Draugr

Thirteen

Thirteen.

"No way!" Ruffnut was lying on her back on her couch in a long green tunic and leggings, a pair of ice-cold beer cans pressed against her head. "First you make me give up a fortune to a Dogs' Home and now you want me to go back to see your boyfriend-who called me a liar and a fake, by the way-to warn him that your psychopathic business partner if coming to kill him with her murderous brother who has already killed you! Did I miss anything out?"

Astroid glared at her. "Not really," she admitted. "Though you were a fake and a liar, to be honest! Not so much now..."

"Yeah, and that's really going well for me..." Ruff grumbled. "I got ghosts whinging day and night that they have messages for their dearly not-departed and they have NO concept of time. Especially night time! I mean they come in all through the night and keep waking me up and worst of all-they don't pay!"

"Hey-even I'm getting woken by her tossing and turning!" Tuff complained from the chair where, for no reason, he was lying on his back with his legs in the air, his pet chicken sitting on his stomach. "The chicken is not amused."

"Look, Heather knows I am...sort of here...and she knows that the money is gone," Astrid said sternly. "It won't take long before she finds out who pretended to be her...and then comes after you..."

Ruff sat bolt upright.

"What?" she screeched. "Get up, mutton-head! We need to leave town..."

"Or you will definitely end up beside Uncle Duffnut," Astrid smirked. And then she leaned closer to the spiritualist. "But they are coming after Hiccup first. Heather wants to kill him to force me to hand over the money..."

"The money you forced us to give to a Dogs' Home?" Ruff said accusingly. Astrid sighed.

"Possibly," she admitted. "Look-you just need to warn him so he can get out of there before they arrive!"

"I would-except he'll hang up on me!" Ruff grumped.

"Then you have to go and warn him!" Astrid told her. Ruff slumped back down onto the couch.

"What-towards the murderous psychopath?" she asked sarcastically. "Why on Midgard would I want to do that?"

"Because I love Hiccup with all my heart, because he is completely innocent in this and he doesn't deserve to have his girlfriend murdered, his dog killed protecting him, his dominant hand sliced open and then murdered by the woman who is supposedly his dead girlfriend's best friend!" she pleaded. "Ruff! What if the threat was to Tuff? Wouldn't you do everything, even defy death, to keep him safe?"

The woman glared, her fists balled.

"Low blow," she snapped.

"Hiccup is my soul-mate," Astrid declared desperately. "I was meant to spend my life with him. It was love at first sight...well, first sober sight...and I wouldn't want to live without him. But now I am dead, I want him alive and happy because I hate the idea that he is unhappy. Thor-can't you understand that?"

"When I'm old and toothless and grey, I'll still have that butt-head," Ruffnut muttered. "Never getting a boyfriend with him around..." And then she sagged. "But I would do anything to protect him!" She sighed. "If I get killed, I will hang around with you and drive you crazy for all eternity-and that is a triple Thorston promise!"

"I will protect you, Ruff-I swear that!" Astrid promised and she snorted, then levered herself to her feet, grabbing her phone. Tuff looked up, alarmed.

"Hey-you're not going without me!" he said, leaping up. "Just let me explain to the chicken. 'Coz, hey-you're a pain in the butt-but you're my pain in the butt!" There was a pause-and then Ruff punched him hard in the shoulder.