Howling Echoes - A How to Train Your Dragon Story, The Echoes, Book 1

Chapter 55: Explanations...

   When we went into the clubhouse, instantly Astrid had Viggo pinned against the wall with her dagger at his throat.  I really should've seen that coming.

   "Hiccup, you go break a leg and get her off him,"  I whispered.  "No!  You go!  He's your dad!"  Hiccup said, not looking keen at the idea of getting very mad Astrid off of kind of helpless Viggo.  Viggo had apparently threatened Astrid's life once for the Dragon Eye so...

   "Don't remind me,"  I muttered bitterly.  "I can still hear you both,"  Astrid called.  "SNOTLOUT!"  I called.  Frostflake separated Astrid and Viggo, to my relief.  "Mind telling us what's going on here?"  Frostflake still smacked Viggo in the face with her tail.  To be fair, he had locked us both up a couple of times, so she had every right to.

   After Hiccup and I explained everything, Astrid was glaring so deeply I wondered if her head would slide off if she glared any harder.  

   "So you're saying - "  Astrid started at the borderline of a yell.  "That he's changed, Astrid."  I cut in.  "Are you insane!?"  "She's his daughter, of course, she'd side with him."  I turned my glare to Snotlout.  "Do you really want to go there?"  I asked, my voice filled with dangerous venom.  "Hehe...I gotta go."  Snotlout slipped off.  

  "I can handle this,"  I said.  "Just give me a little while."  I sighed.  I was exhausted.  "Sorry, Frostflake, but it's only for a few seconds,"  I added as I walked over to her.  Frostflake growled slightly but let him on.  She flew to my hut, and I immediately flopped on the hard wooden bed.  

   Viggo made a non-commentary noise.  "Please don't comment,"  I begged, rubbing my eyes.  "It's a mess, I know.  Well, actually, there's nothing here.  I have something you can rest on at the other side of the island."  I sat up to find him looking at me.  "What?"  I snapped.  "I just saved your butt, don't look at me like that.  Come to think of it, don't move."  I mounted Frostflake.  She growled at Viggo and swept off to a super-secret storage cave I had on the other side of the island.

   When I came back Viggo wasn't in my hut, so I growled in annoyance, dumped the many clothes I had gotten (some of which were for me) and went to the clubhouse to find Astrid getting mad at Viggo, who was on a chair.  

   "Sure she did..."  Tuffnut said as we landed.  "I've had enough of these lies!  Either you start singing like a canary, or we do!"  Tuffnut said.  Astrid plugged her ears, as did everyone else in the clubhouse but Viggo, which was when I realized Dagur was there.  And had been there.  Haha...whoops.

   The twins started letting out a high-pitched screeching sound.  "And it only gets worse, just ask Kiara,"  Tuffnut said in a short pause.  "Say that again,"  I suggested.  "But slowly."  He turned around.  "Kiara!"  

   "I literally just went to the other side of the island and this what you guys do while I'm gone?" I asked.  "Trusting me has led to some...violent paths, has is not?"  Viggo said.  "Fair point.  But still, have a little faith."  I earned myself some dead looks.  "Well - ok - try."  I amended.

   "I got the Dragon Eye lens."  Dagur cut in.  "Good,"  Viggo said.  "Johann and Krogan only need one more lens until they reveal the King of Dragons."  We all turned toward him.  "The King of Dragons?"  I gasped.  

   "We can't let them get their hands on him."  Hiccup narrowed his eyes.  "Agreed."  Viggo nodded.  "Pfft, nobody asked you."  Snotlout said.  "Snotlout!"  I growled.  Dagur handed Hiccup his lens, and Hiccup entered it in the slot.  Viggo seemed rather impressed.  A circle of five dragons from five different classes projected onto the wall in purple and gold colors.  There was a big pit in the middle.

   "Five lenses for five dragon classes..."  Fishlegs murmured.  "And we have lenses for three."  Hiccup said, narrowing his eyes.  He held two of them in front of the Dragon Eye 2.  "Four."  Viggo objected.  I turned to him, and he held up a lens.  "In our hasty escape, I managed to obtain a lens."  He handed it to me, and I held it in front of the other two.  "Only one more lens..."  I murmured.  

   "But how are we going to find it?"