powers. Whenever you need it, use it. But, you have to use it wisely. The power only lasts for a week or so."
I smiled at her, giving her another hug. "Thank you."
"No problem. Emma?"
"Hmm?"
"I meant what I said. I'm forever in your debt. Anytime, you need me for anything, just use this." She handed me a whistle. "It might not seem like much, but I will hear it and will come. Besides, friends don't leave friends in bad situations and your my first real friend."
I smiled brightly. "Your mine, too."
--
"You might as well forget about everything you wished to achieve, or I can make you forget..."
-- [end italics]
"Emma?" I flinched as I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Stay away from her, Daniel!" Drago roared. "Or have you forgotten our deal?" He sneered through gritted teeth.
"What-what's he talking about?" I asked wearily, rising to my feet.
"Nothing, Emma, ignore him..." He then turned to his father. "I am going to leave with her and you are not going to stop me." Daniel pushed passed him, bumping his shoulder as he went. Drago didn't try to stop him. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion as I followed Daniel toward the doorway.
"Darkstalker..." I froze as I heard Drago's voice. I slowly turned around to face him. "You forgot your satchel." A smile smile tugged at his lips. It was a smile that read he knew something I didn't...and I hated it. He extended an arm toward me, my bag in his hand.
I slowly reached out and took it from him, staring for a few more seconds before following Daniel out of the doorway.
We rushed up the stares to be greeted by Blaze and Ezra. "You." Daniel hissed, at Ezra.
"No time, let's go!" I breathed.
"Do you have the map?"
"Yes, it's in my bag, let's go!"
"How?" Blaze asked. "What exactly is out plan? Take off into a tiny rowboat into the ocean?" I shivered at the thought. I hate boats. Especially small ones.
"Allow me." Ezra gestured for everyone to grab onto him. Blaze had his hand on one of his shoulders, mine resting on his other wrist and Daniel's hand touching mine. "Close your eyes." He instructed.
Daniel looked skeptical. "Why do you want us to--"
"Just do it, Bludvist," Ezra snapped. Danny grinded his teeth at hearing his last name. But he complied and shut his eyes as we all did.
I heard a small screeching sound whizzing through the air all around us. "Ignore the sounds, don't open your eyes and don't let go." He demanded.
A moment later, the sounds stopped. I opened my eyes to see forest all around us, my feet on solid ground. "We... we moved, how did we... how did you do that?"
"One of my main powers." He panted, looking exhausted. "It takes a lot of energy; I can usually only do it once a day or so, but with all these people, I won't be able to do it for another week at least..."
So that's how he appeared on the boat before...
***
"Ruff, Tuff, any signs of the night fury?"
"Nope." They replied in unison.
I huffed a long sigh. "Well, we can't look forever, Night Furies are elusive and when they want to be hidden, they stay that way..." I stroked Toothless's head and he warbled in content.
"Let's move on. Emma and the others have to be around here somewhere."
A/N: Hey guys! What did you think? Please comment, I really really love feedback, so just let me know how you like (or dislike as the case may be) the story so far. Probably five chapters or less until Book 3!
Let me know in the comments ideas for the main plot of book three please!
Thanks.
Annee Michelle