第三十一章（终章）：秘密藏身处(6)

‘Y-y-yes, Stormfly,’ sang Toothless happily. ‘Wodensfang the Desperado and I sh-sh-shot our way out of those amber-nets. Peow! Peow! Peow! With three bursts of our super-strong flame and…’ And so on. Meanwhile, Stormfly flashed her wicked eyes at him and ate half his mackerel. ‘Manners,’ sniffed the Wodensfang disapprovingly. The ten companions stuffed themselves full with fish that night, ate until they could eat no more. What with the food, and the emotion of the day, Hiccup and the others were almost drunk with happiness, in fits of laughter about the smallest things. In times of war and deadly peril, these moments of happiness are heightened: they become even more pleasurable, even more precious. Hiccup was one of the last to fall asleep. But then he woke again, at the sound of the Dragon Furious demolishing Prison Darkheart and turning it to rubble. That woke him, and suddenly all the warmth and the happiness of the evening seemed to disappear, to be replaced by a cold dread and a thumping of his heart. The others were all so exhausted, they were

still fast asleep. But blink, blink, the twin eyes of the Wodensfang opened on Hiccup’s chest, and the eyebeams shone comfortably into Hiccup’s own eyes. The Wodensfang seem to guess immediately what Hiccup was thinking. He started chatting, to cheer Hiccup up. ‘You see,’ said the Wodensfang. ‘I told you your Quest was quite simple. See what can be achieved if your heart is in your Quest? You have found your friend…