How to be a Pirate's Dragon (Hiccup) by Cressida Cowell Read Free Book Online Page B

or birds, and no winds on such a calm day, there was an eerie silence.
    Except, that is, for one terrifying sound.
    Imagine the set-your-teeth-on-edge screech of chalk scratching on a blackboard multiplied hundreds of times over. It was the sort of noise you might get if you were sharpening a thousand knives on a thousand stones, but it was far more excruciating than that. It sent all of Hiccup's nerve endings wincing and jangling, even as he realized what the horrible rhythmic scritch-scratch was.
    It was the sound of the Skullions sharpening that extra-long claw of theirs on a rock deep within their burrows. This was a practice Hiccup knew about, but had never actually heard in real life before, called "sleep- sharpening."
    Hiccup took a deep breath. "Well, at least we know they're asleep," he thought.
    The Hooligans had to row three-quarters of the way around the island before they found a place where the boats could land safely. It was a wide-open bay, again with that strange blood-red sand.
    105
    Alvin stood up to make a speech.
    Every dragon on the boat hissed and growled warningly as he spoke.
    "I wanted to wish everybody the best of Viking luck," he said, smiling smoothly and easily. "To my great, great sadness, I will not be able to join you on this part of the Quest. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to risk my life in this glorious enterprise. But even though I have washed thoroughly I am afraid my smell is so strong to dragons that it might put the whole operation in jeopardy. I shall just stay here and look after the boats."
    "And it was all h-h-his idea in tie first place!" said Toothless, outraged, in Hiccup's ear. "S-see what Toothless means? An Outcast AND a c-c-coward....?"
    Stoick patted his friend sympathetically on the back. "Very noble of you, Alvin," he whispered loudly. (It was difficult not to whisper even though the creatures had no ears to hear with.) "I'm sorry you lave to miss out on the fun. Okay, men, find yourself a partner, fan out across the island and if nobody finds anything at all, we'll meet back here in an hour."
    Fireworm was in a frenzy of excitement as soon as they landed. She had clearly scented
    106
    something already, and was dying to follow it up, her tail thrashing, whimpering and dribbling with her eagerness to be off.
    "Now, no following US," grinned Snotlout, aiming a kick at Hiccup as he and Dogsbreath hurried after her.
    Hiccup and Fishlegs stood looking at Toothless, but Toothless was showing no such joy at the task ahead. He sat calmly on the sand licking his tail in a thoughtful fashion. Fishlegs's dragon, Horrorcow, had already fallen asleep under a bench on the boat, so SHE was going to be no help.
    "Can you sniff anything?" whispered Hiccup hopefully.
    Toothless sniffed.
    "POOH," he said in disgust. "Lergified limpets and s-s-sunbaked Skullion....Y-Y-Y-Y-YUCKY. L-l-l-l-let's get out of here."
    "No, no, no ," whispered Hiccup. "Treasure. Gold. Jewels. That sort of thing."
    And he added craftily, "I'm sure a TOOTH-LESS DAYDREAM like yourself can sniff far better than a mere Monstrous Nightmare."
    Toothless swelled with indignation as he
    107
    remembered the nerve of that Fireworm creature. He sniffed some more.
    "Toothless HAS got a slight c-c-c-cold,'' he said with dignity, "but that doesn't b-b-bother us aristocrats. There M-M-MIGHT be something coming from over there."
    And he waved a claw vaguely towards the left.
    So Hiccup drew his too-big sword, and they set off, keeping a sharp eye out for any Skullions that might be awake.
    They waded through waist-high ferns and endless heather, much as they might have done on Berk. At one point they passed a GIGANTIC footprint in the mud. Hiccup knelt down to examine it.
    "Woden preserve us," he murmured. "This means the Skullion is about TWICE as big as we previously thought."
    "No question that it'd beat the Bloody Crocoraptor in one-to-one combat, then," said Fishlegs, unable to stop himself from laughing