Wings of Fire: The First Animus

Chapter 7

Tern's POV

4 years later...

Tern paced in his room. His sister was so spoiled. She was the family favorite, the one that everyone was hoping for to be queen. Actually, she was the only possible heir to the throne. Aurora didn't have any siblings, and her only dragonets were Frostbite and him.

Sometimes, Tern wondered why Frostbite hadn't killed him yet. She surely knew already that he was violent and mean, right? If he was Frostbite, he would've killed all his siblings long ago.

Tern stopped pacing. He had been in his room the whole morning. He needed some fresh air. Tern trotted into the hallway and leaped onto a balcony. Then he soared into the air.

He must've been flying for quite a while when he spotted a small figure in the distance. He approached it warily. That figure turned out to be a scavenger. Tern didn't know it, but that was the same scavenger Aurora had met fourteen years ago. It was Slash.

The scavenger was trudging in the snow, hunting for food. Tern thought it would make an excellent snack. Tern noted it seemed more like a fly without a head. In other words, it was blundering aimlessly around.

Tern snatched it off the ground and tossed it into his mouth. When he tried to chew it, it was as hard as a rock. He spat the scavenger back out.

"OUCH!" the scavenger screamed.

"You can talk?" asked Tern, not believing his ears.

Slash sighed. "What do you think?" Then it chuckled. "I remember a dragon I met many ages ago who was just like you. Couldn't believe I could talk."

"Really?" Tern was curious. This creature talked to another dragon long ago?

"What was their name?" Tern tried.

The scavenger froze. "Their name? Hmm... Their name was..." There was a long pause. "I can't remember."

"Oh." Tern's wings drooped.

"Haha, don't be so pouty yet," the scavenger said. "You can have animus magic just like the dragon I had given it to before."

Tern's wings snapped back up. No, it couldn't be- no, it could- was that dragon... his mother?

"Was that dragon's name Aurora?" Tern blurted.

"Hmm... I think so," the scavenger replied. "Anyways, you want animus magic or not?"

"Liar," Tern snarled, snatching up the scavenger again. "You would never give it to me, even if I wanted it."

"I will! I will!" the scavenger pleaded. "I'll make you the most powerful animus on the planet!"

"Well, do it NOW!" Tern roared. He could not believe his good luck. He could be an animus. An animus! His chance... to kill his mother. And his annoying sister.

"Actually, I was just kidding," the scavenger growled, glaring at Tern. "If I give you this power, you will abuse it. If you won't use it wisely, you won't get it!"

"I knew it!" Tern cried. "I knew it from the start!" It was just too good to be true.

Then the scavenger said, "I enchant myself to disappear this instant!" and in a flash of light, he was gone. Tern was holding a talonful of air.

I better get back home now, he thought, still bitter from the encounter. The sky was already turning shades of pink and yellow. The sun was setting.

Tern turned his back to the sun and flew back to the palace.