10 The Deadly Shadow

10. THE DEADLY SHADOW Hiccup was so tired he fell asleep immediately. All around the castle battlements, the nightly shrieking and the screaming of the Dragon Rebellion had begun, the exploding weapons, the whine of the arrows being launched at the dragon attackers. But while the sentries were on duty up there on the battlements, the rest of the prison was sleeping: witch, King, warriors, slaves and all. And that night, through the quiet corridors of the sleeping prison, something moved like an invisible mist. You could not see the shining mirage of the Deadly Shadow as he crept through the rooms like a silent doom. But he was there nonetheless, like Death himself. He knew exactly where he was heading. Outside the dungeon entrance he paused, and his three heads sniffed with satisfaction, drinking in the smell of Hiccup. If you could have seen the Shadow, you would have seen a gorgeous, shining invisible tail disappearing down the stairs going to the dungeon, like the tail of a beautiful imaginary cat entering a mouse hole.

But you couldn't see him. Meanwhile, Hiccup woke up from a nightmare about the Monster of the Slavelands breaking into Prison Darkheart itself… And then when he sat up, sweating, he found nothing there but the slaves all around him, sleeping the sleep of those who had spent an exhausting day sailing their way across the sands. But what was that? He thought he heard a noise, a noise that was nearer than the constant distant din of the Dragon Rebellion outside. There it was again. He strained to hear the noise once more. Nothing. Toothless and the Wodensfang were still snoring on the straw. They were sleeping so soundly. Surely that must mean it was nothing? Surely they would wake if there were any real danger? But still Hiccup's heart beat as quick as a mouse. What was that noise? Was that the noise of nothing? He was just thinking that the entire thing had been all in his imagination, when out of nowhere something jumped on him, wrapping itself tightly around his mouth so he could not scream, and he and the Wodensfang and Toothless were wrapped around

like a parcel and picked up off the bed. The Wodensfang's ears were as purple as blueberries and jumping about pointing to north, south, east and west so violently they threatened to rattle themselves right off the poor Wodensfang's head. 'Danger!' the Wodensfang was trying to squeak. 'Danger! Danger! Danger!' But Hiccup had already realised he was in a dangerous situation. Hiccup tried to struggle but his arms and legs were clamped by his sides, as if by tentacles, or some strange invisible force so strong that he could barely move as he was inexorably carried off. He was so scared he could hardly think. How could he be attacked from inside the castle? What could this be? His mind jostled with Rocket-Rages, with Piranha Hermit dragons, with Something Worse than all of these, something that could not possibly exist, a thing with a claw that had an eye atop every single talon. But how could any of these things, in real life, sneak past the sentries that were currently blasting their way at anything that tried to get near the castle walls? 'Mff!' cried Hiccup, trying to kick out. 'Mff! Mff! Mff!'